Soldato
Are the panels East/West facing? I ask as a hugely undersized inverter vs a the panel size/ max kWp seems odd otherwise. Are you going SolarEdge due to shading, or was it just what you were sold?
Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?
- Thread starter GinG
- Start date
Are the panels East/West facing? I ask as a hugely undersized inverter vs a the panel size/ max kWp seems odd otherwise. Are you going SolarEdge due to shading, or was it just what you were sold?
Soldato
Only problem with that is the inverters are lacking as Katie has found out, if you use lots of power then you need a inverter (or multiple inverters) with a decent rating.
Which is one reason I'm going with Victron.
We have some shading from a couple of vent pipes and the Starlink satellite dish. We also have the issue of Seagulls liking to sit on the top of the roof and their poop, which is not an insignificant problem
(we're on the beach basically). The panels are all South facing. The arrays been sized to fit the south elevation, we have the option to take it to 20kw if we add additional panels to the north elevation as well but we're still debating doing that.
Soldato
This is a missed opportunity with larger installs for a lot of people, as there are very few installers who actively recommend Victron systems, even though they offer the most expandability and flexibility of every other system available.
I'd certainly be looking at rack batteries, and a larger Quattro based system for a house with as much consumption as mentioned by @York.
Soldato
We have some shading from a couple of vent pipes and the Starlink satellite dish. We also have the issue of Seagulls liking to sit on the top of the roof and their poop, which is not an insignificant problem
So by the sound of things no real need for SolarEdge and optimisers on the full array then. If sticking with off-the-shelf solar, then I'd be looking at a couple of 8.2kW Fronius inverters, and split your solar PV strings up equally with ~3.5kWp per string, with a total of four strings, for 14kWp across both inverters. This will allow for good generation, even if a few panels are slightly shaded. Then have an AC connected battery system installed (like the TPW) with something expandable, and something that would allow 5kW+ draw by the house.
Or as above, look at speaking with a Victron certified system designer, and going with a larger 10kVA/15kVA Quattro inverter, and several SS MPPT charger controllers, all DC connected to a bank of rack mount batteries (maybe 4x 4.8kWh+). This will allow a fully islanded system, so you can power the whole house in a power cut, and you'll have be able to pull a much larger amount of kW due to a large amperage transfer switch on the inverter, so you'll easily be able to pull 11kW+ through the inverter from the batteries/solar+batteries without ever touching the grid.
Soldato
I've kicked off my transfer to Octopus Go, lets hope they can get my smart meters working/replaced quickly. Should be switched over Tuesday.
Associate
Might be worth checking actually - I emailed them about 12 months ago about the app being flaky and they came out and installed a brand new one free of charge. Was outside warranty as well.
Associate
Yes, I'm on 7.4kw of panels and generated 15kw yesterday and 11 so far today. Both days have been pretty foggy in the morning and cloudy throughout (Scotland for you!).
But struggling to not fill my batteries! (19.5kwh)
Associate
Yes and Tesla Y on order.
Not a bad shout actually, just a bit of a faff opening garage etc.....!
Associate
Already asked about an upgrade but they can’t offer anything. I’m on my second one as the first one was overstating the power output. Not an issue as such for me noticed when I had a Co-charge guest!
Yeah. I've been saving the cricket balls rather than throwing them back so I can at least show how often they've been hit over the net.
It's sounds like I need to put the ball in their court and say either they need to take additional measures such as putting up a higher net, or they'll have to accept responsibility/pay out for replacement it a cricket ball damages a panel.
Soldato
After 13:00 today things kicked up nicely, between 06:30 and 13:00 I think I made about 1kwh, but since then, it's done about 10kwh more.
17 kwh on 31/08, 13 on 01/09 and 11 today.
Very little gone to grid, 31/08 was a little weird because it force charged the battery overnight due to commissioning, it started the day higher than usual, on top of that generation was higher, so it wound up exporting about 5kwh.
Associate
Scaffold went up this afternoon ready for install on Monday, nearly there!
Associate
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- 1 Feb 2009
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Signed the contract for my solar installation today, deposit to be paid early next week, hopefully the DNO wont take long and then install date will be confirmed.
@HungryHippos what size battery array do you have? Your stats make me feel confident that generation in Newcastle will be fine.
@HungryHippos what size battery array do you have? Your stats make me feel confident that generation in Newcastle will be fine.
Soldato
13 x 370w panels (4.8kwp)
5kw Givenergy inverter
8.2kwh Givenergy battery
My panels are split in two strings, no shading from nearby things so it's one string of 6 and one of 7, they are SE/SW facing on two section of L-shaped roof.
I've missed a lot of the great weather so hard to say what peak production would be like, but definitely feeling the benefits of solar so far. It's a really good feeling to run stuff for free from the power of the sun
Soldato
It's a really good feeling to run stuff for free from the power of the sun
It's even better when you can run your vehicle(s) from it as well, and in turn they then run your house when required.
Soldato
It's even better when you can run your vehicle(s) from it as well, and in turn they then run your house when required.
I've definitely considered it, was speaking to MKW about it earlier.
The problem is that I wfh and barely move the car.
I have a cheap to run Diesel that has low tax (£25/year) and I fill it up maybe once every 3 months, and on a tank it does 400 miles or so.
I could get an EV but I wouldn't really use it, and it wouldn't really save me much because my running cost is so low on it already. I'd essentially be taking an EV away from someone else who could use it more fully.
Food for thought though, especially longer term. I have my own driveway and already got the hybrid inverter so would only need a charge point run.
Soldato
Wasn't saying you should get one (now at least), was just saying it is great to not have to rely one fuel from elsewhere, and you are making most use of the generated energy.
Soldato
Wasn't saying you should get one (now at least), was just saying it is great to not have to rely one fuel from elsewhere, and you are making most use of the generated energy.
They're very cool things to have, especially on cheap charging on Go or from overflow energy in the summer.
Even better if you get a model where gov can't track mileage later and try and tax you for extra miles used, which is something I've seen banded about
Associate
Oh dear - disappointing!