It may sound a lot but I don't think it's viable - as said above the panel are v expensive, even if you fit them yourself. I worked out that about £15k worth of panels would generate me an net annual income of about £900. Unless I worked it out wrong, or my memory is bad, the £15k of panels generate about 2.5KWh, which would not be enough electricity to be self sufficient at any time other than summer days. They provide nothing at night (so you either do without or then get into expensive and bulky storage) and diminished output during cloudy/dull weather. While the panels are virtually maintenance free for their life (25 years est) the converter may need replacement at about 15 years. So, without taking into account inflation, you would break even after around 18 - 20 years. (You could also make sure that you do stuff like your washing/dishwashing during teh day, and install some night storage heaters. Or you could do what I did this year - just turned off unnecessary lights around the house - my consumption has dropped 13.6% over the year!)
And back on topic, I have a voucher for a replacement boiler., My next door neighbour is qualified to fit it, and has quoted me around £2k. With the limited savings it will give, and short boiler life (he reckoned no more than 15 years) I've gone off the idea.
|