Solar PV

[scotta]

Anyone know anything about solar installations. Mum and dad have a newbuild with panels on the roof. However talking to one of their neighbours he doesnt think that they've been setup properly or are even switched on. Any idea how i would be able to tell? There's a control panel in the attic for them.

[mik]

Control panel in the attic should show how much they are generating. Note : if it’s like ours the control panel will be completely dead when they aren’t receiving solar power. I initially thought mine was humped when I looked one evening - I assumed that (since it’s also hooked up to the mains) I’d be able to look at configuration etc “after hours”. Non.

[Jobbo]

I have a client who was sold solar panels for his house this year, along with a battery. The solar panels are not even delivering enough power to keep the battery topped up, let along to power anything in the house or for export to the grid. Something is wrong but it is not apparent what; the logs seem to show them generating electricity at least. I'm not an expert but it does seem you need to become one if you have them fitted.

Anyway, there should be either an app or a device in the house which will show the power generated and how much was exported. That's got to be a starting point; it won't just be a random number generator so if the panels aren't producing anything then it should confirm that. Then you've got to find out why.

[scotta]

I have a client who was sold solar panels for his house this year, along with a battery. The solar panels are not even delivering enough power to keep the battery topped up, let along to power anything in the house or for export to the grid. Something is wrong but it is not apparent what; the logs seem to show them generating electricity at least. I'm not an expert but it does seem you need to become one if you have them fitted.

Anyway, there should be either an app or a device in the house which will show the power generated and how much was exported. That's got to be a starting point; it won't just be a random number generator so if the panels aren't producing anything then it should confirm that. Then you've got to find out why.

Good point - they should have some sort of smart meter display thingy. Will investigate.

[mik]

Ours isn’t a smart meter - you have to take a reading every quarter and send it to whoever you have an agreement with - which is when you discover that there is a rather large difference between what an electrickery company charges you for consuming a kWh, and what they will pay you to receive one.

[Barry]

Most PV installs have an app to monitor yeah, did they get shown how to use that?

Am in discussion with Octopus and another installer myself, looking at PV and battery solution, their surveys seem confident my PV would be enough to fill the battery between May/Sept (all averages and guesstimates etc). Looking like I'll be able to fit a 4kw+ array too, and I'm looking at 9/10kwh battery.

[Jobbo]

Barry, if the PV would be enough to fill the battery between May-Sept, what happens Oct-Apr? Does the battery top up from the grid?

[Sundayjumper]

Barry, if the PV would be enough to fill the battery between May-Sept, what happens Oct-Apr? Does the battery top up from the grid?

Topping up overnight when grid demand is low (à la Economy 7) would make a lot of sense.

[Carlos]

I've seen a few installs online where they are then filling the battery overnight with cheap electric during the winter.

[Barry]

Barry, if the PV would be enough to fill the battery between May-Sept, what happens Oct-Apr? Does the battery top up from the grid?

The PV will still contribute to the battery, but unlikely to fill it is all. I can decide whether to top up from grid or just use grid power on the other months, depends what tariff I go on etc.

The panels could also feed back and gain credit on my bills to offset that during the sunny months.

I'm ultimately looking for power outage redundancy and a more resilient power supply (cost too) for an eventual ASHP install.

[Sundayjumper]

Am in discussion with Octopus and another installer myself, looking at PV and battery solution, their surveys seem confident my PV would be enough to fill the battery between May/Sept (all averages and guesstimates etc). Looking like I'll be able to fit a 4kw+ array too, and I'm looking at 9/10kwh battery.

How much is a solar system these days ? I'm already with Octopus for gas & electricity so your post caught my eye there.

[Jobbo]

I'm ultimately looking for power outage redundancy and a more resilient power supply (cost too) for an eventual ASHP install.

The former is something I would be keen on - the latter is not something I'd thought of but is quite important. I had a 2-3 day power cut in winter 2009/10 and the house got very cold because the gas boiler had no power for the pump or controls.

[Barry]

Am in discussion with Octopus and another installer myself, looking at PV and battery solution, their surveys seem confident my PV would be enough to fill the battery between May/Sept (all averages and guesstimates etc). Looking like I'll be able to fit a 4kw+ array too, and I'm looking at 9/10kwh battery.

How much is a solar system these days ? I'm already with Octopus for gas & electricity so your post caught my eye there.

Obviously depends on your house and requirements, the first quote from octopus was just over £12k, installed, scaffold etc. They don't do the power outage hardware however, so I'm looking at more like £15k from my other quotes. Still and 10/12yr pay back but longer term savings should be reasonable ofc

[Barry]

I'm ultimately looking for power outage redundancy and a more resilient power supply (cost too) for an eventual ASHP install.

The former is something I would be keen on - the latter is not something I'd thought of but is quite important. I had a 2-3 day power cut in winter 2009/10 and the house got very cold because the gas boiler had no power for the pump or controls.

Yeah, with all these National Grid concerns every winter it's something I want stability with tbh.

On related note I recently bought one of those fancy Battery Power packs, with PV panels (1kwh battery/200w PV) more as a new gadget but also it could run a fridge all day if power did go off.

[Sundayjumper]

...the first quote from octopus was just over £12k, installed, scaffold etc. They don't do the power outage hardware however...

Power outage hardware is the battery ? Or something else ? Can you do the panels etc. first and add the other stuff at a later date ?

I guess I should go and Do My Own Research™ really

[Barry]

There is a special hardware (clever inverter -single phase back up interface) that sits between supply and battery, as it needs to cut off any back feed to the grid in event of an outage. Safety etc.

You can do panels/battery separate but you'll lose the vat discount on the panels if you do that. There's a good case for just battery and overnight cheap tariff to fill it tbh.

[scotta]

Most PV installs have an app to monitor yeah, did they get shown how to use that?

If they did then they will have forgotten completely about it.

[Jimexpl]

I'm ultimately looking for power outage redundancy and a more resilient power supply (cost too) for an eventual ASHP install.

The former is something I would be keen on - the latter is not something I'd thought of but is quite important. I had a 2-3 day power cut in winter 2009/10 and the house got very cold because the gas boiler had no power for the pump or controls.

We've just become an approved installer for GivEnergy, mainly because my business partner was really impressed with their switchover speed compared with others on the market.
Easily replaced battery packs and smart integration with suppliers like Octopus are things to look out for.
Our first install has gone in his house and nothing recognises a power cut switching the mains off - perhaps I need to do an OV9 members special price?

[drcarlos]

Am in discussion with Octopus and another installer myself, looking at PV and battery solution, their surveys seem confident my PV would be enough to fill the battery between May/Sept (all averages and guesstimates etc). Looking like I'll be able to fit a 4kw+ array too, and I'm looking at 9/10kwh battery.

How much is a solar system these days ? I'm already with Octopus for gas & electricity so your post caught my eye there.

Paid 9k fitted for my 8 405w panels (room for another 3 panel array on the rear of the house if we want expansion), panel optimisers, bird blocker, 3.7kw solax hybrid inverter, 3kw battery, iboost, buddy, cabling, rails and isolators. Mid summer warehouse is a good supplier and has a good modelling tool (if a little conservative on panel fits). My sparky fitted it as part of our extension build and fit out.
It is though only generating a small amount at the moment and with the boiler still offline we are rinsing it as we are on leccy heaters for water and rooms until next week.
One bonus now is octopus no longer need a cert for feed in so pretty much any sparky can now fit a system, sign it off and you can get feed in. The guy who fitted it is basingstoke based and was more than happy to chat and fit kit i supplied.
I reckon i'll add a second battery module next year as finances allow but we've done a lot on the house so needed to get it fitted but not completely blow the budget.

[drcarlos]

...the first quote from octopus was just over £12k, installed, scaffold etc. They don't do the power outage hardware however...

Power outage hardware is the battery ? Or something else ? Can you do the panels etc. first and add the other stuff at a later date ?

I guess I should go and Do My Own Research™ really

Inverter, unless you get a powerwall, but they are overpriced, inefficient (2 inverters, one to step down for battery charging and one to step up to power the house) and ran li ion batteries last time i looked where most have move to life batteries that dont tend to self immolate.