Soldato
Yeah, my Gen 1 is being swapped out for a Gen 2, so I am looking forward to the extra output of 3.6kW.
Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?
- Thread starter GinG
- Start date
Yeah, my Gen 1 is being swapped out for a Gen 2, so I am looking forward to the extra output of 3.6kW.
Thanks for the info, how much are you being charged for the batteries? You have two 9.5kW quoted right?
Associate
I've been looking over this thread for a few days and doing research on all solar/battery systems but generally confused on what is my best option to go with so I thought I'd consult the collective knowledge
Currently I have high utility bills which are likely to be even higher as of next month.
Main culprit is that we average out at 20kwh of electricity a day which at bulbs new rates is going to be 28p/kWh so around £175 a month just in the electricity rates
I'm currently thinking even if I get solar due to a less than ideal orientation (east/west) and only a terrace house so not the biggest roof
It won't really dent the main bulk of the costs without some form of battery/overnight rates on Octopus Go
Currently I have high utility bills which are likely to be even higher as of next month.
Main culprit is that we average out at 20kwh of electricity a day which at bulbs new rates is going to be 28p/kWh so around £175 a month just in the electricity rates
I'm currently thinking even if I get solar due to a less than ideal orientation (east/west) and only a terrace house so not the biggest roof
It won't really dent the main bulk of the costs without some form of battery/overnight rates on Octopus Go
Soldato
You need to identify/tell us when you use most of that 20kWh, is it heavily weighted to 16:00 to 20:00?
As a side note what are some questions to ask regarding my quote " GivEnergy 3kW AC inverter and 8.2kWh battery installed"?
- Any timelines on the 4kW inverter?
- GivEnergy mentions a new 9.5kW battery out soon, any timelines on this?
I'm not sure if the new gen2 inverter is the 4kW one you mentioned.
The batteries should be fairly soon as most places now don't sell 8.2kW unless they already have stock.
The quote doesn't actually separate out the individual costs per item, but yes it's for two of the 9.5kW batteries.
Associate
Do you mind sharing the company you've had that through?
Associate
I'd say it's pretty spread out through the day/night
The Fiance has a couple of snakes so heat bulbs and UV ect run most of the day probably drawing 400w plus the general household stuff probably gets my average hourly draw at 600w an hour
Then the rest can probably be attributed to higher loads during the evening/weekend (washing machine/TV/pc etc)
I'd assume solar would get me through fine during the day but soon as the sun went down I'm back to the high bills again so feels like it wouldn't be worth it without a decent size battery
Soldato
Yes, a good sized solar array could easily cover your needs, but you are right to make the most of it you need to store some for use in the hours you are not generating. Pretty much all this week I've generated 30kWh+ a day with solar, but without my battery I wouldn't have used the majority of it, and even now I am exporting as I can't use it all due to how sunny it has been all week. Car is full, battery is full, water is hot, washing all done, etc. But I have 8.2kWh stored for later this evening once the generation falls off and I can use that, and recharge it again if needs be in my off-peak period to use before first light hits the panels in the morning.
Try and break down your real time usage using the IHD with your smart meter if you have one, and look at where you can shift power use, either from day to night, or from night to day in the better/sunnier months. Getting the most from your system is gathering data, and using that data to make your usage as efficient as possible, be prepared to spend some time doing the optimisation.
A decent battery I find is key, you can shift to charging it from solar or cheap night rate to give you benefit of both options.
Pm sent
Associate
Ta very much!
Associate
Yes, a good sized solar array could easily cover your needs, but you are right to make the most of it you need to store some for use in the hours you are not generating. Pretty much all this week I've generated 30kWh+ a day with solar, but without my battery I wouldn't have used the majority of it, and even now I am exporting as I can't use it all due to how sunny it has been all week. Car is full, battery is full, water is hot, washing all done, etc. But I have 8.2kWh stored for later this evening once the generation falls off and I can use that, and recharge it again if needs be in my off-peak period to use before first light hits the panels in the morning.
Try and break down your real time usage using the IHD with your smart meter if you have one, and look at where you can shift power use, either from day to night, or from night to day in the better/sunnier months. Getting the most from your system is gathering data, and using that data to make your usage as efficient as possible, be prepared to spend some time doing the optimisation.
30kwh is impressive, what size system is that on.
Ideally I'm thinking if I had a system that produces 2kwh average (so working on a 4kwh system accounting for losses/not south facing) I'd end up with 1kwh to use and 1 to store so probably would need 10kwh or more of storage to get me through a night
I've been thinking numerous suppliers and amazing the range of pricing and understanding of what you want/needs are.
I'm surprised at how many want to sell you something you didn't ask for - research is definitely key and that understanding soon wiggles out the ones you lose confidence in.
If you've done your research, still take advice obviously, but at the end of the day you've got to be happy and live with it.
I'm struggling to work out how much capacity to get. It seems to be a trade off of cost vs. longevity vs. future-proofing (increased usage) vs. reduced capacity (degredation) vs. break-even vs. chance of night rates disappearing vs. impact of getting solar in the future. It's a minefield!
It certainly is a minefield, I originally looked at batteries only - then thought what happens if the night rate does disappear - it hasn't all these years but you never know.
Dynamic pricing is more likely, so certain systems (like givenergy) will potentially do that through certain suppliers as far as I know.
My conclusion was solar and good battery size, it's less risky and extra benefit if the weather is good!
Edit: for reference I range between 6500 to 9000kW per year.
Thanks. Aware of GivEnergy and Tesla Powerwall tying to Octopus Agile which does sound very tempting. I've estimated our day usage (excluding EV) at about 2500kWh so 6.85kWh/day average.
Associate
Mind letting me know too....you'll be earning commission at this rate
