On Wed, 6 Apr 2011 08:49:40 -0700, David WE Roberts wrote:
Last time I looked at solar panel threads there was an overwhelming view
that it just didn't make financial sense and the calculations generally
didn't take into account the fact that you had to recover your capital and
the interest on your capital (if you just saved/invested it) to break even,
before you started to make any savings.

Now the recent discussion seems to be more about the immoral use of the
subsidies than about the sums not adding up.

When did this change?

Is solar power now a reasonable prospect subject to the usual caveats about
unproven long term technology and untrusted long term government policy?

Having a large south facing roof is making me wonder if I should get some
quotes.
Also a couple of friends who are generally financially savvy are going down
this route.

To toss another factor into the equation ...
While the tech is improving, do you really want to buy now and lumber
yourself with a system that could be much less efficient than something
that comes out in a few years time?

For example, if you spend £12k now and buy a PV system that just about
pays its way provided you amortise the cost over 25 years. What could
you do if a new development makes systems available that would be
lower cost, more efficient and recoup their costs in 10 years?

This is the quandry that early-adopters face in every technology. But
for PV it's a more serious question than buying a PC for a few £00,
only to see a bigger/faster/cheaper system come out a year later.