Solar Panels and Home Battery

[Petem86]

Power NI deal with the exports, probably worth a phone call to set up the account if not already

 

[Daviddunlop83]

I had my export meter fitted on Tuesday. He said he has done all the paperwork etc and NIE will send out the letter/information

I wouldn’t panic as long as the export meter is there it will be backdated from the install date

 

[Cooper]

Joined this cross fit style cult today. Thanks to @Mark Irwin and his many posts here went with KB. Very happy with the install- no batteries but 6kw on the roof and looking forward to boring the world for the next 10 years waxing lyrical about payback and how hot my hot water is.

 

[Mark Irwin]

Joined this cross fit style cult today. Thanks to @Mark Irwin and his many posts here went with KB. Very happy with the install- no batteries but 6kw on the roof and looking forward to boring the world for the next 10 years waxing lyrical about payback and how hot my hot water is.

Lol - the disease becomes less prevalent the longer you have them!

 

[wibago]

It can work really well but there is a long return on investment especially now that the high feed in tariff is not available

Any good company quoting you should be able to supply you with data from around your area on generation averages etc

You can then compare to your electricity bills and typical usage patterns

Just as an example though, I bought a house with solar panels already in place and the high feed in tariff rates. They took almost exactly 10 years for the feed in tariff to cover install costs. Now they were installed at a time where the tariff was higher but so were the install costs so I expect it may be similar timeframe but that didn’t include a battery

It’s harder for me to factor in the electricity savings into that return as I didn’t live here for the first 7 years but for us it’s probably saving us £30/month as we also use it to heat hot water through an immersion

Sun is shining one minute and not next, so one can't turn on an item using power with the exception of immersion heater with iboost and be sure only to use solar power. My heat pump tumble dryer runs for hours.

So one needs a battery to bridge the non solar production gaps. But does it need to last over night?

Some days I do export, seems around every other day on average, but not that much, and a second battery will cost £1,100 so seems unlikely I would get enough from the extra 15p a unit I get if I use if rather than export it.

However at the moment the battery has stopped working, so it may need replacing, so could if that's the case go for a larger one. Hense the question, is 3.2 kWh enough?

 

[Mark Irwin]

Sun is shining one minute and not next, so one can't turn on an item using power with the exception of immersion heater with iboost and be sure only to use solar power. My heat pump tumble dryer runs for hours.

So one needs a battery to bridge the non solar production gaps. But does it need to last over night?

Some days I do export, seems around every other day on average, but not that much, and a second battery will cost £1,100 so seems unlikely I would get enough from the extra 15p a unit I get if I use if rather than export it.

However at the moment the battery has stopped working, so it may need replacing, so could if that's the case go for a larger one. Hense the question, is 3.2 kWh enough?

It all depends on how much electric you use. I use a lot of electric and have a 14.4 kwh battery that still runs out around 9 or 10 pm at this time of year even if it is sunny but that only leaves me 3 or 4 hours before cheap rate starts. I charge battery and EV overnight on E7. Everyone's circumstances are different and you need a set up that works for you.

 

[-herc-]

How the heck do I fix this. Constantly get these readings. Everyone is in bed from 10pm til 7am

 

[mk2driver]

How the heck do I fix this. Constantly get these readings. Everyone is in bed from 10pm til 7am

View attachment 418027

Does the energy information from your supplier say the same? Do you have a smart meter?

If you can check this then you will know if it is real or if it’s something wrong with the install of the current measurement equipment

 

[Mark Irwin]

How the heck do I fix this. Constantly get these readings. Everyone is in bed from 10pm til 7am

View attachment 418027

Do you have solar batteries charging? Graph profile looks a bit too uniform to be accurate though.

 

[Cooper]

How the heck do I fix this. Constantly get these readings. Everyone is in bed from 10pm til 7am

View attachment 418027

I am getting phantom readings like this. Have the installer returning to investigate, although by this stage I know my way around the Eddi and Zappi menus so resisting the temptation to have a go myself and let them sort.

That being said it could be CT clamp direction, CT settings in your Eddi or Zappi (if you have one), harvi comms failure to name a few. Or an actual bug with the app API.

The Myenergi forums are very good at getting into the weeds on these issues - but maybe start with the installer first of all before going rogue.

 

[-herc-]

Does the energy information from your supplier say the same? Do you have a smart meter?

If you can check this then you will know if it is real or if it’s something wrong with the install of the current measurement equipment

I’m not sure. I’m going to have to monitor the electric meter and see.

I don’t have anyone to look into it. BS Solar came out and couldn’t move anything except the Eddi. But upon moving it he shut down my whole heating system down.

Had to call him back out to rectify it all. Cost a few quid and he had to put everything back to normal !
Upto 63kw reading now.

 

[mk2driver]

@herc Your electric bills should tell you what’s going on

For me it seems like a false reading which given your complaints about your install a few times would seem likely

That sort of power draw is not normal for a house that’s not charging an EV or a battery

 

[3rem]

Beginning to start researching various set ups. I like the idea of using solar to charge batteries and heat the water. We don't currently have any EVs, but I imagine it's only a couple of years away. What's the ballpark all-in cost for a load of panels, batteries and the smart monitoring / solar diverter gubbins for the immersion heater?

 

[cupraricky]

All approx's from spring this year:
2kw - solar array - £2800
3kw - solar array - £3800
4kw - solar array - £4800
Add a 5kw battery +£3000

The solar array included the cost of a hybrid inverter needed for a battery. If you don't want a battery take approx £600 of the array price as a standard inverter is cheaper.

Beginning to start researching various set ups. I like the idea of using solar to charge batteries and heat the water. We don't currently have any EVs, but I imagine it's only a couple of years away. What's the ballpark all-in cost for a load of panels, batteries and the smart monitoring / solar diverter gubbins for the immersion heater?

"A fantastic option, if you have an immersion or buffer tank, is the myenergi eddi. This eco smart energy product will divert excess energy from your Solarwatt Panels to heat your water for free, increasing the efficiency of your home even more! At an additional cost of £500 + VAT this is an amazing extra!"

 

[mike150]

I originally thought you need batteries to make the most of a solar set up but with export electric payed at 0.179p and batteries costing thousands I didn't bother. I did get a hybrid inverter so they can be retrofitted.

It depends on your house occupancy on an average day wether batteries suit you.

 

[Crow555]

We both work from home and didn't go for the battery on the advice of the girl from Start Solar and glad we didn't. While we export loads in the summer the spring and autumn wouldn't have enough to fill the battery and while we are home working. As Mike says, if you're out during the day the battery would make sense. This time of year you won't get loads of leccy but it balances out with the export payment from the year past in September.

 

[Statler]

If you typically use reasonable quantities of kWH in a day then fill your battery(ies) with cheap E7 electrons at night and let them piddle through the house during the day.
I'm about to swap my Solis over to do that for a few months as the sun is setting in the SW now and my W facing panels aren't picking up many rays.

 

[Mark Irwin]

If you typically use reasonable quantities of kWH in a day then fill your battery(ies) with cheap E7 electrons at night and let them piddle through the house during the day.
I'm about to swap my Solis over to do that for a few months as the sun is setting in the SW now and my W facing panels aren't picking up many rays.

That's the way I work it. Today for example is very dull so house running partly on solar and partly on batteries that were charged overnight.

 

[Ghost]

I fully appreciate its winter, and days are short on sunshine, but does this seem like a normal amount of generation?

Ignore £.

 

[Mark Irwin]

I fully appreciate its winter, and days are short on sunshine, but does this seem like a normal amount of generation?

Ignore £.

View attachment 420603

Yeah, mine only did 3.49Kwh today although monthly total is 83.3 Kwh. Thought it would have done more with the early sun before haziness but it is low in the sky and solar activity limited.

 

[Ghost]

Yeah, mine only did 3.49Kwh today although monthly total is 83.3 Kwh. Thought it would have done more with the early sun before haziness but it is low in the sky and solar activity limited.

That's ok. Felt it was maybe under powered but I know you always get good ratings.

 

[Cooper]

I’ve only made 42kwh month to date as well so sounds not far away.

 

[Ghost]

It's depressing!! Lol

 

[-herc-]

Mines is even more depressing - 28kwh made this month

 

[Daviddunlop83]

Mine has done 75kwh so far this month