Thanks to HomeSun for sponsoring this feature. Companies like this enable VentnorBlog to bring you news for free.
You may have seen HomeSun at the Garlic Festival or Future Energy Events earlier in the year, or perhaps heard about them around the Island.
They’re a company that offers to provide and fit solar panels to the roof of qualifying houses and in return give you free use of the electricity that the panels generate.
Seems almost beyond belief doesn’t it?
HomeSun got in touch with VentnorBlog to bring their offering to the attention of more people on the Isle of Wight and said they could connect us with one of their happy customers from the Isle of Wight.
An enthusiastic customer
My goodness, they weren’t kidding about the happy bit! After the experience of his installation, Alan Cotton from Newport is effectively acting as a one-man ambassador for HomeSun.
It’s not a blind, uninformed love. Alan’s pre-retirement background was engineering, so it won’t be of surprise to hear that he’s carried out a thorough evaluation before signing up and has been taking measurements of how much electricity the 16 Photovoltaic (PV) panels have been generating – and how much he’s been money he been saving on a daily basis.
We had the basic questions that most people will have about it – What made you come to the decision? What was the experience like of having them fitted and how has it been since?
Why choose HomeSun?
We wanted to understand what led Alan to contact HomeSun in the first place. He told VB that he’d been thinking of getting some solar panels for the roof of his bungalow for quite a few years, as he’d always had a ‘Green’ approach and been keen to save money. Only problem was, that he hadn’t been able to find the right solution.
Bumping into HomeSun at the Garlic Festival re-ignited his interest. Being a thorough chap, Alan went off to the Internet to research HomeSun in minute detail.
He told VB he was impressed with their Web site, “It’s very comprehensive – answers every question and ticked every single box.”
After further research he felt his curious mind was settled, so Alan gave his various key details to HomeSun.
Gathering some information
Alan measured the inside of the loft, so knew the size of the roof was sufficient to take the 16 panels, and checked his roof was South-facing, which was remotely verified by HomeSun, “You give them the postcode of the house. They go on Google Maps and make sure that your house is South facing,” he told us.
HomeSun’s consultant arranged a time to visit Alan at his home, where he learned that two packages were offered – one at zero cost to the home owner, the other £500 – if your house roof is southeast to southwest facing. Alan qualified for the free offer.
“I knew I would be accepted for the free one, but the survey had to be done to tell if the roof is strong enough to take the weight of the panels and their fittings. They also have to check the electrical system in your house, to ensure it’s in a good condition and safe enough,” Alan told VB.
Fitting
After speaking to Trading Standards and the Housing Association at the Isle of Wight council to ask their opinion of HomeSun, Alan decided to go ahead. He signed the contract, which gives HomeSun the right to use the “air above your roof” for 25 years, and prepared for the fitting.
Eaga plc (partners of and investors in HomeSun) fit the solar panels and connect the electrical system. It’s their speciality, having fitted them on many industrial buildings.
Normally fitted in a day
Eaga say they aim to fit in a day. As it turned out, when Eaga turned up to carry out the work on Alan’s roof, it was a terrible weather, with strong wind and rain lashing his roof.
They got under-way, but on this occasion, after Alan’s encouragement, they decided to stop and return the next morning to finish off.
Once fitted, the panels are fixed 2-3 inches off the roof, held firmly in place by a metal horizontal and vertical framework that is directly bolted to the roof’s rafters.
There are a few boxes that are fitted in the roof space and a connection made to the the mains electricity.
Information is automatically gathered about how much power is being generated, sent by the system to HomeSun, who then get paid 41.3p for every Kw of power generated.
Living with the panels
Running in the tip-top optimum conditions of a full sun being pointing directly at the panel, Alan’s 16 panels should produce 3Kw/hr.
His engineering past couldn’t but help him recording a diary of measurements of how much electricity has been generated by the panels, what the weather was like on those days and a calculation of how much money he’s saved by having the panels.
He’s sent us the details and they appear impressive.
13.1Kw on a November day
His best day so far was on 10th November, where the sun shone all day, generating 13.1Kw in the day, equivalent of £1.32p worth of electricity. Pretty good, especially considering it’s in November.
Alan calculates that since the installation in November he’s saving between £2-£4 per week using the electricity being generated by the panels. At the £4 level, that’s 35% of his previous electricity use.
In the five weeks he’s been running them, he tells us that the panels have generated 165Kw.
Recommend it?
When we asked what the neighbours thought about it, Alan said, “They’re amazed – and when I tell them it was free, they’re even more amazed. Then they ask ‘What’s the catch?’, but there is no catch, as HomeSun is claiming their money from the government.”
“I haven’t found a downside yet” – and as Alan comes across as the kind of man to thoroughly investigate something before going into it, it felt like a pretty firm recommendation to us.
