Budget friendly PV + battery options - with or without Tesla P3.

SmartStu

Hi all,
I'm looking for some advice particularly around whether it is worth stretching my budget for a Tesla Powerwall 3.
I've had a couple of quotes (going to get more) and have been doing a lot of research, but for the next stage of quotes I want to to try and be more specific rather than open ended.
I'm in Norfolk and my annual electricity consumption is currently high at 6500kwh - but likely to rise as we now have an EV.
These are the quotes I've has so far: Quote-1 – Glow Green
£11,795 installed
• 13 × Perlight 520W panels
• 6.76 kWp
• Two roof orientations
• 5.0 kW Duracell Dura-i G3 hybrid inverter
• 16 kWh Duracell Dura16 battery
• Approx. 14.4 kWh usable
• Estimated generation: 5,281 kWh/year
The system is split approximately:
• 4.68 kWp on one roof
• 2.08 kWp on the other
The roofs are approximately SE and WNW.
Quote 2 – MakeMyHouseGreen
They have offered two options:
Option 1 – £10,963
• 11 × 515W
• 5.67 kWp
• Fox ESS H1 5kW hybrid inverter
• 11.52 kWh Fox battery
• Approx. 10.37 kWh usable
Option 2 – £13,563
• 17 × 515W
• 8.76 kWp
• Fox ESS H1 6kW
• 11.52 kWh battery
• Approx. 10.37 kWh usable
I've become increasingly interested in the Tesla Powerwall 3 but Im struggling with whether it's sensible to spend significantly more for the Tesla system.
Glow Green advertise Powerwall 3 on their website, so I'm going to ask them to revise my existing quote.
My understanding is that the Tesla option could potentially be something like:
~6.7–8 kWp solar + Powerwall 3 + Gateway
and I'm setting myself an absolute budget of around £15,000.

Any thoughts and recommendations very much welcome.

QrizB

Welcome to the forum!

I've become increasingly interested in the Tesla Powerwall 3 but Im struggling with whether it's sensible to spend significantly more for the Tesla system.

With careful choice of installers it should be possible to get an equivalent system including a Tesla PW3 for a similar price to that quote.

See for example this post from July, suggesting that 14 panels plus a PW3 can be had for £11.5k.

You might like to drop @Screwdriva a message and see if that's available today for installation in Norfolk?

Screwdriva

A few thoughts:

1. The range in the number of panels across your quotes is substantial. Looks like desktop surveys (vs. in person)?
2. None of the quotes impress (low end or unknown brands, small inverters paired to larger arrays etc.)
3. Let's assume Quote 2, Option 2's 17 panels is accurate (feel free to share an image of your roof for us to be sure)
4. There is no mention of workmanship warranty durations in the above quotes.
5. Your instinct is correct - nothing specified above can hold a candle to the Tesla PW3 in any area.

Installers I use to help others offer:

17 X Eurener 515W bifacial panels

1 X Tesla PW3 with Gateway 2.

~£12.5K installed. 10 year workmanship warranty, G99 and bird netting all included.

Hope this helps provide perspective - you can do much better than the above quotes!

SmartStu

Thanks both for your really helpful comments.

@Screwdriva what you suggested re: 17 X Eurener 515W bifacial panels & 1 X Tesla PW3 with Gateway 2 - is sort of where my research has taken me (aided by helpful info on this forum).

I just need to hone this with getting some more quotes and installers - ideally local or Norfolk based.

I'm reasonably tech savvy - but do find this quite complex and wonder how a lot of people actually manage!

My roof is quite complex with a number of small dormers and velux windows - which reduces the usable space. This is the configuration suggested by Glow Green:

Screwdriva

It appears from the images shared that you should easily be able fit 20 X 515W panels on both aspects (maybe more). I recommend panelling all available roof space.

Add £200 for each panel above 17 to the above estimate. When selecting an installer, I recommend focussing on the following instead of proximity:

1. What brands do they offer (we've covered that)
2. How long have they been trading? (Anything less than 8 years means they did not survive the last boom/ bust cycle)
3. What do their Google/ Trustpilot reviews tell you?
4. How long is their workmanship warranty (Anything less than 10 years means you will pay for fault recitication during the warranty/ system payback period).

Hope this helps!