FIRE Girls Pension Diary - Aim High & Dream Big

hugheskevi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82156079#Comment_82156079

I've also signed up to a solar and battery installation, literally just an hour ago! The quoted payback period was almost identical to yours at 6.5 years.

I thought all the 'period in which the system pays for itself' figures were extremely assumption-driven, without any sensitivity analysis, and did not take into account foregone investment returns on the initial deposit. I ended up doing all my own calculations, but it was still a quite easy decision as payback period based on my calculations (central assumptions) was about 7 years.

I'm getting a large array, an 11kwh system, 8,200 kWh annual generation expected, along with a 9kwh battery. That will produce about 1.5 times the amount of electric we use each year. As things currently stand with energy tariffs, I will be purchasing electricity overnight on a very cheap tariff to charge my EV and the battery, then using the battery to power our house during the day. Almost all the solar generation will be exported at SEG rate, resulting in our electricity bill being about minus £500 per year overall.

NormalNorman

My house is a five bed detached and the monthly electricity bill is £52 based on actual readings.

Solar/battery is just pointless unless I were all electric or masking an an inefficient house.

More worthwhile investing as I don't want to chase SEG tariffs, deal with smart meters issues, upheaval, sunk capital and endless apps which all go out of support at some point.

I say that having had the highest FIT at a previous house which made it worthwhile as no batteries and the kit was totally dumb so straightforward.

Anyway don't listen to me moaning, lol!

kempiejon

My pal has been desiring and designing a solar power solution, batteries, solar, heat pumps, insulation, triple glazing, underfloor and so on, it's got ridiculous recently breaching £50k for 3 phase both ways and all the non power bits. They've made a staged plan over quite a few years, had some quotes but have struggled to find a contractor for the whole project and are looking at DIY piecemeal PM now.

I think the weight of opinion is that pay back time, likelihood of moving, having to finance part of it and lack of value added to the property kick any financial benefit far away. A mutual. friend, an electrician suggest he should get something for around £10k and take an easy win.

mrklaw

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82156289#Comment_82156289

yet you dlon’t mind dealing with SIPP platforms, transfers, equity choices, fund fees, drawdown etc etc. Just another list of things honestly and not stuff you touch that often.

thats a very cheap to run house although sounds like you have gas heating and possibly for cooking?

we’re only a 3 bed. electric for cooking but gas for hot water/heating. Small solar (house is only small) and a battery. currently we’ve been £50 a month for all electric, gas and charging both cars. I’m less fussed about the actual price and more about the relative stability of the pricing vs recent volatility.

MallyGirl

We fitted solar (6kWp) and 13kWh battery in 2024. It's a Victorian house so the heating bills are high - high ceilings, sash windows, no cavities in walls, etc. We made enough on export last year to cover the electric and gas usage. This year has been less lucrative due to the withdrawal of that tariff because of the stuff going on in Iran but it will still cover the electric I think. I am still glad I did it from an eco point of view. We are currently making a fair bit exporting to the grid to shore it up at times of stress.

If you DIY fit then you won't get MCS signoff so you won't get paid for your exports.

michaels

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82156079#Comment_82156079

Great move. A big win is that because the return comes as a bill saving it is not taxed.

Firegirl

Our house is a new build with gas central heating and we run 2 electric cars, not to mention teenagers with all manor of electric devices and an inability to switch lights off😆

I’ve also paid the extra for whatever the thing is that means electricity in the house can run even if the national grid goes down. Yes watching War Games did freak me out a little bit 😳

I never thought about bill saving that’s not taxed but I have def thought about reducing monthly bills in preparation for stopping work or moving to a less stressful job.

Another thing I heard was that so many people will be selling to the grid that the grid will stop buying. BUT as I see it if that’s the case then UK has energy security. Win win!

SarahB16

@Firegirl I’ve also paid the extra for whatever the thing is that means electricity in the house can run even if the national grid goes down.

Genuinely interested to hear what it is that you have bought?

Or are you referring to a battery to store the electricity generated from the solar panels you have?

Thank you

Firegirl

@SarahB16 I asked the question about would the solar work if the grid went down. This was the answer.

‘regarding your question about whether the solar would work in the event of a power cut, with the system I’ve sent over, you wouldn’t have power during a power cut. This is because the system would shut down when the grid goes down.

In order to have power during a power cut, you would need a battery backup system installed, which would draw power from the battery to supply the house during the outage.’

The items added to the quote were:

Critical load backup board and earth spike £780 and whole home backup box £630.

michaels

You need 'islanding' to have power when the grid is off, a physical disconnection so it is impossible for you to send power back into the grid and electrocute some poor engineer working on the grid repair.

This will require a battery but you can have battery and solar systems that don't have islanding as it is an extra add on choice, often referred to as a gateway.