Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

I've been following along on here for a while and I've been looking at battery prices at https://www.itstechnologies.shop/collections/givenergy-battery-storage and they are affordable.

We already have a 4kw Solar Edge system installed in December 2015, but no battery. We can't alter the existing system, as I believe that will stop our FITS payments.

Given how costs are rising I'm now looking at two options.

1. Addition of a battery only.
2. Battery and installing more solar - we have a detached flat roofed double garage, about 6 X 5 meters, possibly a little bigger, no shading.

I've looked at the approved installers for Givenergy, and there are some near by, one local and I think a friend of the boss at work.

Since I started GPU mining in October we have used from the grid between 16 and 30kwh a day, I also farm Chia, going back the peak in early 2021 pre crypto it was 20kwh a day.

We don't have an EV, and are very unlikely to have any time soon, our cars are old, and owned outright, and between the two of us we only do around 10,000 miles a year so it's just not cost effective. Heating is currently by gas, and a wood burning stove that barely gets used. Since mining crypto the gas usage has dropped.

At this stage I'm not considering heat pumps, but Aircon may be a consideration, which can also be used for heating of course.

There is a location within the house where the battery could be installed, so it doesn't need to be external.

What's people's thoughts on what I should, battery and more solar?
I believe we need planning permission to install on a garage roof, is that correct?
Will I be able to get on an economy 7 tariff with Octopus?

How good is the Givenergy system for predicting charging the batteries from the grid or are there better options? Believe a Powerwall is better, but obviously much more expensive?

PS. No plans to move for at least six years, and then it's only a possibility, and batteries/garage solar installation can always be taken with us.
 
Just starting to learn a bit about solar PVs and battery storage - there's quite a lot to consider!! Me and partner are moving soon (hopefully!) and solar is becoming a bit of a consideration. We'll have a pretty much south-facing roof (think it's about 190º), and it's a new build so free of chimneys etc. We're up in Liverpool so I know sunlight isn't the strongest up here but I certainly think it could still generate a reasonable amount.

One of the biggest things at first seems to be trying to find out how much an outdoor installation would affect performance of the battery. There isn't much wall space outside around the incoming gas and elec cabinets to shoehorn - say - a Tesla Powerwall out there. However, the cabinets are on the hallway, and the consumer unit is on that same wall internally. Opposite that (in the house) is a converted garage and was thinking about the possibility of mounting it in there, though one has to question how much I could stomach having the all the wiring and isolators in there - they could become the main feature of the room!

I also get the impression that the Tesla Powerwall is just a more expensive version of what one could reasonably put together "manually"? It does look nice though, and if it had to be mounted inside, then it certainly would ease that blow!
 
Looking at getting one or 2 small panels on my garden office to power my server rack which draws about 1000W. Do you think solar is a good option, especially during winter?
 
GodAtum said:
Looking at getting one or 2 small panels on my garden office to power my server rack which draws about 1000W. Do you think solar is a good option, especially during winter?
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Solar only makes sense if you go as big can you can fit on your roof. The costs of installing 2 panels is not that much less than 20.

You can’t tie any panels into the grid without a professional install for very clear safety reasons.

Any panels people do them selves are stuck being completely off grid so just end up powering sheds etc. off a couple of lead acid batteries to act as storage.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
Solar only makes sense if you go as big can you can fit on your roof. The costs of installing 2 panels is not that much less than 20.

You can’t tie any panels into the grid without a professional install for very clear safety reasons.

Any panels people do them selves are stuck being completely off grid so just end up powering sheds etc. off a couple of lead acid batteries to act as storage.
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You need to read up on the modern micro grid-tie inverters that connect to each individual panel or watch the vid Info that I posted a page back...your info is incorrect
 
Troop said:
You need to read up on the modern micro grid-tie inverters that connect to each individual panel or watch the vid Info that I posted a page back...your info is incorrect
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No, my info is not ‘incorrect’. Installing solar properly is dangerous and shouldn’t be done unless you know exactly what you are doing. Emphasis on the ‘properly’.

Install costs are driven by other fixed costs like scaffolding, paperwork, planning, labour etc. It isn’t that much quicker for someone to install 8 panels than 16. You’ll still be getting charged a full days labour even if it takes them less than the full day. The panels are the cheap bit of the install these days.

Going bigger is always far more cost effective for what you get on the presumption that you are paying for it to be installed which applies to almost everyone.
 
^^^OK, lets try 2X250W Panels 2 x CEmicro grid tie inverters.. second hand panels are £100 each, inverters another 100 so for £300 you can have 500W designed to just plug into a standard wall socket, that will cover most daily background usage of your house during daylight.

This is what my 3 panels has done over the last 2 days feed into the grid, panels ground mounted in the garden.

So your info is incorrect.

UemRa2vh.jpg
 
Micro grid tie inverters are great if you have some where easy to place your panels, and run the cabling. Easy to setup and configure, and the fact you are plugging directly into a 3-pin socket means there is little to no danger to the user. I think a lot of people haven't understood how easy it is to setup a couple of solar panels, and have it generating some power for you in less than a couple of hours.
 
It really is just plug 2 MC4 connectors into the micro grid tie, the cable out of the grid tie to a 3 pin socket, job done.

Only gets more involved if you add a battery to cover out of solar hours.

The graph I added shows 100w being fed into the house 24/7 to cover all background use via a battery that's charged by solar.
 
squerble said:
The fact it has large screws and weighs something like 150kg? That doesn't make it un-nickable of course, but it's not just a smash and grab job :D
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Yeah I get that but I'm guessing there isn't an imei phone equivalent. Sure thieves will cotton onto how much these things fairly quickly. Can't imagine a few bolts will deter them!

Just something I need to weigh up when getting some quotes (if any providers come back to me that is...)
 
Oh for sure. I drove past the house we're trying to buy earlier to have another quick shufty and there's nowhere on the front I could reasonably mount a powerwall or battery system without it being super obvious and garish looking. It'd have to be on the front as that's where the incoming cabinet and consumer unit are... so I'd end up mounting inside or in the loft if we could get away with it, though I believe there's ridiculous amounts of insulation up there so I'm not sure.


Been looking more this afternoon. I'd be very tempted to just start off with a storage pack and add solar PV later, making sure of course that the storage build would be solar-ready.
 
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