Plug in solar

RUSure

I like the idea of a plug 'n' play system, ideal for people who don't own their property and can unplug and take them to the next flat etc. I was looking at an 800w Ecoflow Stream plug-in system on Amazon for my outbuilding combined with a couple of JDI 2000 Power Bank / Battery Extension units for storage (also portable for camping etc) - anyone done anything like this?

Martyn1981

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81942382#Comment_81942382

Yep, the hybrid Ecoflow Stream kit offers grid monitoring, with either their smart monitor of the Shelly option.

I got one of their smart meters as a 'freebie' as part of a battery package (also 'free' cables to daisy chain 3 batts, and a nice cart!) But packages and deals change constantly, and are actually more ATM than I paid last Oct.

Purely for an example, the Ultra X batt with 3.84kWh (gross) is currently £1,500, or £1,660 with 4x 450Wp panels. Subscribing to their marketing will also earn you some discounts. The Ultra X has 4 MPPT's, and 8 PV extension cables. So that might be a starting point. And if you do have export metering, then force discharging the batt early enough (at 800W) would probably prevent generation clipping even on a very good sunny day.

I haven't looked in detail at other offerings, but I assume there will be ever more, to go in hand with the plug-n-play approval (fingers crossed).

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81942382#Comment_81942382

Have a look at some of the video's on u-tube. EcoFlow system certainly has a app that allows monitoring of the system. I would guess that other systems will as well.

tfhnota

Talk on Radio 4 of the plug-in systems being around £500, they seemed to think that was for one panel but they may have mis-spoke and referred to one 800W system instead - the cheapest I can find 475W (515W if you can get the bifacial bit to work) with free delivery is just under £85, BTW, so that is less than half for two panels(the excess solar will be clipped by the inverter to the required 800W but it does mean you get a bit more in poorer conditions than if you started with 800W). I would mount them atop my lean-to on a homemade wooden frame, with the lean-to roof painted white to get that reflected light, out of free 2x4's I have a pile of from dismembering past projects. You can probably get discarded panels off FB Marketplace cheaper yet and I had an amusing conversation with Mr Grok about how I could carry them on my motorcycle, poor chap almost had a nervous breakdown at the probable carnage. Grok is good for finding out which panels you can match with which inverters but a bit uptight about winter worst cases for the voltage input. And don't mention earthing but I did learn about RCBO's that work without earth rather than mere MCB's which require it.

QrizB

Somehow @Baldytyke88 has ended up with two threads on plugin solar, this one from 2024 and this newer one that s/he started this month.

Maybe they can be merged?

Edit to add: they have been merged, thank you MSEForumTeam5!

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81943395#Comment_81943395

And don't mention earthing but I did learn about RCBO's that work without earth rather than mere MCB's which require it.

That sounds like some crossed wires. RCBOs do a different thing to MCBs. RCBOs can replace MCBs in a consumer unit, but the circuit still requires a protective conductor (commonly called an 'earth')

Don't rely on AI for advice how to do electrical installation work… doing so is way more dangerous than carrying things on a motorbike.

lohr500

Interesting that prices of £400 to £500 are now being mentioned for the plug in kits when they become available. And yet I have read posts saying they are sold in Germany in Lidl/Aldi for less than £250.

Has anyone seen a German kit?

We are travelling to Germany in May so I might try and find one.

If the mains lead does terminate in a standard Euro plug, rather than some fancy plug type with a built in cut off switch for when unplugged, I might be tempted to bring one back with me and convert it to a standard UK 3 pin plug.

QrizB

And yet I have read posts saying they are sold in Germany in Lidl/Aldi for less than £250.

The link to the Lidl kits - at circa 250 Euros - is in the other "plug in solar" thread; the one the OP started this year, not in 2024. (Edit: threads have been merged.)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81923565#Comment_81923565

Has anyone seen a German kit?

Not in the flesh, no, but they can be found in video form on YouTube. As can videos of the Ecoflow kits, and the Ecoflow kits are available to buy here in the UK for about £350 (less if you catch a sale).

We are travelling to Germany in May so I might try and find one. If the mains lead does terminate in a standard Euro plug, rather than some fancy plug type with a built in cut off switch for when unplugged, I might be tempted to bring one back with me and convert it to a standard UK 3 pin plug.

Usually it's exactly that; a standard Schuko plug.

Ectophile

The German ones will have a standard Schuko plug for anything up to 800W. Anything bigger uses a special plug designed so you can't touch the pins.

born_again

If the mains lead does terminate in a standard Euro plug, rather than some fancy plug type with a built in cut off switch for when unplugged, I might be tempted to bring one back with me and convert it to a standard UK 3 pin plug.

Inverter is what cuts the power off, not the plug.

Strange thing is while these systems in the UK are supposed to be wired direct to consumer unit by a sparky. They actually come with pre terminated ends of the correct length for a UK plug (yet you can't use a plug legally) wonder how many do.😶‍🌫️