Where do I start with solar panels and a battery install?

dharm999

Am going to install solar panels and battery storage within the next 6-12 months. I know virtually nothing about it. Where do i start to look about this?

Current situation is a large detached house, on the east of Scotland ( near Edinburgh) but only 2 adults, me and OH. House is 3 storeys, built around 25 years ago, with a basement level that has the garage, and utility and a shower room plus another room. There’s a gas boiler and a megaflo water tank at the middle level and underfloor heating to all rooms. Top floor has radiator heating in the bedrooms and UFH heating in the 3 bathrooms. House seems well insulated, and is actually warm in winter, unlike our previous period house that never got warm!

House is east west facing with slate roofs on 4 sides plus a flat roof in the middle. Large trees on the south facing side, that do block out some sun but not completely.

Electricity usage is around 15kwh a day as a base amount, buts that without really trying to cut back, and it goes up in winter if we need to put fan heaters on in one room to supplement the heating rather than put the gas ch on. We have a EV, and the charger is in the garage. Gas boiler is ok at the moment, so no plans for a change, but would change to a heat pump when the time comes to change. Currently on Octopus Agile tariff. Would also want cooling when we change the boiler, as the house gets unbearably warm when it’s hot outside, and things will get worse in that respect, imo, so want to future proof the house.

What should I consider when looking to install solar panels and a battery, with the thought that a heat pump will be installed, probably within 5 years. Ideally I’d like a situation where we could run off batteries for up to 24 hours, don’t know if that’s completely unrealistic. Where do I start to look to educate myself about this

Thanks

Newbie_John

Try chat GPT, good start point without "sales man" hidden interest.

What you havent mentioned is what ToU tarrif you're on? And thats where it all starts, you can run off battery all year round - but for a good 6 months it would need to be topped up with a cheap import. In winter when heat pump runs, you could get days when entire solar generation will be enough for 1h of electric radiator. In summer way too much - so its all about selling it back - and if you get your tarrifs right it will be cheaper to buy at night then actually use the electricity from your solar (you get at least 12p for selling so not worth consuming).

Also have a read through sinilar topic here, many cases like yours.

QrizB

There are a bunch of recent (last 6 months) threads on the Green and Ethical forum from people in a similar situation, ie. looking to install solar PV but not really knowing where to start (or having obtained a quote from their energy company and wanting an opinion on it):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/green-ethical-moneysaving

WIAWSNB

I suspect the starting point is how many panels you can install, and which way they face. Ie, how many kW can you realistically grab.

Everything else will literally flow from that.

Fitting batteries appears quite straightforward, but there's little point unless you have the generation to fill them (unless you also plan to use cheap overnight tariffs).

dharm999

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82112451#Comment_82112451

Thanks, will try that

I’m on Octopus Agile at the moment.

dharm999

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82112492#Comment_82112492

Thanks, will have a look there

dharm999

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82112574#Comment_82112574

Thanks. I think I could probably install quite a lot on the east and south facing roofs plus on the flat roof as well, which could have panels facing south and west (to cat ch the afternoon and evening sun). Can’t install on the west facing roof as I’m in a conservation area and that side faces the road.

Herzlos

This tool will give you an idea of what you'll realistically generate. A panel is about 2mx1m and generates 400W, and an average house can take about 9 panels (3.6kW), to give you a starting point.

https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/

anselld

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82112575#Comment_82112575

Why Agile?

I would have thought with an EV that Intelligent Octopus Go (IOG) would be better with an 8p night rate. That will be even more the case when you have a battery because you will be aiming to switch as much of your usage as possible onto night rate.

You will need a large battery if you want to cater for heating as well but battery cost per kWh are still decreasing. The main mistake I made was buying an all-in-one battery/inverter… they are neat to install but not so easy to maintain or upgrade as a separate battery and inverter.

If you are looking towards aircon in future then most modern split air-air systems are reversible to cool in summer and heat in winter and they are effectively heat-pumps so more efficient than fan heaters or UFH.

silvercar

I'll mve this thread to the green & ethical board. Lots of discussions on solar panels etc over there.

Newbie_John

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82112686#Comment_82112686

Probbaly because Agile can have prices lower than 8p, I think recently they were as low as (negative) 7p?