NSPD: New Solar Panels Day!

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Getting solar panels is something I've wanted to do for years. When I first looked into it years ago I was told you needed a South-facing roof for them to be at all worthwhile. My house has roofs that face due east and west, so I put the idea to bed.

Then I read an article last summer that said the technology had progressed massively, and that they can be plenty effective even if you don't have a South-facing roof. The article (and dozens more I read in the course of my researching) also extolled the virtues of solar battery storage 

Fast forward about 10 months, my little house is now the proud wearer of a 4.8kw solar array (6 panels front, 6 panels back), and a 5.8kw solar battery in my loft space:



Super chuffed with it. Only took one day to fit the whole lot, and it's working a charm. In the 8 days I've had it I've generated over 200kw/h of energy from the panels, with most of it going out to the grid, and I've saved over 200kg of CO2 (apparently, not sure how that's calculated!).

The nifty little app on my phone shows that at this point on a nice sunny June afternoon I'm generating over 3000w, with my battery at 100%, I'm using about 190w and exporting a whisker short of 2700w of carbon-free energy to the grid. My battery has never got below 68%, and I haven't paid a penny for any electricity from the grid in those 8 days. Pleased as punch!

DiscoStu

Impressive. My house is similar, east and west roofs but I am the first house at the top of a hill so nothing obstructing me from the south.

What's the going rate for the feed-in back to the grid? Is it pennies these days or still a decent return?

The battery is a shrewd move. Have you got an off-peak tarriff for overnight charging in the darker months?

RaymondLin

Cost? (for the whole thing including installation)

bertie

RaymondLin said:

Cost? (for the whole thing including installation)

this

so you're generating 18kw a day ?  how much are you using a day ?   

CHRISB50

Where does the path in the middle go!? 

Have you got a platform 9 3/4 thing going on? 

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

DiscoStu said:

Impressive. My house is similar, east and west roofs but I am the first house at the top of a hill so nothing obstructing me from the south.

What's the going rate for the feed-in back to the grid? Is it pennies these days or still a decent return?

The battery is a shrewd move. Have you got an off-peak tarriff for overnight charging in the darker months?

Not getting paid anything at the moment, as I have to wait for my official registration as an energy exporter to come through from the Government! The very generous Feed in tarrifs are sadly no more, presumably stopped as panels got more and more efficient and the Govt was having to fork out too much £! Once I'm all set up on the network I'll be signing up on the Octopus Outgoing tariff, which returns 7.5p per kWh. Not gonna be planning my early retirement off the back of it, let's put it that way! 

I'm still on my existing 2 year fixed deal so have so far been untouched by the recent price hikes. Gonna wait til that expires next summer before moving onto one of the off peak tariffs (of they still exist).

bertie said:

RaymondLin said:

Cost? (for the whole thing including installation)

this

so you're generating 18kw a day ?  how much are you using a day ?   

Cost wasn't cheap, but think I got a good deal after getting plenty of quotes. All in, let's just say that it came to less than a new Heavy Aged Murphy Lab Les Paul! 

Currently using about 4-5kWh per day on average, though obviously that'll go up significantly in the autumn/winter.

CHRISB50 said:

Where does the path in the middle go!? 

Have you got a platform 9 3/4 thing going on? 

Narnia!

RaymondLin

Why the secret about the number? Lol 

Would £8k cover it?

TTony

Interesting.

We've been thinking about the option for a while.  Got as far as getting quotes a couple of years ago, but payback was about 20yrs, so didn't progress it.

Since then, electricity prices have increased a bit, panel tech has improved a bit, battery tech has also improved, so we're reconsidering.

Realistically, payback would have to be <10yrs as we'll likely be moving from here in ~10yrs and I'd like to get some cash back.

Feed in tariffs are now low enough as to be discounted from the sums.  So it's about can you generate - and then store - enough to be independent of mains power in all but very rare occasions.  

Space isn't an issue - we've got enough (east, south & west facing) roofspace, plus groundspace too, to have as many panels as we could need.  The constraint for us is probably the battery tech - how much storage at how much cost would we need.

Roland

My local village hall is currently researching solar panels with battery storage. Do you have any tips, or articles I could point them at?

bertie

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

, let's just say that it came to less than a new Heavy Aged Murphy Lab Les Paul! 

I quite literally have no idea what that is...................... £10 k ?

TTony

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

Fast forward about 10 months, my little house is now the proud wearer of a 4.8kw solar array (6 panels front, 6 panels back), and a 5.8kw solar battery in my loft space:

Super chuffed with it. Only took one day to fit the whole lot, and it's working a charm. In the 8 days I've had it I've generated over 200kw/h of energy from the panels, with most of it going out to the grid, and I've saved over 200kg of CO2 (apparently, not sure how that's calculated!).

How's the weather been during that period - ie super sunny or normal British June weather?

That seems like an impressive amount of generation from a relatively modest amount of roofspace. 

We're using ~20kw/h per day, and 600kw/h-700kw/h per month over the last year, so that small array would be enough for us if the weather over your last 8 days was repeated through the year.

I'm thinking twice the array and twice the battery should therefore be enough to cover the dull-day periods ...

Hmmmmm ....

DiscoStu

@TTony although obviously you (or I) would want to recoup as much as you can if you went ahead you also have to consider that it should add value and appeal when you come to sell.
And if you have batteries then you can take them with you!

I saw a good video a wee while back about batteries. The advice was to get them first as you can charge them using an off peak rate and then use them during the day, plus they are transferable between properties.
If you can afford the panels then by all means get them but batteries are the key to getting the most from either setup. 

bertie

DiscoStu said:

you can charge them using an off peak rate  

 dont you need special meters to be fitted for that ? not sure every supplier offers it

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

RaymondLin said:

Why the secret about the number? Lol 

Would £8k cover it?

Hah, no big secret about the number. Just trying to make it relatable for a bunch of us guitar nerds!

Total cost was £7670. The panels are JA Solar 405w panels, and the battery is a SolaX 'Triple Power' unit, coupled with a SolaX 3.6kw X-1 Interver:

https://www.solaxpower.com/triple-power-battery/

https://www.solaxpower.com/x1-boost/

**Edit** I should add that I went through the whole getting quotes process around December/January time, before the whole energy price thing went completely bonkers. The company that did my install said that demand has shot up exponentially since then, and limited supply and panels/batteries + global supply chain uncertainty has sent the prices soaring up, so I think I got v lucky!

earwighoney

RaymondLin said:

Why the secret about the number? Lol 

Would £8k cover it?

Bravo, that's an incredible guess!

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Roland said:

My local village hall is currently researching solar panels with battery storage. Do you have any tips, or articles I could point them at?

A good place to start would be YouTube. This guy specialises mostly in Electric cars, but his vids on home solar/battery/heat pump solutions are very informative:

This guy similarly started out focusing on cars, but has branched out into home solar stuff:

boogieman

We’ve been looking at having panels put in but we’re in a conservation area and we’ve been told the local council is likely to turn it down.  

@Dontgiveupyourdayjob have you got any bird proof netting fitted around the panels? We were told it’s a good idea as pigeons love to nest under them and you’ll end up with a roof full of the noisy bastards and covered in their crap.  

TheMadMick

One word of warning - Lithium batteries can catch fire and it's near to impossible to it it out. Most fire authorities simply let them burn out. Might be a good idea to put in a safety system e.g. metal case, to minimise damage to the property in case of fire?

PS we have this problem with pigeons and they are right over the front door - ARGHHHHH

digitalscream

@Dontgiveupyourdayjob - what's the logic behind putting the battery in the loft? I'd have thought that would be the worst place for it, given that it's going to be the hottest part of the house and bearing in mind the fire risk.

goldtop

Very interesting and timely. At the business unit, I've got roof space (west-facing, but a shallow pitch) and space for quite a hefty battery and an EV. Other than the EV, though, I have very little demand - just a heat pump. Ms GT wants solar at home, but we just don't use enough electricity, not matter how much man-maths I try.

ISTM, though, that the donating-excess-to-grid thing is a poor option for the individual consumer. It would be so much better if we could distribute the surplus directly - i.e. to neighbours - at a rate of (say) half the normal consumer kWh. Everyone benefits.

(As a side issue, I expect the electricity industry will slowly increase the standing charge to claw back the lost profits due to solar. Can't avoid that unless going completely off-grid.)

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

boogieman said:

We’ve been looking at having panels put in but we’re in a conservation area and we’ve been told the local council is likely to turn it down.  

@Dontgiveupyourdayjob have you got any bird proof netting fitted around the panels? We were told it’s a good idea as pigeons love to nest under them and you’ll end up with a roof full of the noisy bastards and covered in their crap.  

I don't get pigeons round here. The f**king seagulls rule the skies here, the pigeons don't dare encroach. At least with seagulls the don't really sit around on roof tops - they just spend their time trying to get into rubbish bins, stealing food from people's hands, terrorising the local pet population, and shitting on cars!

digitalscream said:

@Dontgiveupyourdayjob - what's the logic behind putting the battery in the loft? I'd have thought that would be the worst place for it, given that it's going to be the hottest part of the house and bearing in mind the fire risk.

They would normally advise putting it in the garage or utility room as a first option, but I don't have either so it's the only other option. They seem fairly confident it won't be an issue, and it's mounted direct to the outside wall that gets zero direct sunlight.