Solar Exporting

[Deleted User]

davieba said:

I recently had 6.5 kW of panels and a 13 kWh battery installed, and have been looking at the various SEG schemes. I'm a customer of Octopus, with intelligent IO, but was unsure whether Flux might be better. I did look at the Scottish Power SEG at a generous 12p per kWh, but was rather surprised (or should that be not surprised?) to see they've made it almost impossible for those with batteries.

"Battery storage schematic diagram

If you also have a battery storage system, we’ll need an image of the install schematic (or single line diagram) to show that the output from the batteries will not be measured by the export meter. This is due to it being classed as ‘brown energy’, which isn’t eligible for payments in our SEG scheme. The diagram must show where the smart/export meter sits in relation to the renewable installation, battery and grid."

I have a similar sized system and array and Flux is working well for me at the moment. I would expect to revert to Go over the Winter when I need to grid charge the battery.

davieba

[Deleted User] said:

davieba said:

I recently had 6.5 kW of panels and a 13 kWh battery installed, and have been looking at the various SEG schemes. I'm a customer of Octopus, with intelligent IO, but was unsure whether Flux might be better. I did look at the Scottish Power SEG at a generous 12p per kWh, but was rather surprised (or should that be not surprised?) to see they've made it almost impossible for those with batteries.

"Battery storage schematic diagram

If you also have a battery storage system, we’ll need an image of the install schematic (or single line diagram) to show that the output from the batteries will not be measured by the export meter. This is due to it being classed as ‘brown energy’, which isn’t eligible for payments in our SEG scheme. The diagram must show where the smart/export meter sits in relation to the renewable installation, battery and grid."

I have a similar sized system and array and Flux is working well for me at the moment. I would expect to revert to Go over the Winter when I need to grid charge the battery.

Thanks for the info, Octopus Intelligent doesn't seem to play well with the batteries, so I may well revert to Go as well.

[Deleted User]

davieba said:

Dolor said:

davieba said:

I recently had 6.5 kW of panels and a 13 kWh battery installed, and have been looking at the various SEG schemes. I'm a customer of Octopus, with intelligent IO, but was unsure whether Flux might be better. I did look at the Scottish Power SEG at a generous 12p per kWh, but was rather surprised (or should that be not surprised?) to see they've made it almost impossible for those with batteries.

"Battery storage schematic diagram

If you also have a battery storage system, we’ll need an image of the install schematic (or single line diagram) to show that the output from the batteries will not be measured by the export meter. This is due to it being classed as ‘brown energy’, which isn’t eligible for payments in our SEG scheme. The diagram must show where the smart/export meter sits in relation to the renewable installation, battery and grid."

I have a similar sized system and array and Flux is working well for me at the moment. I would expect to revert to Go over the Winter when I need to grid charge the battery.

Thanks for the info, Octopus Intelligent doesn't seem to play well with the batteries, so I may well revert to Go as well.

I have chosen not to go to IO as I don't need to charge my EV overnight. I would have thought that as there is an off-peak period independent of IO - 'As well as super cheap smart charging, you get six hours of cheap, green energy from 11.30 pm to 5.30 am every night, for home' - that battery charging should not be an issue per se.

That said, depending on your battery set up, IO might result in some of the charge coming from the battery only for the battery to be recharged in a non-IO off-peak slot. 

CSI_Yorkshire

davieba said:

I recently had 6.5 kW of panels and a 13 kWh battery installed, and have been looking at the various SEG schemes. I'm a customer of Octopus, with intelligent IO, but was unsure whether Flux might be better. I did look at the Scottish Power SEG at a generous 12p per kWh, but was rather surprised (or should that be not surprised?) to see they've made it almost impossible for those with batteries.

"Battery storage schematic diagram

If you also have a battery storage system, we’ll need an image of the install schematic (or single line diagram) to show that the output from the batteries will not be measured by the export meter. This is due to it being classed as ‘brown energy’, which isn’t eligible for payments in our SEG scheme. The diagram must show where the smart/export meter sits in relation to the renewable installation, battery and grid."

What's wrong with that?

You shouldn't be getting paid SEG if you just take from the grid and store it in your batteries to export later.  You should only be paid SEG for your generation - and batteries don't generate.

Having a diagram, which any competent installer could create in ten minutes, doesn't seem like a big ask.

QrizB

CSI_Yorkshire said:

davieba said:

I did look at the Scottish Power SEG at a generous 12p per kWh, but was rather surprised (or should that be not surprised?) to see they've made it almost impossible for those with batteries.

What's wrong with that?

Some other suppliers (including notably Octopus) have tariffs where they will pay for time-shifted brown export. And most battery systems don't have separate export meters for green and brown power (with a hybrid inverter, it would be technically challenging to do so).

SP are, in effect, telling battery owners to go elsewhere. Which is fine as a business decision but might be frustrating for customers.

CSI_Yorkshire

QrizB said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

davieba said:

I did look at the Scottish Power SEG at a generous 12p per kWh, but was rather surprised (or should that be not surprised?) to see they've made it almost impossible for those with batteries.

What's wrong with that?

Some other suppliers (including notably Octopus) have tariffs where they will pay for time-shifted brown export. And most battery systems don't have separate export meters for green and brown power (with a hybrid inverter, it would be technically challenging to do so).

SP are, in effect, telling battery owners to go elsewhere. Which is fine as a business decision but might be frustrating for customers.

It would be dead easy to add a meter on the DC connection to the panels.  Not technically challenging at all.

QrizB

CSI_Yorkshire said:

QrizB said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

davieba said:

I did look at the Scottish Power SEG at a generous 12p per kWh, but was rather surprised (or should that be not surprised?) to see they've made it almost impossible for those with batteries.

What's wrong with that?

Some other suppliers (including notably Octopus) have tariffs where they will pay for time-shifted brown export. And most battery systems don't have separate export meters for green and brown power (with a hybrid inverter, it would be technically challenging to do so).

SP are, in effect, telling battery owners to go elsewhere. Which is fine as a business decision but might be frustrating for customers.

It would be dead easy to add a meter on the DC connection to the panels.  Not technically challenging at all.

But useless, as you'd be measuring gross generation not net export.

[Deleted User]

QrizB said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

davieba said:

I did look at the Scottish Power SEG at a generous 12p per kWh, but was rather surprised (or should that be not surprised?) to see they've made it almost impossible for those with batteries.

What's wrong with that?

Some other suppliers (including notably Octopus) have tariffs where they will pay for time-shifted brown export. And most battery systems don't have separate export meters for green and brown power (with a hybrid inverter, it would be technically challenging to do so).

SP are, in effect, telling battery owners to go elsewhere. Which is fine as a business decision but might be frustrating for customers.

Octopus does have a clause in its terms and conditions which states that it is not obligated to take ‘brown energy’.

davieba

CSI_Yorkshire said:

davieba said:

I recently had 6.5 kW of panels and a 13 kWh battery installed, and have been looking at the various SEG schemes. I'm a customer of Octopus, with intelligent IO, but was unsure whether Flux might be better. I did look at the Scottish Power SEG at a generous 12p per kWh, but was rather surprised (or should that be not surprised?) to see they've made it almost impossible for those with batteries.

"Battery storage schematic diagram

If you also have a battery storage system, we’ll need an image of the install schematic (or single line diagram) to show that the output from the batteries will not be measured by the export meter. This is due to it being classed as ‘brown energy’, which isn’t eligible for payments in our SEG scheme. The diagram must show where the smart/export meter sits in relation to the renewable installation, battery and grid."

What's wrong with that?

You shouldn't be getting paid SEG if you just take from the grid and store it in your batteries to export later.  You should only be paid SEG for your generation - and batteries don't generate.

Having a diagram, which any competent installer could create in ten minutes, doesn't seem like a big ask.

Batteries also store excess solar generation, that's "what's wrong with that", it's got nothing to do with the "diagram".  

[Deleted User]

davieba said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

davieba said:

I recently had 6.5 kW of panels and a 13 kWh battery installed, and have been looking at the various SEG schemes. I'm a customer of Octopus, with intelligent IO, but was unsure whether Flux might be better. I did look at the Scottish Power SEG at a generous 12p per kWh, but was rather surprised (or should that be not surprised?) to see they've made it almost impossible for those with batteries.

"Battery storage schematic diagram

If you also have a battery storage system, we’ll need an image of the install schematic (or single line diagram) to show that the output from the batteries will not be measured by the export meter. This is due to it being classed as ‘brown energy’, which isn’t eligible for payments in our SEG scheme. The diagram must show where the smart/export meter sits in relation to the renewable installation, battery and grid."

What's wrong with that?

You shouldn't be getting paid SEG if you just take from the grid and store it in your batteries to export later.  You should only be paid SEG for your generation - and batteries don't generate.

Having a diagram, which any competent installer could create in ten minutes, doesn't seem like a big ask.

Batteries also store excess solar generation, that's "what's wrong with that", it's got nothing to do with the "diagram".  

Batteries can charge from the Grid. Some batteries can also be manually forced to export to the Grid. SP has decided that it does not want to pay for dirty energy (brown) imported from the Grid which is exported from a battery. I suspect that this is related to its green credentials and REGOs. A wiring diagram alone may not give SP the evidence that it needs.