Unregistered Solar PV - FIT

warrenb

Ectophile wrote: »

Martyn1981 describes one option. By coincidence, as of today, I'm now powered by solar and battery. My old inverter went pop just before Christmas, so I now have a new inverter with a small battery attached. This should work well in sunny weather, as it can charge up during the day, giving me free electricity in the evening. On wet horrible days in the winter, it's unlikely to store enough power to be much use at all.

Another popular option, if you have a traditional hot water system with a hot tank and immersion heater, is to use a solar diverter to give you free hot water. Again, this will only really work when it's sunny. If you currently have a combi-boiler, then the cost of installing it is unlikely ever to pay back. The diverters can also power electric heating, which may be useful for a limited time in the spring and autumn.

I would be very interested in the inverter you have, as I am looking to get 1.6kw put on the garage roof and am looking for a storage inverter so I don't need DNO permission as already have 4kw on main roof.

pile-o-stone

warrenb wrote: »

I would be very interested in the inverter you have, as I am looking to get 1.6kw put on the garage roof and am looking for a storage inverter so I don't need DNO permission as already have 4kw on main roof.

Will your garage be off grid? If not, then you will still need DNO approval for more than 3.68 kw generation. If you are going to be off-grid then you need to get a battery and inverter that is designed for off grid use.

Ectophile

warrenb wrote: »

I would be very interested in the inverter you have, as I am looking to get 1.6kw put on the garage roof and am looking for a storage inverter so I don't need DNO permission as already have 4kw on main roof.

It's a Solax X-Hybrid. They are available in a range of sizes, depending on how many panels you have. That's matched to a Solax 3.3KWh battery, of which 3kWh is usable (the battery is never allowed to run completely flat). Larger batteries are available.

It can run in normal grid-tied mode, or standalone "islanded". But it's a manual switch-over, mainly intended to ride out power cuts.

Dickymicky

Anyone using batteries with the Greenenergy TIDE tariff? What's the verdict?

jimjames

If they've never been registered for FIT can they be "uninstalled" and reinstalled. Commissioning date would then be a current date and allow FIT registration?

EricMears

jimjames wrote: »

If they've never been registered for FIT can they be "uninstalled" and reinstalled. Commissioning date would then be a current date and allow FIT registration?

Problem with that approach is that the 'non-new' panels wouldn't qualify for the scheme.

Martyn1981

EricMears wrote: »

Problem with that approach is that the 'non-new' panels wouldn't qualify for the scheme.

I was just agreeing with you, when I had a sudden thought. What if they changed the panels? Bear with me.

Panels are relatively cheap, and might (just might) not need scaffolding. I wonder how the legislation works if the panels are swapped out, and a new MCS cert is issued with a new commissioning date.

I genuinely have no idea whether this is already 'blocked' somehow, but perhaps an idea, depends how much an MCS registered installer would charge for the panels, work and paperwork.

Probably a dumb idea.

EricMears

Martyn1981 wrote: »

I was just agreeing with you, when I had a sudden thought. What if they changed the panels? Bear with me.

Panels are relatively cheap, and might (just might) not need scaffolding. I wonder how the legislation works if the panels are swapped out, and a new MCS cert is issued with a new commissioning date.

I genuinely have no idea whether this is already 'blocked' somehow, but perhaps an idea, depends how much an MCS registered installer would charge for the panels, work and paperwork.

Probably a dumb idea.

Not sure how much cheaper that would be than a brand new installation ? Doubt you'd get away with no scaffolding but you might be able to re-use the old frames and the wiring which might save a couple of hundred pounds and I don't think there's any need to use a new inverter which could save another £500. In theory you could sell the old panels although not sure how much of a secondhand market there would be. Guess that could save a thousand compared to an all brand new system which if you manage to find a really competitive installer might represent a 20% or even 25% 'discount'

Martyn1981

EricMears wrote: »

Not sure how much cheaper that would be than a brand new installation ? Doubt you'd get away with no scaffolding but you might be able to re-use the old frames and the wiring which might save a couple of hundred pounds and I don't think there's any need to use a new inverter which could save another £500. In theory you could sell the old panels although not sure how much of a secondhand market there would be. Guess that could save a thousand compared to an all brand new system which if you manage to find a really competitive installer might represent a 20% or even 25% 'discount'

Hiya, I was also thinking time saving. If two guys and two ladders can do it, utilising the racking once the first panel is off, and all in 1hr, then maybe £2k for the panels, time and paperwork, but as you say, may need scaffolding and might take longer. Plus I'm still thinking it sounds too dodgy to not be blocked already.

EricMears

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Plus I'm still thinking it sounds too dodgy to not be blocked already.

It's hard to see how the scheme organisers could say both "your system is not eligible for FIT" AND "you can't register a new system because you already have one" !