Lewes Forum thread

Go on, tell 'em what you think

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Solar PV

On 28 Nov 2016 at 10:18am Solar so good wrote:

Anyone with solar pv panels have experience with inverters? Ours just failed, any advice regarding replacement very welcome!

On 28 Nov 2016 at 11:09am JillG wrote:

Talk to Tom Twine at www.sunstore.co.uk in Worthing - very knowledgeable; he identified the problem with mine and swiftly changed it

On 28 Nov 2016 at 12:26pm Solar so good wrote:

Thanks!

On 28 Nov 2016 at 5:55pm Another B and B lady wrote:

South Downs solar did ours, and were helpful. Ours over 4 year's old now, but gather they can fail after 4-5 years if you are unlucky. Some other company keen for us to upgrade our inverter but going to stick with it for longer, as long as it doesn's fail. Think you are unlucky. Hope you get it fixed. Have you been back to whoever sold it to you? Any joy from them?

On 28 Nov 2016 at 11:37pm Ben wrote:

Pretty soon, all the solar installers will be history. How easy will it be to keep the panels working without anybody to fix them. Do they use common, readily available electronics etc. I see the new tech is actual roof tiles are each a mini solar panel, so the whole roof is generating and not looking unsightly.

On 29 Nov 2016 at 5:53pm Sussex Jim wrote:

This industry could well turn out to be like the double glazing companies that have come and gone. It is pointless having, say, a ten-year guarantee if the supplier ceases trading after three years.

On 30 Nov 2016 at 9:50am Sceptic wrote:

Once people realise that the environmental costs of producing the panels from finite resources (and all the energy spent in making them) means they are perhaps not as eco-friendly as they are purported to be - unless they work reliably, without any need for repair or replacment parts, for many many years, and that there may be added complexity and costs for the home owner if the roof they are sited on every needs repair, and once all the subsidies and feed-in tarrifs dry up, the true "cost" of installing and living with panels may see the demand fall, and the industry contract. As with double glazing when it first appeared, there are undoubtedly short term benefits (esp if the installation costs are subsidised), but the long term 'true cost vs benefit' argument for the average home owner (or for the planet) are not yet fully understood. For many people, while they may say publically that they installed panels for the good of the planet, I suspect the financial benefits were the over-riding reason. Had there been no incentives/subsidies I suspect panels would have been less attractive to many.