Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

The current Fox 5kw inverter allows 6600w of panels with 3300w maximum on each string, so its no good for either roof really as it'll clip massively on the most productive SE-facing array especially. It would be clipping pretty much from 8am - 3pm at least 6 months of the year.

I think ill explain what I'm after when the surveyor comes here. It was a fight the first time around getting anyone to quote with a 5kW inverter. Someone around the corner got a 6.4kW array and they were still quoting with the standard 3.6kW inverter even then.

I want the bigger inverter for the house load and don't fancy losing anything to clipping on a system what will already be yielding about 60% of a south facing system. I'm also not confident it'll work as smoothly as hoped with two inverters, as evidenced by issues people have had on the Fox support forums.
 
I'd go for the single bigger inverter, you'll then have more power available from the batteries (you could add more batteries if you so desired). They may need to replace the cable between the inverter and the consumer unit, but if they fitted another inverter they'd still need to run in a new cable anyway.

Just tell then you want the Fox KH 9 inverter, not two separate inverters.
 
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reef said:
I want the bigger inverter for the house load and don't fancy losing anything to clipping on a system what will already be yielding about 60% of a south facing system. I'm also not confident it'll work as smoothly as hoped with two inverters, as evidenced by issues people have had on the Fox support forums.
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I'd go with what you want for your house load, a 9kW capable is inverter is a great benefit especially as we move towards more fully electrified houses IMO splitting it would only make sense if you were isolating one totally from export due to DNO restrictions etc. and even then I'd still probably chose the local load vs exporting at all.
 
Ron-ski said:
I'd go for the single bigger inverter, you'll then have more power available from the batteries (you could add more batteries if you so desired). They may need to replace the cable between the inverter and the consumer unit, but if they fitted another inverter they'd still need to run in a new cable anyway.

Just tell then you want the Fox KH 9 inverter, not two separate inverters.
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This is what I couldn't understand, its arguably an easier job to replace the Fox H1-5.0 with a KH9 rather than install a second inverter and all related wiring. A higher rated cable and circuit breaker and it would be good to go. Going by the original installation, the electrical work was a nightmare due to lack of space - so much so it took them two days. I have a feeling when the surveyor arrives in person, he'll see what I mean and I can explain what I want. I think sales generally just go for the easiest installation on paper. A G99 application will be going in anyway (they only did a G98 first time around even though I can export at up to the full 5kW :rolleyes: ) so it wont make a difference there.
 
Just had this quote

3 bed detached house (5 years old)

£10,708

12x Longi 425W black panels
1x solax triple power 6.2Kwh battery
1x solax power single phase x1 hybrid inverter

first quote ive had is solax a good brand?

mty annual electricity last year was circa 2800kwh
 
The_One said:
Just had this quote

3 bed detached house (5 years old)

£10,708

12x Longi 425W black panels
1x solax triple power 6.2Kwh battery
1x solax power single phase x1 hybrid inverter

first quote ive had is solax a good brand?

mty annual electricity last year was circa 2800kwh
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Solax had/have a reputation for good inverters, I have had loads of issues with my batteries however.
They are not as customisable as for example Givenergy if your the sort of person to want to delve into HA for example
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
Solax had/have a reputation for good inverters, I have had loads of issues with my batteries however.
They are not as customisable as for example Givenergy if your the sort of person to want to delve into HA for example
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no would just plug and play and leave it tbh

is price sensible or expensive etc, the quote i had i mean
 
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The_One said:
no would just plug and play and leave it tbh

is price sensible or expensive etc, the quote i had i mean
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seems about right certainly not cheap nor expensive IMO

One thing you can do with solax is get the whole house UPS (EPS) for reasonable money.
Mine will supply 5.5kwh (upto 7.5 for short periods) which is damn handy if you want that (and make sure you have the power)
Eg the talk of rolling blackouts I was meh ok then, will just ensure I have the batteries full.
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
seems about right certainly not cheap nor expensive IMO

One thing you can do with solax is get the whole house UPS (EPS) for reasonable money.
Mine will supply 5.5kwh (upto 7.5 for short periods) which is damn handy if you want that (and make sure you have the power)
Eg the talk of rolling blackouts I was meh ok then, will just ensure I have the batteries full.
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what is ups (EPS) apart from a **** delivery company lol

Not familiar with the solar abbreviations yet :D
 
Hi mate,

I'd say the price looks about right for this time of year.

We used Boxt for our installation and have been happy with their service. Ours didn't come with any bird protection.

Day 1 - Scaffolding erected
Day 2 - The Roofer arrived first thing, marked the roof out and installed the rails. The electrician and his mate arrived a little later and started their bit. Mid-morning the equipment and panels were delivered and installed. All done and the system was up and running around 3-4pm
Day 3 - Telephone calls and emails from Boxt making sure everything is ok
Day 4 - Scaffolding taken down.
Day 10 - Paid the balance and received warranty paperwork and MCS Certificate by email.

What I would say is to think about where you want your battery installed. I could have gone with 4 x 3kWh batteries and had them fitted in the loft. However, I was worried about the heat during the summer, so opted instead to install two 5.8kWh batteries on the outside shaded end of the house. Whilst everything is fine I hadn't taken into account the reduced charging level during the winter when the batteries fall below 15c.

The Solax system does what I want it to do. I can easily set charge and discharge times, as well as force discharge to the grid. However, the Solax inverter doesn't supply data like say a Victron would, which may frustrate you if you like your stats.
 
The_One said:
Just had this quote

3 bed detached house (5 years old)

£10,708

12x Longi 425W black panels
1x solax triple power 6.2Kwh battery
1x solax power single phase x1 hybrid inverter

first quote ive had is solax a good brand?

mty annual electricity last year was circa 2800kwh
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Yup as others have said not too bad.

I think demand is starting to drop a little and yes, time of year.

I paid a little more for a sort of equivalent, i got more panels and an iboost hot water diverter, but like for like that is a little cheaper then what I paid.

I'd say go for it, having solar is so rewarding, and you are doing your bit for the planet.

Given your usage that battery will be fine, we only have a 5.2kwh but it's fine, admittedly we don't do the overnight charging thing, but I find during the winter you'll struggle to charge a bigger one anyway, during summer your generation time is much longer anyway, batteries are all about smoothing the power through the day anyway not so much the overall storage, sun in/out etc, it's where they really pay off.
 
JackRegan said:
What I would say is to think about where you want your battery installed. I could have gone with 4 x 3kWh batteries and had them fitted in the loft. However, I was worried about the heat during the summer, so opted instead to install two 5.8kWh batteries on the outside shaded end of the house. Whilst everything is fine I hadn't taken into account the reduced charging level during the winter when the batteries fall below 15c.
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Could always build a little insulated outhouse for it for winter.

382445944_10160617277149807_4690569922993982506_n.jpg
 
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I have mine in an enclosure but as it was mainly using scraps its nothing like that!

The thing about insulation is it slows the movement of the warmth but cannot stop it.
I found with mine that it probably halved the speed of the temp leaving the batteries.
It proved the concept.

I have the solax batteries with heaters so with them kicking in (5c) and the cover I am finding I am getting full charge (depending on what this, so lets say 100% SOC reported) even on really cold nights.

Those little tube heaters like you get in gym changing rooms etc are great for that sort of thing. Have one in my greenhouse which I use in emergencies late spring if needed.
 
I continue to live and learn about this solar stuff almost everyday. Today, we had an emergency power cut. I expected the house to be fine and run off the energy stored in the battery as this is what my installer told me. Nope.

Im still trying to get more information but it appears that the Givenergy all in one system can power the house in a power cut. But not my inverter with separate battery. In order to do this additional transfer switch needed to be installed?
 
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