Plug in solar

QrizB

I suspect the downside will be the challenge of how to mount them.

I've seen them zip-tied to railings or screwed (through the corner holes) to things.

Flexible panels are also (generally) less durable. Panels intended for rooftops have glass facings (and some also have glass backsheets) and glass is pretty much inert. There's Roman glass that's still in excellent condition. This is one of the factors in rooftop panels having 10-25 year warranties.

The flexible panels all use various plastic formulations (ETFE and EVA are common) which are known to degrade in sunlight and air. Not ideal for a long life.

I don't know how long a warranty those Vale panels have but it's often 5 years or less.

Edit: I quite like the look of the under-E300 Tronic bundle from that same German Lidl site:

https://www.lidl.de/p/tronic-balkonkraftwerk-860-wp-800-w-topcon-tbkt-800-a1/p100387526

It has the glass panels, not flexible ones.

QrizB

For people waiting on plug-in battery systems, DESNZ are intending to tender for a safety study:

https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077975-2026

Based on those timelines, the earliest likely approval is ~24 months from now.

(No contract has yet been placed, as far as I can see, so that might all change.)

tfhnota

I had an amusing conversation with my mate Grok about carrying a couple of panels home on my motorcycle, poor chap almost had a nervous breakdown as he tried to explain how illegal and dangerous this might be.

Newbie_John

First full month results with 900W set up:

1. 105 kWh generated
2. 4.67kWh max on 11/8 and 1.25kWh min on 29/8
3. My June/July consumption was 200kWh (£50, £36 without standing charge) and 120kWh in August (£35, £22 without standing charge).
4. Due to very cheap period 13-16 I do most electric things then, well beyond generation and during other parts of the day just rely on it covering background.
5. With SW panels my peak cost 16-19 (at 38p) has dropped from £9 / 24kWh to £3.5 / 9kWh (but fair amount probably due to unconscious shifting).
6. My background is about 100Wh, and 200Wh during working hours.
7. My panels dont get much sunlight between 8-11 on sunny days (40W) but oddly on cloudy days it picks up to 120W due to cloud reflection.
8. On sunny day I get 600W+ between 12:30-16:30
9. Peak generation at 14:30 was 795W and lowest 30W during dark thunder once.

Yearly expected savings.. this month £14, I can imagine 6 months around summer to be similar, and 6 months around winter much worse but self consumption will probably be 100% with A2A increasing background usage so 6*£14 + 6*£7 = £125. Similar savings as interests with £2500 at 5% :)

Personally dont see a benefit of battery, too low summer consumption and not enough winter generation.

wakeupalarm

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82121598#Comment_82121598

What sort of time frame are you looking at for payback at £125 savings per year?

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82121228#Comment_82121228

even when add thd support brackets just over €400 euros.

Around just under half Uk prices at the UKSol/Argos level for non ground mount 890W (albeit they include over £100 for home dekivery iirc).

It seems uk early adoptors risk paying significantly more than true market costs - whilst the rest of us have a long wait to see if UK prices will fall closer, even if not all the way down, to European levels..

Newbie_John

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82121615#Comment_82121615

Objectively speaking I dont think anyone can answer this question, I dont know the rates I will be saving against in 2027, 2028, 2029.. they could be 50p/kWh or can be 10p/kWh and that changes outlook a lot.

Its also really hard to say how much I actually saved in August alone..

In my case its more of a hobby / support to A2A - so I can run it more frequently in summer and a bit of defensive approach to guarantee a cheap day rate for next 10 years.

tfhnota

Approved two panel kit at £600 for preorder, and another very limited stock at £550, prices creaking downwards, free shipping included.

www.patiosun.co.uk

Cityplumbing have added some more kits for approval as well but not yet approved.

spenderdave

As for size, I don't people realise how big these are - a pair of them is about 16 ft wide. My whole house and garden is only 22 ft wide. Think of two fence panels and you are probably in the right order - though a lot heavier than fence panels.

lohr500

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82123884#Comment_82123884

The standard size for a single roof panel is circa 6ft, so a maximum of 12ft if placed end to end.
They can be mounted in either orientation which gives some flexibility with the placement.

I do agree with you that any kit using 2 x 400/500w panels will take up a lot of space and may well be unsuitable for those with limited space.