Circular reasoning (Rolfe's solar energy system)

[Archev]

I do have a lot of panels though... and it won't last. We'll have to start paying for EV electricity come November

I can offer some help there. As a lead in you could start paying for some of mines to ease you in gently. No its OK I’m just that kind of guy, I like to help

 

[Rolfe]

Not quite... I'm definitely not Australian But have fully powered my EV directly from excess solar since I got it nearly 6 months ago

Why is that better for you than exporting the excess and charging the car overnight? I did that for the first three months before the paperwork came through for the G99, but after that it made more sense to sell to Octopus for 15p and buy for 7p.

 

[Everest]

Why is that better for you than exporting the excess and charging the car overnight?

We generate much more than we are allowed to export. So we can still be exporting our max whilst charging at around 4 to 5kW (or at a slightly lower rate if it is partially overcast).

 

[Rolfe]

You must have a different set-up to me. My system sees the Zappi as an AC load therefore using it doesn't affect the 5 kw cap.

 

[Everest]

You must have a different set-up to me.

Only different in that we have more panels. We have a 4kW export limit, but generate around 10kW during sunny or bright overcast days. Hence we can export 4kW, charge the car at 4kW and still have 2kW or so left over for house usage.

 

[Rolfe]

If I charge the car that comes off the export. The only way I can get any excess above the 5 kw export limit is to put it into the home battery.

 

[Rolfe]

I now have the figures for the first full year of operation with the export tariff. Over the 12 months from September 2024 to August 2025 I have made a profit of £354.64. Which I am busy spending on charging the car on road trips through the Electroverse card.

 

[johnb80]

I now have the figures for the first full year of operation with the export tariff. Over the 12 months from September 2024 to August 2025 I have made a profit of £354.64. Which I am busy spending on charging the car on road trips through the Electroverse card.

Does the profit include some write down of the value of your install? It does sound like a great result, then again we have had an amazing year for sunny days too.

 

[Tig170]

Does the profit include some write down of the value of your install? It does sound like a great result, then again we have had an amazing year for sunny days too.

... who cares for anyone else, as long as its an achievement in your own mind, then its a huge positive

 

[johnb80]

... who cares for anyone else, as long as its an achievement in your own mind, then its a huge positive

I did say it's a great result, merely asked if any sort of write down of equipment cost had been included in the figures.

 

[GaryMG4]

I did say it's a great result, merely asked if any sort of write down of equipment cost had been included in the figures.

Probably difficult to calculate for personal use, a business yes there's a formula but personal use has many factors. A friend, an early adopter of solar, is currently getting £2.5-3k income from his system but given his age and state of health I'm not sure which will expire first him or the 25 year warranty.

 

[johnb80]

Probably difficult to calculate for personal use, a business yes there's a formula but personal use has many factors. A friend, an early adopter of solar, is currently getting £2.5-3k income from his system but given his age and state of health I'm not sure which will expire first him or the 25 year warranty.

Agreed, for me, I'd look at either the length of time of any loan used to purchase the system (my case 60 months) or over a 10 year period in a linear fashion i.e. 10% per annum.

It's not important, just interesting to see the results and if Rolfe is happy and I'm sure she is, thats all that matters.

 

[gus]

I always work on the money that has been made by exporting but, you also need to factor in the money saved by charging the battery at cheap rate and using it during the day/evening when the tariff is high, my current bill from TE is £17, it used to sit around £100 a month and I didn’t charge a car then. Reminds me I must go and work out my current use at today’s non TOU prices.

 

[GaryMG4]

It's quite hard to compare when you've added in so many variables, without the car I wouldn't have paid for as much energy, without the Zappi I wouldn't have access to OIG and smart charge during the day. I suppose the best way I can compare is that my average rate over the last 6 months is 13.79p kWh.

 

[Rolfe]

I merely meant that after paying for all the electricity for the house and the car charging, I was nearly £355 ahead of the game due to the amount of solar I exported. Of course I had no electricity bills and no petrol bills. Life's too short to be calculating the whole caboodle, particularly since I can hardly go back and undo the purchase!