Ground Based Solar System

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd

I have been interested in solar panels for some time, but my property does not lend itself to roof panels.  So I did park the idea, but a recent thread on here has prompted the idea again (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6464377/sunology-solar-station-will-this-work). 

So based on this I could do a ground based system of 2 panels:

2 x 420 watt panel, open to proposals of a brand, (I was looking at Jinko Solar - JKM420N, but this I believe is discontinued or has supply related problems).

1,  microinverter, type 900, 2 inputs, https://www.hoymiles.com/product/microinverter/hms-600-700-800-900-1000-2t/  The reason for selecting this product is that it’s a plug-in-and-play system, sold as a balcony system.

I am not that interested in exporting to the grid.  So would like a system that will just take care of the baseline energy of the house which is typically 0.13kwh* (products in stand bay, fridges and freezers, internet, security systems, boiler, etc ). A 800 watt system will easily satisfy this on sunny days, and will just be enough on cloudy days.  See overnight consumption image.

On-line data says that I should be able to generate 899 kwh {899 kwh edited based on feedback} with 2 panels, south facing.

On very sunny days, I can monitor energy production through my Home Assistance and switch on additional medium powered household items to use that being generated.  Whilst the 800 watts will not totally support, say a washing machine, it will help towards the cutting of energy bills.

Note. The 0.13kwh baseline of the house is 38% of my annual usage (I fully appreciate that the 800 watt system will satisfy all of baseline usage, eg night times)

Given that the cost £400 for the 2 panels and £250 for the microinverter (some extras, stand, cable, isolation switch), this is really inexpensive and should pay back within a few years.

Any thoughts on my proposal, am I wasting my time and money, is there something better, am I missing something, etc? Anyone else done a ground base system that can share?

Reed_Richards

If had ground-based solar panels I would consider fitting them on a turntable that could be moved to face the sun and/or also find a means of changing the angle so you can adjust for summer and winter.

markin

A 2 years pay back sounds great.


Octopus opens up SEG tariffs to non-MCS installations!
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6464617/octopus-opens-up-seg-tariffs-to-non-mcs-installations

QrizB

Sorry if this shows up twice.

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd said:

I have been interested in solar panels for some time, but my property does not lend itself to roof panels.  So I did park the idea, but a recent thread on here has prompted the idea again (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6464377/sunology-solar-station-will-this-work).

Note that all the legal points in that thread will also apply to your system.

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd said:

So based on this I could do a ground based system of 2 panels:

2 x 420 watt panel, open to proposals of a brand, (I was looking at Jinko Solar - JKM420N, but this I believe is discontinued or has supply related problems).

1,  microinverter, type 900, 2 inputs, https://www.hoymiles.com/product/microinverter/hms-600-700-800-900-1000-2t/  The reason for selecting this product is that it’s a plug-in-and-play system, sold as a balcony system.

There are many manufacturers of 400-ish watt solar panels. There's a comparison of some of them here. I've bought from Bimble in the past and have no complaints.

That particular inverter might "plug and play" but will still need to be installed in a legally-compliant fashion. There's a good guide to what this entails here.

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd said:

I am not that interested in exporting to the grid.

You might not be interested, but thaqt inverter will still export regardless.

If you want to limit export you'll need a different (and probably more expensive) inverter.

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd said:

On-line data says that I should be able to generate 1120 kwh with 2 panels, south facing.

That is a very optimistic number for an 800-watt system in the UK. Which site did you get your data from?

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd said:

Given that the cost £400 for the 2 panels and £250 for the microinverter (some extras, stand, cable, isolation switch), this is really inexpensive and should pay back within a few years.

Taking due consideration of the MSE Forum Rules, I should point out that (at least in England and Wales) such a system will need to be installed by a competent electrician, which will increase the cost somewhat:

'Illegal' or 'grey legal area' content

Do not promote, encourage or glamorise any illegal activities. In particular on MSE, if you are thinking of posting about taking advantage of something that is dubious, or that exploits a 'grey area' of the law, err on the side of caution and do not share information about it. Common sense prevails here.

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd

QrizB said:

Sorry if this shows up twice.

Thank your for the detailed below.  It was this site that gave me the energy production data: https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html

QrizB

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd said:

QrizB said:

Sorry if this shows up twice.

Thank your for the detailed below.  It was this site that gave me the energy production data: https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html

You've left the "installed peak power" at the default 1kW.

If you change the power of the system to 0.8 you get closer to 900kWh? I've also optimised the slope and azimuth, which gives a tiny increase in in-plane irradiation and a slightly flatter curve.

markin

An electrician shouldn't cost more than £150-300 for a new circuit, switch and junction box for wiring it up, to stay legal.

The only thing stopping diy installs and then a spark connecting it up was the MCS profit making train.

QrizB

markin said:

An electrician shouldn't cost more than £150-300 for a new circuit, switch and junction box for wiring it up, to stay legal.
The only thing stopping diy installs and then a spark connecting it up was the MCS profit making train.

Agreed on both counts!

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd

QrizB said:

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd said:

QrizB said:

Sorry if this shows up twice.

Thank your for the detailed below.  It was this site that gave me the energy production data: https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html

You've left the "installed peak power" at the default 1kW.

If you change the power of the system to 0.8 you get closer to 900kWh? I've also optimised the slope and azimuth, which gives a tiny increase in in-plane irradiation and a slightly flatter curve.

Thank you. I have edited the opening post for 899 kwh.

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd

QrizB said:

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd said:

QrizB said:

Sorry if this shows up twice.

Thank your for the detailed below.  It was this site that gave me the energy production data: https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html

You've left the "installed peak power" at the default 1kW.

If you change the power of the system to 0.8 you get closer to 900kWh? I've also optimised the slope and azimuth, which gives a tiny increase in in-plane irradiation and a slightly flatter curve.

Thank you.  I have edited the generation to 899 kwh in the opening post.

chris_n

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd said:

Note. The 0.13kwh baseline of the house is 38% of my annual usage (I fully appreciate that the 800 watt system will satisfy all of baseline usage, eg night times)

How will it satisfy the night time usage?