Solar & Battery for my EV

[AussiePete]

Folks, a bit off topic, but as I've just had my electricity renewal in I thought I'd share.

I live in Scotland and have been lucky enough to be able to charge my ZS EV for free using the local Charge Place Scotland chargers. However with what's going on with electricity prices I don't expect these to be free for much longer, so I started looking into a solar and battery solution last year.

I've documented the steps I took to size and choose my solution at the link below. If you're considering a solar solution to help offset the cost of charging your EV have a read.

My next step is to investigate solar coupled EV chargers (I already have a 7kw Rolec) and I'll update the blog once I've chosen how best to do it for my setup

Solar & Battery Install (pghintsandtips.blogspot.com)

 

[Solar powered]

I'll have a good read of your blog this evening as I'm very interested too. I have a 40 solar panel array producing a frequent peak of 5.5kw, but no battery storage just yet. I've bought a Zappi charger as it came distinguish between the solar generation and mains voltage and charge the car at the best time.

 

[AussiePete]

So this is a first for me. My solar panels went in 2 weeks ago and today is the first chance I've had to try a charge of the car from them. No Zappi or other solar enabled charger, just the granny charger plugged in, car is charging and smart meter still reads 0kwh from the grid.

Bring me sunshine, In your smile

 

[SKA]

Thats great., this is my intended route as well but I am still not decided as I have not had anyone come back to me with a proper quote ...

 

[Gadget Geek]

Thats great., this is my intended route as well but I am still not decided as I have not had anyone come back to me with a proper quote ...

You could try one of these.

The Best Solar Panels For Your UK Home (2024) | The Eco Experts

We compared the best solar panels based on power, efficiency, warranty, heat resistance, eco-friendliness, and weight – so you don't have to.

www.theecoexperts.co.uk

 

[Solar powered]

There's not much greater pleasure than watching free electricity being generated. I can't wait to be running my new MY on free sunshine power.
Aussie Pete, you will find the sun gets stronger as the year moves into spring and summer and your panels will generate more power. My panels peak at 5.5kw and have been installed for 8 years next month. Last week they were managing 4.2kw in the best sun, and this week I've seen 4.8. And the sunshine hours will get longer too obviously.
When my panels were installed 8 years ago I was amazed at the 2/3 reduction in my electricity bill. That alone was good enough for me.
I recently checked my total generation for the 8 years - 40,000kwh and total export for those 8 years 30,000kwh and realised I need to up my game... a lot!! MG ZS EV on order and just browsing now for an electric motorbike for the spring and summer. Or maybe just a battery pack for the house

 

[neilp7865]

There's not much greater pleasure than watching free electricity being generated. I can't wait to be running my new MY on free sunshine power.
Aussie Pete, you will find the sun gets stronger as the year moves into spring and summer and your panels will generate more power. My panels peak at 5.5kw and have been installed for 8 years next month. Last week they were managing 4.2kw in the best sun, and this week I've seen 4.8. And the sunshine hours will get longer too obviously.
When my panels were installed 8 years ago I was amazed at the 2/3 reduction in my electricity bill. That alone was good enough for me.
I recently checked my total generation for the 8 years - 40,000kwh and total export for those 8 years 30,000kwh and realised I need to up my game... a lot!! MG ZS EV on order and just browsing now for an electric motorbike for the spring and summer. Or maybe just a battery pack for the house

I’m wondering the same but when I’ve used online calcs the maths don’t seem to add up. Payback calculated around 8-10y… interesting that your experience is more positive. Likewise the thought of producing my own clean electric is very appealing…

 

[Gadget Geek]

I’m wondering the same but when I’ve used online calcs the maths don’t seem to add up. Payback calculated around 8-10y… interesting that your experience is more positive. Likewise the thought of producing my own clean electric is very appealing…

With the Feed-In-Tariff, my panels paid for themselves in 4 years. Unfortunately, you don't get the FIT now on new installs. However, if you look at the interest rates on £5,000 of savings, the money you save on your electricity bill over the payback period will far exceed the interest you could get from a bank.