New solar install, seeking advice and information

Matblack

Hi everyone 

We've been lucky enough to be able to add solar to our home in the last week 15 Jinko Tiger 355W going to a Solar Edge inverter. I'm increadably impressed already and we haven't got the feed in sorted out yet. Our set up should produce about 6000kwh per year, we are on the south coast and our roof is one degree off true south so again very lucky! Current consumption is 5700kwh per year so we should be producing slightly more than we use.

I'm aware that solar alone isn't going to be ideal, especially as most of our family are out all day at home or school and the ammount we'll recoup from SEG isn't going to cover our other usage, which is about average for a 3 bed 4 person household I think. We want to use more of what we produce and at the time we commissioned the panels we ordered a Tesla Powerwall as well, this might be overkill and I know it isn't as flexible as some other solutions but we aren't in a position to micromanage the set up and want something which will not need much tinkering.

From the reseach I've done I have two options, to sign up to a Tesla plan and become part of a virtual power plant managed by Tesla/ Octopus or to choose to have more granular control over our system with Outgoing Octpus Aglie or Non Agile.

The Powerwall won't be here till June so I have some time with just Solar and would really appreciate advice on what the best tariff will be in the meantime and then whether people feel that the ease of the tesla plan outweighs the potential additional profit of standard Outgoing Octopus or whether using a Powerwall to buy and sell over the course of the day is even viable,

My understanding is that there are additional bits of kit to maximise solar benefit like an imersion diverter (eddi?) but these are not compatable with the Tesla tariff, so I need to lock in which way we are going before we invest in anything else, hence the question, which tariff?

My overall aim is to negate my electricity bills, for us solar is an ethical investment as opposed to an opertunity to wring every penny out of it, especially if this will include additonal time or financial outlay.

(At this time we do not have an electric car but it is a consideration for the future at wich point our import will exceed our export and this may change the best plan for us. This is unlikely to change for 12 months)

Thanks in advance for any information. If anyone knows of a website or app which allows you to put in your usage and compare the Octopus tariffs, I'd be very gratefull.

Many thanks

Matt

Verdigris

Congratulations on getting plugged into the sun!

Personally, I think Powerwalls are rather overpriced but I can see the attraction of the Tesla scheme if you don't want to be a tinkerer/enthusiast/spod and run your own "power station". I'm not yet a fully fledged Octopus customer, but I gather it is a bit tricky working out what tariffs will suit you best in the long run. On the other hand, as Octopus don't have exit fees, it is easy enough to swap about. I think some people swap between tariffs seasonally.

I'm sure somebody with more hands-on experience will be along, soon, to give you some guidance.

QrizB

Congratulations on the new system!

6000kWh/yr from a 5.3kWp system is quite a bullish target.

Other people will be able to give you more info on the Tesla Powerwall but I recall reading on the forum that you can't directly arbitrage power (buy and sell) with it; you can join the EnergyPlan, or you can treat it as a big dumb(ish) battery.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79034193/#Comment_79034193

Matblack

QrizB said:

Congratulations on the new system!

6000kWh/yr from a 5.3kWp system is quite a bullish target.

Thank you, the installer said that we had ideal conditions, we are 1 degree from south, no shade and a 30 degree slope on the roof, their software said 5969, we have the Solar Edge optomisers too. They packed 15 panels on but we have a flat roof garage with no panels on and a flat roof extention with room for another two due to sky lights. When we buy a fully electric car we will probably add to the array.

Thank you for the link, I think you are right, we either join the Tesla scheme or its just a big battery with minimum flexibilty, in hindsight a more flexible system would have allowed for more tinkering but the benefit of the Tesla is that we can mount it outside rather than take up space inside

Coastalwatch

Hi Mat, you're off to a flying start so hats off to you for getting so far already. Afraid I don't have a Tesla so haven't paid much attention to that scheme on Octopus. We do now have batteries, an EV(Leaf) and PV array which all fits in nicely with the Octopus Go or Go Faster tariff. Like you, I don't wish to tinker too much with the system hence going for the Go Tariff's where the cheaper rates take place at the same time each day, so easy to set timers for the various appliances and then forget. It's taken us four years to arrive where we have so looks like you are making far greater strides than we ever did.

Along with your current setup it may also be worth exploring Ripple Energy's wind farm offer in case of any interest!

Screwdriva

Congrats on going solar! I haven't pulled the trigger on a powerwall yet as we will likely purchase a future EV with vehicle to home capability married to our solar. 

If you're getting a powerwall in the future, I'd suggest Octopus outgoing Agile for maximum funds while you wait for it. You can then switch to the Tesla plan after it is set up and is running.