Solar Panels and Home Battery

[Cookies]

Hi all
I'm looking at getting solar panels and a home battery installed, and would be very grateful for any thoughts or experiences from anyone who has a system installed.

Any obvious pros or cons to having the system. Is it effective with our weather? Has it actually cut electricity bills? What capacity of battery/panel array do any of you have?

And the obvious, what's the likely installation cost?

Cheers.

Niall

 

[mk2driver]

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

 

[hutchy_belfast]

I got a quotation from the largest local installer I could find and it was thousands more than the going rate in GB. Without a variable rate tariff like they can get to maximise storage when prices are cheep ie only using economy 7 to top the batteries up and charging two cars it looked like about 12ish years to break even. And that's discounting any returns you could get from that 10 grand ish capital.

Sums may change if electricity prices never come back down and whenever the technology cheapens and dare I say it NI gets a bit of installation competition.
Didn't add up for me as of last spring though.

 

[stevieturbo]

might be some panels going cheap ?

Sun sets on one of Northern Ireland’s first solar farms

One of Northern Ireland’s first large-scale solar farms is being liquidated after the owner failed to pay the rent.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

I got a quotation from the largest local installer I could find and it was thousands more than the going rate in GB. Without a variable rate tariff like they can get to maximise storage when prices are cheep ie only using economy 7 to top the batteries up and charging two cars it looked like about 12ish years to break even. And that's discounting any returns you could get from that 12 grand ish capital.

Sums may change if electricity prices never come back down and whenever the technology cheapens and dare I say it NI gets a bit of installation competition.
Didn't add up for me as of last spring though.

Lets face it, as they push away from fossil fuels for everything...prices will surely only go up.

Long term, perhaps investing of making the most of your own solar and getting off the grid might make more sense ? Of course this approach you'd need to be expecting to keep that house for a very long time

 

[wes]

Hi all
I'm looking at getting solar panels and a home battery installed, and would be very grateful for any thoughts or experiences from anyone who has a system installed.

Any obvious pros or cons to having the system. Is it effective with our weather? Has it actually cut electricity bills? What capacity of battery/panel array do any of you have?

And the obvious, what's the likely installation cost?

Cheers.

Niall

Have a couple of mates that fits and supplies these they have been doing alot of work down south, u sure of solar panel cost mine for 4kw was 6k 4 years ago but government grants were running then and they were installing for someone else but out on their own now. Mines been great. I did ask him about battery lately and what he thought of them, he said they are great job. Can pass on a number for a chat

 

[hutchy_belfast]

might be some panels going cheap ?

Sun sets on one of Northern Ireland’s first solar farms

One of Northern Ireland’s first large-scale solar farms is being liquidated after the owner failed to pay the rent.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Saw that and has to be something seriously fishy going on there. A lot of the cost seems to be inverters and storage. If you were skilled in the field i daresay you could fix yourself up something more economically under the radar. Feed in tariff is so pitiful now that you want to be storing any excess rather than returning to the grid.

 

[stevieturbo]

Saw that and has to be something seriously fishy going on there. A lot of the cost seems to be inverters and storage. If you were skilled in the field i daresay you could fix yourself up something more economically under the radar. Feed in tariff is so pitiful now that you want to be storing any excess rather than returning to the grid.

Maybe it simply wasn't making the money expected ? they can't pay the rent ? Who knows, but it is weird. Probably some dodgy MP's involved somewhere along the line

But would agree, long term trying to become self sufficient instead of relying on paybacks from government seems more sensible, but is absolutely a long term approach.
Solar/wind/whatever for electric for heating, heating water, stuff that is needed daily all the time and if there is any excess can be used for storage.

Although if there are grants or paybacks available, may as well try and optimise them too while they last.

 

[hutchy_belfast]

Maybe it simply wasn't making the money expected ? they can't pay the rent ? Who knows, but it is weird. Probably some dodgy MP's involved somewhere along the line

But would agree, long term trying to become self sufficient instead of relying on paybacks from government seems more sensible, but is absolutely a long term approach.
Solar/wind/whatever for electric for heating, heating water, stuff that is needed daily all the time and if there is any excess can be used for storage.

Although if there are grants or paybacks available, may as well try and optimise them too while they last.

Yeh that's it, I agree but I don't think there is anything available in NI at the moment. With a lack of government assistance I'll be waiting for the prices of equipment to come down a bit. Hard to imagine a time where we all heat our homes and drive our cars purely powered by a fossil fuel free grid.
Surely nuclear and or personal generation will be required if we are all to jump on the ASHP bandwagon.

 

[rupertfinch]

South is giving €900 per kilowatt peak - I think around 2 of these is equivalent to a 4kw roof system. Plus €600 for battery storage.

I’d be up for an array or two if anyone ever encounters a thread with those solar farm panels going cheap. Like I’d know what to do with them…

 

[saxo_man]

Our electric has been off a few days here and there with new builds being added up the grid. Irony of it is that the inverter doesn’t work without 240v, so when our electric is off we can’t even use the solar panels

 

[stevieturbo]

Our electric has been off a few days here and there with new builds being added up the grid. Irony of it is that the inverter doesn’t work without 240v, so when our electric is off we can’t even use the solar panels

Separate battery system with another inverter for the base 240v control supply should cover that ( aka a UPS type of thing )

Although not sure what the panels can actually run on their own directly ? Don't they need a dump of some sort to drop power into ?

 

[impact]

Currently in the process of building quotes and financials for solar in work and been speaking to quite a few suppliers of late and installation company that installs for 20 different suppliers, the snippets of opinions they've give regards home solar are:

Nearly all solar work is in the south as they are giving grants for installation and government is pushing it big time - most going in with batteries.
NI is way behind and needs schemes like those available on mainland.
All panels are much of a muchness, didn't like how Q Cells install compared to rest, LG and other big brands are good but just paying for name.
Micro inverters for panels only needed if you have shadow issues from trees, poles etc otherwise stringed options fine.
SolarEdge optimizers good BUT you've added more to go wrong and they will over life time of panel likely negating any gains in performance.
Inverters / batteries - need to know what exactly you want system to achieve in long term and buy for that - ie add batteries later, power house when no mains, EV.
Buy wrong inverter and you may have to replace if needs change.
Plenty of scalable battery solutions like PylonTech, buy small now and keep adding when funds allow.
circa £8-9K min for fully installed good solar and battery system

Can go somewhere like midsummerwholesale and see what true cost of panels / inverters / batteries are.
eg £4K inc VAT for 4.5Kw system no battery and everything required to install.
If you are handy with work about house can probably install most of it yourself and save a good bit if you can get someone to certify it. Ton of DIY solar on youtube.
Still a long payback what ever way you cut it - battery life a factor too after +10 years as some have different specs other than just storage capacity

Currently trying to work out if it pays to fill here with panels.

 

[hutchy_belfast]

Yup that's exactly what I found, seems like a sweet spot of timing NOT to buy in NI. Still paying early adopter price with zero government subsidy.
Given that half of the DUP are climate change deniers who would rather the money went to their chums to heat empty sheds via wood pellets it may be a while before we approach an even keel with the rest of UK and RoI.

 

[wes]

Ive another 15 years on my goverment grant around £650-£700 per year for 20years not sure why it stopped being offered i got it when it nearly stopped

 

[Cookies]

Sorry for not replying earlier. Thanks for all the info, some genuinely great stuff there.

What I'm getting is to hold off at the minute, as there MAY be some incentives around the corner to bring us into line with GB & or ROI schemes. I had guessed roughly £10k for a system with a battery, so looks like I wasn't too far off. There seems to be a lot of info and some work to do to determine the invertor that meets my specific needs. I want to go into this knowing as much as I can, and have eyes open so to speak.

Cheers guys.

 

[Ghost]

Sorry for not replying earlier. Thanks for all the info, some genuinely great stuff there.

What I'm getting is to hold off at the minute, as there MAY be some incentives around the corner to bring us into line with GB & or ROI schemes. I had guessed roughly £10k for a system with a battery, so looks like I wasn't too far off. There seems to be a lot of info and some work to do to determine the invertor that meets my specific needs. I want to go into this knowing as much as I can, and have eyes open so to speak.

Cheers guys.

Yeah very sensible attitude..don't want to get a shock.......

 

[Cookies]

Yeah very sensible attitude..don't want to get a shock.......

Yeh, I wouldn't want to just charge ahead.....

 

[impact]

What I'm getting is to hold off at the minute, as there MAY be some incentives around the corner to bring us into line with GB & or ROI schemes.

I think this right on the incentive front but who knows when. Especially as EV ramps up it makes sense they ramp up micro generation and batteries on grid to help balance grid.

The mainland has an Ofgem regulated Smart Export Guarantee which creates a market for energy companies to compete for micro generated power. In theory you can change to a energy company offering best rates as opposed to a flat rate.

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)

Licensed electricity suppliers to offer a tariff and make payment to small-scale low-carbon generators for electricity exported to the National Grid.

www.ofgem.gov.uk

However NI does not fall under mainland marketplace and the whole of Ireland instead operates under one market. Who knows but its more likely to be in line with the scheme that's just started in ROI. Actually very similar anyhow.

Selling Surplus Solar Electricity to the Grid in Ireland in 2024 - Ireland's trusted solar panel comparison experts

Learn how the Irish feed-in tariff works. How to get the maximum payouts for your electricity (20c per kWh). Discover how much you could earn with solar panels in Ireland.

energyd.ie

 

[Terry]

I can’t help with initial cost/setup but I’ve 16 panels and a solar iboost system (for utilising spare power, to heat the water tank, before exporting back to the grid).

If things continue as they are, and taking into account the payment received for exporting back, I’ll end up net positive over the course of a year. Not by a huge amount but it includes the vast majority of hot water, which also lessens boiler/gas use too.

I know people with a less panels that use them to supplement more, so worth bearing in mind how many & overall output.

 

[Cookies]

I can’t help with initial cost/setup but I’ve 16 panels and a solar iboost system (for utilising spare power, to heat the water tank, before exporting back to the grid).

If things continue as they are, and taking into account the payment received for exporting back, I’ll end up net positive over the course of a year. Not by a huge amount but it includes the vast majority of hot water, which also lessens boiler/gas use too.

I know people with a less panels that use them to supplement more, so worth bearing in mind how many & overall output.

I yours a 4kw system? That's impressive if you're at a nett gain position.

 

[Terry]

I yours a 4kw system? That's impressive if you're at a nett gain position.

I’m pretty sure it is but that’s based mostly on some research before buying the house.

I’ll dig out the change of ownership paperwork tomorrow to double check and I can see what else is in there, cost wise etc, to help others thinking about a system.

I was surprised at how much is generated on relatively dull & overcast days. Definitely not just for all out sun.

 

[gpaevo]

Anyone looked into these?

Solar Roof | Tesla

Solar Roof replaces your existing roof and brings it to life with beautiful solar tiles that can power your home for decades with the energy you produce.

www.tesla.com

A friend has a Model 3 and is planning a couple of these to feed his house and Tesla charger, essentially be self sufficient.

I'd love solar panels but having been to two house fires recently caused by solar panels I'm obviously reluctant.

If you've the space a wind turbine seems to get a good return. Lad in work was paid 20k for a turbine in his field and gets approx 1k a month from power generation. The company even paid for his driveway to be replaced to support the HGV's passing his house to build the turbine.

Then again he's one of those dudes that could roll in and still smell of roses

 

[Cooper]

Don’t think Tesla the solar roof is available in the UK yet. It’s been promised for years but not appeared to date.

Wind is great if you can get the eyesore of a huge turbine away from the house- they need to be massive to make decent power it seems.

Normal solar and batteries is intriguing though.

 

[stevieturbo]

What caused the panels to go on fire ? cheap panels ? poor work ? other ? Is it really a huge risk ?

Would a solar roof covered in hundreds or thousands of tiles/panels be any less at fire risk than a few large panels mounted remotely on top of the roof out of harms way ?

 

[gpaevo]

What caused the panels to go on fire ? cheap panels ? poor work ? other ? Is it really a huge risk ?

The two I've been to have been system/inverter failures which basically turns them into an uninterrupted power supply, great craic when when the cause of the fire was the electrical source in the first place.

Very difficult to manage and put out. If the isolater system works then it should be safe enough.