Anyone for Solar?

[katec]

Okay - I read the previous topic on this board concerning solar power, but when I attempted to add my opinion the board suggested that the topic was old and I should create my own; so here it is.

The bottom line is that I don't think solar power is worth it right now, I have certainly considered implementing solar panels to my new home but at the moment it just doesn't seem worth it at all. I even looked into a local company who actually agreed with me! (Shock horror from the audience if you please but it's true, they even have an article on their news page about how it might be too soon to invest in solar power)

They also mention in that article (I'll put a link at the bottom for anyone who wants to check it out) that there may be cheaper and more effective solar panels in development, that will produce more power with less light, and be more cost effective to buy and install. So - my question is; if this was the case, would you buy them?

Does anyone already have solar panels? Are they effective?

{Previously Mentioned Article:Removed as possible spam. Mod 2.

[merlin50]

1 my house is facing the wrong way
2 i think they look rubbish
3 i do not want someone else’s rubbish on my roof
4 in a few years something else will come along
5 the way things are going at the moment the money would be better spent on a fallout shelter

[steviejoiner74]

A few people in my street have solar panels and wish they hadn't bothered. Poor return and ugly looking panels on the roof is the general consensus with the folks nearby me. They reckon it'll be 10/15 years to get back the money they spent on them.
I'd be more inclined to get a really good energy efficient boiler and insulate a house to the max which will save you money from day 1.

[kellys_eye]

I second steviejoiners comments with a suggestion that the 15 year recovery timeline may be even LONGER considering the reduced (and falling) subsidies that are currently in force.

Personally I wouldn't guarantee subsidies being available AT ALL in the short term.

If and when solar becomes a financially attractive option it would happen when you can make money from them WITHOUT relying on subsidies.

[Inky Pete]

And also consider that if it takes 15 years to get your original investment back - what could that money have grown into if you'd left it in the bank or stuck it into your pension instead?

Even at only 3% growth per year, £1000 stuck into a pension and attracting basic rate tax relief would double in value over the 15 years.

[katec]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I have to agree it doesn't seem to make sense right now, but if the technology was improved to be more effective and affordable I really think I would go for it.

Do you guys really think that the solar panels are ugly? I've seen a few houses with them and I don't think they look that bad.

[Inky Pete]

Hell yes they're ugly!

If you were to stick something which looked like that onto your roof which wasn't a solar panel then Planning would be down on you like a ton of bricks!

They're already pretty close to their theoretical maximum efficiency - so the technology is never going to get much better at extracting energy from a given roof area. The price MAY drop over time, but since they use relatively scarce raw materials the price could just as easily RISE as demand increases from countries which actually get enough sun to make solar pay - places where they need lots of electricity during the daytime to run air conditioning and refrigeration.

At the end of the day, there simply isn't enough power in the sunshine we get in the UK and what we do get doesn't occur when we have the highest demand for electricity - after dark.