[Technology] Advice sought, purchasing and installing solar panels

[RandyWanger]

Interesting subject, we purchased a house 2 years ago that had solar already installed, we had this signed over to us and have been collecting the payment per 1/4. We do not use what we produce, it all goes back to the grid but we're now thinking of battery packs to use our own and sell the excess.

 

[Baldseagull]

Correct , and with the sunshine that we are currently getting the batteries will still have enough charge in the morning to heat the water before the sun makes an appearance again .

The batteries also enable the power output to be increased without having to draw on the mains supply when there is sufficient solar power and battery charge level combined as we have right now .

Can I ask what batteries you have? And if you have a string inverter or micro inverters?

 

[carlzeiss]

Can I ask what batteries you have? And if you have a string inverter or micro inverters?

The inverter is a Solis RH1 3.6K 4ES 5G , fed by 11 solar panels , the batteries are Pylontech US3000 lithium 6.4 kw

 

[Baldseagull]

Interesting subject, we purchased a house 2 years ago that had solar already installed, we had this signed over to us and have been collecting the payment per 1/4. We do not use what we produce, it all goes back to the grid but we're now thinking of battery packs to use our own and sell the excess.

If you are out during the day, there are a few things you could do to use some of the electricity that are cheap. You could fit a diverter to an immersion heater if you have a hot water storage tank, (no good with a Combi Boiler) this will heat the tank using any electricity not being utilised in the home. See if your washing machine has a time delay, set it up to do a load in the middle of the day, downside is you come home to laundry needing drying. Cook with a slow cooker during the day, requires setting it up before you get off to work, but on the plus side, dinner is ready when you get home. When the weather is hot, run an air con unit in the bedroom during daylight hours, it won't use a lot once the room is cool, and if the room is shaded, but it will stay cooler for the evening when you are sleeping. You can get timer plugs to set up all kinds of things to come on in the day, maybe the charger for cordless vac, or any other cordless appliances could be set to charge only during the day, or if you fancy a robot cleaner, set it to do its thing just after you leave for work, and then it can charge up again during the day.

 

[Worthingite]

that , also with the large wind turbines the blades are fibre glass and pretty much intractable waste once they have reached their use by date, the "carbon footprint" of a lot of this stuff does negate the benefit a lot of the time.

Not the case - most turbine companies have committed to either offsetting their carbon footprint, or utilising the carbon from the turbines into other projects at their end of life.

Source: I work for a Wind Turbine company

 

[Worthingite]

If you're looking to offset your energy bills, and are unsure about Solar Panels, have a look at Ripple Energy. You purchase shares in a community funded wind farm (or solar park), and your shares generate a credit on to your energy bills each month. The advantage over solar is that if you move home it's far easier to move your account with them, than trying to move a solar array. It's cheaper, and although the returns aren't quite as good, it'll save you about 25% off your energy bills for 25 years or so. To be clear I work for them so am a little biased, however, I can definitely give you more info if it's of interest. We've got one Wind Farm up and running, with another in the process of being built, and our third project is due be announced towards the end of the year.

 

[Elbow750]

Interesting subject, we purchased a house 2 years ago that had solar already installed, we had this signed over to us and have been collecting the payment per 1/4. We do not use what we produce, it all goes back to the grid but we're now thinking of battery packs to use our own and sell the excess.

Get this checked out as you should be able to easily configure the system to power your own needs in the house out of what's produced first, then excess to the grid. But batteries are also worth looking at.

Good week for solar panel owners....

 

[drew]

If you are out during the day, there are a few things you could do to use some of the electricity that are cheap. You could fit a diverter to an immersion heater if you have a hot water storage tank, (no good with a Combi Boiler) this will heat the tank using any electricity not being utilised in the home. See if your washing machine has a time delay, set it up to do a load in the middle of the day, downside is you come home to laundry needing drying. Cook with a slow cooker during the day, requires setting it up before you get off to work, but on the plus side, dinner is ready when you get home. When the weather is hot, run an air con unit in the bedroom during daylight hours, it won't use a lot once the room is cool, and if the room is shaded, but it will stay cooler for the evening when you are sleeping. You can get timer plugs to set up all kinds of things to come on in the day, maybe the charger for cordless vac, or any other cordless appliances could be set to charge only during the day, or if you fancy a robot cleaner, set it to do its thing just after you leave for work, and then it can charge up again during the day.

We use time delay on washing machine and dishwasher so in the summer their done by the time I get up around 8ish and I can put the tumble dryer on. Luckily, I'm in and out during the day so it works for us.

 

[Fungus]

Thought I’d bounce this thread, as it’s been dormant for exactly two years…

We’ve been having a solar and battery system installed over the last couple of days, and the guys are just in the commissioning process. Looking forward to seeing how well it all works.

Any other recent solar newbies?

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Thought I’d bounce this thread, as it’s been dormant for exactly two years…

We’ve been having a solar and battery system installed over the last couple of days, and the guys are just in the commissioning process. Looking forward to seeing how well it all works.

Any other recent solar newbies?

I got solar and a Growatt battery installed last October. Worked like a dream since. I'm selling electricity back to the grid at 15p / kwh.

 

[Bob!]

Thought I’d bounce this thread, as it’s been dormant for exactly two years…

We’ve been having a solar and battery system installed over the last couple of days, and the guys are just in the commissioning process. Looking forward to seeing how well it all works.

Any other recent solar newbies?

Ours is nearly installed.
6 west facing panels up and running, along with battery, waiting for the other 6 to be connected.

Haven't bought any electricity since 11am yesterday when they were switched on.

 

[Blue3]

We had a solar system installed 13 years ago and they have never missed a beat paid for themselves within 8 years and provided enough income to cover electricity and gas bills ever since, however the massive price increase after Russia invaded Ukraine pushed income compared to the utilities costs to the limit, so a few months ago we had quotations to fit a battery set however with the batteries only have a 10 to 15 year life combined with the purchase, instillation costs against payback means at this moment it’s not a cost effective option.
Our 25 year tariff agreement has another 12 years to run at which time we will revisit the costings assuming new technologies will extend the battery life and reduce costs plus we will be free of contract to upgrade the panels and maximise our income

 

[drew]

I got solar and a Growatt battery installed last October. Worked like a dream since. I'm selling electricity back to the grid at 15p / kwh.

15p! I was going to say that sounds quite high as I only get 7.07p per Kwh but I note the scheme changed to SEG in 2020.

 

[drew]

We had a solar system installed 13 years ago and they have never missed a beat paid for themselves within 8 years and provided enough income to cover electricity and gas bills ever since, however the massive price increase after Russia invaded Ukraine pushed income compared to the utilities costs to the limit, so a few months ago we had quotations to fit a battery set however with the batteries only have a 10 to 15 year life combined with the purchase, instillation costs against payback means at this moment it’s not a cost effective option.
Our 25 year tariff agreement has another 12 years to run at which time we will revisit the costings assuming new technologies will extend the battery life and reduce costs plus we will be free of contract to upgrade the panels and maximise our income

We're similar, 2012 our system went active. We don't get a great export rate but the generation tariff pays for everything. Had a battery fitted last summer and our usage during the summer is virtually nil from the grid.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

15p! I was going to say that sounds quite high as I only get 7.07p per Kwh but I note the scheme changed to SEG in 2020.

We're with Octopus and they offer a feedin in tariff at 15p / kwh. The overnight cheap rate is only 7.5p/kwh so even on sunny days in charge the battery overnight at the cheap rate and just export most of my generation.

So far this year we've exported 911 kwh, so about £136 worth, whilst also using almost zero from the grid.

We're also able to charge the car (Tesla) at the cheap rate, which means I could theoretically charge the car from 0% to 100% for just £5.63.

We've even had a go at daytime solar charging the car, which works but takes a bit of fine tuning to only use the battery and solar and not any mains, but it works.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

If anyone fancies moving to Octopus here's a referral link, so we both get £50 back

Use this link to sign up to Octopus - https://share.octopus.energy/teal-rose-513

 

[drew]

We're with Octopus and they offer a feedin in tariff at 15p / kwh. The overnight cheap rate is only 7.5p/kwh so even on sunny days in charge the battery overnight at the cheap rate and just export most of my generation.

So far this year we've exported 911 kwh, so about £136 worth, whilst also using almost zero from the grid.

View attachment 185518

We're also able to charge the car (Tesla) at the cheap rate, which means I could theoretically charge the car from 0% to 100% for just £5.63.

We've even had a go at daytime solar charging the car, which works but takes a bit of fine tuning to only use the battery and solar and not any mains, but it works.

That's good, but whilst I don't get that export rate, as my system is a lot older, I get 79p for every Kwh generated. Last quarterly payment was £920. It was a great offer back in the day and I still have about 13 years of the contract left. Not surprised the Tories stopped it in about 2020. That said, it beggars belief that all new builds don't have solar as mandatory.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

That's good, but whilst I don't get that export rate, as my system is a lot older, I get 79p for every Kwh generated. Last quarterly payment was £920. It was a great offer back in the day and I still have about 13 years of the contract left. Not surprised the Tories stopped it in about 2020. That said, it beggars belief that all new builds don't have solar as mandatory.

That's fantastic. Those sort of feedin tariffs are like hens teeth.

It also astounds me that all new developments don't have the best insulation, solar PV and solar thermal and going forward heat pumps and underfloor electric heating.

And where there are areas of shared residential housing, even communal, large capacity batteries which everyone charges with rooftop solar and shares the benefit of.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

So those of you who are now buying in minimal / zero KWh electricity, have you found an energy provider that has a small / zero daily standing charge with a high unit price? They used to be around but may now no longer be available. Since the standing charge is such a big chunk nowadays, that would be the holy grail if I could reduce/lose that element.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

We're similar, 2012 our system went active. We don't get a great export rate but the generation tariff pays for everything. Had a battery fitted last summer and our usage during the summer is virtually nil from the grid.

We had panel fitted back in 2018 and I'm now looking at adding a battery.

Any advice, tips, traps to watch out for, would be welcome.
I'm sure I want Lithium Iron and not Lead Acid
Probably about 4-5 KWh storage?