DaveK
15-08-2011, 19:53
Hi Guys,
Having just read the last few posts on the subject of saving power costs I thought one or two of you may be bored enough to be interested in my story.
A few of you will recall that I have expressed interest in these 'free' solar power (PV) systems. I have a large (bungalow) roof sloped at 25deg and facing due south with no (see later) restrictions to shade any area of the roof so you would think it was ideal for this application.
I first approached 'A Shade Greener', filled in their on line application form and sat back and waited. Soon afterwards I got a phone call saying that they had studied the Google Earth image of our property and confirmed the property was suitable - could they send a surveyor to check meter position, loft space and insulation etc.? At the agreed time he turned up, had a thorough look round, took loads of measurements and photos of loft, the property in general and surrounding area and gave us the thumbs up. He said we would soon receive an offer from the company and the rest was up to us. So far, so good.
We soon afterwards got an e-mail from the company confirming all this, followed 24 hours later by another one informing us that a mistake had been made and our property was not now considered suitable. I responded by asking why and received a response that their Technical Director, presumably sat on his arse in front of a PC monitor in a comfortable office somewhere, had looked at the Google Earth image and using trigonometry had decided that some trees about 20m to the S.E. of the property would partially shade the roof.
I said that this was arrant nonsense (politely of course ;)) and invited him to visit the property personally to see for himself, an offer that was declined.
Shortly after this our next door neighbour with an identical roof to ours in terms of size, slope and orientation but with a 2 story house immediately to the south, had the same company but a different surveyor survey their property for suitability - they were turned down because of the shading caused by the property to the south. I took the opportunity to ask the surveyor to comment on the trees to the south east which had caused my earlier application to be refused - he firmly indicated that they were not a problem.
I then went back to the company by e-mail and asked if, in the light of the findings by two separate surveyors from their company that the property was indeed suitable would the Technical Director reconsider his decision. I got an e-mail respose shortly afterwards informing that the Technical Director had reviwed his decision and the result was unchanged because, this time he had identified 'scaffolding issues'. When I asked what the 'scaffolding issues' were and could I professionally organise the scaffolding myself, I got no real response.Shortly afterwards the scaffolders for the same company were erecting scaffolding on another neighbour's identical property (many south facing bungalows on our avenue :) ) so I asked the guy if he could spare a few moments to assess the potential scaffolding on my property, which he did. His opinion was that there was absolutely nothing unusual about the job and he would be quite prepared to erect said scaffolding. He also said he was the only scaffolder working for 'A shade Greener' in this area so he looked forward to seeing me later :) (OWTTE) . I again approached 'A Shade Greener' with this further information, only to be told that their decision was final and non-negotiable, so don't bother asking us again :( .
I then approached e-on, went through exactly the same process with them and received confirmation that my property was suitable and I would receive a firm contract in the post which I should read, sign and send back to them, but could they draw my attention to a couple of points which made my proposal slightly different: -
1) instead of the normal 20 panels that all other similar properties on the avenue had got (one has even got 21 with a smaller roof than mine :mental: ) they could only put 12 on mine because of the spacing needed around the panels - they actually had space to put 14 panels on the roof but unfortunately they only offered systems with 10, 12, 16, 18 and 20 panels - make sense of that :steam: :mental: .
2) because they would need access to my flat roof garage abutting the south side of the property I would need 'Class 3 scaffolding' (IIRC) and there would be a charge for this of £199.00 !!!
Meanwhile our neighbours, they with the ajacent 2 story building about 4m to the south, have approached another company, Green Energy Power solutions, who immediately approved their application, fitted them with 20 panels for a one off legal fee of £99 (something to do with reviewing their deeds) and they are now taking some of their power from the sun. Their surveyor, at my request, took a quick look at our property and confirmed that his company would do the same deal for us.
I am at a total loss to understand the differing technical, practical and legal criteria that different companys offering the same service seem to apply. I suspect that the way these companies make money from these schemes means that such matters are almost irrelevant.
Needless to say I have now asked Green Energy Power Solutions to formally quote for putting their panels on our roof.
Any comments, advice or explanations would be gratefully received.
Cheers,
Dave.
Having just read the last few posts on the subject of saving power costs I thought one or two of you may be bored enough to be interested in my story.
A few of you will recall that I have expressed interest in these 'free' solar power (PV) systems. I have a large (bungalow) roof sloped at 25deg and facing due south with no (see later) restrictions to shade any area of the roof so you would think it was ideal for this application.
I first approached 'A Shade Greener', filled in their on line application form and sat back and waited. Soon afterwards I got a phone call saying that they had studied the Google Earth image of our property and confirmed the property was suitable - could they send a surveyor to check meter position, loft space and insulation etc.? At the agreed time he turned up, had a thorough look round, took loads of measurements and photos of loft, the property in general and surrounding area and gave us the thumbs up. He said we would soon receive an offer from the company and the rest was up to us. So far, so good.
We soon afterwards got an e-mail from the company confirming all this, followed 24 hours later by another one informing us that a mistake had been made and our property was not now considered suitable. I responded by asking why and received a response that their Technical Director, presumably sat on his arse in front of a PC monitor in a comfortable office somewhere, had looked at the Google Earth image and using trigonometry had decided that some trees about 20m to the S.E. of the property would partially shade the roof.
I said that this was arrant nonsense (politely of course ;)) and invited him to visit the property personally to see for himself, an offer that was declined.
Shortly after this our next door neighbour with an identical roof to ours in terms of size, slope and orientation but with a 2 story house immediately to the south, had the same company but a different surveyor survey their property for suitability - they were turned down because of the shading caused by the property to the south. I took the opportunity to ask the surveyor to comment on the trees to the south east which had caused my earlier application to be refused - he firmly indicated that they were not a problem.
I then went back to the company by e-mail and asked if, in the light of the findings by two separate surveyors from their company that the property was indeed suitable would the Technical Director reconsider his decision. I got an e-mail respose shortly afterwards informing that the Technical Director had reviwed his decision and the result was unchanged because, this time he had identified 'scaffolding issues'. When I asked what the 'scaffolding issues' were and could I professionally organise the scaffolding myself, I got no real response.Shortly afterwards the scaffolders for the same company were erecting scaffolding on another neighbour's identical property (many south facing bungalows on our avenue :) ) so I asked the guy if he could spare a few moments to assess the potential scaffolding on my property, which he did. His opinion was that there was absolutely nothing unusual about the job and he would be quite prepared to erect said scaffolding. He also said he was the only scaffolder working for 'A shade Greener' in this area so he looked forward to seeing me later :) (OWTTE) . I again approached 'A Shade Greener' with this further information, only to be told that their decision was final and non-negotiable, so don't bother asking us again :( .
I then approached e-on, went through exactly the same process with them and received confirmation that my property was suitable and I would receive a firm contract in the post which I should read, sign and send back to them, but could they draw my attention to a couple of points which made my proposal slightly different: -
1) instead of the normal 20 panels that all other similar properties on the avenue had got (one has even got 21 with a smaller roof than mine :mental: ) they could only put 12 on mine because of the spacing needed around the panels - they actually had space to put 14 panels on the roof but unfortunately they only offered systems with 10, 12, 16, 18 and 20 panels - make sense of that :steam: :mental: .
2) because they would need access to my flat roof garage abutting the south side of the property I would need 'Class 3 scaffolding' (IIRC) and there would be a charge for this of £199.00 !!!
Meanwhile our neighbours, they with the ajacent 2 story building about 4m to the south, have approached another company, Green Energy Power solutions, who immediately approved their application, fitted them with 20 panels for a one off legal fee of £99 (something to do with reviewing their deeds) and they are now taking some of their power from the sun. Their surveyor, at my request, took a quick look at our property and confirmed that his company would do the same deal for us.
I am at a total loss to understand the differing technical, practical and legal criteria that different companys offering the same service seem to apply. I suspect that the way these companies make money from these schemes means that such matters are almost irrelevant.
Needless to say I have now asked Green Energy Power Solutions to formally quote for putting their panels on our roof.
Any comments, advice or explanations would be gratefully received.
Cheers,
Dave.