December inflation RPI 2.2%

[JohnS]

December inflation has been announced.

RPI 2.2%
CPI 1.4%

For installations at the original April 2010 rates (until mid March 2012), the new FIT should be 55.36p and 3.90p for export.

[nowty]

So I make that a total of 57.31p per kWh on deemed export.

With another 15+ years of RPI uprate to go.

Wow, am I really nearly 10 years in already.

[JohnS]

That is right.  Me too.  And by March I should be breakeven after ten years. I offset the financial hit of being an early adopter with the pleasure of seeing PV becoming more widespread than we could dream of ten years ago.

[greentangerine]

My ten year anniversary is in three days on the 19th Jan. 

Not seeing any drop in production - 2018 is my current record output and it would have been 2019 but for my SB2500 inverter failing during a sunny summer week and putting the system down for 8 days until the replacement was installed and running.

[JohnS]

I agree.  I have no drop in production.  The trendline of production over ten years (including projection at average rates to March) is flat.  But this is deceptive as the sunshine hours at Heathrow (8 miles west of me) are trending upwards per the monthly figures published by the Met Office.  In April, I shall try and crunch the numbers and find the percentage drop, taking into account the sunshine hours.  It is not simple as more sunshine equals higher temperatures equals lower efficiency.

[GeoffM]

Mine were installed in Nov 2011, squeezed in just before one of the significant drops in FIT. I've had two periods of inverter outage, one of which was 73 days from 4 Aug 2016 (thus losing some decent revenue!).

I broke even with my latest FIT payment in November, which was a happy moment. I'm now retired so the modest tax free income each year for the next 16 years or thereabouts will be very welcome, especially as I'll be touching 80 then!!

[firepete]

according to my sunny boy i have hit over £20000  return so far and thats not including electric and gas savings . for a 13k investment .not to shabby

[phoooby]

So the rate changes today, so I should have submitted a reading yesterday to prevent a pro-rata figure ?

[john999boy]

So the rate changes today, so I should have submitted a reading yesterday to prevent a pro-rata figure ?

You can still do it today!

[phoooby]

^ Many thanks, I have just done it now. Last submission was November so the winter months have been a bit lean. The beginning of the year was rubbish with all that rain. The end of March has been very good so managed to generate 60kWh more in March 2020 than 2019. Hopefully the rest of the summer will be good.