Solar + Battery + Off Peak Charging
Discussion
Hi All,
I think I'm going to try and go Solar + batteries. Our neighbour has done this and seems happy enough.
My plan would be 4 or 5KW panels (as much as we can fit), along with perhaps a 9.5KWH battery, with the battery also coupled to the octopus go overnight tarif to top it up.
Is anyone doing this already - how successful is it as a package?
We're never going to be able to insulate our house properly (old walls, no cavities), but if I can at least reduce the energy we consume & the price we pay for what we do consume, this'll be a good thing!
Thank you
"Offf". DOH.
I think I'm going to try and go Solar + batteries. Our neighbour has done this and seems happy enough.
My plan would be 4 or 5KW panels (as much as we can fit), along with perhaps a 9.5KWH battery, with the battery also coupled to the octopus go overnight tarif to top it up.
Is anyone doing this already - how successful is it as a package?
We're never going to be able to insulate our house properly (old walls, no cavities), but if I can at least reduce the energy we consume & the price we pay for what we do consume, this'll be a good thing!
Thank you
"Offf". DOH.
Edited by Arnold Cunningham on Wednesday 24th August 12:22
Yes we are doing this. 4.3kW of solar on South facing roof, GivEnergy Hybrid inverter and 8.2kWh battery. Old Octopus Go tariff. EV doing about 600 miles a month.
In June-July our leccy bill was £6.15 excluding the standing charge.
And here is a bill from Jan-Feb... £20.80
So as you can see, it works very well. Central heating is gas at the moment, but I'm looking at getting an Eddi to heat the hot tank from excess solar.
In June-July our leccy bill was £6.15 excluding the standing charge.
And here is a bill from Jan-Feb... £20.80
So as you can see, it works very well. Central heating is gas at the moment, but I'm looking at getting an Eddi to heat the hot tank from excess solar.
Edited by gmaz on Wednesday 24th August 13:12
Look at that - love it. Thank you.
I'm being quoted 9K "for starters" with panels + battery - but I'd want a battery size similar to what ^^ has, so I'm, guessing for a I reckon for a 5KW install + 9.5KWH I'll be looking at 12-15K. Which based on current energy prices, I'll get an ROI in 4-5 years I think.
And let's be honest, even if prices come back down eventually - it won't be to the old lows.
Sadly I'm also told there's a backorder on the givenergy batteries at the moment.
I'm being quoted 9K "for starters" with panels + battery - but I'd want a battery size similar to what ^^ has, so I'm, guessing for a I reckon for a 5KW install + 9.5KWH I'll be looking at 12-15K. Which based on current energy prices, I'll get an ROI in 4-5 years I think.
And let's be honest, even if prices come back down eventually - it won't be to the old lows.
Sadly I'm also told there's a backorder on the givenergy batteries at the moment.
Edited by Arnold Cunningham on Wednesday 24th August 13:21
gmaz said:
Yes we are doing this. 4.3kW of solar on South facing roof, GivEnergy Hybrid inverter and 8.2kWh battery. Old Octopus Go tariff. EV doing about 600 miles a month.
In June-July our leccy bill was £6.15 excluding the standing charge.
And here is a bill from Jan-Feb... £20.80
So as you can see, it works very well. Central heating is gas at the moment, but I'm looking at getting an Eddi to heat the hot tank from excess solar.
Do you think if you had more battery, you could reduce peak time usage even further? I understand the current inverters can support up to 5x batteries, so wondering about doubling up to maybe 18KWH?In June-July our leccy bill was £6.15 excluding the standing charge.
And here is a bill from Jan-Feb... £20.80
So as you can see, it works very well. Central heating is gas at the moment, but I'm looking at getting an Eddi to heat the hot tank from excess solar.
So what happens if you exceed the capacity of the inverter - e.g. if I fire up the compressor and plasma cutter in the garage at the same time as the missus turns on the washing machine, dishwasher, and also makes herself a cup of tea...this is a lot of power.
How do the inverters handle those overload instances?
How do the inverters handle those overload instances?
Arnold Cunningham said:
So what happens if you exceed the capacity of the inverter - e.g. if I fire up the compressor and plasma cutter in the garage at the same time as the missus turns on the washing machine, dishwasher, and also makes herself a cup of tea...this is a lot of power.
How do the inverters handle those overload instances?
You should pull the excess from the grid.How do the inverters handle those overload instances?
Yes if you have the generation of either 5kw of solar you'd get 5kw + use the rest from the grid or you'll pull the max amount from your battery plus whatever solar is generating then top up from the grid. ie the newer givenergy gen 2 inverter can only pull 3.6kwh from the battery at the max rate.
Personally, I do not believe the cheap horrid-AM tariffs will continue to make this viable for very long.
You could look at having sufficient solar to provide a high % of the battery charging needed over a high % of days in the year.
The other thing is, the current prices for batteries are very high, You can do the job with lead acid for £200 per kWh, with a 50% discharge profile.
You could look at having sufficient solar to provide a high % of the battery charging needed over a high % of days in the year.
The other thing is, the current prices for batteries are very high, You can do the job with lead acid for £200 per kWh, with a 50% discharge profile.
I was wondering that about batteries - just a bunch of leisure batteries wired up together.
Are there mainstream inverter/charge setups that would play nicely with that though?
For example, I'm looking at the Givenergy setup and with the inverter and battery combo, they work well as a matched pair - the battery appears to be a bit more than just a dumb battery. Or is that sales BS?
Are there mainstream inverter/charge setups that would play nicely with that though?
For example, I'm looking at the Givenergy setup and with the inverter and battery combo, they work well as a matched pair - the battery appears to be a bit more than just a dumb battery. Or is that sales BS?
For sure, a 'battery system' is much more than just a dumb battery.
Same as a solar panel installation includes some fairly clever power conversion.
I think a 5kW charger/inverter/solar controller is in the £1k to £3k ball park, depending on whether it's painted Victron Blue or not.
Then again, on a domestic install, you're paying for much more than the hardware.
Same as a solar panel installation includes some fairly clever power conversion.
I think a 5kW charger/inverter/solar controller is in the £1k to £3k ball park, depending on whether it's painted Victron Blue or not.
Then again, on a domestic install, you're paying for much more than the hardware.
Arnold Cunningham said:
I was wondering that about batteries - just a bunch of leisure batteries wired up together.
Are there mainstream inverter/charge setups that would play nicely with that though?
For example, I'm looking at the Givenergy setup and with the inverter and battery combo, they work well as a matched pair - the battery appears to be a bit more than just a dumb battery. Or is that sales BS?
They are designed to work together in terms of connections and monitoring. They must have some "intelligence" in them as mine had a firmware update recently. The LiFePO4 chemistry is suited to lots of full charge/discharge cycles and is much safer from a fire risk aspect.Are there mainstream inverter/charge setups that would play nicely with that though?
For example, I'm looking at the Givenergy setup and with the inverter and battery combo, they work well as a matched pair - the battery appears to be a bit more than just a dumb battery. Or is that sales BS?
I think the other most common mixed setup is Sofar inverter and Pylon batteries.
https://midsummerwholesale.co.uk/buy/sofar-storage...
I've been getting quotes in the last couple of weeks for such a system. Was talking to "world of solar" about 7 large panels and a ~6kw battery, quotes were around £11-12k with 8 week lead time.
However I've not gone ahead with it as they have some system they use to put the panels on a 3D model of your house. Their dimensions were all wrong, so had to argue that for a few days. And then they have to follow some MCS rule about not putting panels within 200mm of the edge of a roof, and they are (imo) overinterpreting this and applying to 'edges' that are not really edges, so in the end they could not fit the panels on and refused to be 'pragmatic'. Intending to contact a local electrician company to see if they are more understanding of MCS regulations. The internet companies (ie ones you get ads for on facebook all the time) are a bit too 'computer says no'.
I was also looking at the Octopus thing, but their website seemed to suggest it is not possible to switch to them at the moment. So didn't think this was going to be possible.
However I've not gone ahead with it as they have some system they use to put the panels on a 3D model of your house. Their dimensions were all wrong, so had to argue that for a few days. And then they have to follow some MCS rule about not putting panels within 200mm of the edge of a roof, and they are (imo) overinterpreting this and applying to 'edges' that are not really edges, so in the end they could not fit the panels on and refused to be 'pragmatic'. Intending to contact a local electrician company to see if they are more understanding of MCS regulations. The internet companies (ie ones you get ads for on facebook all the time) are a bit too 'computer says no'.
I was also looking at the Octopus thing, but their website seemed to suggest it is not possible to switch to them at the moment. So didn't think this was going to be possible.
I am having a 14.4 kw battery storage system installed and using the chargers to 2 x 3.5kw (fast charging) so I can charge overnight on cheap electric. Interesting that these guys go on to say just have the batteries put in and don't bother with solar. I do have solar already by the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5XSbUjZGiQ
https://homeenergygroup.co.uk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5XSbUjZGiQ
https://homeenergygroup.co.uk
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff