Help regarding Solar and Battery installation

gh67

Hi folks,
we’re thinking of have a solar and battery system fitted to our bungalow, we are south facing in the south of Scotland. I’ve had quotes from several companies with a local trusted one coming out on top for both price and quality reviews. 

At present we don’t have an EV but will possibly purchase in the future, our heating and water is via a boiler and hot water tank. I’ve looked into a heat pump but unfortunately it’s not viable at present. 

As a complete novice is the system worth it and suitable, I’ve also been quoted for a 4.4kw system with one 5k battery for £2k cheaper, I’m just not sure if it’s worth it overall or if one would be better than other. 

I’ve tried to copy and paste the important parts, if any other info is required please ask

QUOTE

We expect your system to generate 6,483 kWh of clean electricity every year, and save 1,377 kg CO₂ of carbon.

There are full details on the following pages. We hope you enjoy the read!

7.74 kW PV System

18 x 430W panels, 1 x Huawei 6kW L1 HV 1ph hybrid

£11,574 inc VAT

Expected payback 8 years. Estimated first year savings £922

6,483 kWh/yr

Annual CO2 savings of 1,377 kg

System Overview

Your system comprises 18 Trina Vertex S+ 430W Dual Glass N-Type (Clear Backsheet) solar panels to collect sunlight and turn it into DC electricity.

The panels will be connected to 1 Huawei 6kW L1 HV 1ph hybrid inverter, which converts the DC electricity into mains (AC) electricity.

A Huawei LUNA 5kWh Lithium Ion Batteries, battery storage system will allow you to store excess energy from sunny days, so that you can use your generated electricity at night too

We include all the isolators, wiring and meters

Your system comprises 18 Trina Vertex S+ 430W Dual Glass N-Type (Clear Backsheet) solar panels to collect sunlight and turn it into DC electricity.

The panels will be connected to 1 Huawei 6kW L1 HV 1ph hybrid inverter, which converts the DC electricity into mains (AC) electricity.

A Huawei LUNA 5kWh Lithium Ion Battery battery storage system will allow you to store excess energy from sunny days, so that you can use your generated electricity at night too.

We include all the isolators, wiring and meters needed to connect the system safely to your electrical system. Your system will be installed and certified by our trained installation team.

Solar Panels: Trina Vertex S+ 430W Dual Glass N-Type (Clear Backsheet) x 18

The dual glass design of the Trina Vertex S+ offers high reliability in harsh conditions, better trapping light for high power output.

Model

Power

TSM-NE09RC.05

430 watts

Dimensions

1134 x 1762mm

Inverter: Huawei 6kW L1 HV 1ph hybrid

Huawei's L1 hybrid inverter offers a variety of smart options, including Al arc detection, real-time data, data back-up and smart diagnosis.

AC Power

Trackers

6000 watts

Goods

18x Trina Vertex S+ 430W Dual Glass N-Type (Clear Backsheet) solar panel

Huawei 6kW L1 HV 1ph hybrid inverter

**NET** Emlite Bi-directional Meter ECA2.n*

Label sheet

Huawei Smart Power Sensor for 1ph (Meter with CT)

Huawei LUNA BMS

2x AC isolator-IMO-32A 4-pole

2x Huawei LUNA 5kWh Lithium Ion Battery

2x IMO DC isolator 16A 2p 1string 4x Pair of MC4 connectors

50m reel of 4mm2 solar cable

42x Fastensol black universal clamp 12x Fastensol black end cap

46x Fastensol portrait flat tile roof hook

12x Fastensol rail splice

1x BB200 Reinforced BirdBlocker 30m)

3x BirdBlocker clips for square tube (box of 50) 14x Fastensol black rail 3550mm

G99+ MCS application/certification

HIES consumer protection-2 years

AC electrical components

Services Installation

Total before VAT

VAT at 0%

Total including VAT

£11,574.72

£0.00

£11,574.72

Solarchaser

In Scotland we should expect roughly £1/ watt, so the 7.7 system as solar only should be £8k or less.
A 5kwh battery from huwawi seems to be between £1.5-2k so bringing your price to maybe £10k.

It's not a fantastic price, but its not terrible. 

I'd always advise to fill your roof with as many solar panels as possible when getting it done.

The real question is how much electricity do you use in a year and how often is someone working from home etc, as that will give a better indication of whether more or less battery would be beneficial 

gh67

Solarchaser said:

In Scotland we should expect roughly £1/ watt, so the 7.7 system as solar only should be £8k or less.
A 5kwh battery from huwawi seems to be between £1.5-2k so bringing your price to maybe £10k.

It's not a fantastic price, but its not terrible. 

I'd always advise to fill your roof with as many solar panels as possible when getting it done.

The real question is how much electricity do you use in a year and how often is someone working from home etc, as that will give a better indication of whether more or less battery would be beneficial 

Thanks for taking the time to reply, the quote I’ve got is the cheapest by a few thousand pounds.
As for how much electricity we use it’s hard to say as only been in the house 6 months, currently no one works from home but we plan to take retirement when other half turns 55 this summer, although we plan to travel we will be at home a lot more than just now. Also you mentioned the battery is between £1.5 & £2k bring my total to around £10k, the quote is actually for 2 5kw batteries. 

I have a quote for a smaller system with 1 battery but it’s only £2k cheaper so I thought it made sense to get more panels, extra battery and bigger inverter. 

EcoScruples

Not able to comment on price as I bought my system almost 2 yearsvago now, I can comment on Huawei though and so far so good. The invertor and battery work really well together and have been rock solid. I do have a really good installer support who's been in business for many years, not sure about support direct from Huawei, I'd imagine that would be a pain.
One thing to bare in mind is that being a DC hybrid unit your 5kw battery will only be able to output 2.5kw instantaneous.
My 10kw battery will output 5kw but is limited to my invertor (3.68kw).

Do as much research as possible, if I'd have done that I'd have skipped the battery and got more panels.

Happy with it so far though.

Screwdriva

Agree - without a heat pump, blackouts or some serious EV driving, I'd skip the battery entirely and maximize panel coverage. 

There are inverter brands with much better reputations and aftersales support. I recommend SolarEdge, Fronius, Victron or Enphase primarily, given how many installers are going out of business these days following the energy crisis boom!

Same goes for panels. Insist on Solarwatt, Sharp, Hyundai, Meyer burger, Panasonic, Eurener or AEG

Magnitio

I also have Huawei inverter and battery. Good quality hardware, but the odd software glitch with the app. Although I have not needed any support from Huawei, others on a forum I belong to have had issues resolved in a reasonable timeframe.

gh67

Thanks for all the replies, as far as maxing the panels I have done this with the quote as 18 is max I can get on. I’m a complete novice so please excuse my ignorance, why would you skip the battery as I thought the idea for the likes of winter when Scotland has the occasional dull day 😂 I would top the batteries up at night on a cheap rate to use during the day, or would this not pay itself? 

Apologies for the questions

Screwdriva

This calculator should help answer this question. Look up Octopus Flux tariff in your area for import/ export and use your house consumption and estimate PV generation (annual). 

In my experience, batteries start to make sense over 4000 kWh per annum.

Solarchaser

gh67 said:

Thanks for all the replies, as far as maxing the panels I have done this with the quote as 18 is max I can get on. I’m a complete novice so please excuse my ignorance, why would you skip the battery as I thought the idea for the likes of winter when Scotland has the occasional dull day 😂 I would top the batteries up at night on a cheap rate to use during the day, or would this not pay itself? 

Apologies for the questions

Yes that's exactly why you would get them, and in the brighter 6 months you would pay almost nothing as solar charges the batteries and you consume in the evening,  but their return on investment is dictated by your home use, and the cost of the battery system.

I've been helping a few friends and colleagues out with calculations recently, and depending on what electric tarrif you are on, and what you can earn from export, then imo batteries make sense around the 3800kwh annual usage mark, but if you pay more than £2k for 10kwh of useable storage, or can't get a good overnight tarrif, then your break even point can be 5 years plus.

If your usage moves to more sunshine based usage as in working from home and running washing machines etc in the sunshine, then really batteries would struggle to be competitive. 

gh67

Screwdriva said:

This calculator should help answer this question. Look up Octopus Flux tariff in your area for import/ export and use your house consumption and estimate PV generation (annual). 

In my experience, batteries start to make sense over 4000 kWh per annum.

Again thanks for taking the time to reply, I may be having a thick moment😂. I would have thought having the batteries would make more sense even with a small usage, we hold this not mean I would limit what I buy from the grid on a decent day and even on dull days I can top them up at cheap rate. My thinking is this would mean selling more via SEG so making or saving money. I did the calculator on an annual usage of only 2000kw with the system I’m quoted, it cam back saying it would pay it’s self in 8.5 years we’re solar on its own was 7.5 so surely battery makes more sense or am I missing the obvious. 

Screwdriva

I think something may have gone wrong with the inputs but it is very unlikely a battery will pay for itself with a 2000 kW annual consumption vs. selling your excess solar to the grid via Octopus Flux.

Here's a blurb from a wise fellow forum member, which may explain it better than I ever could. 

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