On-grid domestic battery storage

Reed_Richards

EVandPV wrote: »

Yeah, I would have thought that was the whole point of having a battery, no export.

Think about this example: 5 KW panels operating at 80% so 4 kW output on a sunny summers day. 8 kWh battery, charged in 2 hours. Unless you can afford a massive battery in summer you will fully charge it and start to export if you don't have something else to do with the spare power.

EVandPV

Reed_Richards wrote: »

Think about this example: 5 KW panels operating at 80% so 4 kW output on a sunny summers day. 8 kWh battery, charged in 2 hours. Unless you can afford a massive battery in summer you will fully charge it and start to export if you don't have something else to do with the spare power.

Our pv is only 3kw though.

EVandPV

@ anyone who did the majority of the installation themselves, what sort of price did you pay the spark to do the ac connection ?
I'm thinking it's only a connection to the CU with a breaker inbetween, or am I missing something ?

1961Nick

EVandPV wrote: »

@ anyone who did the majority of the installation themselves, what sort of price did you pay the spark to do the ac connection ?
I'm thinking it's only a connection to the CU with a breaker inbetween, or am I missing something ?

It's about as complicated as wiring a plug. That doesn't mean you should attempt it yourself unless you are absolutely 100% sure of your competence.

There is no reason why you couldn't bolt the inverter to the wall, do all the ac & dc wiring, fit the breakers & then get a spark to make the ac connection to the consumer unit. That way you'd be compliant & get an installation certificate on the cheap.

EVandPV

1961Nick wrote: »

It's about as complicated as wiring a plug. That doesn't mean you should attempt it yourself unless you are absolutely 100% sure of your competence.

There is no reason why you couldn't bolt the inverter to the wall, do all the ac & dc wiring, fit the breakers & then get a spark to make the ac connection to the consumer unit. That way you'd be compliant & get an installation certificate on the cheap.

Well, the guy who Think Renewables put me in touch with for the install just came back to me with a pretty decent price so I might just let him do the lot and have peace of mind that it's all set up correctly.
He fits the Lux controllers regularly so will no doubt have it done in a fraction of the time it would take me.

Solarchaser

I wired mine in myself as I'm ok with electrics, but paying for someone to come out and connect it, I'd be think maybe £150.
He would have to check all your wiring was ok, plus theres his travel /call out fee.
That price would likely increase the further south you go.

I phoned and spoke to DNO, and they were unconcerned as it was only 3kw max output.

Ken the wires for CT clamps. It will be the supply wire (positive only) for the PV, usually as it comes into the CU, and then the positive supply to the house to see if there is surplus, same as how the iboost works.

joefizz

Another quick update.
Id dropped pylontech a mail about the rs232 port and comms software/clui access and they have just replied saying that its for their technicians only and not intended for customer use.


No real surprise at that, did no harm to ask though.
The information is available online if anyone was really interested in invalidating their warranty ;-)


For those wanting ease of change on the sofar, its probably worth dropping them a mail asking about possible future menu access/additional feature/remote access etc.

gzoom

I'm officially an 'accidental' on-grid domestic battery storage geek.

Had zero interest in solar PV or batteries just 5 years ago, but due to inherent interest in tech ended up with a really cheap Nissan Leaf deal back in 2015.

We are lucky enough to have a very healthy disposable income, I saw an AutoExpress video of a Tesla Model S making an Aston Martin Rapide S look very ordinary which peaked my interest as at the time I was thinking about a BMW M5. Than almost by chance ended up in been taken for a ride in a Tesla Model S by a friendly EV owner when on holiday in LA, he showed the very first Tesla SuperCharger in Hawthorne at the Tesla design centre/Space X factory and the rest as they say is history.....




So exactly 48hrs ago, a bunch of nice chaps from a local energy firm came and installed this in our house. A PowerWall 2 that Tesla send to me for free as part of their old 'referral' scheme after 6 other people used my referral code to buy a Tesla (sadly the scheme is now stopped).


I was offered the chance to upgrade the Gateway to Gateway 2 for £1300 to enable the 'back up' function, but been moneysavingexpert, why pay for something which is coming for free?? We also happened to have a 4KW solar array on the house that the previous owners fitted in 2015, so its fully owned by us with 2015 FIT tariffs.





The Tesla Hardware itself is very nicely presented, and almost a shame it's hidden away, would have looked lovely in the corridor but the logistics of running a hardware connection to the gateway proved to be too complex.


The software integration with the Tesla phone App is amazing though, even more impressive than the hardware, very easy to use with ability to export all the raw data. The fact it runs on the same App as the car also makes life very easy.





As off 4am today the 'advanced' feature turned on in the App, so the PowerWall can now charge during the E7 off peak rate with my currently supplier - Bulb.


Will almost certainly move to Octopus Go, just need to make sure 4hrs of EV charging is enough for us - Our EV did 14K last year with nearly all home charging.


I'm really lucky to have stubble into all this fancy tech, as neither solar PVs or battery packs were something we would have spent our money on by our selves, but through luck/circumstances we've ended up with a fantastic package.


Seeing our 4KW panels generate 1kWh even yesterday in the rain, has given me the push needed to go ahead and up our solar PV setup. We are doing a house extension anyways so will be looking to get another 4-6KW added. If we can generate 2-3kWh even on a gloomy/wet November day that still covers 50-60% of average electricity use in a day. And as everyone on this thread am sure agrees, using your own electricity just feels nice

joefizz

gzoom wrote: »

The Tesla Hardware itself is very nicely presented, and almost a shame it's hidden away, would have looked lovely in the corridor but the logistics of running a hardware connection to the gateway proved to be too complex.

Nice one! Id have hung that in the hallway myself ;-)


Keep us up to date with how you get on with it and if it changes your usage patterns or just lets you do something you hadnt originally thought of when you installed it.

Coastalwatch

gzoom wrote: »

I'm officially an 'accidental' on-grid domestic battery storage geek.

Had zero interest in solar PV or batteries just 5 years ago, but due to inherent interest in tech ended up with a really cheap Nissan Leaf deal back in 2015.

So exactly 48hrs ago, a bunch of nice chaps from a local energy firm came and installed this in our house. A PowerWall 2 that Tesla send to me for free as part of their old 'referral' scheme after 6 other people used my referral code to buy a Tesla (sadly the scheme is now stopped).

Seeing our 4KW panels generate 1kWh even yesterday in the rain, has given me the push needed to go ahead and up our solar PV setup. We are doing a house extension anyways so will be looking to get another 4-6KW added. If we can generate 2-3kWh even on a gloomy/wet November day that still covers 50-60% of average electricity use in a day. And as everyone on this thread am sure agrees, using your own electricity just feels nice

Wow gzoom what a super story, thanks for sharing it with us. Like you we stumbled across PV, EV and the whole renewable scene a couple of years ago. The positive guys on here being so helpful in getting us set up with a great system(8.85kWp) and can appreciate why you are now planning to increase the scale of your own.
Would love a Powerwall but afraid it's too expensive for us at present. It's great you getting one for free and we're not jealous at all.:eek:;)

Look forward to reading further updates of progress.