Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

All

Thanks for the comments and info...

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
Anyone else with panels?, assume not
Could be worth asking all those around you, are you considering them, if enough are you may be able to pressure the leaseholder as being unreasonable.
Their only defence can really be on the depreciating their asset value based on looks, but if you can evidence it does nothing of the sort they are then confirmed being unreasonable.

Whats the general aesthetics like? Work vans, caravans, shedy cars, untidy gardens etc
What about other things, sky dishes, TV aerials etc

IMO the old they look bad is very much a matter of opinion and as they are becoming far more common for many people they are nothing but neutral now anyway
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There are a few other installs on the estate - but none I can see street facing - all to the side or rear of properties.
General aesthetic is good - the usual sat dishes and tv aerials on most properties but few work vans, untidy gardens etc.

Journey said:
Take them to court if they try and stop you, name and shame them in the local papers.

Using "ruining the looks" on what I assume is a none listed building, in a non conservation area just won't wash with the uphill struggle the planet is facing tbh.
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I agree - but not entirely sure I want the hassle!
Ron-ski said:

Legal rights of a tenant who wants to install solar panels. - Free Online Library

Free Online Library: Legal rights of a tenant who wants to install solar panels.(News) by "The Journal (Newcastle, England)"; Business Business, international News, opinion and commentary Landlord and tenant Landlord-tenant relations Solar energy industry Tenants
www.thefreelibrary.com

If the information in the above link is correct they don't have a leg to stand on.

Might be some useful info here https://www.lease-advice.org/articl...ehold-property-what-charges-can-be-justified/
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Will chat with these people - thank you.
HungryHippos said:
Are there more specifics for your leasehold agreement you can share?

For example is the property in question shared ownership, or one of those ones that should be a freehold but was instead sold as a leasehold where you own 100% of the property but there you only own the leasehold?

I agree with the link that @Ron-ski posted, panels aren't really too different to people throwing up satellite dishes everywhere, and panels are reversible as an adjustment rather than permanent, in theory the panels can be removed and tiles replaced to set the roof back to how it was before.
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Standard leasehold - with restrictive covenants essentially saying must keep character of estate etc.
 
MrBo said:
Standard leasehold - with restrictive covenants essentially saying must keep character of estate etc.
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I live on a new build estate but I own the freehold of my property.

The estate is upkept by a management company, but I don't believe they could challenge my decision to add panels due to the panels going onto my freehold property.

I've checked with my solicitors regarding it, and there is something in the covenants about alterations requiring consent:

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I checked with my local council planning office about it, and they said no requirement to inform them or obtain planning permission, so good enough for me.

I can confirm that Part 14 Class A allows the addition of solar panels as ‘permitted development’ ie planning permission is not required, provided that they accord with the relevant criteria.

There is no requirement for you to contact us however if you wish formal confirmation from the council that the proposed addition of solar panels is permitted development the relevant procedure would be to apply for a Lawful Development Certificate (LDC). There is no requirement to apply for a LDC, however some people like to have the relevant documentation so that they have proof that permission wasn’t required in the event that they decide to sell their house.

If you wish to apply for a LDC you can do it via the planning portal or by printing off the form from our website (form 14 or 15). The cost of applying for a LDC for proposed works is £103 and for existing works ie a retrospective application, is £234.
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My panels are going to the rear of the property though, which luckily is SE/SW facing, although there are other houses behind me.

There are no other properties I can see on my development with them, but it's a smallish one with only about 40 dwellings and some of those are flats, with panels being a rare sight in my area anyway it doesn't seem like it's going to be a big deal.

If anyone challenges it I will fight the decision reasonably, but on my side I think I have my freehold.

Do you not posses the freehold of the property in your case? I thought there was some drama about that lately where developers were selling houses without a freehold.
 
MrBo said:
So here is a frustrating situation I would welcome any ideas on.
Found what seems to be good installer who proposed a 5.6kw array over my south facing front roof + two east west gables also on the front. Givenergy kit. Decent price.
But where I live the houses are leasehold and you have to seek consent to do any works to your property.
Long story short, leaseholder has refused consent on the grounds of aesthetics - panels will not fit in with the look of the estate.
Needless to say I am not best pleased.
They may consider if the array is on the rear roof, but that is basically north facing.

Anyone any thoughts or ideas?

Cheers
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This is ridiculous.
Could do with the government stepping in on this and just granting the right to install overriding any of this nonsense.

Oh look. Wind turbines look a bit ugly, panels look a bit ugly. But the world burning?thats OK. Looks good.


I hope you get a good result.

The look of the estate? Unbelievable
 
robj20 said:
Think I'm going to order this and have a play, see how it goes then add to it.

Plug-In Solar 405W DIY Solar Power Kit with Adjustable Mounts (for Ground or Flat Roof) | Plug In Solar

Plug-In Solar 405W DIY Solar Power Kit with Adjustable Mounts (for Ground or Flat Roof)
www.pluginsolar.co.uk www.pluginsolar.co.uk
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Similar to what I did. Started small to ensure everything worked. Then scaled it up to just below the G98 limit.

I 3d printed all my mounts and fixings. Took about a month to do them all - some of the bigger ones took ~36 hours to print.
 
Low output all morning, thought i'd struggle to charge the battery, then sun decided to come out and straight up to 6kw generation. Out of interest for those with solar, what sort of output would you see at the height of the day on a cloudless winter day?
 
TNA said:
I guess, I did not look to see if it was modular and you add more. My assumption was tiny inverter to handle 320W.
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It is a tiny inverter, well a micro inverter.
To add more you just add another panel, another inverter and the accessories.

I'd probably put my own kit together but gives an idea.
 
robj20 said:
It is a tiny inverter, well a micro inverter.
To add more you just add another panel, another inverter and the accessories.

I'd probably put my own kit together but gives an idea.
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Yep. If scaling that up x10, that is £8967 for 3.2kw. I'm pretty sure you can get more kw + a battery and someone to to all the work for that amount.
 
Bug One said:
Yep. If scaling that up x10, that is £8967 for 3.2kw. I'm pretty sure you can get more kw + a battery and someone to to all the work for that amount.
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Exactly. That why it seems expensive to me, considering the point is you are cutting out a huge amount of the cost by install yourself. Personally I would not pay much more than £300.
 
TNA said:
Exactly. That why it seems expensive to me, considering the point is you are cutting out a huge amount of the cost by install yourself. Personally I would not pay much more than £300.
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The main point about a plug-and-go system with a single panel and micro-inverter is it gets rid of your base load (during daylight hours), which for the most part is a large proportion of the usage easily removed.

My base load is 250w or there abouts, drops down a bit over night but not a huge amount. That is 5-6kWh every day, of which at least 2-3 kWh in the summer months can be gone just by plugging in a micro inverter to a socket on the wall.

I'd never use that type of system with more than say 1kW of PV, to expensive and hard to use unless you wire some batteries up to it for the excess.
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
The 3.2kw system is £5024 :confused:

Plug-In Solar 4.40kW (10 Panel) DIY Solar Power Kit with Adjustable Mounts (for Ground or Flat Roof) | Plug In Solar

Plug-In Solar 4.40kW (10 Panel) DIY Solar Power Kit with Adjustable Mounts (for Ground or Flat Roof)
www.pluginsolar.co.uk www.pluginsolar.co.uk
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That is better. If you tried the single panel option first, would you keep 11 panels?

Micro inverters aren't a cheap way to go - however that's what I used for my PV. My panels are on a flat roof and facing in different directions (SW, S and SE) to make use of the available space, and so I get more consistent generation over the day, instead of a peak at noon.
 
SoliD said:
Low output all morning, thought i'd struggle to charge the battery, then sun decided to come out and straight up to 6kw generation. Out of interest for those with solar, what sort of output would you see at the height of the day on a cloudless winter day?
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With a 4kw array produced 5.61kWh on the second best December day, it peaked at 1.77kw. There was a slightly better day but peak was lower.
 
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