Revised Solar quote + more noob advice needed?

marchesini46

6KW SOLAR PV SYSTEM - Option 1

15 x 400 Black Panels 

1 x Sofar Inverter

1 x 3.5kw Pylontech Battery (3.5kw)

1 x Cables, conduit, isolators

1 x HIES insurance backed warranty

1 x MCS sign off 

1 x Installation

1 x Iboost (Hot water) £400

1 x Bird Mesh £500

1 x Scaffolding 

TOTAL £9,995 fitted NO VAT 

———————————————

6KW SOLAR PV SYSTEM - Option 2

15 x 400 Black Panels 

1 x Sofar Inverter

2 x 3.5kw Pylontech Battery (3.5kw)

1 x Cables, conduit, isolators

1 x HIES insurance backed warranty

1 x MCS sign off 

1 x Installation

1 x Scaffolding 

TOTAL £10,495 fitted NO VAT 

———————————————

Hi again,

I asked for some feedback a while ago on a previous quote but stood and watched from the sidelines while the energy prices went haywire. Now that there seems to be some clarity on Price caps etc going forward, I’m revisiting the solar installation again. 

Just for context, our property is a 5 bed detached house in SE London and we use approx 500kwh per month. I’m not planning on getting an electric car anytime soon so can’t take advantage of cheap rate evening rates. Latest electric bills are shown below:

Aug 22: 495 kWh 

Jul 22: 478 kWh

Jun 22: 547 kWh

May 22: 538 kWh

Apr 22: 459 kWh 

Mar 22: 492 kWh

Feb 22: 548 kWh

Jan 22: 590 kWh

Dec 21: 582 kWh

Nov 21: 587 kWh

Oct 21: 560 kWh

Sep 21: 550 kWh

Aug 21: 540 kWh

Jul 21: 552 kWh

Jun 21: 490 kWh

May 21: 502 kWh

Apr 21: 640 kWh

Mar 21: 660 kWh

I do have some further questions which I hope you can help me with:

I have a quote from Eco- Renewables which seems ok. Based on my earlier advice, I upped the number of panels (to 6kW) and an option on either one or 2 batteries.

1. What do you think of the prices? They seem a tad expensive but this might just be down to taking advantage of the current situation or whether supplier cost have actually increased in the past few months?
2. The supplier told me that the batteries were £1500 each but I’ve looked online and it appears they are approx £1000 + VAT which leads me to believe that the supplier is still charging me the VAT on the supply / installation. However, I may have misunderstood how the zero vat works on installs? They have told me that if I went for one to start with, they could just send me another one at a later date for £1500 and it simply plugs in for additional capacity. Is this the case and if so, I need to ask for an itemised quote to see where the budget is going. Any advice on the battery / install costs? Online price here: https://www.itstechnologies.shop/products/pylon-tech-us3000c-3-5kwh-li-ion-solar-wind-battery-storage 
3. They have also listed additions of bird protection at £500 - which seems pricey. Not sure what it is but I can access my own roof really easily so wonder if this is something I can just add myself? I believe I’ve also seen other installs whereby they have got this ‘thrown in’ as part of the complete install. Thoughts?
4. Also listed as an extra is the iboost to heat up our Megaflow water tank. Maths is not my strong point but based on current / projected prices, would it be cheaper to just use gas from the grid to heat up the water rather than using excess solar power or selling it back to the grid on Octopus Agile export? I understand that the Agile rates are really good? Is the iBoost worth it?
5. Bearing in mind we are coming into the darker months, anything else I should be thinking about?
6. Any other reputable suppliers that are worth getting quotes from?

As always, many thanks for your expert opinions and advice.

QrizB

The two-battery system with 6kW of solar and 7kWh of battery for £10.5k seems a decent deal at current prices.

Whether to spend the extra for bird mesh or an iBoost is up to you, depending on your personal situation.

NoobSolar

I don't think the prices are excessive, frankly. I also think you are lucky to have a supplier willing to serve you, as a lot of people are in the middle of a long queue. I would say the following:

1 Pylontech installations are very often expandable so make sure the proposal is to include the pylontech cupboard unit that enables further batteries to be added later.

2 Get as many panels and as much power as you can.

3 You don't say the power of the inverter!! There is not much point in having a 6kw array and a 3kw inverter. It wants to be 5kw or more.

4 The price for the bird netting is a little high

5 You may need G99 approval with the DNO here - is your installer doing this for you? It is a wise thing to get this done and inform them about your AC side batteries at the same time.

6 You are correct about octopus outgoing agile octopus prices currently. I do what you say: heat the tank with gas because the solar earns me more fed back to the grid. However this is an abberrant situation - it will not last, and in fact diverting unneeded power to the iboost is an excellent use of the spare energy. Have it there as an option, is my advice. You can always turn it off - however do not constantly power the iboost on and off, because it is design to be constantly on and will wear out if it's off and on all the time. If you are going to fuss about profit in this way, you could take it to an extreme and suggest having batteries that will force discharge to the grid - this point is made very nicely by Anthony Dyer, a very thoughtful chap, in his recent youtube video about his Solaredge battery. I suggest you watch the final quarter of his video entitled 'the price of electricity'.

7 I think you should have optimsers on any shading.

ABrass

Option 2 is decent if you want a battery. I'd be curious what the price would be without a battery at all.

Opinions are split on if a battery makes sense or not. I think a moderate sized (like option 2) battery system is a good choice as it means that you can make full use of solar power on days when there's patchy sun.

Screwdriva

1. Sorry to say, but the prices seem high for what you are getting. I'm willing to bet the panels are Chinese as well - this is a common installer practice lately, as the Chinese brands offer the highest profit margin to the installer, often at the expense of the consumer a few years down the road. I would recommend insisting on quality panel manufacturers from global brands- Sharp, Hyundai, Solarwatt are my top 3 picks for 400W black panel options in this market.
2.  Do you really need batteries? Have you done the maths on selling your excess energy at current export prices vs. storing it? For many, you will likely never recover the cost of battery storage, especially without an EV to justify the cheap charging tariffs. Then there's the relatively shorter life vs. the rest of the system...
3. I haven't see this cheaper than £400 but yes, it can be negotiated. 
   
4. If your boiler is inefficient/ old, an iBoost does make some sense, especially if you don't get a battery (see #2) and want to store excess energy in the form of hot water. I recommend an Eddi as it is an excellent diverter that integrates with their Zappi EV charger really well. If it were me, I would add this at a later stage and just sell all my excess to maximize my return. But there are other reasons to invest in this stuff as well, so it really comes down to your own personal rationale.

NoobSolar

Are Hyundai panels not Chinese then?

94JDH

NoobSolar said:

Are Hyundai panels not Chinese then?

Korean I think - but there is nothing wrong with the majority of Chinese panels either, it's just people's opinions, preference and sometimes referral incentive if they pass on their installer details.

Screwdriva

NoobSolar said:

Are Hyundai panels not Chinese then?

Hyundai is Korean, made in Australia. Sharp is a Japanese company made in several locations. Solarwatt is a Germany company made in Germany. All of them offer an excellent product, with quality aftersales support. 

Here's a great example of the difference in construction between Hyundai and a Chinese panel.

Go with any installer you can but ignore the noise, sometimes from those defending their own purchases, and focus on purely on the quality of reputation of the company selling you their product enjoys. 

OogieBoogie

@marchesini46 Yesterday I was quoted over £12k for 12 panels with 6.5 kW battery!!

Could I ask what your quotes are charging for MCS registration as this company has put £500 for this on my quote?

marchesini46

OogieBoogie said:

@marchesini46 Yesterday I was quoted over £12k for 12 panels with 6.5 kW battery!!

Could I ask what your quotes are charging for MCS registration as this company has put £500 for this on my quote?

None of my quotes itemise the deliverables so it’s hard to say how much each element is? I just look at the specification, the brands used, company reputation and the overall cost. 

My latest quote is £10,900 for 15 panels (6kh) + 6kw battery inclusive of bird protection.

ispookie666

Looks good, add two more batteries would be my only suggestion.  Your consumption is very similar to ours