Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?
- Thread starter GinG
- Start date
Thanks, it is EDF by the looks of it. Does anyone know if those tariffs can be fixed for 1 year or longer? I mean imagine getting batteries installed and then find out a few month later the prices are changing and now not 5p and it is going up to 15p or more.
Soldato
15p would still be a good deal off peak if everyone else is paying 30p+
Indeed. But if you only purchased the batteries taking into account you would be getting super cheap electric to make it worth while, then it would not be so cool.
Which installer is that? I've recently started talking to SolarPowerful but just in the initial design stage at the moment
Luke at solar powerful.
Soldato
The bigger the difference the quicker it pays for itself, assuming that is the only purpose for buying one. However even if the difference is only 15ppkWh, so 15p off-peak and 30p peak than you are saving 15p for every kWh used that you have stored. If you use 12kWh a day and you can do most of that (10kWh) on a battery/ies then that is £1.50 per day saving, or £547.50 per year.
Current Octopus GO rates are 7.5ppkWh (as a new user) and ~30ppkWh, so 22.5p saving per kWh, or ~£820 per year saving.
Looking at a bigger picture you can buy a full kit for ~£6.3k with 10.5kWh battery and a 4kW solar, including the inverter, charge controller and other fittings. Obviously there is a fitting cost if you want it on your roof, and wired in but that also give you an even bigger saving over the life span of the system
If you just want 10kWh of batteries and a charge controller, you can get that for ~£3k if you aren't fussy, so a pay back time at the lower rate of 5.5 years, or 3.6 years at the higher rate.
People invest in a mortgage for 25+ years paying huge sums of interest, but when it comes to being more self sufficient or trying to do something where the payback isn't immediate or a visible/useable purchase then it's for some reason a much lager uphill struggle.
It's Luke I'm talking to as well so I'll ask about that when we start talking products.
Definitely, I'll say I know you when I next speak to him. Chased him up for my quote earlier.
All I wanted to know was are they offering more than a year fixed tariffs on these. At the end of the day the batteries don’t last forever so yeah, they need to pay for themselves otherwise what’s the point?
I can’t do solar just yet as I might be getting the roof redone in a couple of years time so it does not make sense getting that installed just yet. But wanted to work out if it made sense going for the batteries now.
There are two elements at play though, there's covering costs and saving money but there's also reducing your dependency on the national grid. In my case, the money saving is a secondary goal - I want to reduce dependence on the grid.
Fair enough. For that though one would need the solar panels which I am not quite ready for at the moment. I also want the same as you, though I would not say it was the secondary goal if I am being honest, though it definitely is up there. Wish we just had more sunshine in this country.
Soldato
Well if you are getting the roof redone, you could save a fortune by using integrated panels on both sides, then you don't need tiles etc. and your solar is doing two jobs, so almost immediately paying for a huge portion of its upfront cost. Find out how much your roofing cover would cost per sq meter then work out the savings, and cost up the integrated panels.
Every year that goes by is a year you spend more but get nothing at all back, just like renting a home really.
Soldato
Soldato
I dropped solar into conversation with the other half last night expecting firm resistance but not a peep
She thinks they are ugly which is hard to disagree with, but it seems the recent pricing issues with electric have sunk in and shes now open to solar
Shes not so worried about the costs however that she will still not leave the dining room window wide open at 6am if the cat goes out early so that it can come back in (when the heating comes on)
My house faces east with a large open roof east or wet facing so thinking mainly west facing with some to east
I would probably look to max panels but have it battery ready if possible
I dont have an ideal location for batteries other than in the loft so im going to measure the temps on some hot days to see how hot it actually gets.
Im not adverse to insulating the roof itself with polystyrene since I have heard that actually helps the whole house remain cooler in the summer.
(Logic that roof tiles themselves convect the heat in, obviously the solar panels themselves help in that regard)
I cant see why a small amount of low flow airflow cant also be added linked to a temp stat up there if temps are still a little high
She thinks they are ugly which is hard to disagree with, but it seems the recent pricing issues with electric have sunk in and shes now open to solar
Shes not so worried about the costs however that she will still not leave the dining room window wide open at 6am if the cat goes out early so that it can come back in (when the heating comes on)
My house faces east with a large open roof east or wet facing so thinking mainly west facing with some to east
I would probably look to max panels but have it battery ready if possible
I dont have an ideal location for batteries other than in the loft so im going to measure the temps on some hot days to see how hot it actually gets.
Im not adverse to insulating the roof itself with polystyrene since I have heard that actually helps the whole house remain cooler in the summer.
(Logic that roof tiles themselves convect the heat in, obviously the solar panels themselves help in that regard)
I cant see why a small amount of low flow airflow cant also be added linked to a temp stat up there if temps are still a little high
Soldato
Solid or suspended floors downstairs?
Our house is built on a concrete slab with suspended floors with at least 600mm clearance so ours will be going under the floors.
Soldato
Hmm im not sure, only floor I have had "up" is the kitchen / dining room which are what feels like concrete screed over polystyrene (I saw a tiny edge in one corner that felt like that)
All our floors are either tiled or solid wood so not easy to tell
I may try bending a coat hanger and pushing it through and down from an airbrick though, see if there seems to be a big gap there
I would be slightly worried about flooding I guess but I suppose you mount to the underside of the beams?
I could mount outside, plenty of room down one side, but the batteries from what I can tell are mostly not EX rated and its also the wrong side of the house compared to the meter and distribution panel although how exactly they tap into the mains I am not sure.
Soldato
Plenty of IP65 rated batteries and inverters, which have you actually looked at so far?