Solar PV FIT question

ne1mk1

hi,
i am moving into a new home soon and am looking at solar pv.

Is it legal/possible to have the bare minimum installation completed (the cheapest i can find!) and then upgrade over the next few years from say 1kw to 3.9kw ?

Would this be posible (i understand new inverters would be required)?
Has anyone done something similar?
I want to get the best fit rate and then have a maxed out system within 5 years.

many thanks

P.S
are the grid tied inverters on ebay worth looking into?

Jon_Tiffany

Yes, its perfectly possible to install a small system and then grow it over the years - but its an expensive way to do it. If you were to buy a higher spec inverter at the start you could just add more panels onto the string and use the same inverter.

Inverters need to be G83/1 and everything needs to be installed by an MCS certified installer.

If DIY was an option then this might make sense, but in all honesty you are better off getting it all installed in one go.

Cardew

As said above, the problem is you need everything certified by an MCS installer and it is unlikely you will get too much help from them for a DIY system where you buy the equipment.

The cost of scaffolding is also huge, and nobody is going to clamber over your roof to certify etc - Health and Safety!!!!!

noncom_2

Also, I'm not 100% sure that the "expanded" bit of your system added in future years would attract the same FIT rate as the bit registered initially.

Although I don't have any idea how they would work it out, I suspect that Ofgem would wish to pay you the current high tariff for only 1kWp of capacity (or whatever you first register the system as), and then the lower rate in operation at the time of adding more capacity.

I could be completely wrong of course.
Andy

Jon_Tiffany

noncom wrote: »

Also, I'm not 100% sure that the "expanded" bit of your system added in future years would attract the same FIT rate as the bit registered initially.

Although I don't have any idea how they would work it out, I suspect that Ofgem would wish to pay you the current high tariff for only 1kWp of capacity (or whatever you first register the system as), and then the lower rate in operation at the time of adding more capacity.

I could be completely wrong of course.
Andy

I think you are correct - any additions more than a year later would be classed a new installation and would attract a lower rate.

ne1mk1

So to move on, if i were to get a 1kw system put into place (lets say to make it simple 4x 250w panels) and then decided to upgrade 2 panels to maybe 350w how would the supplier know? as the panels will never really put out their claimed wattage in the UK? So by beefing up the system i would have more chance of consistantly hitting 1kw.

Im obviously just playing around with ideas at the moment so any advice will help

thanks again

Equaliser123

ne1mk1 wrote: »

So to move on, if i were to get a 1kw system put into place (lets say to make it simple 4x 250w panels) and then decided to upgrade 2 panels to maybe 350w how would the supplier know? as the panels will never really put out their claimed wattage in the UK? So by beefing up the system i would have more chance of consistantly hitting 1kw.

Im obviously just playing around with ideas at the moment so any advice will help

thanks again

Is it worth committing fraud for a few quid difference?

daytona600_2

you could use micro inverters
mastervolt soladins or steca sg300/500 for 300-700watts

and add extra modules/inverters/roof mountings in the future
but will be expensive and lower effciency than one bigger inverter

or buy a modular system with 1kwp approx of modules and
bigger 3/4kwp inverter that accepts a wide range
of KWp/modules with a good spread of effciency from top to bottom
of its range to allow system to grow in the future

and add single to lots of modules to get the required output
of say 4kwp - modules & inverter would have to be carefully
selected - only very high quality suppliers that have very close
batch tolerances would work
feed in tarrifs could be used to purchase extra modules

grid inverters MUST be certified to uk grid standard G83/1
to be connected to the grid , pv modules MUST be MCS certified

check ebay suppliers from outside the uk
if i doubt ask for a copy of there test certificates
never scrimp on a inverter
better effciency inverters work out cheaper in the long run
as the convert more dc energy from the solar panels to ac energy
as do high effciency pv modules & they last longer
stick to european brands of inverters
the big boys are almost all german
sma fronius power one kaco steca

ne1mk1 wrote: »

hi,
i am moving into a new home soon and am looking at solar pv.

Is it legal/possible to have the bare minimum installation completed (the cheapest i can find!) and then upgrade over the next few years from say 1kw to 3.9kw ?

Would this be posible (i understand new inverters would be required)?
Has anyone done something similar?
I want to get the best fit rate and then have a maxed out system within 5 years.

many thanks

P.S
are the grid tied inverters on ebay worth looking into?