Would You Buy a Labour Policy From Lidl’s Middle Aisle?
We have been waiting for the UK Government’s response to the Iran crisis, which has sent energy prices upwards. Secretary of State for (against) Energy Security and (only for) Net Zero Ed Miliband constantly claims that his agenda is precisely what’s needed to protect households from the consequences of far-away wars, tyrannies and global supply crunches. And today it came: this morning, Miliband’s department announced that “within months” you will be able to buy “plug-in solar panels” from supermarkets while you’re doing your weekly shopping.
“More households will be helped to save money on bills through plug-in solar panels as the Government vows to go further and faster on clean energy in response to conflict in the Middle East,” explained a press release on the DESNZ website. “Retailers like Lidl and Amazon, alongside manufacturers such as EcoFlow, are working with Government to enable them to be brought to the UK market.”
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There’s many a bargain in the middle of Lidl
But an idea from Liebor is likely a Diddle.
or maybe scoop would scan better…
So now we know why Red Ed went to China a few months ago (and refused to release the Report).
He was buying a large supply of cheap, dodgy, instant fire-hazard, solar panels.
I possess several Parkside tools and I have found them cheap and more than adequate for hobby use.
Of course here we’re not talking about hobby use it seems a hopelessly amateurish initiative.
Pathetic really.
Parkside Lidl tools are the best.
Labour’s Cheap and Nasty Energy Policy
An electrical safety certificate is mandatory in the private rental sector. I find it amazing Council and Housing Associations don’t come under the same rules. Amazed, but not surprised.
This is only true with permanently wired solutions. If it is a mains plug-in solution I think the only requirement would be a PAT test performed on the inverter unit plug.
“…the difference between the middle aisle and the UK Government is that you can take stuff back to Lidl for a full refund…”
Excellent 👌
“Hello? Is that the Government? OK, well I’d like to unsubscribe from your service!”
My default assumption with any government policy anywhere from last few decades is that it is either pure pantomime/theatre or the real intention is not the stated one, the real intention being to increase state power and or revenues.
They’ll push anything sooner than build a reliable, solid energy infrastructure backed by self produced fuel, which btw, is under our feet not halfway around the world
In a sane world, this would be Milliband’s “Citizens’ Charter Moment”. But it’s not a sane world; the magic incantations “environment”, “climate change”, “renewable” befuddle everyone’s* minds into drinking the Kool-Aid and parroting the Government’s babble.
I generally go Hah! at any argument (like Ben Pile’s above) about “safety”: we’ve been overloaded with that crap. But when it comes to mains current, I recognise that I know very little, so fair point.
The argument about the return on your investment is damning, though. Give it a few years, and we’ll be bombarded with spam from dodgy factory-litigators: “Bought a dodgy solar panel? You could be entitled to £££ in compensation!”
But by then, of course, the big money will have moved on to the next scam. As a perceptive commenter here wrote the other day, the CO2 scam will have been unceremoniously dumped in a lane like a tatty broken sofa everyone’s farted on. (And no-one will care about the terrifying atmospheric extinction threat of all those farts).
(*) I mean “everyone who matters“, of course. Definition? Simple! If you don’t drink the Kool-Aid, you don’t matter. No True Scotsman!
I hope loads of lefties splash their money on these solar panels. It will be an education on how little you get back for your outlay.
10% of the rated output seems generous to me, it will need to be kept perfectly aligned and clean for that. They give no power at night when you need it, and we get 16 hours of that in winter. The power that you do get is during the day, and mostly in summer when you don’t need it and can’t use it.
Hopefully they will waste even more money on expensive battery storage. When that, or the inverter has packed up after a few years and they have carted the whole thing to the dumpit site they will have learned an important lesson about the futility of renewables.
I’m astonished that Ben reckons the payback is only 2.5 years. The assumptions that it can be unpacked and plugged in and starts saving money with no additional expense or cost (but perhaps you can no longer use that balcony for drying clothes – no matter, use the tumble dryer instead) is the most obvious issue which he does point out. Now consider who this product is aimed at: People who buy stuff in the middle of Lidl. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’m a snob. I buy stuff from the middle of Aldi but I won’t go and buy a £500 or £600 box on the off-chance it will pay for itself in 2.5 years. When I have £500 sloshing about I put it in savings. The next most obvious cost is the (lost) opportunity cost for that £500. If you’re shopping in Lidl (or Aldi) you’re probably cost-conscious so only a few fools will just put it on their card and hope for the best. £500 should be a planned purchase. If customers buy one of these boxes would they want to stop buying their weekly bottle of Champagne (for £9.99) for a year instead? No,… Read more »
That is consistent with my 2 panel solution (non-LIDL) installed nearly 10 years ago. Two panels, wiring and inverter cost just under £500 at the time (the panels had cosmetic damage (scatches on the frames), hence they were half the nornal price at the time). The formulae for calculating pay back are available on-line and take into account geographical location, panel orientation and current electric prices).
I did similar with 6 ex solar farm panels picked up for £75 2-3 years back. Have an EcoFlow inverter / battery and run the fridge, freezer, tvs, wifi, boiler, ch etc off of it – 8 months of the year solar suffices, 4 months you need some mains top up.
I mainly set this up to have some form of power generation for when the grid collapses, vs saving any money, as the inverter kit isn’t cheap.
I think you do a disservice to LIDL. I have bought their electical and DIY products for many year with absolutely no faults, despite heavy usage of some tools, for example.The days are long gone when they bought surplus and short dated items.
Totally agree – most is made to German standards, unlike the total crap you find on eBay and Amazon now… no quibble returns either
I use the equivalent facility at Aldi, where I have had the odd useful product. My nickname for that aisle is The Cr*p Aisle”, henceforth “The Miliband Aisle”.
I bought a pair of solar panels from an on-line supplier and fitted two on my south facing shed roof. Their output was at 40vdc which was fed via two fat cables though a small hole drilled throught the kitchen wall. This was connected to a smart inverter which converted the 40Vdc into 240vac and synchronised the phasing of the inverter with the mains. The inverter simply plugged into a mains socket and has been happily supplementing my mains supply for nearly 10 years.
The only disadvantage is that due to it being a self-install it does not qualify for any payment for surplus power generated, but this is marginal with an 800w rated installation, sinced the actual (much lower) power will mainly support my always-on appliances like the fridge and two freezers.
Since it was installed on a shed roof no great heights were involved and the only cautionary note I would add is that the weight of the panels really dictate two people to lift them into position, although I accomplished this by myself with some mechanical handling aids (rope and wooden supports).
PS The cooling fan in the inverter makes a bit of a noise when the sun is out full, but I find that somewhat comforting as the noise equals saving money.
“… my always-on appliances like the fridge and two freezers.”
They are not always on. The compressor motors start and stop. When the motors start, they draw a large peak load, often 3 to 4 times their rating.
I’d be interested to know how your installation comes with this.
Well, if Co-op has them, there won’t be any outlay – just walk away with as many as you can carry.
So one then!
Good idea, been available elsewhere in Europe for years. Amazon Germany have a number of systems, one is 4x200W flexible panels £360 (or 2x100W £108) plug and play. Should pay back in about 3 years if you have an unshaded southish facing spot and an outside socket.
Germany has had these solar panels for a a few years. Lots of pieces on blackout-news.de of balcony fires associated with these things.
Two words describe this: house fires.
You’re right in your calculations of savings, but they really don’t need an electrician to install, you do simply plug it in and the plug is not “live” when it is unplugged.
There is one thing that people may not realise though – this will not work if the grid is down as it automatically powers off. You would need a battery of some sort that the solar panel connects to, and then you would need to connect to the battery for any devices you want to power during a blackout.