Should I go off-grid?

HertsLad

zeupater said:

Regarding your batteries having built-in BMS .... do you operate them as a bank or as stand-alone units ... if the former, how are the individual units balanced against each other and what is employed to achieve this .... also, having mentioned that you've expanded capacity, are you mixing batteries of different capacities, makes & age to make-up a single bank (or banks) ? 

Z

The lithium battery manufacturer states how many batteries can be used in series and in parallel. I'm fairly sure I am not exceeding that. Conceptually, I start with two 12.8v batteries in series to provide 25.6v for my nominal 24v system. I then added two further batteries to each leg in parallel. I use a basic battery balancer between the two legs. A light sometimes flashes when it is somehow compensating for an imbalance. The basic battery sizes of 12.8v and 100aH are all the same. Four are branded Eco Worthy and two are 'generic'. 

HertsLad

The price of solar panels seems to be falling, whilst the output power is increasing. I may buy 10 more, they are so reasonably priced. Of course the contractors are still charging sky high prices. The cost of 10 further panels for me is less than the scaffolding price, alone, for a 'normal', certified solar panel installation.

QrizB

HertsLad said:

The price of solar panels seems to be falling, whilst the output power is increasing. I may buy 10 more, they are so reasonably priced. Of course the contractors are still charging sky high prices. The cost of 10 further panels for me is less than the scaffolding price, alone, for a 'normal', certified solar panel installation.

I've just commented on this over on your "how to live without heating" thread. It migh've been better here!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81812360/#Comment_81812360

HertsLad

Today, I registered with Utilita, one of very few energy companies to offer tariffs with no standing charge. I have been with E.ON Next for several years. They refunded my standing charge on electricity because I wasn't using any. I have been using a little gas, just for cooking and heating water. But E.ON's standing charge was four times the cost of my gas usage.

I hope the switch will have two advantages: (1) being able to use mains electricity occasionally without a standing charge eating into any savings, while still relying on solar for the vast majority of my electricity, and (2) lower overall gas costs.

QrizB

Good to hear from you @HertsLad and I hope you get good use from your Utilita tariff!

HertsLad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82109576#Comment_82109576

It's working well so far, thanks. I added prepayments of £25 each for gas and electricity a couple of months ago when I switched over from Eon. Utilita's latest estimate is that the money should last another 100 days, or longer if I can manage it. Whatever I spend on electricity is more than the zero I was paying for a few years. But it's more convenient and worth the small outlay. The gas will be far cheaper than when I was with Eon. Here's a partial screenshot from the Utilita app:

QrizB

£12 spent in two months, that's really impressive moneysaving 😄

Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one here who's glad that you've got mains gas and electricity available should you need to use it. It could come in useful if we have a long cold dull period (another of those dunkelflautes) without any meaningful solar.