Solar and house battery installation

[Gadget Geek]

I had my battery installed about 5 years after my solar and is completely independant as the solar has its own inverter. No change to my FIT payments. Win-win.

 

[Dstretty]

Hi there,

All things being equal we should have our EV charging point installed by British Gas in the next few weeks and take receipt of our MG ZS. LRT. ( EV charging point may not be the best, but it’s what we are getting )

We are considering solar panels and a house battery once we move to BG’s EV tariff.

We generally consume 2700kWh/ year , typical none- washing appliance use day 7-8kWh. I’m thinking of a 3-4kW possible 10 panel installation , 5 on each face. With a 10kWh battery.

Our house is tiles facing ENE. We are in Buckinghamshire.

We have both just by retired (65) , and may move in the next few years, depending on what adult children wish to do. Should we start small and upgraded with time or no bother due to possible payback period?, so many questions.
Could anyone provide guidance on who to speak for a quote and the pros and cons of such installation.

I thank anyone we can assist, as at the moment we have a wide range of prices from a host of suppliers, and a thumping head ache.

Considering the probable cost of ~£15,000 and payback time of more than 10 years (more likely 15 years) you should think very carefully before spending money now that you may never recoup.

 

[DBedford]

Considering the probable cost of ~£15,000 and payback time of more than 10 years (more likely 15 years) you should think very carefully before spending money now that you may never recoup.

Just the conclusion I’m coming to Dstretty

 

[MGBok]

Hi there,

All things being equal we should have our EV charging point installed by British Gas in the next few weeks and take receipt of our MG ZS. LRT. ( EV charging point may not be the best, but it’s what we are getting )

We are considering solar panels and a house battery once we move to BG’s EV tariff.

We generally consume 2700kWh/ year , typical none- washing appliance use day 7-8kWh. I’m thinking of a 3-4kW possible 10 panel installation , 5 on each face. With a 10kWh battery.

Our house is tiles facing ENE. We are in Buckinghamshire.

We have both just by retired (65) , and may move in the next few years, depending on what adult children wish to do. Should we start small and upgraded with time or no bother due to possible payback period?, so many questions.
Could anyone provide guidance on who to speak for a quote and the pros and cons of such installation.

I thank anyone we can assist, as at the moment we have a wide range of prices from a host of suppliers, and a thumping head ache.

Hi
I've just had a 4kw plus 5.2kw battery fitted last month costing £8k
We've had 2 EVs for 5 years, doing about 12k miles between us. We were previously on Octopus Go Faster which gave 5hrs off peak (no longer available) which meant that we split 50/50 our 4400kw usage (we did car and washer,dryer,dishwasher in off peak). We are now on econ 7 to charge the car only really whilst switching other things staggered over the day. First thing I would say is don't expect the PVs to cover your car and home unless you have massive storage (it works out about £500 per kW storage to buy). Previous commenter was right, BGas is not the way forward and Octopus offer a range of tariffs with 15p per kW feed in or Scot Power at 12p per kwh. In regards to battery I was told that the cost equates to locking your unit cost to 10p per kW fyi. If I could I would have doubled my battery but I was on a strict budget. Hope this helps

 

[Jonoffun]

Forget the panels, just go for a big inverter and plenty of storage. Ditch British Gas, join Octopus Intelligent and then the maximum cost of your electricity is 7.5p kWh, charge the batteries overnight, then, run on them the rest of the day. I use 12,000 kWh per year, last year 99.2% was on off peak energy. I store the energy in 21kWh LifeP04 battery (I made my own battery).

The other point is, if you move, you can take it with you.

Going to say the same. Get a lot of batteries, forget the solar panels

 

[DBedford]

Forget the panels, just go for a big inverter and plenty of storage. Ditch British Gas, join Octopus Intelligent and then the maximum cost of your electricity is 7.5p kWh, charge the batteries overnight, then, run on them the rest of the day. I use 12,000 kWh per year, last year 99.2% was on off peak energy. I store the energy in 21kWh LifeP04 battery (I made my own battery).

The other point is, if you move, you can take it with you.

Great of you know and and are competent to install your own batteries, well done.
Alsp Octopus 7.5kWh I’m requires comparator wall box/ car., which we won’t have .

Forget the panels, just go for a big inverter and plenty of storage. Ditch British Gas, join Octopus Intelligent and then the maximum cost of your electricity is 7.5p kWh, charge the batteries overnight, then, run on them the rest of the day. I use 12,000 kWh per year, last year 99.2% was on off peak energy. I store the energy in 21kWh LifeP04 battery (I made my own battery).

The other point is, if you move, you can take it with you.

Great idea of you about and competent to build and install you or batteries. Octopus 7.5kWh tarriff requires compatible wall charger/car , which we won’t have

 

[johnb80]

Great idea of you about and competent to build and install you or batteries. Octopus 7.5kWh tarriff requires compatible wall charger/car , which we won’t have

Not strictly true, the Ohme granny charger can be used IIRC.

 

[Exdro]

Hi there,

All things being equal we should have our EV charging point installed by British Gas in the next few weeks and take receipt of our MG ZS. LRT. ( EV charging point may not be the best, but it’s what we are getting )

We are considering solar panels and a house battery once we move to BG’s EV tariff.

We generally consume 2700kWh/ year , typical none- washing appliance use day 7-8kWh. I’m thinking of a 3-4kW possible 10 panel installation , 5 on each face. With a 10kWh battery.

Our house is tiles facing ENE. We are in Buckinghamshire.

We have both just by retired (65) , and may move in the next few years, depending on what adult children wish to do. Should we start small and upgraded with time or no bother due to possible payback period?, so many questions.
Could anyone provide guidance on who to speak for a quote and the pros and cons of such installation.

I thank anyone we can assist, as at the moment we have a wide range of prices from a host of suppliers, and a thumping head ache.

That should be enough for you. We have an ASHP , EV 10 panels and a 5 kWh battery. 10 kWh battery would have been better but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Wouldn’t upgrade as I can foresee that V2H or V2G will kick in not far ahead. This means that you will have a 70 kWh battery ready to be charged in your car at any time. Unless you are doing a high night mileage, you can then charge your home from your car and the car from cheaper night rate or Solar.

 

[JerryB]

Hi there,

All things being equal we should have our EV charging point installed by British Gas in the next few weeks and take receipt of our MG ZS. LRT. ( EV charging point may not be the best, but it’s what we are getting )

We are considering solar panels and a house battery once we move to BG’s EV tariff.

We generally consume 2700kWh/ year , typical none- washing appliance use day 7-8kWh. I’m thinking of a 3-4kW possible 10 panel installation , 5 on each face. With a 10kWh battery.

Our house is tiles facing ENE. We are in Buckinghamshire.

We have both just by retired (65) , and may move in the next few years, depending on what adult children wish to do. Should we start small and upgraded with time or no bother due to possible payback period?, so many questions.
Could anyone provide guidance on who to speak for a quote and the pros and cons of such installation.

I thank anyone we can assist, as at the moment we have a wide range of prices from a host of suppliers, and a thumping head ache.

We have a 16v panel 4kwh solar panel system now coupled with a 2.4kw home battery. The panels face east & west so we get power from sunrise to sunset each day. I've never seen it produce more than 3.5 kw as when one side is in sunshine the other is in shade. Shade will still produce power, but only about 25% of what we get in full sunshine. Do you have tiles on the WSW side? If so that will be your best bet for maximising power. Your solar installer will advise you.
Generally, we can "run on sunshine" from April to September, but with the small battery it means the car being at home during the day which is when we want to be using it. At this time of year (June) the house battery is at 100% charge by about 10 am. On a sunny day the car can be charged on the 3kwh "granny charger" till about 5pm as all the house battery has to do is to compensate for when clouds come over. On cloudy days maybe we will only get a couple of hours before the house battery is empty. In winter the panels don't always produce enough power to top up even the small home battery system.
At present there are very few power companies offering new customers cheap overnight electricity, but that is probably about to change as electricity costs have dropped to the suppliers. So far they haven't passed the savings on to customers. When the days get shorter in the autumn you will need the cheap overnight power. If you already have a smart meter this shouldn't cost any more, but if you have an old type meter you will need a smart meter to avoid paying an extra standing charge for the extra meter that would otherwise be needed for what used to be known as "economy 7".
If you don't exceed the delivery capacity of your home battery system, you should be able to charge entirely on solar/home battery for about 5 months of the year. For the other 7 months, cheap rate overnight power will be best.
No matter what power source you use, home charging is by far the cheapest unless a local supermarket or similar offers free charging. At energy price cap rates I reckon my ZS costs about 9p a mile. Cheap overnight rates work out at about 3p a mile. Solar is free but only viable for 5 months of the year.
Even though the amount we get paid for the electricity we produce hasn't gone up since solar panels were first installed, its still worth selling your electricity as you will get paid for all the electricity your panels produce, irrespective of whether you use it all or not.
Best of luck & I hope you enjoy your new car.

 

[johnb80]

That should be enough for you. We have an ASHP , EV 10 panels and a 5 kWh battery. 10 kWh battery would have been better but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Wouldn’t upgrade as I can foresee that V2H or V2G will kick in not far ahead. This means that you will have a 70 kWh battery ready to be charged in your car at any time. Unless you are doing a high night mileage, you can then charge your home from your car and the car from cheaper night rate or Solar.

You may find thats not as easy as you think it is..............

 

[Brianlescargot]

ENE facing would for me be a non starter roof mounted solar panels. I have had my panels for 11 years and I am on maximum FIT, one of the best investments I have ever made. 5 of the panels face south and 11 face west. The south facing panels come into play some time in the morning and the rest from about lunch time onwards. Last year I also got rid of gas and installed ASHP and 11.4kw battery storage system. Given the recent weather last couple of days I am actually at pains to avoid sending electricity back to the grid despite having 2 EV’s and heating my hot water with a MyEnergi Eddi as well.

 

[DBedford]

ENE facing would for me be a non starter roof mounted solar panels. I have had my panels for 11 years and I am on maximum FIT, one of the best investments I have ever made. 5 of the panels face south and 11 face west. The south facing panels come into play some time in the morning and the rest from about lunch time onwards. Last year I also got rid of gas and installed ASHP and 11.4kw battery storage system. Given the recent weather last couple of days I am actually at pains to avoid sending electricity back to the grid despite having 2 EV’s and heating my hot water with a MyEnergi Eddi as well.

Thanks, as I can’t rotate the house batteries may be the only option, if the payback is worthwhile.

 

[AK OK]

.
No matter what power source you use, home charging is by far the cheapest unless a local supermarket or similar offers free charging. At energy price cap rates I reckon my ZS costs about 9p a mile. Cheap overnight rates work out at about 3p a mile. Solar is free but only viable for 5 months of the year.

Er no it's not "free".. with a payback time of 10 years, unless you're past 10 years you've "paid in advance"...

 

[johnb80]

Er no it's not "free".. with a payback time of 10 years, unless you're past 10 years you've "paid in advance"...

Well to be pedantic, the energy is free it's just the harvesting mechanism you have to purchase. I've run my i3 since February on nothing but sunlight and perhaps i shouldn't mention (but I will) just what a smug feeling it is.

 

[AK OK]

Well to be pedantic, the energy is free it's just the harvesting mechanism you have to purchase. I've run my i3 since February on nothing but sunlight and perhaps i shouldn't mention (but I will) just what a smug feeling it is.

Well to be more pedantic, as your harvesting equipment has a finite life, you really should temper your smugness with a logical assessment of where your money has gone

 

[Rolfe]

My new next door neighbours have covered their roof with solar panels and have a swanky big Tesla. I look on with some envy, but then I think about the cost of that lot. They're in their 30s or 40s, they should see payback for sure. I'll be 70 this year and although that expanse of south-facing roof seems like a waste, I'd never get it back.

 

[AK OK]

My new next door neighbours have covered their roof with solar panels and have a swanky big Tesla. I look on with some envy, but then I think about the cost of that lot. They're in their 30s or 40s, they should see payback for sure. I'll be 70 this year and although that expanse of south-facing roof seems like a waste, I'd never get it back.

Is the correct analysis

 

[DBedford]

Er no it's not "free".. with a payback time of 10 years, unless you're past 10 years you've "paid in advance"...

In fact, if you’re over 65 you may never see the payback.

 

[johnb80]

Well to be more pedantic, as your harvesting equipment has a finite life, you really should temper your smugness with a logical assessment of where your money has gone

Oh thats an easy one, I had the choice of pay £270 more per month to my energy supplier of pay £201 per month on a loan for the panels etc. Having gone the panels route the car charging really is free because the panels were purchased to feed the house alone. The system works so well that at no cost it charges my i3 and has done so since February. So smugness level=high, i3 energy =- £0

 

[Rolfe]

In fact, if you’re over 65 you may never see the payback.

Even before I was 65 I was doubtful about the payback.

I mean you should see the houses in this street. Acres of roof facing very slightly east of south (or west of south for those on the other side). It's hugely tempting. And right now we're in a string of days where it's sunny for about 17 hours on the trot. But this is Scotland and winter also happens, and even in summer we have weeks at a time when there is a lot of cloud.

If I was half the age I am, I'd do it.