My dreams for a Solar Powered life

QrizB

OK - So if I had a V2H car - that could feed electricity back into the house - would that make any difference ? Are there any Hybrid V2H cars ?

As far as I'm aware, the only V2H car currently available is the full EV BYD Dolphin, supplied by Octopus as part of their V2H bundle.

Even that looks to be pre-order only at present.

https://octopusev.com/power-pack-bundle

MouldyOldDough

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81873006#Comment_81873006

What about the BYD atto or seal ?

We are talking Motability now !

For some reason - their website doesn't even mention MOTABILITY !!

Ectophile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81872993#Comment_81872993

The batteries in hybrids are much smaller. It wouldn't be worth fitting them with V2H. It might be possible with a PHEV, but I don't know of any that do V2G.

born_again

A couple of EV car batteries will give you plenty of bang for buck, if you fancy a challenge. U-Tube on this. Would be better than V2H which is still not really at release stage.

QrizB

What about the BYD atto or seal ?

Not in Octopus's scheme, it's a pilot with only one model of car - the Dolphin.

For some reason - their website doesn't even mention MOTABILITY !!

Motability probably isn't their target market.

The batteries in hybrids are much smaller. It wouldn't be worth fitting them with V2H. It might be possible with a PHEV, but I don't know of any that do V2G.

With electricity pricing as it currently is, and with V2G / V2H equipment priced as it is, for most people (including the OP) they're probably better off financially with a stationary domestic BESS system rather than an integrated vehicle one.

Doubly so as you, OP, are a relatively low electricity user and so you're daily electricity demand could be met by a relatively small home battery. You don't need 40 kWh of storage on tap.

A couple of EV car batteries will give you plenty of bang for buck, if you fancy a challenge. U-Tube on this.

I don't get the impression that the OP really wants to take on an electrical engineering project; they seem more the "off the shelf solution" type!

MouldyOldDough

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81873248#Comment_81873248

You are correct - despite being a retired engineer - I am no longer up to the physical side of such a project….

laidbackgjr

Trying to live 100% off solar off grid is a real challenge and rarely makes financial sense. You either need to go massively over on panels which with no grid connection to export are wasted in the summer or have massive battery storage. We use around 2,500kw per annum but reckon we'd need around 500kw of storage to meet winter demand from summer sun.

If off grid is the aim, the realistic back up is a diesel generator for those dark days in winter.

tfhnota

If 15p for export remain viable for the likes of Octopus (perhaps unlikely) then exporting to the grid for eight months should build up enough to cover the standing charge and have some left to run a heat pump but does require low usage at home during the eight month period and possibly only heating a room or two with an A2A heat pump during the winter. Some inverters are designed to work with double the solar wattage but only export half so when it is not blindingly hot you will still hit the export limits (I think 6kwh in most places), and also get a reasonable trickle in winter. Solar panels are cheapish except that installers tend to double or triple their cost for extra ones. Grants for solar/battery for properties with under 36k household income (includes savings interest but not actual savings) are in the process of coming available over the next 2-24 months depending on area, ditto £2500 for A2A grants for all households, which will make the finances more viable. Interestingly, if you have battery and solar it may pay to export all the solar and charge the battery off-peak if it is cheaper than the solar export price - and you will need a system that can work with that scenario, ie draw from the battery rather than solar during the day. I am sure there are even more complex ways to better the system but you get the idea.

Scot_39

Anyone planning financial payback on SEG Rates staying as high as 15p ought to really be made aware that most other suppliers rates - including the non tied rates at Octopus - are often much much lower - like in the 4.1-6p range (Octopus / EOn Next - were the 2 I checked earlier).

Below even the cheapest EV and E7 rates currently.

So beware it could restrict supplier - and even at that supplier - tariff selections.

And of course their is the rapid rise - rising much faster than summer demand - of grid solar (last year Feb total c18GW solar, was split 12.5,5.5 - this years Jan 26 total - up 3.5GW to 21.5GW - split ?) and with solar farms now being paid curtailment as of last spring (demand or connection related ?)

Typical summer demand by comparison is just 26-27GW - take out 4-5GW nuclear and add a bit of wind - and the UK likely already has excess carbon free generation for many hours of the day in summer.

Another actual solar user in a post iirc however said the SEG rates have been stable enough for a couple of years.

I wonder if the 3.5p/kWh proposed Nov25 budget switch to taxation (not cuts per se) might also impact the rates on offer (15p vs resell SR of c28p gives 13p margin - will it be c11.5p vs c24.5p say to maintain- or are they likely to be neutral -.g. more linked to wholesale / network charge components - given the nature of costs being moved to taxes ?).

born_again

@QrizB

What about the BYD atto or seal ?

Not in Octopus's scheme, it's a pilot with only one model of car - the Dolphin.

For some reason - their website doesn't even mention MOTABILITY !!

Motability probably isn't their target market.

To get Octopus offer on the BYD Dolphin it is a lease via Octopus.

https://octopusev.com/power-pack-bundle

Motability is a lease in it's own right. You can have 2 leases on the same car.