Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

danb21t said:
OK so I've been flirting with more companies to see what their approach would be and price points.

One local company immediately sent a chap round to come and complete an assessment and really talk through my options. Including how to tackle the potential routes from centre of the house into the garage.

Big difference to all of the previous quotes is the 19 panel approach, squeezing in 7 panels on each roof orientation, as well as utilising the space on the rear of my garage.

A 19 x 435W All Black Longi Mono Panels - Manufacturers 25 Year Product & 25 Year Performance
B 1 x GivEnergy 13.5kW All In One - Manufacturers AC Charger 12 Year & 12 Year Battery Product Warranty
C 1 x GivEnergy Gateway Off Grid System - Manufacturers 12 Year Product Warranty
D 1 x Solis 5G 8kW String Inverter - Manufacturers 10 Year Product Warranty
E Grid Connected Battery Management System For Grid Charging
F 5 x Tigo Panel Optimisers - These are for the panels situation on the garage
G All Black Roof Mounting Kit
H All Black Bird Protection Mesh
I Generation Meter, Isolators and all Electrical Components + Cable for EV Charger
J G99 Application
K Access Equipment
L Design & Installation
M Testing, Commissioning & MCS Certificate
N 10 Year Insurance Backed Workmanship Warranty & Deposit Protection
TOTAL
£14,200.00

Definitely a better deal than the first quote I had.
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To access half of my garage means access via a neighbours back garden, I've been round and asked politely. They agreed, lovely.

I've also spent the weekend finding a nice route through from the garage into the centre of the property, where the consumer unit and power comes into the house.

We are all systems go to place an order.

Does anyone have any input on the quoted hardware?
I do have the choice between the GivEnergy AIO or the Tesla Powerwall 2. What is the general feeling in here if given the choice?
 
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They have a few deferences in terms of both the individual product and the wider ecosystem. I’d pick on what’s the best for you.

The AIO is a newer product on the market and has a slightly higher peak charge/discharge rate. It’s likely to get a better supported ecosystem over the longer term than the Tesla which is more US focussed.

The Tesla system is well proven and is scalable now, support for this on the AIO is coming but not yet available. The Tesla also has thermal management on its NMC cells, the AIO uses LFP cells with no thermal management, that said I’ve not found it to be a problem during Jan/Feb this year.

The AIO has had a few firmware issues over the time it’s been deployed but it seems to be fine now. They have been rolling out a further update last week. I’ve left mine as is, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and all that.

I’ve got the AIO but ultimately it was £600 cheaper for me to get installed.
 
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Bit of an odd question, but is there any way to be sure the panels fitted on my roof are the correct size ordered? (apart from getting scaffolding and getting someone to go up and check)

Reason I ask is that when the system was installed, the original MCS certificate sent by MyEnergySolutions showed 15x 390w panels. I pointed this out and they sent another cert listing 15 x 430w panels assuring me they are correct and apologising for the admin error, but since then I've just this doubt on the back of my mind.

The highest peak I've seen from the system since it was installed has been about 5.4kW

@JackRegan do you still have 14x425w panels? You seem to be getting much higher peaks for less panels/wattage.
 
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Pyr0m@nI@]{ said:
Bit of an odd question, but is there any way to be sure the panels fitted on my roof are the correct size ordered? (apart from getting scaffolding and getting someone to go up and check)

Reason I ask is that when the system was installed, the original MCS certificate sent by MyEnergySolutions showed 15x 390w panels. I pointed this out and they sent another cert listing 15 x 430w panels assuring me they are correct and apologising for the admin error, but since then I've just this doubt on the back of my mind.

The highest peak I've seen from the system since it was installed has been about 5.4kW

@JackRegan do you still have 14x425w panels? You seem to be getting much higher peaks for less panels/wattage.
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I have seen peaks higher than that with my 12x420w panels. It's only brief and depends on your software they may not be recorded.
 
Pyr0m@nI@]{ said:
Bit of an odd question, but is there any way to be sure the panels fitted on my roof are the correct size ordered? (apart from getting scaffolding and getting someone to go up and check)
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Some panels have a label on the side of the frame, this may identify what the panel is, if its visible you just need to find a way to read it - binoculars/telescope/ladder + roof ladder etc. Otherwise the only identification is on the rear of the panel.
 
Pyr0m@nI@]{ said:
They're supposed to be LR5-54HTB-430M, but the first MCS cert said LR5-54HPB-390M
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Looking at the datasheets for those two panels, they don't look exactly the same. The cell design is slightly different. Looking at the panels closely or taking a zoomed in picture should make it somewhat clear as to which of the two it is, or at least which family it is.
 
Thanks @DarkBahamut
I tried to get as close as I could to take a picture and the cells do look like the LR5-54HTB-430M (and a bit dirty).



200sols said:
I have seen peaks higher than that with my 12x420w panels. It's only brief and depends on your software they may not be recorded.
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I checked the inverter inputs and the highest peak i see in there over the last month is 5859
 
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Pyr0m@nI@]{ said:
Thanks @DarkBahamut
I tried to get as close as I could to take a picture and the cells do look like the LR5-54HTB-430M (and a bit dirty).




I checked the inverter inputs and the highest peak i see in there over the last month is 5859
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It might just be that you're not seeing higher as you're 30% over-panelled on the 5kW inverter. it depends on the inverter, some can use above their kW rating when charging the batteries, but normally you'll see brief peaks above but nothing really sustained.
 
There was mention of 0% financing for solar installs somewhere, does anyone have visibility of that?

I have a slightly complex but slightly easier use case of putting panels on my 13m long shed....
 
dlockers said:
There was mention of 0% financing for solar installs somewhere, does anyone have visibility of that?

I have a slightly complex but slightly easier use case of putting panels on my 13m long shed....
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Nationwide were offering a 0% green mortgage for solar installs, but ofc you need your current mortgage with them.

Not sure if anyone else does it!
 
I wouldn't bother with the 0% finance deals as they just charge you more on the overall price to give you the "0% apr"
What I did was to take out a new purchase credit card with 19 month 0% interest. So paying mine off interest-free over 19 months :cry:
 
tamzzy said:
I wouldn't bother with the 0% finance deals as they just charge you more on the overall price to give you the "0% apr"
What I did was to take out a new purchase credit card with 19 month 0% interest. So paying mine off interest-free over 19 months :cry:
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Yes I would get quotes as if paying normally wouldn't even mention 0% financing, then I would look at options like the Nationwide mortgage I mentioned. 0% interest CC is fine but the Nationwide deal is actually better on the surface, with a 5 year mortgage term at 0% this is longer than most 0% cards, and less hassle if you're already mortgaged with them potentially.

Not sure if they had any hidden fees in there.

At that point you can be sure your quote isn't inflated at least, so it just becomes a game of how to pay for it :)
 
oggiet said:
Anybody gone down Solar Together route, worth it for overall cost ?
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I did solar together and then my father inlaw did it.

1st me
the winner of the contract was greenscape energy (Ipswich i think) There were a few minor bumps along the way but over all i was delighted with my install and they were great on a few after install issues i had as well.

i saved at least 1k, maybe more (£8500 for 15 panels 5.1kw system spread over my both sides of my roof, with 5kw solis hybrid inverter and 7.2kwh of pylon batteries and bird proofing).

i reccmeneded to my father inlaw.

2) my father inlaw.

much more powerful system but christ its complicated. 20 panels 10 on each roof just over an 8kw system, 2x 4kw non hybrid solis inverters. meant to be a 6kwh battery but due to a shortage they said they would come back and install.

£12500 inc the supposed battery wth bird proofing. (still a very good price)

they never sorted the paperwork for exports, were impossible to get hold of and ultimately went bust. the contract was passed onto someone else who said the battery price had increased and they could not honour so they gave him like a £2000ish refund. (i dont know exactly).

solar together scheme was really unhelpful and just said your contract was passed onto ....... and gave him the new company. these did come out and fit a battery, but it cost a hell of a lot more AND he had to pay 20% vat as not part of the solar install. on top of that its a separate system from the solar install so unlike my setup, where i can see it all on one app he has multiple, one for the battery and one for the solar. the installer of the battery, despite the company taking on the contract refused to touch anything to do with the solar because they said it was a confusing install. i would have been more forceful as they took on the contract and apparently the warranty but my father in law is in mid 80s and not got the fight in him he maybe once had.

All that said his system generates a hell of a lot of electricity!.

so a mixed bag. after initially being really happy with solar together, after seeing how my father in law has been treated i would say proceed with caution. I think i got lucky that greenscape energy who won my contract are a good company, but the bunch of tossers who got my father in laws ..... were not!.

and solar together dont do much other than acts as a middle man to get the contract after that they want nothing to do with you.
 
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dlockers said:
There was mention of 0% financing for solar installs somewhere, does anyone have visibility of that?

I have a slightly complex but slightly easier use case of putting panels on my 13m long shed....
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I think it’s a thing in Scotland, energy savings trust loans?

oggiet said:
Anybody gone down Solar Together route, worth it for overall cost ?
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Get more quotes.

I’ve had 2 solar together quotes and one was very expensive but that was in the hight of the energy crisis. The second was competitive but not the best quote.

The issue with solar together is that they will only fit the cheapest of the cheap system which may not meet your requirements or be the overall best package.

You should expect the winning bid to be for older 390w or 400w panels, they will be cheaper but it may net you a better return to pay slightly more to get newer 435w panels.

Inverters and battery storage will be basic. Likely Pylon batteries with a basic Solis inverter, again because they are the cheapest on the market.

They will not deviate from the spec which is a part of the package of the winning bid.
 
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