PV Feed In Tariff

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119462435#Comment_119462435

Oh that's what I used, I think it was just a coincidence that for my house it ended up around 7,200kWh for 7.2kWp

paulbok

There are a few variables on that tool, so each setup will differ. You must have a great aspect and roof pitch?

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119462617#Comment_119462617

So I had kind of assumed that any tax would be on any profit you earned from the FIT

In other words, if my bil for the year was negative I would be taxed then. And the €200 threshold was on that refund

It actually sounds more likely that the FIT payments would be treated as BIK for tax purposes. Realistically, people won't be getting cash money, they'll be getting credit, which fits the bill of BIK much better

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119462458#Comment_119462458

Ha, you should claim the difference in prices between the smart plans and regular plans as an expense then as well 😁

allinthehead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119464464#Comment_119464464

Ya, and the cost of the pv system.

munsterfan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119461919#Comment_119461919

Same with charging the car, I can charge it on BG Boost @ .052€ while I should end up with .015c for FIT, so I reckon I should just export all surplus after my battery is full, although with a day rate of .0215 & a Peak of .0282 I'm only saving .0615 & .0132 ( plus inefficency @ maybe 10% ) with the battery.

Or would you be better off with a 20kw battery (DIY) and charge overnight and no solar...

curioustony

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119460705#Comment_119460705

That sign-up bonus together with the FIT makes a big difference for me

Would almost certainly need to do a tax return -- so I do see value in trying to maximize my own usage first and leaving FIT as a sweetener

Still waiting patiently for EI to make an official announcement, but I'm assuming the 14c for now.

curioustony

You think revenue would accept depreciation on the PV system as part of the work from home credit?

yankinlk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119464776#Comment_119464776

I can't work out your calculations from that table. Is flogas the only provider with a cash bonus? I'm still using up mine from EI from Feb.

curioustony

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465022#Comment_119465022

In that list, for me, they are the only one. I'm with EI and have not paid the a penny since March :-).

yankinlk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465053#Comment_119465053

Imho if you can get a cash bonus with any provider to switch for 1 year... and have solar pv of a decent size its very hard to beat it!

curioustony

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465092#Comment_119465092

Yup. The single best thing you can do is shop around at least once a year. Then solar. If you cannot get solar consider the as-a-service model.

Helps the bank balance, helps the grid, helps the environment... Eventually

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465092#Comment_119465092

Provided your own usage is low. I got a €220 cash bonus for switching gas contract last month. If I use less than 1000kWh in gas over the year my total bill including standing charges and all taxes will be negative.

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119462428#Comment_119462428

I think OP was talking about those if us with multiple inverters e.g. two 6kW inverters which would easily export well over 6kW instantanous during April-October

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119464505#Comment_119464505

That's how they seem to do it in the US, you don't get money as grants for solar panels AFAIK, you get tax credits instead

Not sure which system is better, I mean eroding the tax base is bad and tax breaks tend to benefit high earners more.

But I also like the idea of just having all the grants and tax payments in one place, and revenue are generally pretty on the ball compared to other government departments

slave1

The US does not operate a social welfare state, once you are born into below the breadline you are well and truly shagged, poor comparison

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465552#Comment_119465552

They have a welfare system, it's called prison 😏

My efficiency minded brain is just annoyed that every department has its own system for providing grants. I feel like it should all be handled via Revenue who, in my experience, are way better at handling payments and have some of the best customer support of any government body

I agree in general that tax breaks suit high earners better, however it's probably also a true statement that there's not many on minimum wage or the dole thinking about putting expensive solar panels on their roof

That's a problem in and of itself, and tbh I'm not sure grants would fix it either, since you still need to pay up most of the upfront cost yourself

Maybe a low interest loan system would be better, or requiring all social and affordable housing to have at least 30% of the roof covered in panels plus a decent sized battery.

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119465632#Comment_119465632

They have the low(zero?) Interest loans in Scotland.. I think,

slave1

SAAS works perfectly for lower income bracket

Gerry

I am sort of curious as to why SaaS is being pointed at low income bracket. I mean yes, it works for low income bracket, its less than a sky sports subscription. But is that the limit of its appeal? The pricing aside from payback terms is very reasonable compared to other quotes on here. I appreciate they don't focus on batteries or large systems.. is that it? Not everyone has room for a 7-20kw array..

unkel

It's 12 months times 10 years times €29.50, which is €3540. Which is very expensive for such a small install. It obviously includes a significant charge for financing, something that seems to suit some poor people. You are better off paying for it yourself up front, probably even if that means you have to get a low interest rate loan.

But if you are poor with no savings and perhaps a credit record too poor to get any loan, this is a good option that starts saving you money straight away, without it costing you a cent up front

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119467436#Comment_119467436

what's a decent price for a 2.4kW system? can we work out what effective APR the SaaS crowd are charging over 10 years?

With the announced FIT rates, it would more or less pay for itself from day one even if you didn't put much effort into load-shifting. Seems a decent option if you don't have the cash to hand.

unkel

Yep see my very conservative calculations, you make a few hundred profit every year at the very least. I don't know what the current quotes are for such a system, we have a thread for that but I rarely look in there. Not that it matters much what APR it is, typical people that buy stuff on "the never never" don't seem to care whether it's 10% or 40% 🙄 What counts is the instant gratification and not having to save money up front. Sorry for rant, I'm no fan of financing stuff, but in this case everybody clearly wins out compared to not doing anything.

Bobeagleburger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119467474#Comment_119467474

Don't be fooled into thinking a FIT will help it pay for itself quicker.

In fact the electricty prices some of the companies with higher FITs are charging might even add time to your payback. Of course, many installers are using such marketing speils, so be careful.

Very important to do the calculations beforehand.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119468470#Comment_119468470

I think a decent FIT can let you get away with a smaller battery

At the moment the way I approach it is that I'd like a battery to cover 1 days usage in winter charging mostly from the grid at night

That can be over 30kWh so that makes for quite a big battery.

Although I've yet to work out how much of that consumption is at night anyway, so I could likely get away with less

What a FIT means is that I could have a smaller battery, and during the summer build up a lot of credit which I can then use during winter

Of course I'd still prefer to have the bigger battery and decent FIT

I think I worked out that a 14c FIT takes about 1.5 years off the payback period. Not a bad achievement, if it works out that way. But also not the money making deal of the century either

Gerry

@unkel I got a 3kw system from a saas company who shall remain nameless. the price.. the same as you quote above. have you seen the quotes thread recently? I got a few quotes, and saas were 1.5k - 2k cheaper. I'm not sure if you have your facts straight at all, sorry..

Colm82

Your right Gerry went with saas myself added three panels so 4.1kw and eddi. Cost is 49.50e per month for 10 years.

Will cost just shy of 6k when fully paid. I've seen quotes of 6-9 grand on this forum over the last 3 months for the same set up.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469606#Comment_119469606

Well I clearly said that I rarely look in the quotes thread. But let me put it to you like this. You provide me with a service and I can choose to pay you the full price of €3540 for it right now, or I can pay you €29.50 per month over 10 years (same total amount). What would you like me to do? 😂

There is the time value of money and also a defaulting risk at play here. If you paid the same up front as it would have cost you over 10 years, then I'm afraid you were ripped off.

fuse

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469726#Comment_119469726

If you paid up front how much would the SEAI grant knock off the 3540?

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469751#Comment_119469751

It's already the price after the grant.