Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

SoliD · 4 Jul 2022 at 12:08

Journey said:
Just realised that we did over 0.9MWh of generation in June.

Yes, most of the issues are software related, so not insurmountable by any means, it was very young into the UK market when I got my system, so I didn't put it up near the top of my choices list. Huawei are usually good at getting their kit working well in other sectors so I'd hope they big this up to par sooner rather than later.

Clipping along at another 30+kwh day here today, 105kwh from the first 3 days.

Just had my invoice through with 20% VAT - quickly corrected luckily, but easily generating enough to get me through each day even leaving the aircon ticking over. Just need the wifes car to turn up to use the excess in the summer now.

SDK^ · 4 Jul 2022 at 13:20

I want these clouds to clear so I can see some max generation - right now it's a Ferrari stuck in 3rd gear.
Not that it matters, as full cloud cover today is generating enough to power my house & WFH and charge the battery.

TNA · 4 Jul 2022 at 14:08

Having a solar and battery system sounds like a lot of fun!

But after further consideration I decided against it for now and will visit again in a couple of years or if suddenly the government offer some kind of grant or something like that. Truth is we do not use half as much energy as some here and until I sort out my extension and move to an electric oven etc in the new kitchen then it is not as attractive.

Will definitely get it eventually though

BUDFORCE · 4 Jul 2022 at 14:12

TNA said:
or if suddenly the government offer some kind of grant or something like that.

I can't see that happening past cutting VAT.

TNA · 4 Jul 2022 at 14:13

BUDFORCE said:
I can't see that happening past cutting VAT.

Probably not. Never know though, things may change if the conservatives get the boot.

Puzzled · 4 Jul 2022 at 14:19

Any recommended sites / reading for working out how long a solar install will take to pay for itself?

We are pretty high electric users as at home a lot and the roof catches the sun all day.

What sort of performance are you expecting in winter with those installs above?

OldKitMan · 4 Jul 2022 at 16:58

TNA said:
Having a solar and battery system sounds like a lot of fun!

But after further consideration I decided against it for now and will visit again in a couple of years or if suddenly the government offer some kind of grant or something like that. Truth is we do not use half as much energy as some here and until I sort out my extension and move to an electric oven etc in the new kitchen then it is not as attractive.

Will definitely get it eventually though

IMO grants only serve to enable the supplier to inflate their prices further. eg, normal price £6,000, Gov Grant of £2,000 comes along, bet the price doesn't drop to £4,000. I reckon a lot of places would pass on some of the saving but boost their margins a bit as well.

SDK^ · 4 Jul 2022 at 17:22

Puzzled said:
What sort of performance are you expecting in winter with those installs above?

I'm not expecting much solar during winter (November to mid March) - I'll be charging my battery overnight on a cheap EV tariff (7.5p)

Puzzled · 4 Jul 2022 at 17:49

SDK^ said:
I'm not expecting much solar during winter (November to mid March) - I'll be charging my battery overnight on a cheap EV tariff (7.5p)

We don't have an EV so wouldn't be able to do that. I do like the idea of V2H though so will be interesting to see how that progresses.

Have you worked out how long it will take for your system to break even?

TNA · 4 Jul 2022 at 18:11

OldKitMan said:
IMO grants only serve to enable the supplier to inflate their prices further. eg, normal price £6,000, Gov Grant of £2,000 comes along, bet the price doesn't drop to £4,000. I reckon a lot of places would pass on some of the saving but boost their margins a bit as well.

It’s weird though how that works. That would suggest there are not many installers and not much competition. I would be getting a lot of quotes.

94JDH · 4 Jul 2022 at 18:51

OldKitMan said:
IMO grants only serve to enable the supplier to inflate their prices further. eg, normal price £6,000, Gov Grant of £2,000 comes along, bet the price doesn't drop to £4,000. I reckon a lot of places would pass on some of the saving but boost their margins a bit as well.

That's exactly what is happening now with some installers and the VAT cut.

BUDFORCE · 4 Jul 2022 at 19:24

94JDH said:
That's exactly what is happening now with some installers and the VAT cut.

Yea 100%

BUDFORCE · 4 Jul 2022 at 19:29

Puzzled said:
Have you worked out how long it will take for your system to break even?

It's not that simple.

It vastly depends on the type of system installed, your energy use, including when you tend to use it, not just overall use

We are getting a 4.5kw system no battery, we reckon it'll save about £600 a year on current energy prices.

So that's 11/12 years.

But honestly you'll need 12 months of use to figure it out with accuracy, I guess 6 months if you get your install done near the summer/winter equinox.

Puzzled · 4 Jul 2022 at 19:35

BUDFORCE said:
It's not that simple.

It vastly depends on the type of system installed, your energy use, including when you tend to use it, not just overall use

We are getting a 4.5kw system no battery, we reckon it'll save about £600 a year on current energy prices.

So that's 11/12 years.

But honestly you'll need 12 months of use to figure it out with accuracy, I guess 6 months if you get your install done near the summer/winter equinox.

Any tips or links on how to work that out? Some of the figures from suppliers seem rather optimistic.

A 10 year+ period to break even wouldn't be worth it for us, would likely only benefit the next owner.

BUDFORCE · 4 Jul 2022 at 19:55

Puzzled said:
Any tips or links on how to work that out? Some of the figures from suppliers seem rather optimistic.

A 10 year+ period to break even wouldn't be worth it for us, would likely only benefit the next owner.

It's simply not that straightforward, even if you can somewhat accurately work out how much you'll generate, so system rating, pitch/direction of roof, you've then got to try and work out how much you use/during what time of day.

Solar tends to generate lots during sunny days in the summer, and little during dull days in the winter, but more you use when it's being generated the more money you'll save. So for example if your working from home and can use things like the dishwasher etc during the day.

Add a battery and it's another factor to try and calculate, or a hot water diverter. If you are generally not around during the day it then depends on battery size, how much you can store and then also factor the cost of the battery and factor they have a limited lifespan, unlike the rest of the system wguch should last within reason indefinitely.

Puzzled · 4 Jul 2022 at 20:16

BUDFORCE said:
It's simply not that straightforward, even if you can somewhat accurately work out how much you'll generate, so system rating, pitch/direction of roof, you've then got to try and work out how much you use/during what time of day.

Solar tends to generate lots during sunny days in the summer, and little during dull days in the winter, but more you use when it's being generated the more money you'll save. So for example if your working from home and can use things like the dishwasher etc during the day.

Add a battery and it's another factor to try and calculate, or a hot water diverter. If you are generally not around during the day it then depends on battery size, how much you can store and then also factor the cost of the battery and factor they have a limited lifespan, unlike the rest of the system wguch should last within reason indefinitely.

Fair enough, I've found basic calculators but didn't know if you'd used a more comprehensive one before deciding to invest. Working out the return on your investment is pretty key before deciding to part with thousands of pounds.

SDK^ · 4 Jul 2022 at 20:26

TNA said:
It’s weird though how that works. That would suggest there are not many installers and not much competition. I would be getting a lot of quotes.

I think the problem is too high demand and not enough solar equipment. My installer could probably do 2 or 3x the installs but can’t because of a lack of equipment supply. Hence trying to make as much as possible from each job.

BUDFORCE · 4 Jul 2022 at 20:37

Puzzled said:
Fair enough, I've found basic calculators but didn't know if you'd used a more comprehensive one before deciding to invest. Working out the return on your investment is pretty key before deciding to part with thousands of pounds.

Our youngest is 4 years old and we are unlikely to move anywhere until they are grown up and move out out, so probably 20 years if not more.

But yes if you are not planning on living at your property long term then it becomes less attractive.

TNA · 4 Jul 2022 at 20:39

SDK^ said:
I think the problem is too high demand and not enough solar equipment. My installer could probably do 2 or 3x the installs but can’t because of a lack of equipment supply. Hence trying to make as much as possible from each job.

Yea. Demand will hopefully slow down over the next couple of years once people that actually have the means to splash the cash have already done so.

My plan is to put as many panels as I can, hopefully 8-10kw, that way I benefit from it in the winter. Will also go 8-12kw on the battery as I would like to try and go full electric and cap off the gas.

Will see what’s what in a couple of years and do the numbers then

OldKitMan · 4 Jul 2022 at 21:28

TNA said:
It’s weird though how that works. That would suggest there are not many installers and not much competition. I would be getting a lot of quotes.

Getting lots of quotes proves quite difficult at the moment.

Had a couple which were ridiculous. Clearly at it looking to do not a lot of jobs but have a massive markup on them.
Had one which I filled in their document they sent me with photos and they never got back to me despite chasing them up.
Another one clearly couldn't be bothered.
The company I went with came round, sized it up and gave me a price and time to think it over. Based on indicative prices I'd had and some quotes I'd seen others get it wasn't outrageous, a bit more than it would have been a few months ago but less than what people are getting charged now.

There's so much demand at the moment installers are picking and choosing what they want to do, based on my roof I think a couple of installers just didn't fancy doing it as they could get an easier job elsewhere. No loss to them.

My setup generated 615 kWh in June, the estimate on my proposal had June down at 515 kWh so a bonus 100 kWh, that might be down to the extra 20W per panel I got by getting 410W instead of 390W free upgrade. Only exported 40 kWh, hopefully the SEG will come through soon as every little helps and that 40 kWh @ 5.5 might only be £2.20 but it's still a few days standing charge and all adds up.

Getting the eddi installed looks to have been a good idea as that's where the excess solar is going, whacked the thermostat up to 70 on the immersion and as there are about 5-7 showers per day in the house plus an occasional bath that's saved a considerable amount of gas usage. Once the SEG comes through I could always lower it down to 60 and increase the export a bit.

Would have been painful if I'd not had the eddi as the export numbers would have been a fair bit bigger. Battery storage is the obvious next stage but I think I'll need something around 10 kWh to keep me going through the night but the cost (and availability) of batteries make that a less clear cut option, think I went the right way with panels and a relatively inexpensive storage solution (hot water). eddi will pay for itself quite quickly I think.

Might look into batteries again in a year or two once I've saved up enough for that.