New setup export options

spudnuts

Hello, we're having 14 solar panels and 10kwh worth of battery storage installed next month. We are currently on a fixed until Sept dual fuel deal with British Gas. I see that BG have a variable tariff for existing customers currently set at 15.1p. Early exit fees are set at £50 for both gas and electricity. Would I be better to cut my losses and move to EON or Octopus. Or stick it out until September and weigh up my options? Could I just move electricity suppliers? Is that even a thing? Is there anyway start the process before install or do I have to wait?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Craig.

MallyGirl

do you have DNO approval for export - and how much as that influences what the best deal would be

Screwdriva

Would be good to know which panels, inverter and battery you’re planning on having installed, in addition to your DNO export approval. 

spudnuts

Aiko panels and Fox setup as pictured 

My G99 hasn’t gone in yet but based West Midlands. 

Screwdriva

spudnuts said:

Aiko panels and Fox setup as pictured 

Can we assume your annual electricity consumption is substantially above 4000 kWh per year? If so, a battery makes fiscal sense. If not, I would recommend skipping the battery altogether and selling your excess solar to the grid. More on that once you confirm your annual usage. 

Assuming you are a higher consumption household, I would suggest you insist your installer swaps out Fox for a 9.5 kW Gen 3 GivEnergy or (if your budget allows) a 13.5 kW Tesla PW3 to take advantage of the Intelligent Flux tariff (Tesla is being onboarded to this tariff according to my industry sources). No other tariff comes close to the Octopus IOF tariff in the peak generation months. 

Based on installer quotes I have used to help others, expect to pay:

< £10K for the GE system + 14 bifacial panels 
< £12K for the PW3 + 14 bifacial panels (my recommended solution by a country mile)

spudnuts

Screwdriva said:

spudnuts said:

Aiko panels and Fox setup as pictured 

Can we assume your annual electricity consumption is substantially above 4000 kWh per year? If so, a battery makes fiscal sense. If not, I would recommend skipping the battery altogether and selling your excess solar to the grid. More on that once you confirm your annual usage. 

Assuming you are a higher consumption household, I would suggest you insist your installer swaps out Fox for a 9.5 kW Gen 3 GivEnergy or (if your budget allows) a 13.5 kW Tesla PW3 to take advantage of the Intelligent Flux tariff (Tesla is being onboarded to this tariff according to my industry sources). No other tariff comes close to the Octopus IOF tariff in the peak generation months. 

Based on installer quotes I have used to help others, expect to pay:

< £10K for the GE system + 14 bifacial panels 
< £12K for the PW3 + 14 bifacial panels (my recommended solution by a country mile)

Thanks for the response. 

Usage is under 4000 however an EV is on the cards potentially next year. 

Our installers are GivEnergy approved however they have said that there have been recent hardware issues lately and for that reason recommended Fox ESS there was little between the two price wise. Our installation quote was 9K

Screwdriva

spudnuts said:

Thanks for the response. 

Usage is under 4000 however an EV is on the cards potentially next year. 

Our installers are GivEnergy approved however they have said that there have been recent hardware issues lately and for that reason recommended Fox ESS there was little between the two price wise. Our installation quote was 9K

GivEnergy is not the brand it once was but they are still superior to Fox, regardless of what some installers may be incentivized to claim. The Gen 3 batteries seem very promising. ~£9K is the right price for a budget system. 

The IOF tariff pays 22p with a peak export rate of 30p in the W Midlands currently. This tariff is not available for Fox batteries (currently only available for GE, Enphase and soon to be Tesla). 

Qyburn

spudnuts said:

Hello, we're having 14 solar panels and 10kwh worth of battery storage installed next month. We are currently on a fixed until Sept dual fuel deal with British Gas. I see that BG have a variable tariff for existing customers currently set at 15.1p. Early exit fees are set at £50 for both gas and electricity. 

15.1p is a decent flat export rate. For example Octopus pay 15p. The only way to better that would be one of the "Intelligent" tariffs where your battery is controlled by the supplier, and that limits battery choice.

One thing you can do as you go is to understand the stages you need to go through to get the correct approval for export. You will need MCS certificate for the installation, make sure you know when that will be provided - I got mine two days after installation, some installers might only provide it once they're paid.

On the DNO side for G.99 the installer makes an application on your behalf, if the DNO is OK with it then they make an "Offer".  Installer accepts the offer, and that effectively books you connection with the DNO. Once it's commissioned the installer sends a pack to the DNO with equipment details etc, and DNO responds (hopefully) with something confirming that your installation complies with their offer and other conditions. The supplir needs that last one.

Martyn1981

spudnuts said:

Screwdriva said:

spudnuts said:

Aiko panels and Fox setup as pictured 

Can we assume your annual electricity consumption is substantially above 4000 kWh per year? If so, a battery makes fiscal sense. If not, I would recommend skipping the battery altogether and selling your excess solar to the grid. More on that once you confirm your annual usage. 

Assuming you are a higher consumption household, I would suggest you insist your installer swaps out Fox for a 9.5 kW Gen 3 GivEnergy or (if your budget allows) a 13.5 kW Tesla PW3 to take advantage of the Intelligent Flux tariff (Tesla is being onboarded to this tariff according to my industry sources). No other tariff comes close to the Octopus IOF tariff in the peak generation months. 

Based on installer quotes I have used to help others, expect to pay:

< £10K for the GE system + 14 bifacial panels 
< £12K for the PW3 + 14 bifacial panels (my recommended solution by a country mile)

Thanks for the response. 

Usage is under 4000 however an EV is on the cards potentially next year. 

Our installers are GivEnergy approved however they have said that there have been recent hardware issues lately and for that reason recommended Fox ESS there was little between the two price wise. Our installation quote was 9K

As Screwdriva points out, batteries are harder to justify atm with low usage. If you do get an EV, then the battery will help buffer generation if you charge during the day (to avoid accidental import). But you may be better going on a night rate tariff, to charge the EV cheaply, and export the PV during the day.

But ..... just as a longer term thought - An EV will typically make it economical to shift to a cheap night rate, as it's a very high leccy consumer, that is easily charged during cheap periods. And, having switched to a cheap rate deal, then the battery allows you to charge it on cheap rate, for daytime use, when PV gen is low (Oct to Mch (ish)).

Just stuff to ponder, as it doesn't impact you today, but longer term, all the parts start to slot together nicely.

spudnuts

Screwdriva said:

spudnuts said:

Thanks for the response. 

Usage is under 4000 however an EV is on the cards potentially next year. 

Our installers are GivEnergy approved however they have said that there have been recent hardware issues lately and for that reason recommended Fox ESS there was little between the two price wise. Our installation quote was 9K

GivEnergy is not the brand it once was but they are still superior to Fox, regardless of what some installers may be incentivized to claim. The Gen 3 batteries seem very promising. ~£9K is the right price for a budget system. 

The IOF tariff pays 22p with a peak export rate of 30p in the W Midlands currently. This tariff is not available for Fox batteries (currently only available for GE, Enphase and soon to be Tesla). 

I’ve asked for a quote to include GE gen 3 batteries.