To battery, or not too battery

Avallon_2

I've not pursued solar due to the long ROI, but have recently had my interest piqued by some possible compelling pricing for solar:

1. 5kW system (12 x 430 Peimar bifacial panels & Solis inverter) - £4k installed

2. 5 kW system with battery (12 x 430 Jinko panels, Solis inverter and Polar battery) - £5.8k installed

We use 6800 kWh of electricity per annum

At an extra £1.8k is it worth opting for a hybrid inverter and battery?

I assume the brands above are budget brands - what should I be looking at for the equivalent in a good brand? From a quick search, I understand a panel only install would be about £5.5k, how much should I add for a battery?

Screwdriva

With 6800kWh of consumption, a battery would make financial sense. I am a big fan of the Tesla PW3. For a system with 12 X 500W Eurener bifacial panels + a 13.5kW PW3, expect to pay £11K. I've seen payback periods hovering around the 4-5 year range despite the cost thanks to the Intelligent Flux tariff, great performance and high DNO export allowances. 

michaels

Might be worth saying how big the battery is

IN general any electricity you export you can get at least 12p per unit for from Scottish Power so storing and using rather than exporting ill save you about 13p per unit (you are replacing units you import at 25p with units you could have sold for 12p)

You panels with generate between zero and about 36kwh per day depending on the time of year, your average daily use is 18kwh.  Your total annual production is likely to be about 4500kwh.

Play with some figures for expected use vs export with and without the battery - suppose own use of generation went up from 33% to 67% then the saving from adding battery would be 1500 x 13p = £195 a year.

Avallon_2

sry - it's a 5.2 kWh battery 

Avallon_2

Screwdriva said:

With 6800kWh of consumption, a battery would make financial sense. I am a big fan of the Tesla PW3. For a system with 12 X 500W Eurener bifacial panels + a 13.5kW PW3, expect to pay £11K. I've seen payback periods hovering around the 4-5 year range despite the cost thanks to the Intelligent Flux tariff, great performance and high DNO export allowances. 

you wouldn't consider a smaller / cheaper battery?

Screwdriva

Avallon_2 said:

you wouldn't consider a smaller / cheaper battery?

Personally, I wouldn’t consider any other battery from any other manufacturer today.

Based on your avg. daily consumption of ~18 kWh, you will benefit from a 13.5kW battery. I’d also insist on the maximum number of panels you can fit on your roof. 

Avallon_2

thank you for the advice

Avallon_2

Hi - quick update.

I'm looking to pull the trigger with a reputable local company. 14 x Aiko Neostar 2s 460w All Black, Solis inverter, Bird Protection at £4,500. 

Appreciate I'm at the budget end, but had a good initial experience and the Neostars seem pretty well reviewed. I'm not put off by the panels being produced in China bearing in mind they are leading the world when it comes to renewable technology...

Thanks everyone for your input.

QrizB

Good luck, please let us know how the installation goes and hopefully we'll see you on the "my generation" thread some time soon!

Martyn1981

Avallon_2 said:

Hi - quick update.

I'm looking to pull the trigger with a reputable local company. 14 x Aiko Neostar 2s 460w All Black, Solis inverter, Bird Protection at £4,500. 

Appreciate I'm at the budget end, but had a good initial experience and the Neostars seem pretty well reviewed. I'm not put off by the panels being produced in China bearing in mind they are leading the world when it comes to renewable technology...

Thanks everyone for your input.

Very nice deal, and whilst at the cheaper panel end, it's still a huge amount of generation for the money.

So 6.44kWp for £4.5k. QrizB mentioned on a recent thread that the press were quoting silly prices for UK PV. He found £6.5k for 3kWp, and I found the Energy Saving Trust suggesting £7k for 3kWp.

So it's very satisfying to see you proving the claims wrong, and the suggestions/help on here being much closer to reality. Hopefully many other folk considering PV will see your thread (and other similar threads on here).

Avallon_2

QrizB said:

Good luck, please let us know how the installation goes and hopefully we'll see you on the "my generation" thread some time soon!

Will do - survey is on Tue, install early June.