MCS Scheme Redevelopment...

[Joules]

As a potential purchaser of a solar system, the MCS has made the solar pathway (who want to sell to the grid) a closed group. I am getting quotes with such huge markups on components it is making it not worth spending the money. The MCS engineers know they have the market to themselves so use it as a licence to print money. It is a shame as solar could be available to so many people below the upper echelon of earners.

MCS response when you ask them any questions is they just don't care.

Look at this again in nine months time as there will be scope for MCS costs to fall as the present regime ends. Remember, the present MCS scheme and its expensive bureaucracy was set in place by government to discourage FIT take up largely because the funding ran out plus the cost of solar was becoming more affordable. Any accountant worth his/her salt will tell you that a business needs to sell using a minimum gross margin of 30%, to you and I this represents a markup on costs of 42%. Near enough, buy for a pound sell for two pounds.

 

[binky]

Look at this again in nine months time as there will be scope for MCS costs to fall as the present regime ends. Remember, the present MCS scheme and its expensive bureaucracy was set in place by government to discourage FIT take up largely because the funding ran out plus the cost of solar was becoming more affordable. Any accountant worth his/her salt will tell you that a business needs to sell using a minimum gross margin of 30%, to you and I this represents a markup on costs of 42%. Near enough, buy for a pound sell for two pounds.

The MCS was in place long before the FiT ran out. What happened was slow take up meant the government allowed large financial institutions to soak up the alloted budget by building solar farms. That in turn meant they could meet co2 targets. The budget having been set by how much FiT payments would increase everyone's leccy bills. Funny really, as its now one of the cheapest forms of energy production, but you have to bear in mind solar panels used to be £14k for a 4kw system, I can install the same system for less than £5k now.

 

[ish]

Hence all the DIY installation questions on here. Ish, short for Isherwood by any chance?

Afraid not, just a very old nickname from 25 years ago when I was in the sales game (better than being called Arthur Daly)

 

[ish]

Look at this again in nine months time as there will be scope for MCS costs to fall as the present regime ends. Remember, the present MCS scheme and its expensive bureaucracy was set in place by government to discourage FIT take up largely because the funding ran out plus the cost of solar was becoming more affordable. Any accountant worth his/her salt will tell you that a business needs to sell using a minimum gross margin of 30%, to you and I this represents a markup on costs of 42%. Near enough, buy for a pound sell for two pounds.

Yeah, I get the markup just highly frustrating. Currently, for affordability, you are forced to choose a smaller system to afford it to be installed via an approved MCS or go the route of DIY to get a bigger system but lose any benefits linked to it being installed by an MCS installer

 

[binky]

Yeah, I get the markup just highly frustrating. Currently, for affordability, you are forced to choose a smaller system to afford it to be installed via an approved MCS or go the route of DIY to get a bigger system but lose any benefits linked to it being installed by an MCS installer

There's little benefit from MCs certificate. I used to have that and charged about £1500 to install inclusive of the scaffolding. These days they seem to want £3k for that work, which is rediculous.

 

[ish]

There's little benefit from MCs certificate. I used to have that and charged about £1500 to install inclusive of the scaffolding. These days they seem to want £3k for that work, which is rediculous.

I wish the companies quoting would charge just £3000 to install. 2 quotes I had that were identical in every component etc and there is a £7k difference in the quoted price, the industry seems scandalous

The more of these threads I am reading through the more I think DIY install and not worry about SEG

 

[binky]

I wish the companies quoting would charge just £3000 to install. 2 quotes I had that were identical in every component etc and there is a £7k difference in the quoted price, the industry seems scandalous

Wow! It's fair to say I was at the reasonable end of the prices, but this is the trouble with MCS being expensive and difficult to run. It's made the whole industry a closed shop, and MCS are fighting hard to keep control of it for their own benefit. They tried to stick their fingers into the EV market too, when solar dried up a few years ago.

 

[DJN008]

Morning,

So I went to a job the other day, and the client wanted a ten panel installation with a 3.68kWh inverter, plus 10kWh'ish of batteries. We were then asked to trench out about 40 metres of ducting, plus the scaffold was to be three lifts high, by about ten metres wide, plus take up a patio and relay.

I lost out to someone else, as they quoted £8K all in. Scaffolding alone was about £2K, so that my guys are working safely, and not off a ladder. Is this a common thing where perhaps non MCS are quoting silly prices, and putting themselves in danger from falling..? I cannot see that any MCS installer would cut corners trying to lift panels three floors up from a ladder.

It has taken me months to get approved by MCS (approved in writing but awaiting final QS sign off). Let alone the cost involved.

Anyones thoughts on this would be appreciated, as it seems people are willing to risk their neck to make little or no money.

Thank you.

 

[binky]

Morning,

So I went to a job the other day, and the client wanted a ten panel installation with a 3.68kWh inverter, plus 10kWh'ish of batteries. We were then asked to trench out about 40 metres of ducting, plus the scaffold was to be three lifts high, by about ten metres wide, plus take up a patio and relay.

I lost out to someone else, as they quoted £8K all in. Scaffolding alone was about £2K, so that my guys are working safely, and not off a ladder. Is this a common thing where perhaps non MCS are quoting silly prices, and putting themselves in danger from falling..? I cannot see that any MCS installer would cut corners trying to lift panels three floors up from a ladder.

It has taken me months to get approved by MCS (approved in writing but awaiting final QS sign off). Let alone the cost involved.

Anyones thoughts on this would be appreciated, as it seems people are willing to risk their neck to make little or no money.

Thank you.

That's always been an issue, mostly from subbying work out to the cheapest contractors. Some companies also seem to work for the Vat return only. I would leave your contact details and offer repair service for when the roof leaks.

 

[ish]

Wow! It's fair to say I was at the reasonable end of the prices, but this is the trouble with MCS being expensive and difficult to run. It's made the whole industry a closed shop, and MCS are fighting hard to keep control of it for their own benefit. They tried to stick their fingers into the EV market too, when solar dried up a few years ago.

Well, the breakdown on the quote for the MCS certificate, etc was only about £300 of the total quote but I am sure there are bigger costs involved to stay accredited!

Ps when you are coming back out of retirement and saving the industry

 

[binky]

Well, the breakdown on the quote for the MCS certificate, etc was only about £300 of the total quote but I am sure there are bigger costs involved to stay accredited!

Ps when you are coming back out of retirement and saving the industry

if you are doing lots of jobs the cost is spread over the total for the year. The reason I dropped MCS in the end is that we did only 2 jobs after the FiT was wiped, which meant future trading at that level would be about £1000 per job, with very little in the way of enquires coming in, that can't be justified. Fortunately those 2 jobs, were within the time scale of my registration. As it happened I did 4 jobs the following year, but that's would still be £500 per job. Did quite a few repairs, but that doesn't need MCS, and you only needed the cert for the FiT payment. No FiT, no point of MCS. I have been taking my revenge ever since by advising people how to do DiY on here...

2 chances of me returning to solar, for I have bought a motorhome and know how to drive it.... .

I installed around 40,000 panels, it buggered my shoulder and they keep making the panels bigger and heavier. I have looked at returning to solar, but my shoulder says 'get lost'. I till do a few repair jobs, but that's as far as it will go. Repairs are less arduous on my shoulder, as it doesn't involve lugging panels up onto scaffolding, in and out of the van etc.

 

[ish]

if you are doing lots of jobs the cost is spread over the total for the year. The reason I dropped MCS in the end is that we did only 2 jobs after the FiT was wiped, which meant future trading at that level would be about £1000 per job, with very little in the way of enquires coming in, that can't be justified. Fortunately those 2 jobs, were within the time scale of my registration. As it happened I did 4 jobs the following year, but that's would still be £500 per job. Did quite a few repairs, but that doesn't need MCS, and you only needed the cert for the FiT payment. No FiT, no point of MCS. I have been taking my revenge ever since by advising people how to do DiY on here...

2 chances of me returning to solar, for I have bought a motorhome and know how to drive it.... .

I installed around 40,000 panels, it ******** my shoulder and they keep making the panels bigger and heavier. I have looked at returning to solar, but my shoulder says 'get lost'. I till do a few repair jobs, but that's as far as it will go. Repairs are less arduous on my shoulder, as it doesn't involve lugging panels up onto scaffolding, in and out of the van etc.

Binky is on tour in his motorhome! Assisting DIYers who do all the heavy lifting for him whilst paying for his expertise I feel like I could get a petition going to get you back . seriously I get what you mean by the shoulder issues, I remember being young and thinking of getting into the plastering game, then realised you have to mix 25-50kg buckets of muck and move it around...the thought of injuries within 15 years put me off. So instead I took the route in health clubs and lifted heavy weights every day and now all my joints hate me! haha

 

[binky]

Binky is on tour in his motorhome! Assisting DIYers who do all the heavy lifting for him whilst paying for his expertise I feel like I could get a petition going to get you back . seriously I get what you mean by the shoulder issues, I remember being young and thinking of getting into the plastering game, then realised you have to mix 25-50kg buckets of muck and move it around...the thought of injuries within 15 years put me off. So instead I took the route in health clubs and lifted heavy weights every day and now all my joints hate me! haha

not so healthy then!

I've always wondered about that aspect of gym training.

 

[ish]

not so healthy then!

I've always wondered about that aspect of gym training.

unfortunately not! The problem back then was everyone listen to the big guys in the gyms that had zero qualifications which meant so many people ended up with such bad tendons and joints. Now I spend all my time repairing the damage - we live and learn and pass the experience on to avoid it in the future.

 

[Kot]

Wow! It's fair to say I was at the reasonable end of the prices, but this is the trouble with MCS being expensive and difficult to run. It's made the whole industry a closed shop, and MCS are fighting hard to keep control of it for their own benefit. They tried to stick their fingers into the EV market too, when solar dried up a few years ago.

From a customers view point---MCS have at least Octopus in bed with them now, in May, I had my install commissioned. That same day, I applied to change from Octopus flexible to Flux. Flux import happened in minutes lol, (it would its money for them) Export side???? You have to attach to your application, a final approval letter from DNO (fair enough) AND then, your MCS certificate. So the customers have no choice now but to use only MCS approved installers or you dont get Flux, the circle continues.
When the application was sent, I was told it can take 2 to 3 weeks to enable Flux export!!!! so that ended up being 20 days of free export to the grid (you would think they would back date the export payment lol) 338kWh --(red wine money lol)
To cap it all, page 3 of the MCS certificate had the generation meter details, yes you guessed it, the wrong make & model and s/n. So when questioned installer, a worker arrived took photo and left. Version 2 of the certificate arrived, and the wrong model and s/n was the same s/n as 1st certificate wrong again lol.
I gave up at that point, overwhelmed by bureaucracy, who needs the generation meter anyway as the SE generation meter is far more useful for me anyway.

 

[binky]

How much are you getting from the flux?

 

[Kot]

23p 0500 to 1600 then 36.58p 1600 to 1900

 

[binky]

23p 0500 to 1600 then 36.58p 1600 to 1900

Not too shabby then, although self use is probably worth more.

 

[Kot]

I am using all I can lol pool pump on all day all washing done immersion heater on
On weekdays daughter is running her part time baking business
This month have used only 7kwh and exported 362kwh so far

 

[Ronski]

Not too shabby then, although self use is probably worth more.

I'm on Flux, and my electricity costs for the last 120 days is minus £340, and five weeks of that is not on Flux export. Without an MSC certificate I wouldn't be able to get on Flux.

If you want a decent export tariff you have to have an MCS certificate (Octopus insist on one), so its good news that they are looking at changing it to allow retrospective MSC certification, but I do wonder just how much that will cost.

There must be thousands of people exporting, that can't get paid for power they export, which is wrong.