Plug in solar

xflare

Looking more and more likely that this is just not going to be worth it for many people.

lohr500

My gut feel is that the current pricing will fall substantially as/when/if the likes of Aldi/Lidl/Amazon start selling the kits.

I'm not sure we will see the sub Euro 400 kits anytime soon, but who knows :

https://www.lidl.de/p/vale-gmbh-balkonkraftwerk-900wp-800w-flexible-solarmodule-full-black-wifi-inkl-befestigungsset/p100407732#searchTrackingMasterId=Product.100407732&searchTrackingTitle=Balkonkraftwerk+900Wp/800W,+flexible+Solarmodule,+Full+Black,+WiFi,+inkl.+Befestigungsset&searchTrackingPageSize=48&searchTrackingPage=1&searchTrackingEvent=click&searchTrackingId=Product.100407732&searchTrackingQuery=solar&searchTrackingOrigPos=1&searchTrackingPos=46&searchTrackingOrigPageSize=48&searchTrackingChannel=DE&list=search/solar

I agree with previous comments that at £1000 it is hard to see how anyone would get an acceptable real world payback.

Newbie_John

I do wonder if they just put one kit there for £1000 to say that gov delivered the promise they will be legal on 27th August :)

Regarding the payback, my example - fully electric house, 2 adults working from home - my average self consumption is about 1.5kWh, doesnt really matter if it's sunny or cloudy (or not much really) or if it's summer or winter - once heating kicks in self consumption will be 100%. Sure I can run dishwasher on sunny day during peak but due to 800W max output the dishwasher will use grid mostly.

So 1.5kWh x 365days = 550kWh saved, at 20p thats £110/year.

With battery probably £220 (but then initial costs double).

Not really sure about extra panels - a lot would be wasted in summer and not much gain in winter..

So however you look at it - it's always minimum 4 years payback. The current £1000 plug in is pointless.

tfhnota

Charge Controller, inverter, two 460W panels AND 48V 100ah battery comes to less than £1000 if you want to go the off-grid route (ie run the heavy loads directly off the inverter on its own circuit, aka the dreaded extension lead), if you AI it there are ways to do this with no sign-offs needed and a bit of a more civilised circuit. Loads of YouTube videos on how to do this.

QrizB

Happy plug-in solar day everyone 🥳

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/households-can-save-as-plug-in-solar-panels-come-to-market

Swipe

Probably worth waiting until Spring now to see if the bundle prices come down.

QrizB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82116413#Comment_82116413

Looking at the data, Ecoflow's 800 watt inverter failed the IPS type test. If they can fix that in firmware (rather than needing a hardware change) they might possibly be able to retest and gain approval in a couple of weeks. That would let them sell their under-£500 kits as plug-in compatible.

I also see that Octopus submitted an inverter for test, and failed. If they can fix the shortfall(s) then they've got a large customer base and a widely-recognised brand to market with.

debitcardmayhem

I see Argos have them but not cheap , I wonder how many people are going to have wiring checks on top, and they have 4m cables ,

tfhnota

The UK is not actually testing these inverters and kits, they are reading specs and tests supplied by the manufacturers or distributors and seeing if they are up to the job… so "modifications" to suit should not be too difficult.

Swipe

It's also a bit disappointing that a small battery is not allowed as part of a bundle.