A Single Solar Panel

mapryan

All

I have some space on my back edition and thought it would be great if I could install a single 400W solar panel and install it up there. Sadly, unlike in Germany where they can plug panels into the walls, things aren't so simple here. So if I bought a micro-inverter, what would I need to buy to hook the panel up to the house supply?

To be clear, I'm not going to do that part myself - just wondering what the shopping list is to put this together

Thanks

Mike

QrizB

Electricity is pretty much the same here as Germany; if you plug it in it will work but it won't be legal.

To do it legally (and we don't discuss illegal things here, it's against the rules) it will need a dedicated fused circuit from your consumer unit, installed (at least in England, the laws are different in Scotland) by a trained and certified electrician. You can then file a G98 notification to your DNO.

If you read the notes on this kit it explains it all better than I can.

arty688

How do these guys sell what they sell ?

https://www.pluginsolar.co.uk/

Is what they are saying to to illegal ?

Exiled_Tyke

arty688 said:

How do these guys sell what they sell ?

https://www.pluginsolar.co.uk/

Is what they are saying to to illegal ?

Because in the small print it says that you must use a qualified electrician and do the paperwork for the DNO. It's sold as a plug in kit but in reality it's just all the equipment you need to install.  Good luck to anyone going this route in finding someone to do the job when they haven't sold the system.

JKenH

mapryan said:

All

I have some space on my back edition and thought it would be great if I could install a single 400W solar panel and install it up there. Sadly, unlike in Germany where they can plug panels into the walls, things aren't so simple here. So if I bought a micro-inverter, what would I need to buy to hook the panel up to the house supply?

To be clear, I'm not going to do that part myself - just wondering what the shopping list is to put this together

Thanks

Mike

There is an alternative to connecting to the grid which may or may not suit your circumstances. 

My situation is different as I already have solar panels but no south facing ones. It isn’t possible for me to connect more to the grid so I looked at a stand alone solution. I bought a 340w solar panel for around £200 inc vat and delivery and have connected this to a 2.4kWh portable power station (PPS). A PPS consists of a battery, charge controller and inverter. You simply plug your solar panel in, mine came with the cables to connect to the panel, to charge up the PPS and then you are ready to plug your devices in to the 240v outlet. 

One of the problems with solar panels is that the solar panels produce energy when we don’t always need it so having a battery is a way of collecting and storing the energy until you need it. If you are at home all day and always using more than 400 watts then a battery wouldn’t add much over a grid tied solar panel but if you are out during the day it could be useful. On a sunny day with a vaguely south facing 400w panel you could fill up the 2.4kWh battery for evening use. It would also enable you to use more power than the 400w the panel provides. My PPS has an output of 1kW (1.2kW peak) but you can get them with higher outputs but generally they would be more expensive. You will always lose some energy (typically around 15%) in the charging/discharging cycle so a 2.4 kWh PPS will give you around 2 kWh useable.

My PPS cost £1200 so that might seem like an expensive solution to your problem but if you go for a grid tied system in addition to buying an inverter you will really need to get an electrician in. 

I will edit the post a little later to add a video of someone who installed a PPS like mine with a single solar panel.

Edit: video link https://youtu.be/XEwhCDJp3os

arty688

Exiled_Tyke said:

arty688 said:

How do these guys sell what they sell ?

https://www.pluginsolar.co.uk/

Is what they are saying to to illegal ?

Because in the small print it says that you must use a qualified electrician and do the paperwork for the DNO. It's sold as a plug in kit but in reality it's just all the equipment you need to install.  Good luck to anyone going this route in finding someone to do the job when they haven't sold the system.

So I'm guessing in reality people do this probably put pluginsolar as the installer or don't do the G98 thing and blag it.

arty688

Out of interest just had a look at the instructions  https://www.pluginsolar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Plug-In-Solar-Installation-Manual-Adjustable-Mount.pdf,

here's some clips.

In the UK the installation of a Plug-In Solar Kit is considered non-notifiable electrical work under Part P of the Building Regulations 2013, as it is an alteration to an existing installation (the mains grid). “Regulation 12(6A) sets out electrical installation work that is notifiable. All other electrical installation work is not notifiable – namely additions and alterations to existing installations outside special locations, and replacements, repairs and maintenance anywhere.” Installation of a non-notifiable Plug-In Solar kit should still be designed, installed, inspected, tested and certificated in accordance with BS 7671.

As Plug-In Solar kits are DIY, self installed solar systems you should complete this section as the installer. In the Accreditation/Qualification section you should fill this in as ‘N/A (Self-Installed)’, unless you have an appropriate accreditation. This section of the form also needs to be signed

Are they lying ? 

NB I'm not defending them or encouraging people to do this it just curiosity on a boring work day today.

QrizB

arty688 said:

Are they lying ?

"New circuits" are always notifiable:

https://www.voltimum.co.uk/articles/part-p-handy-checklist-notifiable

If you just happen to have a suitable spare circuit already (eg. a pre-installed circuit for a pond pump you've removed) then you'll find that "extensions and modifications to circuits" are also notifiable if they're for solar power systems.

I'm not going to say they are lying, but they seem to disagree with other experts.

Edit: see also NICEIC:
https://www.the50plus.co.uk/tech_support/Part_P_Guide.pdf

arty688

So I assume there angle is its not a new circuit as you are replacing an existing socket on the ring main or spurring off an existing socket which are things you can do yourself. Although I didn't realise I couldn't do it in my garage...

QrizB

arty688 said:

So I assume there angle is its not a new circuit as you are replacing an existing socket on the ring main or spurring off an existing socket which are things you can do yourself.

But that won't be Wiring Regs compliant; you're supposed to have a dedicated circuit.

If you've got a power circuit that's fed from both ends (grid one end, solar the other) there are fault scenarios where you can exceed the ampacity of the cable without tripping the breaker and cause a fire.

For a single 400W panel this is unlikely, but it's still against the rules.

arty688

OK so if you had an electrician put a dedicated circuit which is something you could get organised quite easily and then installed this would that be legal ?