CeeJay Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Friends of ours have had a system installed for a year and are quite happy receiving around 2000 Euros so far.However I am not sure of the long term benefits of such a system, effect on the house roof, house insurance leaping up and all the various wires and meters having to be put somewhere.Could someone with recent experience give their thoughts on the pros and cons of such a system.I like the idea of it being a good financial investment, at the current rate at least, but the practical aspects of living with it I am not so sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 I can only relay what our local heating and plumbing engineer said. He used to do the installations but has now taken them off his list of specialities - but will still install if the customer insists.He says that if you have to borrow to pay for the installation, the payback is around 20 years. The "expected" life of the photovoltaic cells is 15 years. There have also been occasions where problems with the electrical side of the installations has caused roof fires (and neighbours of a good friend have suffered this in the UK).He therefore believes that as things stand today, this is nothing more than a con. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomme Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 The average life of panels is 30 years and there are guarantees about the output (which diminishes slowly with life). The converter usually has a life of 8-12 years.The purchase tariff has been going down each year but is fixed for 20 years once you sign a contract. You need to add in costs for ENEDIS installation (one LINKY or two conventional meters for generation and for any usage you might make directly from the panels - but it is cheaper to buy electricity). ENEDIS make an annual meter charge (I think mine is about 55€/year). If your system is more than 3kW you need to report your income (form 2014 box 5HY). If the installation production is significanlty more than your normal usage then you will be treated as a professional and the tax is a lot higherThe roof load shouldn't really be a problem if you have tiles. The tiles are removed and the panels fitted into the roof in a frame (unlike the UK whether the panels are usually fixed over the existing roof). I don't think the load is significantly different but you could do some quick calculations based on tile and panel weight.I didn't notice any significant "leaping up" of house building insurance; perhaps it depends on the insurance company.Whether it is now worth installing panels is another matter (I had panels installed when he tariff was a lot higher - but so were panels); there is a calculator on that web site which might help. You really need a good southerly facing roof at a reasonable slope (c 30 degrees) for maximum production without shadows from trees/chimneys etc (and remember the sun is a lot lower in the sky in winter). If you look at bdpv.fr you will also find a lot of information and there are report statistics from various installations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YCCMB Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 I don't know much about how it works in France but there was an item on some TV programme in the UK recently about people wishing to leave their contracts due to various reasons and the cost of doing so was prohibitive, running into tens of thousands of pounds in some cases. Making the decision to have them is one thing but it seems like a decision you're then pretty much stuck with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomme Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Some people in the UK have hired out their roof space for a company to exploit or leased panels. Then wanted to move and struggled with breaking the contact. For examples, see these problems at MoneySavingExpert.comIf you buy the panels it isn't a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Perhaps here is the place for me to own up to my shameful secret.....I just don't like the look of those panels[:$]Yeah, yeah, pink and fluffy thinking but the rest of my thinking is fairly robust.....promise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 [quote user="mint"]Perhaps here is the place for me to own up to my shameful secret.....I just don't like the look of those panels[:$]Yeah, yeah, pink and fluffy thinking but the rest of my thinking is fairly robust.....promise![/quote]Who does Mint, bloody ugly things except for the Tesla roof tiles which look like real tiles, are stronger than real tiles and give you electricity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomme Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 The Tesla tiles look good of you aren't too worried about money. There are no real details of the cost-benefits of the Tesla tiles or whether ENEDIS would accept them so it may be they can only be used with Tesla Powerwalls. A French linkBut I don't think any of that is likely to be of interest to CeeJay as a good financial investment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 [quote user="pomme"]The Tesla tiles look good of you aren't too worried about money. There are no real details of the cost-benefits of the Tesla tiles or whether ENEDIS would accept them so it may be they can only be used with Tesla Powerwalls. A French linkBut I don't think any of that is likely to be of interest to CeeJay as a good financial investment![/quote]Maybe, until someone breaks down the barriers and produces a better thing, people don't move forward, the proof is in the PV panels produced thus far, now the so called designers of rival panels have something to copy more of the same could be made and so we get progress. [I] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeJay Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 Thanks to all for the replies and thoughts, I have arranged for EDF ENR to have an inspection and quote, which should be interesting with my fairly limited knowledge of the language! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomme Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 There are already other solar roof tile manufacturers, some probably started before Tesla. The French Imerys and Luxol, Dutch Exasun and FlexSol, Italian SolarTeg and Dyaqua, and probably many Chinese companies. Tesla are probably the most expensive. You could have any of them installed now. What is not clear is whether you could get them connected to the French electricity network and sell the electricity generated; they would need to be approved by CONSUEL and ENEDIS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomme Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 It seems the regulations changed considerably with new regulations in May 2017 so some of my earlier comments, based on my experiences of panels installed in 2012, are no longer valid. There appears to be a good summary of the changes (in French) here It is now possible to have panels mounted above the tiles on a roof (as in the UK) and there are significant changes in the tariffs for sale and also a significant move towards self-consumption and storage devices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Lots of probably s there pommel, any links to other products you mention in the interests of being interested? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomme Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 I'm not interested in any more electric generation solar here - not really enough roof extra space (although I still keep thinking about a water heating system). I can't do anything to my house in England either as it is in a conservation area and the south-facing roof can be seen from the road. I suspect some of the the tiles, but not the panels, will probably eventually be approved. So it was just a bit of interesting research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 [quote user="pomme"]I'm not interested in any more electric generation solar here - not really enough roof extra space (although I still keep thinking about a water heating system). I can't do anything to my house in England either as it is in a conservation area and the south-facing roof can be seen from the road. I suspect some of the the tiles, but not the panels, will probably eventually be approved. So it was just a bit of interesting research.[/quote]Yes me to, that why I looked at the tesla, so close looking to tiles of various types and slate as well. If that kicks other manufacturers into action all for our good as the conservationists need to lighten up, if the product looks similar enough it should be allowed.On solar water heating, I would like to do that and use the underfloor or pool as the excess thermal dump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowfox05 Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 We had solar panels installed recently and Enedis completed the connection to the grid in mid-January. We opted for the use what we produce & sell the surplus contract BUT, our January EDF bill shows no credit or reduction for electricity we've supplied to the grid. If you're on the same option as us I'd be interested to know if credits/reductions appear on it. Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherbanana Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Sounds as if the internal administration and registration procedures have not been completed. Probably seriously sclerotic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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