Solar quote advice please

NormanSpiny

Hi

Solar newbie here, still gathering info and quotes.

I've been quoted £13585 from ESE group for the following including installation etc:

16 x 410W Longi panels

3.6kW Lux power hybrid inverter

6.4kWh Greenlinx battery

10 PV optimisers

This seems pricey to me. Are these good quality components? Shouldn't there be one optimiser per panel? Any opinions on ESE group? They have told me they are not MCS accredited so won't be able to get a MSC cert to sell any surplus back to the provider. I'm not really bothered about that anyway as the rates are pitiful at the moment and probably not going to improve. Should that be a black flag?

Many thanks

Norman

DougMLancs

I wouldn’t touch them if they aren’t MCS accredited. You’re missing out on a big wedge of the system payback without SEG payments. I would also question why they’ve chosen not to be MCS certified.

Edit: SEG rates are rising- Octopus basic rate now 15p and Agile Outgoing rate is currently consistently higher. Other providers may well improve their own SEG rates so you may as well be prepared with a certified system.

NormanSpiny

I used acalculator to estimate the amount I'd get back from Scottish Power @ 5.5p/kWh with my current usage and it only worked out to be £36 per year, so not a big wedge at all. Still a 52% saving on the bill. Is that typical? The lack of MCS certification is a concern though.

Alnat1

I'd question why only a 3.6kW inverter with 6.5 on the roof and does the price include G99 application to DNO?

ABrass

If they're not MCS registered then there's no G99 application either. It'll be an issue if you ever sell your house.

In terms of value It's lousy. The price is higher than my similar (slightly larger) system which is actually MCS certified and going through G99 now.

The calculation there is assuming you're going to use 87% of your generation? That's nonsense. You're a really high electricity user if you're on 9MWh of power a year, I'm guessing either electric heating of some sort or an EV? In practice it'll be heavily skewed to the summer months so you'll be exporting more than that calculation includes. 30% self consumption is good for a no-battery system, 60% is a good performance for a battery system.

You'd be exporting much more than it says and getting no money at all for it.

powerful_Rogue

Seems expensive to me.

I'm getting 16 panels, 13kW battery, 16 SE optimisers, 6kW inverter, bird protection for £14.3k.

You want to be able to sell surplus back. Move to Octopus  - 15p kwh, or more if  you use Agile export.

rew81

powerful_Rogue said:

Seems expensive to me.

I'm getting 16 panels, 13kW battery, 16 SE optimisers, 6kW inverter, bird protection for £14.3k.

You want to be able to sell surplus back. Move to Octopus  - 15p kwh, or more if  you use Agile export.

What components did you choose?

uk1

https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/reading-magistrates-court-nine-in-court-over-kintbury-solar-panel-scam-9189631/

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/solar_installer_reprimanded_by_council_after_hiccups_led_to_potentially_mis

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/beware-letters-offering-free-solar-15015418

Trustpilot is overwhelmingly positive about ESE group.  The hegative comments seem to be about spending a couple of hundred pounds a year for a “service contract” which appears to involve an ‘’engineer” who visits and glances at the inverter, doesn’t even look at the panels - and tries to sell a battery.   It’s bewildering how many have bought from a non-MCS registered company and seem to be so content. Although reading some of the comments it does look like many are unaware of the limitations of the system they have purchased, ie a single faulty panel knocking out the whole system. It does really illustrate how buying something from a bit of direct mail or advert or cold call and only having a single quote without due diligence has potential consequences. 

Screwdriva

NormanSpiny said:

Are these good quality components? 

Without a shadow of a doubt, no. 

Like others have suggested, I would ignore anonymous reviews and run in the opposite direction from anyone non-MCS accredited/ HIES registered. A couple questions for you:

1) Where are you located? You should really be paying <£8K for a 6.4kW system with 400W Sharp Panels, SolarEdge inverters and optimizers on every panel, all with a 25 year warranty. 

2) Do you really need a battery? If you're not a heavy nighttime user or EV owner, the answer will likely be no and it may make sense to sell your excess energy instead.

QrizB

NormanSpiny said:

I've been quoted £13585 from ESE group ...

That's as far as I need to read.

Say no, firmly, and don't answer their calls or let them onto your premises ever again.

uk1 said:

https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/reading-magistrates-court-nine-in-court-over-kintbury-solar-panel-scam-9189631/
https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/solar_installer_reprimanded_by_council_after_hiccups_led_to_potentially_mis
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/beware-letters-offering-free-solar-15015418

Also this:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79410096/#Comment_79410096

powerful_Rogue

rew81 said:

powerful_Rogue said:

Seems expensive to me.

I'm getting 16 panels, 13kW battery, 16 SE optimisers, 6kW inverter, bird protection for £14.3k.

You want to be able to sell surplus back. Move to Octopus  - 15p kwh, or more if  you use Agile export.

What components did you choose?

Option 2. Also includes bird protection and I added an extra 6.5kWh battery.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79448149/#Comment_79448149