Worth getting into solar industry?

[plumbandplumber]

What with one thing and another, I am toying with the idea of trying something different to plumbing. A friend who is a spark has floated the idea of doing solar (pv) installations, and asked if I would be interested in going into partnership.

However, neither of us have any experience in the industry, and am interested in anyone who has any experience or knowledge. We're interested in selling pv panel installations to the public, where they get free electricity, and make an income from feed in tariffs, which I believe offer an income guaranteed for 25 years. My questions are;

Is there a lot of bureauracy/qualifications involved in this industry?

What's the market like, is it saturated? (not many panels on roofs around here)

What is the approx profit margin on an average install?

Apart from panels, what else needs to be installed to feed electricity into the grid?

Are installation courses available?

Is it a good deal for the customer, do they get a good return on their investment?

No doubt I will have other questions, but if anyone can give any pointers I would be very grateful.

 

[flameport]

Is it a good deal for the customer?

If a PV system is installed and it works as the manufacturers claim, and nothing goes wrong with it, and there are zero maintenance costs, and the customer's roof doesn't need any repair or replacement while the panels are on there, and the feed in tariff (FIT) continues at the levels specified, then after shelling out £15k or more, and waiting for 10 years, the customer might get their £15k back.

However this is actually a significant loss due to inflation, which even at 3% per year means the payback time is nearer to 15 years, and even then, the customer has just got their money back - no profit at all.
After that, any income could be considered a profit, but also consider that £15k could have been invested elsewhere for a far higher return without destroying the initial capital.

 

[Mw Roofline]

Yes. Solar installs are getting more and more nowadays and it's not even the tip of the iceberg, not even a gnat on the tip.

In 20 years time all the ****** will be doing solar. get in there now.

 

[Agile]

Dont forget you need the ability to understand electrics and to do a course! Then you have to register!

Probably dominated by the big firms who can afford advertising.

May be some scope to sub the actual installations from them.

Tony

 

[adlplumbing]

yes as 2016 gas boiler won`t be in new builds

 

[GlennD11]

You have to be MCS certified, as well as fitting the panels you have to fit
1 x DC Isolator
1 x Invertor
1 x AC Isolator
1 x Generation Meter

Regards
Glenn

 

[GJSol]

We've recently gone into the solar market.

There are plenty of training courses out there - Google them in your area.

I wouldn't say the market is saturated. Its definately growing at a steady rate, as solar becomes more popular.

Profit margins are good, shop around for suppliers.

A grid tie is req'd to link up to grid. You must fit an MCS certificated product and the installation must carried out by a certified MCS intaller to be able to provide the householder with a certificate to enable them to claim FIT's

Decent quality panels, installed properly provide a great return on investment.

 

[membergd]

Is it a good deal for the customer?

If a PV system is installed and it works as the manufacturers claim, and nothing goes wrong with it, and there are zero maintenance costs, and the customer's roof doesn't need any repair or replacement while the panels are on there, and the feed in tariff (FIT) continues at the levels specified, then after shelling out £15k or more, and waiting for 10 years, the customer might get their £15k back.

However this is actually a significant loss due to inflation, which even at 3% per year means the payback time is nearer to 15 years, and even then, the customer has just got their money back - no profit at all.
After that, any income could be considered a profit, but also consider that £15k could have been invested elsewhere for a far higher return without destroying the initial capital.

A 4kW system can be installed for £10K now, with a payback time of 7-8 years.

The FIT is index linked, so it is not affected by inflation.

You make a fair point on the roof maintenance though - if tiles etc do need replacing when PV is on, it will make that work much harder and more expensive to carry out.