Help for a newbie

Nellyapple

Advice or user experience please?

I am looking at buying 15 solar panels for my roof with inverter and battery storage. 

I am being told the lux hybrid inverter is one of the best; is this true? Any user experience?

Are Uhome batteries ok? Any user experience?

Quoted price is circa £9k fitted for the 15 panels, 7.2kw batteries and 3.6kw inverter. Is this about right; seems on the mark given the other quotes 

Anyone had any experience of using contact-solar?

All help appreciated, preferably not from solar panel and battery providers, as want the actual user experience if anyone can provide it
 Thanks Neil

ABrass

There's a wide range of panel sizes. What panels are you bring quoted for?
To break even after 15 years you'd have to save £600 a year. Seems borderline to me but there's not enough details to tell.

If you want to save money, don't get batteries.

QrizB

Lots of happy Lux users here (not me personally); see this thread for example. I imagine someone with first-hand experience will be along in a little while.

Most of the posters who have expressed a preference would choose Pylontech batteries rather than Uhome, simply because there are far more suppliers for Pylontech and the two systems aren't directly compatible. See this thread.

Panels come in varying sizes (power outputs) and you don't say how big yours are. 15 x 330w panels would be 5kW, roughly £5k worth. The Lux and 3 x 2.4kWh batteries would add £4k, so your price sounds about right.

I've no experience of Contact Solar, sorry.

Nellyapple

Thanks both, the panels are 385 W JA panels

QrizB

Nellyapple said:

Thanks both, the panels are 385 W JA panels

So almost 5.8kWp? From the info you've provided, it sounds a fair quote for a good-sized system.

arty688

I assume you have had other quotes ? If you haven't I would get at least 3 .
From what I have been quoted not a bad price it does look like though your inverter ration is 1.6 which is higher than recommended (1.1 to 1.25) but it may depend on panel layout eg spread between east and west more likely though is they can't be arsed with applying to the DNO. Which maybe a sign of they are quoting what's best for them not you.

JJ_Egan

Energy forum may have more answers .

arty688

I thought solar panel stuff was on this forum ?

QrizB

arty688 said:

I thought solar panel stuff was on this forum ?

So did I, I point people over here from there not vice-versa!

Nellyapple

Thanks all for the helpful comments😁 the advice on the inverter seems to be a recurring theme so suspect it is slightly undersized. 

I am a bit confused about the last two comments but it is probably my ignorance and it is my first post too so please forgive me 😳

Solarchaser

I've run lux inverters (ac not solar though) for around 18 months and been pretty happy with them. 
If you are set on batteries, id ask for the pylontech rather than uhome, I've had no bother with pylontech over last 3 years, and they are cheaper than uhome and can be picked up from multiple sources.

@mickyduck55 has been running the solar inverter for a while I think.

This would be the forum most suited to solar imo, though I've never visited the energy forum