Telephone Sales and solar panels

[watervole]

I've just made a complaint to the Telephone Protection Service about a solar panel company.  Telephone cold-calling people on the TPS list is illegal.  I can't do anything about overseas companies, but I sure can complain about the UK ones.

That's the second solar panel company to phone me in a week.

I like solar power, I already have solar panels.

Comments

[birdsedge]

We were interested in solar but the 'free panel' company that I contacted said looked on google earth at our roof and they wouldn't touch it because it was 35 degrees off due south. Bummer.

How do you find the panels ylou hae? What benefit do you get (as the householder) since presumably the company that fitted them gets the subsidy? How much power do the produce and howe much does it chop off you electricity bill?

Just curious because I haven't given up on the idea, yet.

[watervole]

Mine produce 2kw at peak, but you won't get that most of the time. 3-400W is more likely on an overcast day.

Haven't had them long enough to do a full cost-benefit analysis. It partly depends on whether you adapt your electricity use. eg. I now try and do laundry when the sun is shining.

I'll ask my sister about the site she did her math from. I know she found a good one for evaluating sites that aren't close to south.

[watervole]

Gillian says:
umm, can't remember exactly where I got what I used. However there is a standard formula called SAP, which all the solar panel installers
use and refer to. It takes account of roof orientation, slope but not
latitude.

My spreadsheet notes say that:
The SAP formula says a 1 kWp array will produce 886 kWh for a 30
degree roof facing E/W. Multiplied by a standard factor 0.8.

The 886 was a number I got from an online calculator that takes
account of east/west and 30 degrees.
I think the 0.8 is a standard factor to take into account losses in
the inverter.
You are suppose dto add another factor for shading, but I didn't as
our roof is not shaded.

Back to Judith. Hunt the numbers and see what you get. I was surprised that Gillian's roof worked out okay. Be aware that chimneys can make a big difference. The shade (according to a friend) can cause something called a back emf and loses you more power than you'd expect.

[watervole]

Not as easy as it sounds. There isn't much in the way of suitable batteries - and the yield is unlikely to be enough to power you through a whole day in any case, especially in winter.

[raspberryfool]

I keep getting calls about government grants for loft insulation and cavity wall; I tell them I already have those, which I do, but they keep on calling. My normal response is fairly polite, but I feel my reserves of politeness running low. Maybe if I swear at them they'll get the message! :-)

[watervole]

They're spammers. They're not calling from the government, they're touting for business.

Report them to the TPS (assuming you're registered with them).

Ask the caller what company they are. Get the caller's name if possible. If you can get their phone number, even better. Then go and fill in the TPS complaint form. (Just the company name will do at a pinch- that usually enables you to find the rest of the details on the web)