Cost to Install Solar Panel for Corner Terrace

[Kellhound 4]

I'm considering to install as well but heard that the ROI of the solar panels is not great. Anyone here can share their experience?

[ZZEC 1]

15 hours ago, snoozee said:

i just standby a 32A isolator at my attic level so that in case need/want to install solar panel, this cable can be used to carry the electricity down to my DB. of cos this isolator may not be able to be used for solar panel but the wiring inside can be used. it's just a matter of changing the isolator to one which is suitable for solar panels.

Thanks snoozee! The 32A isolator should be within reach? And out of weather elements right? 

[snoozee 97]

8 hours ago, ZZEC said:

Thanks snoozee! The 32A isolator should be within reach? And out of weather elements right? 

yes, within reach so easier to install wiring in future.  the isolator should be IP66 rated so doesn't matter if it's indoors or outdoors

[snoozee 97]

13 hours ago, Kellhound said:

I'm considering to install as well but heard that the ROI of the solar panels is not great. Anyone here can share their experience?

industry marketing says ROI is about 7 to 10 years depending on size of installation. assuming a system can last 25 years, this would mean that there would be "free" electricity after 7 to10 years. However, even if the PV panels themselves could possibly last 25 years or more (with some reduction in efficiency), the invertors and other components are most likely to need replacing at least once or twice during this 25 years period. assuming that the electrical components take $2k to replace and needs to be replaced twice during the 25 year period (after 10 years warranty is over), the total cost of the system would be the initial outlay plus this $4k. taking bro cymon's quotation of about $26k as example, the total cost of the system throughout the useful lifespan would be about close to $30K.

so this means that the annual cost of the system is actually about $1.2k which works out to be about $100 per month.

now, if your house electrical usage is more than what the PV panels can produce, you will still need to pay for additional electricity from the grid like during days when the production is very low or at night (assuming that there is no battery storage). even if the PV system is grid tied, the rate which electricity is sold back to the grid is lower than what is being bought from the grid as SP will account for transmission costs and deduct accordingly.

so even if the additional cost of paying electricity from the grid might be lower due to PV panels installation, what essentially is happening is that we are actually paying for the electricity for the next 25 years upfront and this initial lump sum cost is amortised over the next 25 years.

unless oil prices shoots through the roof dramatically over the next few years and/or you use electricity like it's free (eg: aircon and lights on 24/7), the ROI of the PV system may even exceed the 7 to 10 years period.

technology is always evolving and PV panel technology will definitely improve over the years and cost will come down due to production efficiencies. my personal take is that while it's good to go green now, financially it doesn't really make sense now to install a PV system. eg: a PV system which costs about 100k about 10 years ago could now be installed at a fraction of the cost with much better efficiency. So my take is to adopt a wait and see attitude first for PV system installations but at least have the infrastructure in place first such that when the time comes to want to install, it would be much easier rather than having the need to hack and drill through walls to run the main cables.

[TimColeman 0]

Well, I don't really agree. Have you already tried finding out your actual solar panel ROI online? If not, you could estimate how much you would spend on electricity (considering your current expenses) and then divide the system's total cost by the annual benefit of installing the system. If you're actually thinking of getting solar panels, you could check out this calculator solvingsolar.com to know how much money you would have to invest. It's pretty accurate, and I think it's good to have a rough estimate before actually investing money. Good luck!

[Kellhound 4]

I found this local-based website getsolar.ai that gives an estimate on ROI and installation cost.  Pretty interesting. It estimates your roof area when you provide your address on Google Maps and churns out an estimate based on your average monthly electricity usage.

[prodriver6 7]

the site is good: getsolar.ai, offers a quick estimate

can i check if solar panel adds to my height envelop? 

[snoozee 97]

36 minutes ago, prodriver6 said:

the site is good: getsolar.ai, offers a quick estimate

can i check if solar panel adds to my height envelop? 

I had emailed URA on this before. below is their official reply

 

"In general, solar panels not exceeding 1m high (ie. non-elevated) do not need planning permission, and can be allowed to protrude beyond the envelop control in the context of a landed house. This is provided the landed house is not located in areas where planning permission is required for contextual assessment."

[prodriver6 7]

yeah, i found this "guidance" in URA site as well, but it was ambiguous. good that you had a URA confirmation. 

[Topline 1]

On 2/18/2021 at 8:24 AM, snoozee said:

industry marketing says ROI is about 7 to 10 years depending on size of installation. assuming a system can last 25 years, this would mean that there would be "free" electricity after 7 to10 years. However, even if the PV panels themselves could possibly last 25 years or more (with some reduction in efficiency), the invertors and other components are most likely to need replacing at least once or twice during this 25 years period. assuming that the electrical components take $2k to replace and needs to be replaced twice during the 25 year period (after 10 years warranty is over), the total cost of the system would be the initial outlay plus this $4k. taking bro cymon's quotation of about $26k as example, the total cost of the system throughout the useful lifespan would be about close to $30K.

so this means that the annual cost of the system is actually about $1.2k which works out to be about $100 per month.

now, if your house electrical usage is more than what the PV panels can produce, you will still need to pay for additional electricity from the grid like during days when the production is very low or at night (assuming that there is no battery storage). even if the PV system is grid tied, the rate which electricity is sold back to the grid is lower than what is being bought from the grid as SP will account for transmission costs and deduct accordingly.

so even if the additional cost of paying electricity from the grid might be lower due to PV panels installation, what essentially is happening is that we are actually paying for the electricity for the next 25 years upfront and this initial lump sum cost is amortised over the next 25 years.

unless oil prices shoots through the roof dramatically over the next few years and/or you use electricity like it's free (eg: aircon and lights on 24/7), the ROI of the PV system may even exceed the 7 to 10 years period.

technology is always evolving and PV panel technology will definitely improve over the years and cost will come down due to production efficiencies. my personal take is that while it's good to go green now, financially it doesn't really make sense now to install a PV system. eg: a PV system which costs about 100k about 10 years ago could now be installed at a fraction of the cost with much better efficiency. So my take is to adopt a wait and see attitude first for PV system installations but at least have the infrastructure in place first such that when the time comes to want to install, it would be much easier rather than having the need to hack and drill through walls to run the main cables.

Anyone explored solar leasing? Ie. The PV company pays and maintains for installation and sells you the electricity at reduced rates. To me, that takes the initial financial outlay off me... 

 

 

[snoozee 97]

1 hour ago, Topline said:

Anyone explored solar leasing? Ie. The PV company pays and maintains for installation and sells you the electricity at reduced rates. To me, that takes the initial financial outlay off me... 

 

 

the question is how much will you end up paying for the installation? Assuming that there is a minimum commitment period, what will happen if you decide to sell the house before that commitment period is up?

while zero initial outlay sounds attractive, the finer details of the deal must be looked into before one can determine if it is indeed a good deal or not.

 

[leechaorui 2]

Hi Snooze, as the technology is evolving so quickly, I suspect that every 6 years or so, the technology would have changed quite substantially that it renders the solar panels installed earlier appear obsolete and inefficient.  While home owners may continue using the solar panels, some may choose to discard them and install newer technology ones.  

Looking at it from the lens of a green perspective.  While solar power helps to reduce the monthly electrical bills, I would like to check if they are environmentally good in the sense that these solar panels can be disposed off in a way that doesn't harm the environment.

 

Edited October 29, 2021 by leechaorui

[snoozee 97]

1 hour ago, leechaorui said:

Hi Snooze, as the technology is evolving so quickly, I suspect that every 6 years or so, the technology would have changed quite substantially that it renders the solar panels installed earlier appear obsolete and inefficient.  While home owners may continue using the solar panels, some may choose to discard them and install newer technology ones.  

Looking at it from the lens of a green perspective.  While solar power helps to reduce the monthly electrical bills, I would like to check if they are environmentally good in the sense that these solar panels can be disposed off in a way that doesn't harm the environment.

 

with regards to reduce monthly electrical bills, it depends on how you look at it. a PV installation may cost about 20k and assuming useful lifespan is 20 years, this would mean the cost of the system is about 1k per year before factoring in any maintenance and parts replacement costs. so it's how much the PV installation can reduce off your monthly electrical bill. if every month one can reduce the bill by $100, over 1 year you will "save" $1200. But do note that you had already paid for 20 years of electricity up front when you first pay for the PV system. so your real savings from the PV system could be $200 a year. Multiply the $200 by 20 years, you will save $4k. But if over the 20 years the cost of maintenance and parts replacement is more than $4k, then essentially you are paying more for electricity compared to the so called savings.

[leechaorui 2]

Thanks Snooze, that is a financial reason for deciding against installing solar aircon.  I find that the solar aircon marketed in China is only a couple of hundred US$.  However, when it comes to installing it in SG homes, the price is several thousand dollars.  A very big jump in prices from source and in SG.  Probably wait for the market to be more mature, with improved technology and more competition, the price of solar aircon and solar panels can hopefully reach a more realistic level.

[snoozee 97]

1 hour ago, leechaorui said:

Thanks Snooze, that is a financial reason for deciding against installing solar aircon.  I find that the solar aircon marketed in China is only a couple of hundred US$.  However, when it comes to installing it in SG homes, the price is several thousand dollars.  A very big jump in prices from source and in SG.  Probably wait for the market to be more mature, with improved technology and more competition, the price of solar aircon and solar panels can hopefully reach a more realistic level.

Today's PV panel systems cost maybe about 20 percent of what they used to cost almost 20 years ago. Whether it will further reduce in cost is something we won't know but I think is unlikely. Instead what we would most likely see is improvement in technology to make them more efficient. long time ago, these are called solar panels because they need the strong light from the sun to work. But these days, they are termed as Photo-Voltaic panels because they can work even if there is no strong light from the sun.

With things MIC, it will always be cheaper to buy over there. When you ship over to SG, after factoring in all the costs associated with logistics, marketing, margin etc, the price will definitely be much higher.