Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

[200sols]

Same although not sure that comes with a gateway or not.

Yes, fully installed.

 

[2013]

Homes yes, business not sure.
No more grants for solar for home unless you're in receipt of benefits I think.
Heat pumps yes: https://www.gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme/what-you-can-get


Absolutely. You'll need to do your own maths to check your expected ROI.



For most of these, the ROI is about 10 years on average so you're playing the long game.
For solar you'd want as many panels as possible and a battery storage to smooth out the peaks and troughs of production and usage.
For heat pump systems you'll need a water tank as a heat store.

I dont think my area had grants in a decade, what type of panels should they supply ? as a guestimate how much would I be looking at supplied and fitted ?

As far as solar panels go, you want to fit as many panels on your roof as possible. Most of the cost these days is in the installation and it’s largely fixed (labour scaffold etc) so you want to spread that over as many panels as possible to get the best return. This is worth it even if your system is oversized and export rates are currently quite good.

As far as inverters and batteries goes, it depends on your energy usage and if you have any specific wants/needs. There is absolutely a sweet spot when it comes to battery storage depending on how many kWh you use per day.

How much gas and electric do you use? What is your typical peak power draw*?
Do you have a smart meter?
Do you have an EV?

*e.g. when you turn your appliances on to cook dinner, how much in w or kw are you pulling per your smart meter display?

In terms of installers you are likely to get the best deal from someone local. The equipment is generally reliable and it really comes down to the quality of the general workmanship. You also need somewhere for a hot water cylinder, this can be a loft or garage if needed.

As for a heat pump, that is a separate thread but there are huge £7500 grants currently available. You will want to factor that into your sizing for solar and batteries. Take 1/4 of your gas kWh usage and that is roughly what a heat pump would use as electricity for the same amount of heat.

People say heat pumps are complicated but they are really not, the domestic heating industry in the U.K. have simply dropped the ball. The way we approach heat pumps should have been the way we approach gas heating ever since the condensing boiler was invented nearly two decades ago.

The key thing to know about a heat pump is that they want to work 24/7 to slowly trickle in the heat to your house using a system called weather compensation. The colder it is, the more heat your house is leaking so the more heat they trickle in to maintain the temperature. I’d suggest looking at youtube for some basic overviews of installations. If you really want to get your nerd on, look at the ‘heat geek’ channel.

In terms of heat pumps, the equipment is generally excellent all of the issues relate to installers who simply don’t have a clue. You need to find an installer that knows that they are doing.

All installers must undertake what’s called a heat loss survey (we should have been doing this with gas…) - you may have to pay for this due to the time it takes. This measures the heat loss, insulation levels, existing radiators and pipework of every single room in your house. They use this information to determine if any radiators or pipework needs swapping for larger ones due to the lower radiator temperatures used to maximise efficiency.

If your installer hasn’t gone around every room, measures every door, window etc. to measure the heat loss before installing, cut them loose.

You can get an entry level install from the likes of Octopus, British Gas or Eon, it will be good enough to match or beat the running costs of a good gas boiler. The downside of these companies is that they are ‘big box installers’ and they will only install what they install and there is limited flexibility.

If your property is more complex or you want something more bespoke, you may be better off with an installer affiliated with Heat Geek. It will cost more but they sell a better product which will perform slightly better overall and therefore use less energy.

Thats enough heat pump talk for this thread, there is a big thread in home and garden where I can pick up any questions.

P.S. I’ve got a heat pump, solar, battery and EV so can cover all of these.

My energy bill is normally split 60/40 to electricity my bill at the moment is about £60-£100 this coming month could be more. I dont have a smart meter or a EV. I have no idea how much w or kw are im pulling, I never really thought about the hot water cylinder, we had a old one in the bathroom about 8 years ago when we updated the bathroom but we took it out.

"The issues relate to installers who simply don’t have a clue." this is the main reason I never got solar or heat pump years a go, the people who had near me, had too many issues.

Is it worth upgrading now or just wait till next year ? what kind of cost would I be looking at, and do suppliers still offer monthly payment option

 

[b0rn2sk8]

I dont think my area had grants in a decade, what type of panels should they supply ? as a guestimate how much would I be looking at supplied and fitted ?

Where do you live? In England, the ECO4 grant applies if you are on an income related benefit (e.g. universal credit or pension credit).

My energy bill is normally split 60/40 to electricity my bill at the moment is about £60-£100 this coming month could be more.

Have a look at your latest bill, it will have an annual usage or projection figure in kWh for both gas and electric. Post those numbers - the amount in £ you pay isn't super relevant as the costs vary materially by region and can be warped by the standing charge.

I dont have a smart meter or a EV.

First port of call is to get a smart meter installed, you need one for solar and its free.

I have no idea how much w or kw are im pulling,

Get a smart meter

I never really thought about the hot water cylinder, we had a old one in the bathroom about 8 years ago when we updated the bathroom but we took it out.

On the heat pump side you'll need to think about this, it can go in the loft or an attached garage if needed. It needs to be 'inside' but it can be an unheated space.

"The issues relate to installers who simply don’t have a clue." this is the main reason I never got solar or heat pump years a go, the people who had near me, had too many issues.

Is it worth upgrading now or just wait till next year ? what kind of cost would I be looking at, and do suppliers still offer monthly payment option

Finance will be expensive and cut into any returns you can expect from solar significantly due to interest rates. Do you have a mortgage? Some providers (e.g. Nationwide) are doing 0% loans for their mortgage customers for solar, otherwise I'd I'm not sure it is worth it due to the interest costs.

You need to run the numbers for your own property and financial circumstances. There is no RIO on heat pumps, installing it should be considered as a boiler replacement and a sunk cost upgrade to the house. It will cost less to run (potentially a material amount less with solar/battery) but it will never 'pay back' like a solar install would.

We are pretty much in a golden age of solar at the moment, export rates are very high, solar panels are so cheap and so good now and batteries have come down massively. Labour prices are going up and will only ever go up. Solar panels are getting better every year but panels are now so cheap (e.g. <£70 per panel wholesale), its hard to see how they can get cheaper, installation is now more expensive than the hardware for a solar only install (no battery). The quicker you get them, the quicker you benefit but I wouldn't get a loan unless it was very low/no cost.

As for heat pumps, they are as cheap as they are going to get and I can't see the price coming down. They have been around for decades and are installed widely across Europe, the UK is the exception. They already mass produced at huge volumes and while they are getting better, the big advances have already been made. Almost all of the cost is driven by retrofitting and labour. I had 4-5 people here for the best part of a week doing mine, that's a huge labour cost. If you are designing from scratch, the marginal cost to fitting a gas system is negligible.

The really good installers are taking advantage of the general shortage of skilled labour and making hay while they can but they tend to focus on high end/bespoke jobs. The likes of Octopus are competing hard at the entry level at a very competitive price (IMO). The grant for a heat pump is very generous, I can't see it going up. I'd say get in before the masses wake up and realise they are actually good bits of kit and cash in on the government grant - I'd expect it to be around a little while but as far as I am aware there is a fixed pot of cash and once its gone, its gone unless the government provides more funding.

 

[2013]

Have a look at your latest bill, it will have an annual usage or projection figure in kWh for both gas and electric. Post those numbers - the amount in £ you pay isn't super relevant as the costs vary materially by region and can be warped by the standing charge.

Estimated Annual Usage 2305.5 kWh

Where do you live? In England, the ECO4 grant applies if you are on an income related benefit (e.g. universal credit or pension credit).

I'm not on (e.g. universal credit or pension credit). but family member does get disability and pension credit that lives at the same address.

Have a look at your latest bill, it will have an annual usage or projection figure in kWh for both gas and electric. Post those numbers - the amount in £ you pay isn't super relevant as the costs vary materially by region and can be warped by the standing charge.

Estimated Annual Usage 2305.5 kWh

First port of call is to get a smart meter installed, you need one for solar and its free.

I've been hesitant for years, due to the downside and the issues the first gen had, and a family member got way over changed and other issues when he changed years ago taking months to fight, are the new gen any better ?

On the heat pump side you'll need to think about this, it can go in the loft or an attached garage if needed. It needs to be 'inside' but it can be an unheated space.

I dont have a garage but do have a loft (but the access maybe too narrow) and cellar.

Finance will be expensive and cut into any returns you can expect from solar significantly due to interest rates. Do you have a mortgage? Some providers (e.g. Nationwide) are doing 0% loans for their mortgage customers for solar, otherwise I'd I'm not sure it is worth it due to the interest costs.

You need to run the numbers for your own property and financial circumstances. There is no RIO on heat pumps, installing it should be considered as a boiler replacement and a sunk cost upgrade to the house. It will cost less to run (potentially a material amount less with solar/battery) but it will never 'pay back' like a solar install would.

We are pretty much in a golden age of solar at the moment, export rates are very high, solar panels are so cheap and so good now and batteries have come down massively. Labour prices are going up and will only ever go up. Solar panels are getting better every year but panels are now so cheap (e.g. <£70 per panel wholesale), its hard to see how they can get cheaper, installation is now more expensive than the hardware for a solar only install (no battery). The quicker you get them, the quicker you benefit but I wouldn't get a loan unless it was very low/no cost.

As for heat pumps, they are as cheap as they are going to get and I can't see the price coming down. They have been around for decades and are installed widely across Europe, the UK is the exception. They already mass produced at huge volumes and while they are getting better, the big advances have already been made. Almost all of the cost is driven by retrofitting and labour. I had 4-5 people here for the best part of a week doing mine, that's a huge labour cost. If you are designing from scratch, the marginal cost to fitting a gas system is negligible.

The really good installers are taking advantage of the general shortage of skilled labour and making hay while they can but they tend to focus on high end/bespoke jobs. The likes of Octopus are competing hard at the entry level at a very competitive price (IMO). The grant for a heat pump is very generous, I can't see it going up. I'd say get in before the masses wake up and realise they are actually good bits of kit and cash in on the government grant - I'd expect it to be around a little while but as far as I am aware there is a fixed pot of cash and once its gone, its gone unless the government provides more funding.

The property paid off, I'm not sure how affordable it would be, I'm not sure I could get the full solar package and pay it off in full without having money issues down the line. from a quote a neighbour shared with me, he got quoted £6000 last month,
do you have a link to the government grant, I don't think i've ever found a government grant beyond the basic insulation in my area (South Yorkshire) ?


also Just done a quick check on one site and this is the message I got
"The bad news is that because your property has an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C the property isn't currently eligible for ECO grants."
dont know if that normal.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Modern smart meters are fine, there isn’t any reason not to get one. They will also help you understand your usage.

Google Eco4 grant but I wouldn’t expect you’d not be eligible as the person in recent of the benefit isn’t the homeowner but you’d have to check that.

Your electric usage is pretty low which so you could go for a smaller system but really it’s just a case of getting quotes and going from there.