Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

You have a big array as well so I imagine your export capacity is good :)
indeed and for july, august I was exporting a bit during the day even with the AC going full whack and batteries charging, yet still getting through to the next morning with 30% left. As others have said I could easily fll the batteries up each night then export everything over and above my needs for profit and dump a 7.8kwh out of the batteries 4-7 each evening and still be up significantly up each day. whilst giving me the option to charge the car at pretty much the same rates i'm paying currently on my fixed rate which expires in October.
 
indeed and for july, august I was exporting a bit during the day even with the AC going full whack and batteries charging, yet still getting through to the next morning with 30% left. As others have said I could easily fll the batteries up each night then export everything over and above my needs for profit and dump a 7.8kwh out of the batteries 4-7 each evening and still be up significantly up each day. whilst giving me the option to charge the car at pretty much the same rates i'm paying currently on my fixed rate which expires in October.

Sounds like a win for sure :)

I'll re-visit in a bit, but not too worried, worst case I'm on Go and off-peak is extremely cheap currently. If the rates stay the same I'd probably look at switching over early May, because by then I think I'll start heading into more generation territory and less requirement to rely on Go off-peak charging.
 
Screenshot_20230218-155952.png

Seems I've lucked out on postcode as well in terms of standing charge and export. Otherwise it's a little higher than you from the grid.
yeh it does seem there are a few regional differences…..24p a lot better than 15 though and im guessing during tye peak of 4 til 7 come end of march we will be exporting rather than importing.
 
Sounds like a win for sure :)

I'll re-visit in a bit, but not too worried, worst case I'm on Go and off-peak is extremely cheap currently. If the rates stay the same I'd probably look at switching over early May, because by then I think I'll start heading into more generation territory and less requirement to rely on Go off-peak charging.
Indeed, actually makes sense to fill up the car from flux and export maximum amounts during the day. Could easily get through the 4 to 7 without using anything and in the summer I'll still be doing good generation until 6 or so!

Will look to move over to octopus next month and hope it's available.
 
Flux makes the most sense if you export a lot, particularly if you export more than you import.

As soon as you add an EV into the mix (unless you have a huge array) and go/intelligent is probably the way forward.
 
Flux makes the most sense if you export a lot, particularly if you export more than you import.

As soon as you add an EV into the mix (unless you have a huge array) and go/intelligent is probably the way forward.

Yes that's the conclusion we've drawn as well so it's good to hear that being interpreted from others. :)

Also although not always that sensible I like to be an early adopter it's in my nature to try stuff out! :D

Besides you can always move back to a different tariff if it doesn't work out for you.

Those of you with EVs I don't really know the benefits of Go other than cheaper night time charging? So probably doesn't make sense to switch since I guess charging an EV means you'll basically never really have export to give?
 
Hi all,

Been reading this thread for some time and considering solar panels for a long time. Finally got round to getting some quotes in, and they're more expensive than i was anticipating given some of the recent quotes people have quoted. Unfortunately I have a hipped roof, and despite having the same size house as my next door neighbour, him having an open gable means he can fit 20 panels on his south facing roof (and has them) and I can only fit 8. For the quotes i will preface them by saying that i do (unfortunately) have a conservatory (came with house) at the back which would make scaffolding less simple i guess, here are the quotes in any case:

First quote

Equipment Costs
8x Eurener 415W all black MEPV108 solar PV panels £1,801.87
1x SolaX X1 G4 3.7D hybrid inverter £2,163.47
1x Emlite Bi-directional Meter ECA2.nv £75.28
1x Label sheet £3.89
1x Solax TP30 BMU £584.73
2x AC isolators - KN Newbury 20A 4-pole £56.74
2x Solax TP 3.0kWh battery cells £2,760.91
1x K&N DC isolator - KG20-4 £55.04
2x Pair of MC4 connectors £8.73
50m reel of 4mm2 solar cable £89.10
12x Clenergy end clamps (30mm black) £42.93
10x Clenergy mid clamps (30mm black) £35.77
22x Clenergy portrait concrete tile roof hooks £297.00
4x Clenergy rail splices £20.97
6x Clenergy silver rails 3300mm £233.55
Tigo Optimisers for 8x panel array £606.67
Bird protection for 8x panel array £480.00
Total equipment cost £9,316.66

Services Costs
Entire Solar PV & Battery Storage Installation £1,845.00
Scaffolding as required for safe access £930.00
MCS Certifcation £30.00
HIES Insurance Backed Guarantee £0.00
Total services cost £2,805.00

Total before tax £12,121.66



My other quote was somewhat less detailed:


To Supply and install 8x365w(2.92kwp) panels on a solar edge inverter system
with a 10kwh battery bank

£15,796.00

To supply and install stainless steel pigeon meshing (on same day and optional) £495.00




Now i know that if i up the first quote to 3 cells i'll be adding another £1,300 to that for a £13,500 cost, but its still £2.3k cheaper than the other, but also for only 8 panels, a lot more expensive that other quotes i've seen on here.

Thoughts???
 
I’m no expert but they seem a bit pricy to me but that said, the first includes bird mesh and optimisers.

I presume you are being quoted solar edge / Tiago optimisers because you have shading issues? That is adding a lot of cost, that and bird netting is £1,100.

Scaffolding seems expensive, even factoring in the conservatory. I was given a similar quote for my east-west array with a conservatory on one of the sides.
 
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I’m no expert but they seem a bit pricy to me but that said, the first includes bird mesh and optimisers.

I presume you are being quoted solar edge / Tiago optimisers because you have shading issues? That is adding a lot of cost, that and bird netting is £1,100.

Scaffolding seems expensive, even factoring in the conservatory. I was given a similar quote for my east-west array with a conservatory on one of the sides.
I do have a bit of shading yes, neighbour behind has a big tree he cannot take down due to TPO that will block some of the mid morning light in winter.

Latter quote also includes optimisers, from what i was told when speaking with him. FIrst quote haven't come out, quoted all remotely and won't come out to survey unless i pick them..... second one has come out.
 
These quotes seem a little high for just 3kWp, but you are paying for them just appearing I think to some degree.

Sadly the case might be that solar just isn't a great fit on all houses, especially if you can't get enough panels up to really justify the cost, and require additional things like optimisers :(

Guessing the answer is no, but do you happen to have some nice large out-building you can put panels on like a shed, garage etc?
 
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These quotes seem a little high for just 3kWp, but you are paying for them just appearing I think to some degree.

Sadly the case might be that solar just isn't a great fit on all houses, especially if you can't get enough panels up to really justify the cost, and require additional things like optimisers :(

Guessing the answer is no, but do you happen to have some nice large out-building you can put panels on like a shed, garage etc?
Nope. Its a fairly large detached home, just a stupid hipped roof which means my south facing roof is not as large as next doors. Otherwise identical houses, but he can get 20 on his, i can get 8. Have a conservatory that will need a new roof to make it less a furnace in the summer and a freezer in the winter (thinking proper roof and could get more panels on there in future) but not many.

I thought the quotes were high for it too.
 
Yeah in your shoes and with those quotes I would consider just waiting for now, prices for solar could wind up coming down. Either that or get more quotes in.

Especially if you can get a bigger future job arranged that covers more panels going onto the new roof as well. Then you can get more output for your money.

Optimisers do add an extra cost per panel though, solar edge seem better regarded than tigo.
 
Nope. Its a fairly large detached home, just a stupid hipped roof which means my south facing roof is not as large as next doors. Otherwise identical houses, but he can get 20 on his, i can get 8. Have a conservatory that will need a new roof to make it less a furnace in the summer and a freezer in the winter (thinking proper roof and could get more panels on there in future) but not many.

I thought the quotes were high for it too.

Do you have a picture with the orientation of your roof?

Even if you can't get south east/west can be effective too.

For such a small system that does seem expensive. I paid similar for double the panels and battery. But that was a price I locked in summer last year.
 
Hi all,

Been reading this thread for some time and considering solar panels for a long time. Finally got round to getting some quotes in, and they're more expensive than i was anticipating given some of the recent quotes people have quoted. Unfortunately I have a hipped roof, and despite having the same size house as my next door neighbour, him having an open gable means he can fit 20 panels on his south facing roof (and has them) and I can only fit 8. For the quotes i will preface them by saying that i do (unfortunately) have a conservatory (came with house) at the back which would make scaffolding less simple i guess, here are the quotes in any case:

First quote

Equipment Costs
8x Eurener 415W all black MEPV108 solar PV panels £1,801.87
1x SolaX X1 G4 3.7D hybrid inverter £2,163.47
1x Emlite Bi-directional Meter ECA2.nv £75.28
1x Label sheet £3.89
1x Solax TP30 BMU £584.73
2x AC isolators - KN Newbury 20A 4-pole £56.74
2x Solax TP 3.0kWh battery cells £2,760.91
1x K&N DC isolator - KG20-4 £55.04
2x Pair of MC4 connectors £8.73
50m reel of 4mm2 solar cable £89.10
12x Clenergy end clamps (30mm black) £42.93
10x Clenergy mid clamps (30mm black) £35.77
22x Clenergy portrait concrete tile roof hooks £297.00
4x Clenergy rail splices £20.97
6x Clenergy silver rails 3300mm £233.55
Tigo Optimisers for 8x panel array £606.67
Bird protection for 8x panel array £480.00
Total equipment cost £9,316.66

Services Costs
Entire Solar PV & Battery Storage Installation £1,845.00
Scaffolding as required for safe access £930.00
MCS Certifcation £30.00
HIES Insurance Backed Guarantee £0.00
Total services cost £2,805.00

Total before tax £12,121.66



My other quote was somewhat less detailed:

To Supply and install 8x365w(2.92kwp) panels on a solar edge inverter system
with a 10kwh battery bank

£15,796.00

To supply and install stainless steel pigeon meshing (on same day and optional) £495.00




Now i know that if i up the first quote to 3 cells i'll be adding another £1,300 to that for a £13,500 cost, but its still £2.3k cheaper than the other, but also for only 8 panels, a lot more expensive that other quotes i've seen on here.

Thoughts???
Just for reference here….i had a 3.2kwh system fitted in October of last year with a growatt 3.6kwh inverter. No battery

and it was 5.3k fully fitted and installed.
 
Likewise, I locked in 20 panels, east west (double scaffold and conservatory), 9.5kwh battery and 5kwh inverter for only a bit more than that (14.5k). No optimisers or bird protection though. Not fitted yet, just waiting for date.

The highest quote I had was over £21k but that included about £600 of bird protection.
 
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