New Solar and Battery installation

osgiliath

Hi all,

I've been a lurker for a while but signed up to the forum today as we are in final throes of purchasing a new house. As part of choice of house, we wanted to install a solar and battery system on the property. We will also be looking at if it is a suitable property for replacing the gas boiler with an air source heat pump. The property was built in 2004 so the insulation levels will be better than most! The solar system is definite whilst the ASHP is a maybe.

We both work full time so the house is empty most weekday days and we aren’t huge users of electricity in our present property however this is a larger house so this may increase. We both have plug in hybrids but I cycle to work so it doesn’t get used a lot.

The main reason for going down this route is that I will be retiring in a 5-6 years time so will be home more. We are purchasing the house whilst still living at the old house to get all the work we’d like before moving and selling the present property.

We wanted to get a good quality system installed that would provide us with some future proofing. The changing in energy costs due to the middle east issues has highlighted that our original decision is the right one.

Can anyone offer basic advice on what we should look for in a system (brands etc.) and even installers? The property is in the NW of England and SSE facing with space on the main roof for at least 12 panels. Budget costs would also be appreciated

Thanking you in advance for reading and any advice offered.

born_again

We wanted to get a good quality system installed that would provide us with some future proofing.

On that point, the recent demise of GivEnergy has thrown up a big issue with cloud based services. Just how will these survive when a company goes belly up & no one is interested in taking over.

Some are app & cloud based other are reliant on cloud services to work..

Screwdriva

Are you able to share an image of your roof and your annual electricity consumption in your current property?

Given the age of the property, you may find that investing in a heat pump and a quality PV system will lead to the outcome you are hoping for.

osgiliath

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81957388#Comment_81957388

Thank you for your reply.

I've added a screenshot of the roof from google earth. For context the width of the property is circa 13m (east-west) and the north south dimension is 9.9m (4.7m from the apex). What looks like an extension to the left is 2 storey and original with the property. The garage is the squareish building at the front. I'm only considering the main roof (not garage) fro now.

We are currently using approximately 6000kWh per annum in the current house including charging cars. This is with gas fired central heating and water.

I hope i've adequatley answered your question.

osgiliath

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81957384#Comment_81957384

Thank you for your reply, it is indeed a thought and a risk to process with any purchase of any newish technology. With this in mind i would be inclined to look at more established providers such as Tesla.

This option would also carry risk but at least it will be mitigated someone with an established company 🤷‍♂️

Screwdriva

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81957418#Comment_81957418

Wise choice! A PW3 will ensure you have enough capacity and capability to power your existing appliances and a heat pump in the future. You will also be able to store 13.5kW of EV tariff energy for your use or export via the Intelligent Octopus tariffs.

From what I can tell, you should be able to fit 9-10 X Eurener 515W bifacial panels on the main roof and adjoining smaller roof. Paired to a Tesla PW3, this should cost around £11K installed inclusive of 10 year workmanship warranty, bird netting and G99 application via the installers I use to help others. Hope this helps provide perspective!

osgiliath

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81957484#Comment_81957484

Once again thank you for taking the time to reply.

The panel/battery brands you have mentioned, align with brands that i have previously researched. Thats comforting.

Would you mind if I PM'd you to ask about the 'installers you use to help others'? Hopefully they are willing to operate nationally!