Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

Ron-ski said:
The original system has exceeded estimates, but I never did estimates for the garage system (will when I get around to it), and too early to tell with the latest panels.
Click to expand...
good to hear. I have seen lots of online calculators which are pretty obscure and/or have heroic assumptions into future. So real world experiences always very welcomed, am keeping an eye on the other solar threads.
 
Last edited:
fraseredwards said:
good to hear. I have seen lots of online calculators which are pretty obscure and/or have heroic assumptions into future. So real world experiences always very welcomed, am keeping an eye on the other solar threads.
Click to expand...
They have to use (well should be using) the MCS calculator but it’s very flawed.

It assumes the battery is only ever going to be used for self consuming your own solar and doesn’t at all take into account time of use pricing.

It’s basically set up for when FIT was a thing.

Its inflation calculations were ‘interesting’ when I was getting my quotes originally which we’d during the spike.

I did my own payback projections (man maths) based on how I’d use the system.
 
Last edited:
I'm not sure, not everything is optimal.

2011 OG:
16@250 S

2023 Upgrades:
7@370 E
7@370 W
1@370 S

2024 semi upgrade:
4@430 S

I'm not sure if there's some weird shading going on but from the 4 new panaels now.

1.01 is at 278. 1.03 and 1.04 are at 153. 1.02 is at 94. So it's either broken or the chimney on the house (it's between 1.11 and 1.18) has perfectly shaded it during a high generation period.

These 4 will certainly help. I've got plenty of scope for furture expansion though. There's a new build round the corner from me. They must have 60 panels on the roof! All S facing. Makes me so envious.
 
Last edited:
People don't realise it, but if you get SolarEdge systems wrong, they can sometimes not work very well, the optimisers and strings need to carefully matched. Not sure of the exact issues but I have heard of it causing problems for some.

Mine are far from optimal, but working very well, can't wait to see what they are capable of next May/June

60 panels, all south, and on the Isle of Wight, very nice for them, that's going to perform very well.
 
1.0.2 might just be dirty. I'll check when i'm home and can also monitor shading over the weekend. I'll moan to my mate if I can see an issue.

Mega system - I'll try and grab a photo next time i'm walking by.
 
Just over two years after instal our Growatt inverter is giving an error code, I've rang the company that fitted the system and they're going to ring back Monday to schedule an engineer.
It looks like an internal "comms" issue (error 411) that is often fixed by a reboot but they want someone to actually check it.
 
Last edited:
Werewolf said:
It looks like an internal "comms" issue (error 411) that is often fixed by a reboot but they want someone to actually check it.
Click to expand...
You've probably Googled it, but Growatt states the following:

The inverter reports "Internal communication fault (Error 411)"


Analysis:

When this fault occurs, it is necessary to check whether it is a new device fault or a fault reported after using for a period of time; general new device faults may be caused by vibration of the machine during transportation, resulting in the looseness of the control board inside the inverter. If it has been used for a period of time, it is possible that the firmware of the control board is missing.

Solution:

For the new device, you can ask a technician to disassemble the machine and check the PCB board inside the inverter to see if there is any abnormality such as looseness. If the fault occured during the using, please contact our after-sales staff.
Click to expand...

Another Growatt site says to restart the inverter and if it still exists get them out to it.

I'd be rebooting the inverter rather than loosing days of generation, if it doesn't fix it then nothing gained, nothing lost.
 
I was going to reboot it myself, but when I rang they said they'd send someone out.

I actually just got a call back from them about an hour ago, apparently the method for turning this model on/off was a little different to what was shown in the instructions they'd left, which is why I was delaying doing it myself as I wanted to double check :)

Anyway rebooted and it seems to be fine, the lass I spoke to on the phone said she'd arrange for the firmware to be updated ("over the air" I think) as apparently there is firmware update that can stop it happening again.
 
Last edited:
I have a GivEnergy system that I've been happy with for a couple of years. 5Kw inverter, 8.4Kw battery, East / West split panels and use Predbat on HomeAssistant to manage it. Had some issues when the ivnerter died (replaced under warranty) so don't have a solid 12 months to compare to, but I think over the year I'm almost going to be self sufficient including the standing charge. I use Octopus Agile for a tarrif with fixed 15p export.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom