Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

The_One said:
surely in roof is less efficient there's no airflow below the panels for cooling

*Yup just looked as much as 10% less efficient*
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I read yesterday that it was 3%, but that's was on Viridian's website and they specialise in in-roof systems. The reduction is only likely to be the warmer months, so over the course of a year it could be lower, but they do look so much better, and no need for bird netting.
 
As ever it depends
I was reading of one called solfit that claims very low (like 3-4%) diff but it uses no trays they are not standard panels they are slightly different edge design so no trays etc.
They can also apparently even have some added venting to close the gap even more.


I would 100% go for in roof myself if/when I get new solar fitted.

No worry about birds, less stuff to catch crap etc seems worth a few % loss to me.

I do wonder about those panels that have liquid in them (antifreeze basically) as to whether they will catch on more in the UK.
They use a simple liquid:liquid heat exchanger and people use them for heating hot tubs etc.

I suspect the 3-4% is annualised rather than they are 3-4% down all the time, but I would be happy to give up some in summer since thats when the impact will be most significant.
 
The general advice seems to be 'If you're getting solar installed, cram in as many panels as possible'.

I've noticed a couple of people over the last few pages have mentioned that their export has been capped to XkW. Does this mean getting as many panels as possible might not always be the most sensible idea? For example if you have relatively low usage and only have a few kW batteries, what's the point in generating loads if you can't export much?
 
NotAGolf said:
The general advice seems to be 'If you're getting solar installed, cram in as many panels as possible'.

I've noticed a couple of people over the last few pages have mentioned that their export has been capped to XkW. Does this mean getting as many panels as possible might not always be the most sensible idea? For example if you have relatively low usage and only have a few kW batteries, what's the point in generating loads if you can't export much?
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Most people with large arrays will be putting the panels over multiple aspects so a capped export is not going to be a huge problem unless the limit is very low.
 
DarkBahamut said:
G99 fast track is quite a bit different though. It's just a G98 for bigger inverters with 16A capped export. Not really comparable to a real G99 with larger export requests.
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I cant get larger export, mine is capped at 4.6……. I can have larger if i pay thousands to upgrade the local grid.

Also surely theres only 1 type of G99….. whether its for small or large export.
 
No, G99 and G99 fast track are different. fast track can cover most households, but if you have AC coupled batteries or a V2L EV then you'll quickly fall foul of the 13.8 kW maximum generation limit.

G98 = Inverter up to 3.68 kW, export up to 3.68 kW
G99 fast track = Inverter 3.68 - 7.38 kW (13.8 kW with multiple inverters), export 3.68 - 7.38 kW
G99 = Inverter up to 50 kW, export up to 50 kW.
 
Does anyone know of a 0% apr scheme that's reasonable?

I got a quote for 15 panels, Growatt MIN 6000 TL-X Dual MPPT, GivEnergy 9.5kWh LiFePO4 Unlimited Battery, at 0% apr from ovo .......£12,500. I decided not to go with them.

Any recommendations?

Thanks
 
JuJuH said:
Any recommendations?
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get a 0% APR credit card and pay it off within the timeframe (should be 15-20 months depending on which credit card)
or if you're with nationwide for your mortgage they have a green mortgage something or rather i can't remember that allows you additional borrowing against your home at 0% apr for "green improvements"

these "0% schemes" offered by PV companies are usually more expensive because they've already baked the interest into the quote lol
 
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tamzzy said:
get a 0% APR credit card and pay it off within the timeframe (should be 15-20 months depending on which credit card)
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And if you can't pay it off in that time frame then move it to another 0% card. Just make sure you have a plan we'll in advance of the free period ending. If your not sure how to use these 0% cards read up on it, as it's easy to get caught out, do it right and they are a great way to get a really cheap loan.
 
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