Solar Panels

Debfro

Hi not sure if I picked the correct category but I hope someone can advise me. We have solar panels on the house. It was my husbands pet project and I was not involved at all. He died last year and it has taken me a while to sort things out. I discovered he had no paperwork so I had to get that and I have found out they are on self use only? I am with Octopus energy and having googled a lot I see there is an option to register them with octopus and put on a different tariff but I don't know if I should? I have 24 panels and 3 batteries. There are three adults living here and one working from home. I would welcome any help at all. Thank you

Netexporter

If you have the MCS certificate and the DNO export permission letter then you can apply to Octopus for an Export MPAN. Once you have the Export MPAN you can then choose a SEG tariff. With the problems in thew Middle East, causing havoc in the energy industry, you may only be able to apply for the simple Outgoing Octopus tariff, which pays 12p/kWh for exports at any time. Once things have returned to some sort of normality you should be able move to a more sophisticated tariff that will allow you to make better use of your batteries.

Good luck with getting started. You will always be able to further advice here.

NedS

Do you know who installed them? If you are unable to find any paperwork, you may be able to contact the original installers to see if they are able to reissue paperwork, if they have copies.

Alternatively, you can contact the DNO and MCS directly. MCS will reissue certificates for a small fee if one was originally issued.

Who is my DNO: https://www.energynetworks.org/customers/find-my-network-operator

MCS certificate queries: https://mcscertified.com/consumers/mcs-certificate-queries/

Screwdriva

I am sorry for your loss. Good advice from @NetExporter and @NedS.

I would add that if you are unable to find an MCS Certificate because none exists, you can contact installers in your area and ask if they will audit, modify and certify the system as their own. This can often involve a small cost but has been something kinder installers have been able to help others with.

Debfro

Thank you all for your advice. I have managed to get the MCS Certificate now and the DNO letter so thats a help.

Netexporter would you advise me using that Octopus Tariff or staying on my fixed rate and just stay on the self use? I am not sure what would be most cost effective?

Alnat1

The paperwork should give details of the size of your solar/batteries system. If you can give those details here (panels in kWp and battery capacity) then we might be able to advise better options for which tariff might suit.

It does sound like a big system so you will almost definitely be better of on a different tariff and getting paid for your export.

Netexporter

With that many panels your are almost certainly exporting a lot during the summer (April to October) months, so getting 12p for every unit you export will offset your imports next winter. You can mix the standard import tariff with Outgoing, but could get a fix (although the rates probably won't be all that attractive at the moment) or you could be a bit adventurous and mix it with a dynamic tariff, like Agile or Tracker. I'm assuming you have a smart meter, or none of this will work. There is a chart on the Octopus website that tells you what tariff you can mix.

If you want to delve a bit more into the subject you may find the Gary Does Solar channel, on Youtube, a useful resource. He explains clearly many aspects of solar, and associated tech, very clearly, including choosing tariffs to suit your lifestyle.

QrizB

Netexporter would you advise me using that Octopus Tariff or staying on my fixed rate and just stay on the self use?

I'm not Netexporter but I'd suggest that it'll do no harm at all to contact Octopus and ask to be put onto their Outgoing Octopus export tariff alongside your current fixed rate.

You can only be better off by doing so.

https://octopus.energy/smart/outgoing/

If you later decide to do something else, you can switch at that point.

theharebreaks

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81947628#Comment_81947628

You will need to run some numbers in terms of your current usage to decide on the best tariff. I moved to a Time Of Use tariff with Eon when I got my panels, I am now coming up to my one year anniversary and looking at the import, we did a good job of charging the battery overnight, so around 90+% of our electricity import was on the cheap rate. You have 3 batteries so if they have enough capacity to last you the day you might consider the same. Please be aware that some of the Tariff's have been pulled recently due to the ongoing Middle East crisis and some of the Suppliers with very good rates are for EV users only. As we export a decent amount, I won't be staying with EON due to the low export rate and might have to go with a fixed tariff for a short period or something like Octpous Agile (which will need careful planning).

greenbee

I'd suggest that you get your export set up on Outgoing Octopus while on your current tariff (let us know what it is and we can probably let you know whether you can go onto Outgoing Octopus) as that's going to be the quickest way to start getting paid for any export. Once that's done, you can look into using something like the Octopus Compare app to see whether you'd be better off on a different tariff - as and when they become available again

I started by adding Outgoing Octopus to my fix, then very quickly moved to Octopus Flux, and then to Agile/Outgoing Octopus as I learned how it all worked.

If you let us know what kind of batteries you have, then you may be eligible for Intelligent Octopus Flux (when it becomes available again).

So a. do you have a smart meter, and b. what kind of batteries?