We had a visit from a guy working for company called A Shade Greener, asking if we would be interested in having solar panels fitted for free. Basically, A Shade Greener fit & maintain the panels for the next 25 years & we get to use the electricity which they generate, any surplus they sell on to the NG.
I've googled the company & can't see or find anything bad or dodgy against them or the scheme itself, however I'm always cautious when it comes to people knocking on my door offering me things.
Has anyone had any experience of this company or these kind of schemes?

This is their site, rlhttp://ashadegreener.co.uk/rl

I know someone who has had them fitted by this company but haven't heard anything negative - I'll be seeing him on Thursday so I'll ask.

Have a word with your building society, assuming you still have a mortgage, I heard of a couple who had PV panels fitted (PV generate electricity, solar panels heat water) and when their fixed rate mortgage was coming to an end, struggled to find another building society to lend to them. They had to remain with their original lenders, who then charged them a premium

Thanks JC.

I did wonder about that Cod'ead, thanks. I think I'll check with our home insurers too.

I believe the idea is that they fit and own the panels and they get to sell the electricity that you don't use.
The leccy you do use from it is free, so reduces your bill.
But as it is only produced during the day, unless you are at home a lot, you wouldn't make much out of it.

Look into funding them yourself. That way you get to sell the electricity back to the national grid in addition to using it. There are some reputable installers around who don't partake in the kind of scheme you're describing. As a ball park a 4kw system will probably cost 7-9K. Even with the reduced feed in tariffs (if the government got their way) they still look like good value. Oh and bear in mind Codead's comments about the mortgage - although its less likely to apply if you're self funding.

Fund the project yourself if you can, that way you get the money from the excess energy that you sell back to the Grid, but you also get the benefit of the Feed in Tariff payment from the Government, which basically gives you cash just for generating solar power regardless of whether you use it or not. Companies like this make their money from the Feed in Tariff, rather than the generated capacity.

For about £5k you get a guaranteed payment for 25 years, rather than the company that is borrowing your roof to do the same.

Buying our own isn't an option at the moment, we are saving for a deposit on a new place & was hoping to rent this one out.
It's just one of those situations when you think, "should I? Or Shouldn't I?"

In that case I'd wait till you're in a better position. If you go with this company they'll get the money from selling back to the grid and your tenants will be getting the free electricity they generate.

I've done a few surveys at A Shade Greener properties & they seem pretty good. The tarriff has just fallen & will probably fall again in the future so I'd be wary about buying them as an investment. But renting out one of your roof pitches in exchange for free electricity with no capital outlay doesn't seem much of a risk imo.

Except as cod'ead alludes to, you need to find out the situation if you sell your house - the panels aren't yours to sell. Will the contract roll over to the next householder (who may wish to buy and install their own panels?), can the panel owner be forced to remove them (etc etc)?

Solar panels are a cr*p way to generate power, even in Queensland, where their efficiency is as low as 20% - largely due to the requirement for the sun to hit them at a precise angle, let alone any issues with being overcast.

Its only by distorting the market above and beyond carbon pricing that any such systems make any kind of economic sense. Like all renewables, when combined with the requirement for backup power from fossil fuels (less efficient fossil fuel-powereed plant than if the panels weren't there) they also don't actually help the environment. Add to that the very high capital cost/kw and the current generation of solar panels are 'feel good' only.

Still, if you get them free and save a few quid every year and don't intend to move house then why not?

The panels stay with the house so the new owner has to take on the agreement. If you want the panels removed before the end of the 25 years then you can request this but there is obviously a fee attached to doing so. At the end of the 25 years you can either ask the company to take them down (at no cost since the agreement has ended) or they will just leave the panels and equipment in place (but then of course the maintenance, repair and any liabilities transfer to the home owner).

Some decent details here rlhttp://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p

A simple solution to saving money on electricity bills would be to turn off lights when not in use and turn off all sockets at bedtime.

But solar panels look bloody awful and unsightly on houses.Warrington council have done a lot in the last 12 months, and christ they look stomach churning. I should imagine that home-owners that have solar panels, will lose value on their homes.

But remember folks, you don't get owt for nowt.

Well you don't have to turn off the ones that aren't in use of course, and don't turn off the one that your alarm clock is plugged into.

I have a architect friend who designs some very expensive private villas on the more exclusive parts of The Algarve and I asked him a few months ago about solar power and why hardly any of the villas on the Vale do Lobo seem to have any form of solar panel, his reply was that none of the properties that he designs will ever have them as they look bloody awful and they are too inefficient to justify to his clients (not that his clients ever need to worry about their 'leccy bills).

I assumed he's done the research that an architect would be expected to do so for the time being I'm sticking with his opinion.