ᐅ Solar panels unavailable – Additional charges or cancellation possible?
Created on: 17 Jul 2020 12:49
K
kati1337
Hello!
We are currently in the middle of building our house, and our photovoltaic system is scheduled to be installed soon. Today, the company responsible for this, hired by our construction firm, called me.
We had already included the photovoltaic system in the original contract offer with our building contract. In hindsight, it was much too expensive. At the time, we didn’t know better / we naïvely didn’t compare prices because we wanted everything “from one source,” as we’re not experts and were hesitant to assign trades separately. We have a contract price of €9,280 gross for 4.2 kWp (kilowatt peak). (I know, stop laughing.)
The company said on the phone that the offer is from late 2019 and that the modules in that capacity are no longer available. He offered to use modules with higher output. We would then pay an additional €600 for 4.55 kWp instead of 4.2 kWp. The alternative would be to remove one module so that the kWp matches the original offer again. However, that would look bad because we have a manor-style gable, and then one side would have 7 modules and the other side 6.
I said that I think this is too much extra money to invest and that I find the system very expensive anyway. From our point of view, this is frustrating. Our contract included a drawing showing that we would get 14 modules with x kWp for price y. I don’t really understand why the unavailability of these 14 modules should be my problem now, and why I should either pay extra or accept worse aesthetics.
We did some calculations together, and he said we could split the difference, which would cost €300 extra, but then we would get modules matching the roof color and a bit more output than before. I told him on the phone that we could do that, but have not signed anything yet.
What would you do?
Part of me would like to say that we should just cancel the expensive photovoltaic system since they can’t deliver what we agreed in the contract. But I don’t know the legal situation / if that is even possible. Some preparatory work has already been done, and cables have been run to the attic.
We are currently in the middle of building our house, and our photovoltaic system is scheduled to be installed soon. Today, the company responsible for this, hired by our construction firm, called me.
We had already included the photovoltaic system in the original contract offer with our building contract. In hindsight, it was much too expensive. At the time, we didn’t know better / we naïvely didn’t compare prices because we wanted everything “from one source,” as we’re not experts and were hesitant to assign trades separately. We have a contract price of €9,280 gross for 4.2 kWp (kilowatt peak). (I know, stop laughing.)
The company said on the phone that the offer is from late 2019 and that the modules in that capacity are no longer available. He offered to use modules with higher output. We would then pay an additional €600 for 4.55 kWp instead of 4.2 kWp. The alternative would be to remove one module so that the kWp matches the original offer again. However, that would look bad because we have a manor-style gable, and then one side would have 7 modules and the other side 6.
I said that I think this is too much extra money to invest and that I find the system very expensive anyway. From our point of view, this is frustrating. Our contract included a drawing showing that we would get 14 modules with x kWp for price y. I don’t really understand why the unavailability of these 14 modules should be my problem now, and why I should either pay extra or accept worse aesthetics.
We did some calculations together, and he said we could split the difference, which would cost €300 extra, but then we would get modules matching the roof color and a bit more output than before. I told him on the phone that we could do that, but have not signed anything yet.
What would you do?
Part of me would like to say that we should just cancel the expensive photovoltaic system since they can’t deliver what we agreed in the contract. But I don’t know the legal situation / if that is even possible. Some preparatory work has already been done, and cables have been run to the attic.
dab_dab schrieb:
I would suggest having a friendly phone call with the construction company to ask if they would cover the remaining 50% alongside the solar installer, especially if you want to keep everything from a single source. That sounds good and reassuring, but they will likely add the cost again during the next selection of materials or for additional services...
That's how I would do it too. Yes, he overcharged you for the photovoltaic system, but that was your own fault at the start. However, getting upset about it for a long time now isn’t worth it. Try to negotiate the 300 euros from the construction company... He will also know that he made a good margin on the photovoltaic system, so the chances are high that he will agree.
I also think we’ll just go with the €300 (about $320) option, and I’ll discuss it again with the construction company after their holiday break. But in this case, I can somewhat justify paying the additional cost since it’s not much, and we’ll get quite a bit more kWp on the roof. At least I’ll benefit from that.
I don’t really feel ripped off by the photovoltaic system. It wasn’t particularly wise that we didn’t dare to contract out that trade ourselves. Back then, we had very little knowledge about house construction and technology. It’s quite normal that the construction company acts as an intermediary and adds a margin. When I look at current price comparisons for 1 kWp, I see a wide range of prices. Sometimes I think net and gross prices get mixed up, and I’ve also heard claims like €1000 (about $1070) per kWp for our system size?! It’s fine if some website says it can be that cheap somewhere, but they never mention WHERE that is, what components are used, who does the installation, and how well it’s done.
I don’t really feel ripped off by the photovoltaic system. It wasn’t particularly wise that we didn’t dare to contract out that trade ourselves. Back then, we had very little knowledge about house construction and technology. It’s quite normal that the construction company acts as an intermediary and adds a margin. When I look at current price comparisons for 1 kWp, I see a wide range of prices. Sometimes I think net and gross prices get mixed up, and I’ve also heard claims like €1000 (about $1070) per kWp for our system size?! It’s fine if some website says it can be that cheap somewhere, but they never mention WHERE that is, what components are used, who does the installation, and how well it’s done.
kati1337 schrieb:
He wants to install now (new):
Jinko Half-Cell Solar Module 325Wp Full Black Cheetah HC 60M-B
Is that any good? I’m not familiar with it.I have Jinko Solar 330W panels on my roof and can’t say anything bad about them... the system works and produces well.Similar topics