solar

stone248

Type your messageFirst post so go easy...….hopefully having solar installed and going for a 6.8kw system with tesla powerwall. We have an old house which requires a complete overahaul from an old single pipe gas central heating new boiler etc etc cost £7000. we were just wondering if anyone has installed the above system and gone completely gas free (apart from cooking, im not losing the gas for that) so the house will be heated and run via the solar PV system and the grid.  Also any other comments that might be relevant are always welcomed 

Talldave

Your heating plans aren't clear.  Are you thinking of electric heating (insane!) or a ground-source/air-source heat pump?

I'd look at Octopus for interesting smart metering tariffs that would allow you to top up your powerwall when electricity is cheap (or even negatively priced!).

tim_p

You’ll still need some form of (ideally) gas heating in the winter months. Solar won’t cover much during Nov-Feb even with the battery and 6.8 KWh, 

Cardew

Solar panels and a Tesla powerwall are not intended to power your house. It is highly debateable if they will save you money.

If you go to the 'Green and Ethical' section of this forum you will find that's where lots of solar owners post. You will get some good advice and as many post their daily generation figures you will see how little generation there can be on many days in winter.  

Ectophile

The problem you will have is that you will generate most electricity when you least need it for heating.

In the summer, you will have more electricity that you will know what to do with.  In the winter when the sun is low and days are short, there may be days when the battery barely charges at all, and you'll be heating your house with mains electricity instead.

Grumpy_chap

Is the OP saying that £7k is for supply and install  solar  6.8kw system plus tesla powerwall?

Cardew

Grumpy_chap said:

Is the OP saying that £7k is for supply and install  solar  6.8kw system plus tesla powerwall?

I read it that the replacement gas CH system will cost £7k, but it could be for the solar set up.

matelodave

How are you going to heat your home - I have an Air Source Heat  Heatpump and in the winter months it can use up to 60kwh a day. Using any other sort of electric heating including storage heaters will require energy from the grid. Storage heater will use off peak, any other form of leccy will use peak rate energy.

As others have said, you get most sun in the summer and therefore probably can't use most of it (even if you store it) and get least in the winter when you may not generate enough for even your basic daily needs so you'll have to rely on leccy from the grid.

The cheapest way to heat your house is by mains gas (I've got a heatpump because we dont have mains gas and I dont want LPG, Oil or biomass. We dont have solar either for the reasons stated above).

You really do need to sit down and do some very careful sums - I'm guessing that a large solar array and Tesla Powerwall will cost you a lot more than £7k and then you'll have to pay for some sort of heating - even a heap of oil filled rads from Argos. Dont forget to take into account your energy costs for when you dont generate enough during the winter months.

Dont forget that a gas heating system wil probably enhance the value of your property and exotic heating systems have the potential to devalue it - spending out lotsamoney on solar power is a very long term investment (look at how long it'll take to pay back) so be sure that you intend to stay in the place long enough to recover the costs and reap the benefits.