First week of solar and energy cost going forward.

[sixtiesclaret]

Commented on a similar post a few years ago my experience is: Got 14 panels about 10 yrs ago in sunny norfolk after 5 yrs inverter went down (£900) after 7 yrs out of the blue the pigeons moved in (£500) to get rid and install grilling - now just about broken even with the FIT payments (dont know how much I have saved on the bills hard to work out) now the wife is thinking about moving !!!

[Bosscat]

I have posted about this on many threads (and probably this one) we got 15 panels in 2014 ... Still on the same inverter (no probs touchwood) ... we have never had them serviced ? (just let rain clean them) ... not had any problems with Pigeons moving in (although my Sis & Bro in Law did in Netley nr Southampton) ... they paid for themselves outright in 2019 on the "fit" tarif and we estimate we are saving around £550 to £650 a year on Electricity bills ... so we reckon to be earning gross about £1200 to £1300 a year (including both the bill savings and the £600 to £700 FiT in that)

[Rick_Muller]

thought I'd resurrect this thread as I am looking (again!) at getting solar panels installed along with a suitable battery. My household has an annual usage of around 3800kWh and the quotes we have are for about 8 panels with either 5kW or 10 kW battery installation.

We are getting conflicting advice regarding the installation of the battery though, specifically relating to the location. Some installers are saying there is new regulations that prevent loft install (not an issue for us as we dont have a loft) and that inside the house is now not recommended due to the fire risks - yet others are saying under the stairs is fine if you have space and dont store anything else in the cupboard blocking airflow.

So we have to decide where to install the battery - under the stairs gives us better protection from the elements compared to outside, but outside doesn't have the same risks of fire (we also dont have a garage)

Anyone have any experience with this or can offer advice (not legally binding of course!)

ta

[Squidgy]

Rick,

Firstly,
Go for the larger battery capacity. You will have no regrets at all. The ability to charge batteries when electricity is cheap and use it when expensive will save you a great deal of money. During the winter I have even been paid by Octopus to charge my batteries and then used it during the peak periods the following day.

With regards to your solar….I have 16 panels and live at the top of the Lake District. They are placed perfectly to give maximum exposure to the sun but it’s only this month that I’ve really generated much. My May figures suggest I will have had all my electricity free with about £20 banked for next month.

I live in a converted barn with a farmhouse attached. Our heating bills for the whole year 18 months ago were eye watering, I mean £5 K. My system became fully operational mid January and so far this year I’ve spent £600.

With reasonable weather in June, July, August and September I don’t expect to pay anything and should actually bank money. So I anticipate a total yearly bill of 1,500.

If you have a good line of sight and can get more panels do so.

With regards to batteries…..if they are of a reputable make there should be no issues with having them in the house. However you should have the under stairs area fire lined and have a hard wired fire alarm fit.
Personally I’d have them outside. They need to be well sighted as if in full sun they underperform, similarly in very cold temperatures. Housed in a cabinet would be best subject to airflow I believe.

Hope this helps

[evensteadiereddie]

Solar panels are an absolute no brainer
I got mine thirteen years ago, the kit was expensive relative to now but the FiT rate I was locked into is brilliant.
At £1400 a year from the FiT for 25 years no complaints.
I'm now looking into getting batteries but haven't a clue where to start yet.

[mdd2]

Any of you solar panel owners got Solar iBoost. From about this time last year through to late September we used no gas for CH or hot water. Our hot water was heated only via the solar panels. Today the HW tank was hot by 1030 having been heated just from solar power.

[mdd2]

Solar panels are an absolute no brainer
I got mine thirteen years ago, the kit was expensive relative to now but the FiT rate I was locked into is brilliant.
At £1400 a year from the FiT for 25 years no complaints.
I'm now looking into getting batteries but haven't a clue where to start yet.

I was advised by someone selling batteries that they would not be cost effective as would be about £8k as with the system we have I would need a battery as well as a new converter. He estimated a payback of at least 10 years. Given the system we have the better option would be a solar iboost. As we already had this fitted the salesman left without a sale.A really nice honest guy, so helpful and knowledgeable

[evensteadiereddie]

How do you go about getting this, mdd2, please.

[mdd2]

www.solariboost.co.uk
Look at in here.Not sure of the cost but suffice to say we acquired this when we moved; the previous owners didnt really know what it was so they did not use it all the time. as an example we used 171kw heating water past 28 days; today of course only 2kw
Yesterday 11kw.
A man who knows what he is doing will have to fit it, but basically if you are generating more than using on dishwasher tumble drier ironing washing machine cooker or whatever you are using when you are generating electricity, whatever is surplus rather than sending it to the grid, this clicks in heats your water and when hot only then do you send your surplus elec to the grid.
It is an absolute no brainer depending on the size of your system, our is 6kw generating about 4500kw/annum and we use from the grid 3500kw/annum. As i said we didnt use any gas from about now until late September last year. After today's weather we may need to put gas on but we have a Megaflow which keeps water hot for a long time

[mdd2]

A & T Solar-Electrical
Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JW
These apparently install the system if you are Burnley based Eddie

[Rick_Muller]

Rick,

Firstly,
Go for the larger battery capacity. You will have no regrets at all. The ability to charge batteries when electricity is cheap and use it when expensive will save you a great deal of money. During the winter I have even been paid by Octopus to charge my batteries and then used it during the peak periods the following day.

With regards to your solar….I have 16 panels and live at the top of the Lake District. They are placed perfectly to give maximum exposure to the sun but it’s only this month that I’ve really generated much. My May figures suggest I will have had all my electricity free with about £20 banked for next month.

I live in a converted barn with a farmhouse attached. Our heating bills for the whole year 18 months ago were eye watering, I mean £5 K. My system became fully operational mid January and so far this year I’ve spent £600.

With reasonable weather in June, July, August and September I don’t expect to pay anything and should actually bank money. So I anticipate a total yearly bill of 1,500.

If you have a good line of sight and can get more panels do so.

With regards to batteries…..if they are of a reputable make there should be no issues with having them in the house. However you should have the under stairs area fire lined and have a hard wired fire alarm fit.
Personally I’d have them outside. They need to be well sighted as if in full sun they underperform, similarly in very cold temperatures. Housed in a cabinet would be best subject to airflow I believe.

Hope this helps

So we’ve decided to go ahead with this and chosen the supplier Soly after a lot of quotes etc.

We’re at the technical assessment stage and they’ve told us that with micro inverters on the panels we would need 1 cable to the battery and then another cable direct to our electricity meter - is that right? I thought there would be an additional consumer unit for the PV system and that would connect to the meter via our existing consumer unit.

Any advice is welcome from the knowledgeable folks on here, thanks in advance.

[mdd2]

Did you or they discuss the Solar Boost for your hot water?
They should have IMO unless you have a gas combo boiler

[Rick_Muller]

Did you or they discuss the Solar Boost for your hot water?
They should have IMO unless you have a gas combo boiler

Yes, but as you say - combi boiler

[mdd2]

No use then. What capacity are you getting? I put panels on my house in 2013 when you could only get paid for power generated with a 4KW system and that produced on the roof I had about 2900KW/annum but with that system and LED bulbs we halved our electricity consumption so by the time I sold up in 2022 I had more than recouped the £8500 I paid. As you we had a combi- boiler.
This house had panel put up in 2014 and is 6kw and we generate 4,000-4400 kw/annum. The tariff is less than I was getting for 2013 installation. I am sure you will not regret installing panels and these days with a battery (and solar booster for those who have a hot water cylinder) as you watch your electricity meter slow down and you start to recoup your investment.

[Rick_Muller]

we're looking at 3.48kWh system (8 panels) with a 5kW battery for about £7.5k - but we're having reservations of going with Soly now as they have mentioned in the technical stage that they want to put a consumer unit inside the meter box (or adjacent to it) and run a cable down the front of the house to the meter box (which is by the front door) - hence my question above asking for clarification.

We've had other quotes from other suppliers, and all the other quotes mention an additional mini consumer unit next to our existing one - and nothing about needing to connect it to the meter inside the meter box.

[Acting Claret]

I have a Combi and I’ve just bought an unvented cylinder. I’m going to fit valves to switch between the Combi and cylinder. I haven’t done it yet, so I’ll post back with the results. 16 panel, 6kwh system.