3.6kW 48V Complete Off-grid Kit: 12 x 300W solar panels, 5000W hybrid inverter, 24kwh battery £6699.99 at Photonics Universe / ebay

How has the price of this stuff not come down in 8 years? My whole install was 5.5k for a 4kw system with a decent Bluetooth inverter with 7yr warranty, all the scaffolding, necessary paperwork & certificates & trained installers. No battery included but the one here looks like it belongs in a museum.
The 1 year warranty on it all makes this a massive gamble in my eyes & I can't see why anyone go for this deal?
Solar is a great investment but I think going about it this way isn't wise.

i have 12 panels on my house (including the extension) all facing the sun (when its out).
in the 3 years my 'super effecient panels' in effect has paid for just the lighting in the house.

The TV, shower, cooker, computers, laptops etc is all still being paid to EON

My opinion is that Solar panels are really the most worthless investment ever.

As the owner of a solar business this is far from a deal - if you were going DIY you would want to be paying a lot less - this is getting close to fully installed MCS certified by us prices

Solar is just not for the British clime in my opinion.

Complete waste of money and time, like i said earlier if energy to light my house and thats it, as for heating, washing, cooking etc i still relie on the grid.

Dont get me wrong in the years and years to come maybe it may all come good.

Solar would be ideal in Africa and Asia with an abundence of sunlight. But the west will never allow countires like India, Iran, North Africa to dominate world influence purely on power generation.

But as for now its a shambles that people are all jumping onto - renewables cannot power the UK fully.

Better insulate your house and forget the solar........................for now!

Definitely a premium price tag for something that looks like it is from Poundland. Even Tesla provides a longer warranty period. There are some better solar DIY kits out there for a fairer price, not to mention that there are also some complete solutions for a fractionally higher cost with some proper warranty.

Just invest in a log burner .(as most people have an electric heater or two in their house ?) And people do chop trees and advertise free to take away. Keep it to yourself & don't tell anyone (edited)

These are only 300w panels. You can get 400w+ panels now, these are old unsold stock gathered together for ebay specials.

Half the value would be in the batteries. Standing charge for electric has gone up to absurd levels so the incentive for me would be to get rid of the electric meter, my usage is down to 2kw a day, sometimes half that but even in the south the weather is not consistent enough to rely on, could get a week without any sun. Some panels do work in the shade so 3.6kw might generate 200-400Wh on a cloudy day which might keep the batteries ticking over but you have to research into the latest panels to find which work best. Ex factory price of panels in China is 20p a watt and panels are 500-600W each, so costs in the UK are hopelessly bloated. On Aliexpress they add twenty percent VAT but not sure if that is the correct rate. DIY installs are legal as long as they are not interfaced with the existing supply but insurance might not be valid if something goes bang! (edited)

How much you reckon for installation?

I've been looking at these types of things and cannot see the value
anyone got a website that can accurately give proper figures?
we live in the borders and it rains a lot not like the south

thanks for that our electric bill is around £100 a month and we dont use much in the day
a work colleague said his neighbour had a install on his garage and it will take 17 years to pay for itself I would like to see his figures
sadly we get some of the lowest amount of sunshine in the UK

I use around 150kwh a month of electricity, is it worth getting solar?

Are Solar panels worth it?

Absolutely if you use enough electric to justify it. I wouldn't be buying these ones though!

"they don't work in the UK"

I am currently sat in the middle of Storm Mathis down here in Cornwall, its pouring with rain and:

Yes, that's 1.5kw of solar being generated during rain.

I would suggest doing your own research though rather than listening to some of the absolutely nonsense and incorrect comments on here such as exporting electric is impossible.

Has anybody found any cheaper?
I cannot see anyone posting links to anything even near equivalent for someone looking for an off-grid solution.


I am pretty sure you can buy cheaper if you buy direct from China on aliexpress without warranty. But that applies to any and everything!