12kw solar installation

[Durry cows]

I would be very greatful of any information or advice regarding the installation of a 12kw solar system on to an existing building. Brief background we are dairy farmers looking to reduce our ekectric bill (nearly 10k currently house and farm) the cost would be near 16k and provide some of our electric plus some paid back to grid if registered before 31st December. Any tips or advice from people who have already installed solar (bigger or smaller kW) would be much appreciated. Pm if you prefer Tia

 

[Exfarmer]

If you can get it done before Dec 31st. It must be worth doing, but make sure they guarantee the date and registration.
16K is plenty but if you use the power it will pay back in God time
You are running very close to the wind now!

 

[Wombat]

We put 30kw in about 6 weeks ago. You will need the grid application back from the DNO are you with Northen power grid? If so they are taking the full time to get back the offer, they took 2 days short of the full 45 working days (9 weeks in effect) to say we didn't need anything done and just the offer to accept. Others such as western power are shorter I believe

Also after installation to get your fit application in and accepted before the end of the month would be tight. Eon took 3 weeks to do ours (1 week to look at it, then sent it back as we had shortened Lane to La on the invoice, then back again and another 10days to look at the changes and a few to get the acceptance back) as the volume of applications has gone up astronomically. They are working 6 days a week and I assume others would be busy.

 

[tanker]

Already mentioned that you need your skates on..Assuming you get through that bit make sure you know what you're getting from the company,installation was straightforward here&they did a very good job(a 40kw array on the new parlour roof) but getting the right meter fitted,getting the electricity company(swalec in our case)&power distribution company(western power) at the same place at the same time with the right kit to get it working was a great frustration,I was unlucky in that the guy I was paying for the system and both companies managed to balls it up,the farm next door put a 50kw on for a cheaper per Kw price on the understanding that they did all the legwork themselves.Once it was generating we had issues with the EPC certificate(crucial for the best available tariff) and the Tariff payment team losing paperwork which delayed payments as well,...Got there in the end but there can be some pitfalls to the uninitiated..

 

[Durry cows]

@tanker @Wombat @Exfarmer thank you for your replies it is much appreciated. I am glad your installations have been successful on the whole, it is important to hear success stories such as yours as the figures take a bit to get your head round. Long term they look a good investment so we will have to get our act together and see what we can do. Thanks again

 

[Energy Clever]

Hi Durry Cows, as you have been advised you will have to act fast if you want to get the current FIT rates. If you would like more info on potential savings for your type of installation, there are a selection of farm based case studies on our website http://www.energyclever.com/index.php?solar=biomass-3 or feel free to give us a call for an informal chat.

We are based in Sheffield, so not so far in terms of setting up a swift consultation.

 

[Silly boy]

If you did 11kw you wouldn't need grid connection on a 3 phase supply