Solar panels , would you ?

[PJ87]

16 panels for 14k
16 panels + Alpha =20k
16 panels + Tesla battery = 24

ah to be fair the tesla is where the money is

12 panels for me with micro inverters 15k with the powerwall
so just shows how much a year changes prices considering panels were roughly £500 each extra one.. so £2k more to get same size

 

[need_my_wedge]

The house I just bought has Solar panels, they're on the Scottish Power FIT . I have to do some form to transfer ownership to me, nothing flagged untoward when I was purchasing, i.e. they are owned by the previous owner until transfer. Took me a while to figure out which meter was which as no instructions/ info left by previous owner, but now have the forms to submit once I have the land registry docs.

 

[GB72]

The house I just bought has Solar panels, they're on the Scottish Power FIT . I have to do some form to transfer ownership to me, nothing flagged untoward when I was purchasing, i.e. they are owned by the previous owner until transfer. Took me a while to figure out which meter was which as no instructions/ info left by previous owner, but now have the forms to submit once I have the land registry docs.

Ask if they will accept anything other than a copy of the land registry docs as the Land Registry are taking 6 months to a year in some cases to complete even the most basic of registrations. New Builds and first registrations and take 18 months to 2 years.

 

[cliveb]

All new builds need solar and battery. Say a 3kw array minimum plus a 5kw battery. As standard. With room to add more battery if needed

All very sensible in principle, but how is it going to be achieved?
Solar panels & batteries and/or the expertise to install them is all in short supply.
The maximum amount of domestic solar possible (given the current state of the industry) is already being installed right now, with long waiting times.
Where are all the additional systems that need to go on new builds going to come from?

 

[Tashyboy]

All very sensible in principle, but how is it going to be achieved?
Solar panels & batteries and/or the expertise to install them is all in short supply.
The maximum amount of domestic solar possible (given the current state of the industry) is already being installed right now, with long waiting times.
Where are all the additional systems that need to go on new builds going to come from?

The government has stated it wants 200,000 new builds a new year. That don’t equate to 200,000 house with roofs, but a lot of roofs all the same. IF the government is sincere in its target of zero carbon emissions then it is a must that it cracks on. It has set a target of no diesels after 2030 so why not set a target re Solar, batteries charging points etc

 

[PJ87]

All very sensible in principle, but how is it going to be achieved?
Solar panels & batteries and/or the expertise to install them is all in short supply.
The maximum amount of domestic solar possible (given the current state of the industry) is already being installed right now, with long waiting times.
Where are all the additional systems that need to go on new builds going to come from?

This is where my green revolution happens. Creat an entire industry of supply , manufacturing and fitting of green tech .

Rather than post covid return to tried and tested (to fail) we needed to double down on green

 

[cliveb]

The government has stated it wants 200,000 new builds a new year. That don’t equate to 200,000 house with roofs, but a lot of roofs all the same. IF the government is sincere in its target of zero carbon emissions then it is a must that it cracks on. It has set a target of no diesels after 2030 so why not set a target re Solar, batteries charging points etc

Quite so. The government needs to encourage uptake of green energy.
Presumably this is why it is hitting wind and solar electricity generators with windfall taxes

 

[Tashyboy]

Quite so. The government needs to encourage uptake of green energy.
Presumably this is why it is hitting wind and solar electricity generators with windfall taxes

It’s another one of those discussions where one has to tread the political line finely on the Forum. But only last week the powers that be stated they would like some kind of Industrial Revolution where the uk rivals Silicone valley. ?
Am all for that but seeing as our chance on a better maker in the UK has one belly up. Well one can make its own mind up. Myself I see the solar, batteries etc as part of that revolution. It remains to be seen

 

[Fade and Die]

It’s another one of those discussions where one has to tread the political line finely on the Forum. But only last week the powers that be stated they would like some kind of Industrial Revolution where the uk rivals Silicone valley. ?
Am all for that but seeing as our chance on a better maker in the UK has one belly up. Well one can make its own mind up. Myself I see the solar, batteries etc as part of that revolution. It remains to be seen

Lol…. We in the South are still waiting for the “Northern Powerhouse” to pull us out of the post B ruin we are in! ?

 

[PJ87]

So today is officially the day I moved onto the "new rates" as My fix ended

Goodbye 5.5p night (5hours) 14p day
Hello 12p night (4 hours) 44p day

Now first thing I noticed is hours you lost 1 back also moved back 1 hour so finishes 04:30. Not as good. Used to get the first cuppa and a second tumble maybe in the cheap hours but is what it is

Woke up 06:30 to 90% battery (13.5kw is full so a smidge over 12kw) due a massive load in heat pump tumble that had overrun the hours (but only used 2.5kw total so not bad)

Total used in the cheap hours 22kw so £2.64 but 50p standing so just over £3

Solar was good today 8.7kw so it's 5pm now I got 70% battery (9.5kw) to get me to 00:30 when it recharges .. perfect. If no solar id be running out in about an hour but done a fair bit today being at home.

Not bad for the first day in the expensive rates I won't touch them and battery won't need a full charge tonight

Onto tomorrow

Quick edit last night's charge plus today's solar put today's savings at £5.29 .. better in my pocket than the energy companies. (Originally put £7.54 but remember £2 of that is saving just by putting things on overnight rather than the system itself so £2 less)

 

[PJ87]

Almost one year since the panels went up on the roof (battery won't be a year until October due to supply issues)

Anyways the savings have crept past the £1000 barrier which is a very surprising return considering my very good fix only came to an end in February

Savings from may - Feb £450 savings Feb to April £589.5 (bill date 27th April)

If prices stay same savings should be £1500-1800 a year

I've moved away from tracking month to month solar production (it's all on the app if I need) just simply now tracking how much I paid to octopus (who just cut my night right from 12p a kw to 9.5p so hope is out there for energy prices) then I track how much my house actual used in that billing period (from the apps) times that by whatever the either fixed cost or ATM government cap on unit cost and the diff between the two is the savings

Last month alone saved £214 which is remarkable

It's 9am, the battery is down at 80% (filled up until 4:30am) however we were down to 70% earlier as one the kids was sick overnight so all the bedding being washed and dried

By lunchtime the battery should be full again and that's been the case until about 7pm when the solar tails off for evening and can't cover the base and the battery tops it up

To be fair last night did a wash, tumble and dishwasher after 7 and the battery was still at 47% when it went onto charge again

(For reference the battery is 13.5kw)

Very happy with the return thus far , especially now it's spring again

I'd fully recommend solar with a battery to anyone who isn't planning to move and can afford to do so.

 

[cliveb]

I'd fully recommend solar with a battery to anyone who isn't planning to move and can afford to do so.

Can you remind us what size solar array you have and how much it cost?

 

[PJ87]

Can you remind us what size solar array you have and how much it cost?

4.5kw on micro inverters

Cost including battery £15,000

Price as @Mudball found has sky rocketed since I got my install, however I've heard that the cost of the Powerwall has dropped back down again now the supply issues have gone

I was predicted (by the quote given from the installer) to be 4163kw a year from the panels

Bear in mind it came online 9th may in the afternoon I'm up to 4100kw today which is remarkably close to the figure

25 year guarantee on the panels at 83% of original output, which considering each inverter is (micro ones are on each panel in my set up) sized to handle slightly below what the panel can produce that even at 83% the inverter (also 25 year guarantee) will still produce the same numbers

Of course every roof is different, he said microinverters were best for me but others a standard stringe inverter would be fine (slightly cheaper)

Should also add that of the 15 fee about 9 was the actual battery and brains to the battery , the actual solar itself was only 6, cheaper batteries are available for more average usage households



Quick add here, it's now 10am and the battery is now back up to 90% so won't be long until the system exports. Which is a massive waste for me as it's only 4.1p a kw they pay due to the tariff I'm on, wasn't as bad when I was on 5.5p at night but now it's 9.5p it's much more of a waste

 

[Tashyboy]

Had my last solar tariff come through last month. £350 for the worst three months of the year £350. It is now paying 62pKW during the best months that can be 23/24 KW a day.

 

[PJ87]

Had my last solar tariff come through last month. £350 for the worst three months of the year £350. It is now paying 62pKW during the best months that can be 23/24 KW a day.

They need to bring back the decent old tariffs like this to encourage take up , it's truly the way to a greener grid for sure

My export is 4.1p but that's just because octopus don't let me go on their standard one (15p) as I'm on a cheap night tariff

They have come up with this new flux tariff which is very good .. it is cheap to buy overnight. (22p) then export goes to 45p at peak hours and stays at 34p to buy during day .. so idea is you fill up your battery and discharge into the grid at the peak time to help reduce demand for the grid / use the excess of people's solar

However they are just one decent company, need the rest to follow

 

[full_throttle]

Just had my first monthly bill from Octopus, Electric usage for April 21.52kwh, exported 23.57kwh, I have only been exporting since Apr 26th. Electric bill £19.27,

10 x 4kw panels and a 6kw battery

 

[cliveb]

They need to bring back the decent old tariffs like this to encourage take up

No, they really don't.
The old FIT scheme (which is still operational, of course) is a poorly thought out way to move money from the poor to the rich. Everyone pays a supplement on their electricity bill to cover the FIT payments given to those who could afford to install a system. (I speak as someone who had such a system on the top FIT rate until we moved in 2021).

The last thing we need now is to encourage massive amounts of PV that produce power during the daytime in summer when it's not needed, at least not unless there's a way to store it. We should now be encouraging ways to balance demand, ie. installing storage systems and shifting demand to overnight. Unfortunately at present all the easily available battery systems depend on rare materials such as lithium and cobalt. Driving a move towards less environmentally damaging storage systems (eg. flow batteries, gravity batteries in old mine shafts, etc) is where the focus should be.

 

[Hobbit]

No, they really don't.
The old FIT scheme (which is still operational, of course) is a poorly thought out way to move money from the poor to the rich. Everyone pays a supplement on their electricity bill to cover the FIT payments given to those who could afford to install a system. (I speak as someone who had such a system on the top FIT rate until we moved in 2021).

The last thing we need now is to encourage massive amounts of PV that produce power during the daytime in summer when it's not needed, at least not unless there's a way to store it. We should now be encouraging ways to balance demand, ie. installing storage systems and shifting demand to overnight. Unfortunately at present all the easily available battery systems depend on rare materials such as lithium and cobalt. Driving a move towards less environmentally damaging storage systems (eg. flow batteries, gravity batteries in old mine shafts, etc) is where the focus should be.

On the issue of shifting demand; here in Spain the peak (domestic) pricing times are when businesses are open. Equally, if you want to put your dishwasher on, do it during siesta time, mid afternoon. Overnight and weekends are the cheapest. A pain when it was first introduced a couple of years ago but we’re used to it now, and our bills are actually cheaper at around €80 a month.

We have a solar panel for the hot water supply. It’s backed by an immersion heater which goes on late Oct till early March. It just gives it an extra kick on the cloudy days.

 

[PJ87]

No, they really don't.
The old FIT scheme (which is still operational, of course) is a poorly thought out way to move money from the poor to the rich. Everyone pays a supplement on their electricity bill to cover the FIT payments given to those who could afford to install a system. (I speak as someone who had such a system on the top FIT rate until we moved in 2021).

The last thing we need now is to encourage massive amounts of PV that produce power during the daytime in summer when it's not needed, at least not unless there's a way to store it. We should now be encouraging ways to balance demand, ie. installing storage systems and shifting demand to overnight. Unfortunately at present all the easily available battery systems depend on rare materials such as lithium and cobalt. Driving a move towards less environmentally damaging storage systems (eg. flow batteries, gravity batteries in old mine shafts, etc) is where the focus should be.

Unfortunately people don't put in systems unless they see numbers to come back in or want to do their bit

Balancing I agree is needed, small batteries with solar are ideal

Load shifting should be encouraged through active pricing, it's what octopus do, agile tracks the wholesale and you can get paid to use when supply is high and pay more when supply is low thus move as much as you can to the cheaper part. Charging a car, doing a tumble, dishwasher, whatever it is

Octopus lowered their ev rates at night because through grid balancing they have managed to save enough electric to charge Leicester for 1 hour , remarkable really just by getting users to load shift

Whilst the solutions ATM seem environmentally unfriendly they are far less damaging than continuing on the path we have been on, for example when my battery gives up the ghost by then you would hope less harmful batteries are on the market, (telsa working on one without colbate) but holding off until that comes isn't ideal as we need to move as much away as possible to get off just burning coal and gas

The fit tariff were excellent, maybe not the generation side but the feed in price is an incentive

However like I said before octopus flux where they pay more for export during the peak is the one that does make a difference for sure

Your export when not needed is still very useful you are reducing your neighbours actual demand on fossil fuels at the same time

 

[cliveb]

The fit tariff were excellent, maybe not the generation side but the feed in price is an incentive

Here is where I disagree. The FIT scheme was/is excellent for those who were rich enough to get in on it 10 or so years ago. But it is only excellent in the sense that they get paid a lot of money which has been collected from everyone else.

Sure, the government can be applauded for trying to encourage uptake of renewables, but they went about it in a very flawed way. Any future incentives should be equally available to all, not just the rich. Example: instead of giving grants to people able to afford heat pumps, perhaps it would be better to fund improvement of insulation on the poorest housing stock.