Any solar panel users out there?

[Redlady]

Hi,

I am thinking about putting solar panels on our new build...which will be a south facing timber high insulated house (2500 sq ft). I have seen threads on this board and on previous boards about suggestions on solar but I'd like to hear from somebody with 'real life' experience with them. I got a reasonable quote for 12m sq solar panel along with a combi tank that could be used with another backup conventional system. Now should I just go for a smaller 6m sq panel for DHW or if you want solar panels to add to your space heating with any real impact, would you need at least 20-30 m sq...in which case it would probably cost too much anyways.

Any thoughts

Regards

 

[slave1]

would also be interested, thinking of going for panels for hot water only for existing house, appreciate any user feedback

 

[aonfocaleile]

Afraid I can't provide any information on the solar panels themselves, but I know that a grant scheme for domestic installations was launched recently. Check out [broken link removed] before you do anything!

 

[annR]

Saturday's Irish Times had a whole feature on this.

 

[aonfocaleile]

There's been a lot of stuff in the media about it - I suppose its good PR for the Govt (for a change ) I haven't looked very closely at the info but I think you can get a grant of up to 40/50% of the cost, depending on the type of technology you opt for.

 

[Leo]

...but I think you can get a grant of up to 40/50% of the cost, depending on the type of technology you opt for.

Afraid not, the grant available is €300 per m2 up to a limit of €3600, so this will probably only cover up to a max of 30% of total installation costs. The system and installer must be registered under the scheme with the SEI, so expect that to be factored into the price.

 

[aonfocaleile]

I stand corrected Leo (I should really read the information if I'm going to keep harping on about it ) Thanks for the clarification though.

 

[Leo]

No worries, was a little disappointed by the level myself. I also forgot to mention that the SolarTwin system (which seems to be one of the cheapest on the market) isn't currently registered with the SEI.