Solar panels

[KM2]

I am currently getting feed in tariff from BG, and also my fuel.
Can I change the fuel provider without the hassle of changing the FIT provider?
Thanks

[oldtimer99]

Yup.....change my provider every year. During the last 8 years I have been with EDF, Scottish Power, British Gas, Avro and a couple of others.

My solar FIT is through EDF ..... they stay the same whatever supplier you use. You don't need to inform them or do anything else.

Written on a beautiful sunny day when my meter is ticking along!

[KM2]

Thanks for that. I was told by BG that I’d have to change.

[toontra]

I'm in the same position - gas, leccy and FIT from SSE. I want to change provider but keep SSE for FIT so there's no complications with tariff (fixed at 2010 rates )

Still have conventional meters. I'm also slightly worried about screw-ups if I move to smart meter - quite a few scare stories of smart meters not working well if you have solar panels.

[rjb]

Ive been on the fit scheme for 7 years with Npower, recently bought out by EON so with them now, payments have continued as normal and i just submit a meter reading quarterly when requested. Im on the Fit scheme not the more recent SEG scheme which has now replaced it. Iv'e changed energy provider every year to avoid being put on the default tariff when my contract is up (Read Expensive here). I had a smart meter installed some 6 months ago and have had no problem with compatability with solar PV. The smart meter will show how much i export to the grid but the Fit scheme i am on pays me on the assumption i export 50% of what i generate., I will be checking to make sure i use more than 50% of what i generate, dont want to give it away. My payment for the solar PV is a rate per unit generated irrespective of whether i use it or export it, Approx 16p plus a rate for what i export assumed to be 50% of what i generate of 6p per unit ( 16+50% of 6) so in effect 19p per unit i generate). These rates increase with RPI annually based on the Sept figures which have just been released. So next april we are getting a 4.8% increase. Whats not to like. Every cloud has a silver lining as they say.

[KM2]

Toontra, my brother just switched to octopus. No smart meter required. I’m in the same position as you.

[toontra]

Toontra, my brother just switched to octopus. No smart meter required. I’m in the same position as you.

Good to know - thanks!

[AlanD]

Can I just chip in and digress away from the tarriff aspect of PV cells for a moment...
The Wife and I have PV cells on the roof of our house. Last year it became a roost for pigeons. This year there were loads of them.
They left their poop and makings of nests all over the path. Every morning, we would wake up hearing them on the roof, scratching and coo-ing away.
Looking on the internet, we were shocked to discover that pigeons are considered vermin. They cause damage and they carry a very nasty pest that can invade the home and cause a serious health hazard.
That did it! We booked a pest control company to put a heavy gauge galvanised mesh around our PV cells. They removed all the detritus, disinfected everywhere also.
No more pigeons. If you have PV cells and you are harbouring pigeons, then you really need to do something about it.

[squeaker]

If you have PV cells and you are harbouring pigeons, then you really need to do something about it.

Amen: there's also a risk of cables being pecked. We had to get the panels on our local sailing club 'barge boarded' - pleased to say there was no obvious drop in electrical output. Locally the pigeons seem to prefer the trees, but I do check from time to time. Had to evict a collared dove from the satellite dish, though...

[chris_suffolk]

I'm in the same position - gas, leccy and FIT from SSE. I want to change provider but keep SSE for FIT so there's no complications with tariff (fixed at 2010 rates )

Still have conventional meters. I'm also slightly worried about screw-ups if I move to smart meter - quite a few scare stories of smart meters not working well if you have solar panels.

Exactly the same position as you a couple of years back, Moved gas and electric to Octopus - no smart meter needed, or even suggested, and FITs payments still being made by SSE.

SSE, and other large providers, are legally obliged (so far as I know) to take a FIT customer, especially if their Gas / Electic supplier doesn't do FIT payments - so no issues.

[thirdcrank]

Ive been on the fit scheme for 7 years with Npower, recently bought out by EON so with them now, payments have continued as normal and i just submit a meter reading quarterly when requested. Im on the Fit scheme ...

Same here, but I had a slight glitch when I tried to submit my latest quarterly reading. That's done by clicking on the appropriate bit of their reminder email but it told me I was too late. I immediately sent them an email with my reading and in my inbox this morning was a reply sent late last night saying they were aware of the problem (loads more in the same boat) and they would pay based on my email (ie without the usual cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die stuff.)

[rjb]

Ive been on the fit scheme for 7 years with Npower, recently bought out by EON so with them now, payments have continued as normal and i just submit a meter reading quarterly when requested. Im on the Fit scheme ...

Same here, but I had a slight glitch when I tried to submit my latest quarterly reading. That's done by clicking on the appropriate bit of their reminder email but it told me I was too late. I immediately sent them an email with my reading and in my inbox this morning was a reply sent late last night saying they were aware of the problem (loads more in the same boat) and they would pay based on my email (ie without the usual cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die stuff.)

Yep, I had that glitch too so when my reading was requested using their link, their link was for the previous quarter and had expired. I emailed eon pointing this out and they sent me another link to submit my reading. The statement arrived near the end of the month but my bank statement showed they had paid me almost 2 weeks earlier. . With Sept RPI being 4.8% this will be a nice increase in income next April. . Will go someway towards the increase in energy prices caused by my transfer following the demise of Pfp energy.

[toontra]

I'm in the same position - gas, leccy and FIT from SSE. I want to change provider but keep SSE for FIT so there's no complications with tariff (fixed at 2010 rates )

Still have conventional meters. I'm also slightly worried about screw-ups if I move to smart meter - quite a few scare stories of smart meters not working well if you have solar panels.

Exactly the same position as you a couple of years back, Moved gas and electric to Octopus - no smart meter needed, or even suggested, and FITs payments still being made by SSE.

SSE, and other large providers, are legally obliged (so far as I know) to take a FIT customer, especially if their Gas / Electic supplier doesn't do FIT payments - so no issues.

Thanks Chris!

[UpWrong]

If you have PV cells and you are harbouring pigeons, then you really need to do something about it.

Amen: there's also a risk of cables being pecked. We had to get the panels on our local sailing club 'barge boarded' - pleased to say there was no obvious drop in electrical output. Locally the pigeons seem to prefer the trees, but I do check from time to time. Had to evict a collared dove from the satellite dish, though...

I have an estimate of £4555 from "SolarTogether" via our council for 6 solar panels, a 1.8Kwh per annum array. This is an increase of about 40% on an estimate I had from them only 15 mths ago, albeit for a 5 panel installation. This will save me around £260 p.a., about 25% of my electric bill.

The estimate for selling back to the grid is rather misleading, and I have reduced it accordingly. Battery storage adds another £4k so I won't be doing that,

Anyway, I have just sent them a query about "pigeon-proofing" the panels since I have both pigeons and squirrels around the house.

[rjb]

I've a 4kw array on my roof. Records show it cuts my import by approx 600 units a year. So at 35p a unit it saves me £200. Figures quoted by retailers trying to sell you a system are generally overly optimistic. I'm in the original Fit scheme and the payback period was estimated at 6 to 7 years by the installer. In practice it is going to be 9 years before it's paid for itself then the inverter will need replacing after another year (10 year lifespan). So will take another years income to pay for it. But then I will be in profit for the remaining 10 years of the fit scheme and the income increases with RPI
It keeps my Tongsheng electric tandem rolling along so we are happy.