Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

Nissan enters domestic storage market with xStorage

Mart.

michaels

I already have a 24kwh Nissan battery pack in my garage that I charge up from PV during the day, and a (solar edge) invertor - I don't suppose the electircal gubbins to connect the two so I could use say 6kw hour of that storage in the evenings would actually cost very much...although the company paying me FIT might not be too impressed.....

So it would actually probably work out fairer all round if I were able to charge using the PV DC rather than the post invertor (and export meter) AC.

Is this is a gap in the market, I suspect it could be 'plug and play' to both the car (it has a DC charger built in) and the invertor (as don't solar edge already suply battery storage solutions).

EricMears

michaels wrote: »

I already have a 24kwh Nissan battery pack in my garage that I charge up from PV during the day, and a (solar edge) invertor - I don't suppose the electircal gubbins to connect the two so I could use say 6kw hour of that storage in the evenings would actually cost very much...although the company paying me FIT might not be too impressed.....

So it would actually probably work out fairer all round if I were able to charge using the PV DC rather than the post invertor (and export meter) AC.

Is this is a gap in the market, I suspect it could be 'plug and play' to both the car (it has a DC charger built in) and the invertor (as don't solar edge already suply battery storage solutions).

There's nothing 'unfair' in using as much as you want of your own generation after it has been recorded by the TGM.

T&Cs of the FIT contract are crystal clear on that.

michaels

What I was thinking was that after I charged my car from the mains I would use the already in-situ invertor (for the PV) rather than installing a second invertor to convert it back to AC for my use in the evening - but of course if it goes through the PV invertor then I earn FIT on it....

zeupater

michaels wrote: »

What I was thinking was that after I charged my car from the mains I would use the already in-situ invertor (for the PV) rather than installing a second invertor to convert it back to AC for my use in the evening - but of course if it goes through the PV invertor then I earn FIT on it....

Hi

It's likely a little more complex than you currently think .... yes there are inverters which can charge batteries directly from DC, but they're specifically designed for DC/DC charging with everything necessary to maintain battery status/condition etc ....

The biggest issue you will come across with the storage system is matching the battery supply power level to match household consumption in order to make best use of what you have, else you'll simply be supplying on a timed basis (at night) until the batteries are depleted with much of the storage likely flowing directly to the grid. Well designed storage will be monitoring charge status and domestic consumption at all times and where possible act to track & supplement your pv generation during the day .... for example, if the storage is capable of supplying 2kW and the pv is generating 1.5kW, switching a 3kW kettle on will (/should) result in the storage seeing a shortfall and supply the difference .... this takes specific control circuitry and connectivity which a standard pv inverter doesn't have ....

There's an interesting bit of kit being released by SMA which seems to fall into the 'fit all'/'easy install'/'reasonable cost' category better than anything else I've come across yet, but apart from a tech-spec sheet they hadn't published any sales brochures the last time I looked .... (see post #1361 on this thread) ...

HTH
Z

matty2767

The SMA brochure that you linked too implies you need an inverter and the sunny boy storage unit and power wall. That's a lot of kit.

http://www.sma-uk.com/sma-storage-solutions/residential.html

zeupater

matty2767 wrote: »

The SMA brochure that you linked too implies you need an inverter and the sunny boy storage unit and power wall. That's a lot of kit.

http://www.sma-uk.com/sma-storage-solutions/residential.html

Hi matty

Agree, but unless you take an integrated approach, which may involve dumping existing inverter and/or tying into a single manufacturer offering, that's what you need.

For us, we already have the inverter and wouldn't be looking to swap that investment out if not necessary. The advantage of the SunnyBoy Storage solution is that it's both inverter and battery technology independent, which particularly suits my thoughts on future-proofing - if/when the existing inverter or battery pack needs replacing you're not tied into a particular technology or manufacturer, which could prove to be a welcome advantage ....

As for the size, well compared to a decent capacity battery pack (eg Tesla 1800x860), the storage management solution from SMA (450x357) is much smaller, pretty much in line with our existing inverter (aprox 500x500) ...

HTH
Z

matty2767

Did you see my link and the extra sunny boy storage information from the SMA website? Might give you some more advice on what you can do with the different options they do

zeupater

matty2767 wrote: »

Did you see my link and the extra sunny boy storage information from the SMA website? Might give you some more advice on what you can do with the different options they do

Hi

Yes, I looked and have been following their developments for a number of years ....

SMA have certainly had some interesting options for a while, especially the integrated offerings and the SunnyIsland range, however, I find this latest one particularly worthy of consideration due to it's potential flexibility and relative cost which was said to be ~€1000 when released, so somewhere around £800 .. add in the necessary bits & bobs and you have the basis for a £1k system before batteries & installation, which brings the recent prices for storage mentioned on the forum into context and certainly suggests a competition-led pricing step-change isn't that far away ....

HTH
Z

michaels

MY point being that given I already have both an inverter and a big battery pack you would have thought it should be possible to do the other bits and pieces to make use of storage at a price that would make the whole thing work as there would be no need to duplicate the two most expensive components.