Soldato
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so still 6k cheaper then.... if he digs the trenches himself
Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?
- Thread starter GinG
- Start date
You said you were quoted for a 13kw system tbh so that is what I compared it to. Even so I'm just showing you how expensive your quote is but it's your money
The Jemenergy quote says 11kw but 20x455 panels are 9kw. These are the same type of adverts I've tried and they don't really come in at that price after the site survey. The only one that did was the gypsies that quoted me and I'm not happy shelling out 20k to them.
Why don't you split it into two jobs then?
You can get a PW3 plus an expansion pack fitted for ~£12k if you shop about. Then get a quote just to do the solar?
Soldato
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The inverter is rated at 11kw
(Inverter Capacity: The Powerwall 3 has an inverter rated anywhere within a range of 3.68 kW to 11.04 kW)
Yeah to be fair to dandle that ad I showed is actually a bit misleading.
I see Nick Bundy released a video titled 'Don't buy a power wall 3', I watched it on turbo speed so I may have missed something but the video title bares no resemblance to his comments in the video.
He seemed to have a couple of moans about installation process as an installer (it being heavy being the main gripe) but there was nothing substantive in it as to why he thinks its a bad product or why its bad for customers/end users.
What was abundantly clear is that he hasn't done the installer training and they didn't follow the instructions which meant they had to re-do some steps. He also spent time in the video talking up the GivEnergy AIO (which he owns) despite the Tesla unit being superior in every way. I own an AIO and I'm not afraid to say the AIO is an inferior product in every single way.
Bizarre video, the comments were interesting.
EDIT: just watched his AIO install video, its a full Giv setup with 2 AIO's and 2 6kw string inverters which is an odd set up to say the least. He disclosed right at the end of the video someone from GivEnergy is coming over to help him set up the dual AIO's. I didn't hear him mention where he sourced the hardware and if he paid retail or if they were discounted or given for free.
I'm not usually one to call out YouTubers but my bull **** detector is going off here.
He seemed to have a couple of moans about installation process as an installer (it being heavy being the main gripe) but there was nothing substantive in it as to why he thinks its a bad product or why its bad for customers/end users.
What was abundantly clear is that he hasn't done the installer training and they didn't follow the instructions which meant they had to re-do some steps. He also spent time in the video talking up the GivEnergy AIO (which he owns) despite the Tesla unit being superior in every way. I own an AIO and I'm not afraid to say the AIO is an inferior product in every single way.
Bizarre video, the comments were interesting.
EDIT: just watched his AIO install video, its a full Giv setup with 2 AIO's and 2 6kw string inverters which is an odd set up to say the least. He disclosed right at the end of the video someone from GivEnergy is coming over to help him set up the dual AIO's. I didn't hear him mention where he sourced the hardware and if he paid retail or if they were discounted or given for free.
I'm not usually one to call out YouTubers but my bull **** detector is going off here.
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Soldato
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Yep unfortunately you see that on youtube, people find the more clickbait the title they more you win.
You see people like blackbeltbarrister who went from good to super right wing clickbaity and his numbers shot up.
You see people like blackbeltbarrister who went from good to super right wing clickbaity and his numbers shot up.
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Starting to consider this now based on the Ocotopus 0% offer triggered a passive interest and i now have two plug in vehicles so atleasyone would be at home to charge from solar. Its pretty apparent their quote is significantly more than other companies so far and also i think i may have a tricky roof install as i have a 3 story house and the top floor has sloped ceilings so the loft is very small and boxed in insulation on the rafters so cant really see the structure from inside.
Looking at hopefully 10 panels as my SW roof has two skylights
Looking at hopefully 10 panels as my SW roof has two skylights
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Soldato
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Starting to consider this now based on the Ocotopus 0% offer triggered a passive interest and i now have two plug in vehicles so atleasyone would be at home to charge from solar. Its pretty apparent their quote is significantly more than other companies so far and also i think i may have a tricky roof install as i have a 3 story house and the top floor has sloped ceilings so the loft is very small and boxed in insulation on the rafters so cant really see the structure from inside.
Looking at hopefully 10 panels as my SW roof has two skylights
You don't want to charge from solar, at least right now.
Export payments are greater than the price you can charge off peak.
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Thanks, Is export on Intelligent Go 15p?
Yes.
You should be fine with your roof structure if it’s otherwise a conventional house.
They may have to run the cables fully externally due to the insulation but I’m sure it’s something most installers will have seen before plenty of times. Where do you want your inverter and battery to be located?
A local installer will give you a far better price than Octopus, they’ve never been competitive on solar.
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Battery and inverter would be on the exterior, no interest in loft mounted kit A friend has recommended same installer he had and GivEnergy looks the right sort of hardware and web dashboard im after so ill see how this goes.
A friend has recommended same installer he had and GivEnergy looks the right sort of hardware and web dashboard im after so ill see how this goes.
Soldato
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Battery and inverter would be on the exterior, no interest in loft mounted kit
I am pretty sure you can't go fully external on GE kit.
Although that may have changed since I got mine 2,5 years ago.
Although the AIO is external rated so if that suits your fine.
One thing often not talked about, look into and consider islanding (for power cuts).
Its not free but only you can say if you think its worth the cost for you.
I’ve got GE AIO, it’s fully IP rated as are their standard hybrid inverters and low voltage batteries.
I’m not sure on their new stackable high voltage batteries and hybrid inverter range though, you’d need to check the data sheet but I would be surprised if they were not, that would be a massive miss.
The current AIO is about to be replaced with a hybrid inverter version which is much better. It’s more powerful and can take up to 6 strings of PV. The existing AIO is an AC coupled battery so you need a separate string inverter for the solar.
My Solis string inverter is in the loft, the AIO is outside on the side of my house.
I’m not sure on their new stackable high voltage batteries and hybrid inverter range though, you’d need to check the data sheet but I would be surprised if they were not, that would be a massive miss.
The current AIO is about to be replaced with a hybrid inverter version which is much better. It’s more powerful and can take up to 6 strings of PV. The existing AIO is an AC coupled battery so you need a separate string inverter for the solar.
My Solis string inverter is in the loft, the AIO is outside on the side of my house.
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Does anyone have or know much about home voltage optimisers? Got one with house I bought, but not sure whether to keep it or not when the time comes to upgrade my consumer unit. Might just get rid of it as one less thing that could fail and cause me issues down the line.
Does it have any benefits due to having solar panels?
Does it have any benefits due to having solar panels?
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Does seem that way. But if it was already there when you got a house, what would you do? Remove it like I am considering or leave it there?
In the UK, the declared voltage and tolerance for an electricity supply is 230 volts -6%, +10%. This gives an allowed voltage range of 216.2 volts to 253.0 volts
Voltage optimisers don't optimise anything, they are voltage reducers. They are a transformer and just step down the voltage, they usually have three settings, or tap points. So if grid voltage was 240v and you was using the 10% reduction tap, the voltage would be 240-24=216, if it was 250v it would therefore be 225v. Now if the grid voltage was 220v and you stepped it down 10%, it would now be 202v and out of spec, which is bad for your equipment.
The way an inverter exports is to generate voltage above grid voltage, that way power flows out to the grid, now when power flow backwards through an optimiser it will step it up, so you could be liable for raising grid voltage far higher than 253v. Your inverter should limit maximum voltage, but it will have no idea it's exceeding grid voltage as it will only see the "optimised" voltage.
Optimisers are supposed to save energy, this is the real snake oil, in simple terms I don't see how they can, if your using 3000w it's the same at any voltage, ie current times voltage. Now I know there are things such as power factors, but I don't understand that side of things, so there could be a negligible benefit.
What I would do, I'd monitor the voltage both before and after the optimiser, if there was a problem with the grid voltage I'd contact the DNO, and see what they can do. I've done this a couple of times many years ago as our voltage was going above 253v in the early morning hours. They said they were going to install a monitoring device, but I don't think they did in the end and just altered the tap point on a transformer somewhere, one engineer told me they usually do it twice a year as routine.
Depending on the outcome of above I'd either leave it in, alter it's tap point or remove it. If leaving it in then you'd need to make sure your solar is not making the grid voltage to high.
Voltage optimisers don't optimise anything, they are voltage reducers. They are a transformer and just step down the voltage, they usually have three settings, or tap points. So if grid voltage was 240v and you was using the 10% reduction tap, the voltage would be 240-24=216, if it was 250v it would therefore be 225v. Now if the grid voltage was 220v and you stepped it down 10%, it would now be 202v and out of spec, which is bad for your equipment.
The way an inverter exports is to generate voltage above grid voltage, that way power flows out to the grid, now when power flow backwards through an optimiser it will step it up, so you could be liable for raising grid voltage far higher than 253v. Your inverter should limit maximum voltage, but it will have no idea it's exceeding grid voltage as it will only see the "optimised" voltage.
Optimisers are supposed to save energy, this is the real snake oil, in simple terms I don't see how they can, if your using 3000w it's the same at any voltage, ie current times voltage. Now I know there are things such as power factors, but I don't understand that side of things, so there could be a negligible benefit.
What I would do, I'd monitor the voltage both before and after the optimiser, if there was a problem with the grid voltage I'd contact the DNO, and see what they can do. I've done this a couple of times many years ago as our voltage was going above 253v in the early morning hours. They said they were going to install a monitoring device, but I don't think they did in the end and just altered the tap point on a transformer somewhere, one engineer told me they usually do it twice a year as routine.
Depending on the outcome of above I'd either leave it in, alter it's tap point or remove it. If leaving it in then you'd need to make sure your solar is not making the grid voltage to high.