Solar panels and battery - any real world recommendations?

alphaomega16 said:
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@Ron-ski This one, top is string inverter specs, bottom is 1x500w solar panel, info from midsummer.
 
Not sure what the problem is. 15.86 A is less than 16 A so it's all good. Panels are (should be) in series so if you have 1 or 10 it's still 15.86 A short circuit. Only voltage adds up. With 560 V max you could fit 560 / 40.1 = 13 panels*.


*Edit: Should add there is a caveat with open circuit voltage where you could account for Voc when it's cold, because it will be higher. The data sheet will tell you how much it changes by. In this case it's probably not important because there's nearly 40 V of headroom.
 
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DarkBahamut said:
Not sure what the problem is. 15.86 A is less than 16 A so it's all good. Panels are (should be) in series so if you have 1 or 10 it's still 15.86 A short circuit. Only voltage adds up. With 560 V max you could fit 560 / 40.1 = 13 panels*.


*Edit: Should add there is a caveat with open circuit voltage where you could account for Voc when it's cold, because it will be higher. The data sheet will tell you how much it changes by. In this case it's probably not important because there's nearly 40 V of headroom.
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aaahhhhhhh, I thought you added all the numbers up to come under what inverter could take.

I have been having a look on the diy solar forums, can't believe you need an account to view an image posted lol.
 
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Yeah, these nears nearly all installes are series strings, so current stays the nominal single panel current,and voltage rises with panel count. Parallel strings are possible in some configurations, but not super common for typical residental stuff.

Also remember voltage ratings are per MPPT. So if the inverter has 2 MPPTs, then you can have double the number of panels - 26 in that example. You also need to meet the start-up voltage of 100 V too. So you need a bare minimum of 3 panels, but ideally 4+ to be safe on cloudly days otherwise it might not fire up at all. That's also per MPPT too, so if you have 4 panels, don't split them into 2 strings of 2!
 
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reef said:
We had one try to build a nest between the satellite dish and wall for about three weeks. All of the sticks just kept falling out. They're stubborn but thick aswell.
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I’m thinking you might be a neighbour of mine across the road as for years they’ve had pigeons trying to nest at the back of their satellite dish.

If you’re currently having solar panels fitted then you’re definitely my neighbour.
 
Gazanimal said:
I’m thinking you might be a neighbour of mine across the road as for years they’ve had pigeons trying to nest at the back of their satellite dish.

If you’re currently having solar panels fitted then you’re definitely my neighbour.
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I solved the problem last year with bird spikes and we've had panels a couple of years now. I think pigeons are just universally thick. :p
 
I’ve had a quote, which I think is fairly reasonable considering but happy for people’s thoughts.

Option 1

16 x 455w Aiko N Type All Black Panels - 30 year output warranty
1 x 6kw Hanchu Hybrid Inverter - 12 year warranty
1 x 9.4kwh Hanchu Battery Storage - 12 year warranty
Full Installation & Scaffolding
MCS Certificate, DNO Approval & HIES Insurance

£8200 all in
Option 2
16 x 455w Aiko N Type All Black Panels - 30 year output warranty
1 x 6kw Fox Hybrid Inverter - 10 year warranty
1 x 10.36kwh Fox EP11 Battery Storage - 10 year warranty
Full Installation & Scaffolding
MCS Certificate, DNO Approval & HIES Insurance

£8800 all in

I’ve heard of the Fox brand, but the Hanchu seems quite new to the market.
 
Hanchu seems to be a South African brand, not one I've heard of before, but that doesn't mean its not any good.

@alphaomega16

What @DarkBahamut says is correct, most solar panels are wired in series, so the voltage adds up and the current doesn't.

Just to really fry your brain, they can also be wired in parallel, usually strings of series panels wired in parallel with another identical string of the series panels. I have a 4S3P array on my roof, so that's 3 parallel strings of 4 panels in series. So you get 4 times the voltage of one panel, and 3 times the current for the 3 parallel strings.

Its well worth creating an account on the DIY solar forum, there is a lot of information there, I'm also on there, not that I visit very often these days.
 
1pudding1 said:
Subliminal Aura, this quote above is all you need to know about preferred panels really. Just check the specs are to your inverters satisfaction.
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Very vague isn't it - contrary to the Thread title

So much for " real world recommendations ", not much help in here and far too much PV output willy waving

Cya - will seek help elsewhere
 
@Subliminal Aura If you bothered to read the thread you're very quickly realise its not a "what do I need to DIY a PV system thread", its basically a thread for professionally installed systems, for people to give opinions on quotes received, or to recommend installers. I given you very good advice on where to learn and get the information you require, which is somewhere much better suited for your questions.
 
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Jeez, the 'real world recommendation' that you seem to need your hand holding for in regards panels is basically any panel will do. The only real differences between them are price and output/size. Efficiencies are all virtually identical. Just buy whatever you can get for a good price in a size where you can fit the most on your roof.

And yes, the whole point of the other thread is to willy wave and post outputs, hence in a thread of it's own.

Also, i don't think anyone here is using a 12v car battery, so not sure you'll get any recommendations for that. The forum Ron-ski linked really is the place where all options will be discussed.
 
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1pudding1 said:
Jeez, the 'real world recommendation' that you seem to need your hand holding for in regards panels is basically any panel will do. The only real differences between them are price and output/size. Efficiencies are all virtually identical. Just buy whatever you can get for a good price in a size where you can fit the most on your roof.

And yes, the whole point of the other thread is to willy wave and post outputs, hence in a thread of it's own.
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we told him that and told him where to buy them and he still aint happy.....
 
1pudding1 said:
Jeez, the 'real world recommendation' that you seem to need your hand holding for in regards panels is basically any panel will do. The only real differences between them are price and output/size. Efficiencies are all virtually identical. Just buy whatever you can get for a good price in a size where you can fit the most on your roof.

And yes, the whole point of the other thread is to willy wave and post outputs, hence in a thread of it's own.

Also, i don't think anyone here is using a 12v car battery, so not sure you'll get any recommendations for that. The forum Ron-ski linked really is the place where all options will be discussed.
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Dammit - I was searching for Willy-waving and ended up here.


Very disappointed.
 
Not to mention we told him the best possible source of DIY solar information there is, but you can't please everybody!

And if he adopts the same attitude there he won't get very far.
 
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Back to business :p

Gazanimal said:
I’ve had a quote, which I think is fairly reasonable considering but happy for people’s thoughts.
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Personally I'd go with the Fox set up, its a known quantity in the UK and I'd have bitten my installers hand off a year ago for that price.

In regards to warranty, I wouldn't put too much emphasis on its value, the warranty isn't Apple Care, if you have a failure, it may or may not cost you money and how easy it will be almost depends entirely on your installers willingness to fix it. Once you are commissioned and have been up and running for a few months, the chances of a pre-mature failure is rare but the chances of your installer being around to claim off at the back end of that warranty is not high and the manufacturer warranty doesn't usually include labour, scaffolding and all that good stuff. The chances of the same kit being available at the back end of the warranty is slim and the newer kit may or may not work with your existing kit. If you had a panel failure after say 10 years and it requires scaffolding, it may well workout better to replace the whole lot.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
Back to business :p


Personally I'd go with the Fox set up, its a known quantity in the UK and I'd have bitten my installers hand off a year ago for that price.

In regards to warranty, I wouldn't put too much emphasis on its value, the warranty isn't Apple Care, if you have a failure, it may or may not cost you money and how easy it will be almost depends entirely on your installers willingness to fix it. Once you are commissioned and have been up and running for a few months, the chances of a pre-mature failure is rare but the chances of your installer being around to claim off at the back end of that warranty is not high and the manufacturer warranty doesn't usually include labour, scaffolding and all that good stuff. The chances of the same kit being available at the back end of the warranty is slim and the newer kit may or may not work with your existing kit. If you had a panel failure after say 10 years and it requires scaffolding, it may well workout better to replace the whole lot.
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Thanks for the detail. I've not heard of Hanchu, and even though they seems to be selling on the `blade technology` of their battery systems which on paper seems good.

I'm going to get back to the company and see if there's other options for the battery/invertor as well as the two quotes seemed good, but I'd like to check if there's other options.

Also, happy to hear other recommendations for any systems, including Hanchu or Fox.
 
Gazanimal said:
Thanks for the detail. I've not heard of Hanchu, and even though they seems to be selling on the `blade technology` of their battery systems which on paper seems good.

I'm going to get back to the company and see if there's other options for the battery/invertor as well as the two quotes seemed good, but I'd like to check if there's other options.

Also, happy to hear other recommendations for any systems, including Hanchu or Fox.
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Two other main brands I guess you should consider is GivEnergy and Solax.
A few (at least) owners of those systems on here.

I wouldn't have recommended Solax until recently but they have really upped their game recently on software side.

Most installers tend to supply 1 or 2 makes, there are some costs to them of training courses etc plus more to learn with more suppliers.
 
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