Looking for Solar PV Supplier / installer reccommendations

Max_Power · 20 November 2019 at 10:47PM

Hi all.
Looking to get some silicon on my roof, possibly some lead or lithium under the stairs, and so looking for any information regarding reputable, reliable, and reasonable installers for such.

Roof has two major segments, SE and NE facing (guessing the NE isn't so great) and whilst I'm looking to get as much power as possible up there my brief run of the numbers says 3kw is probably the top end. We've got all the usual toys and also trying to keep a BEV happy. Not sure if any of that makes a difference.

Any clues for the clueless ?

Many Thanks.
//=========================
Max Power.

Yeah yeah, I got it off a hairdrier...

Exiled_Tyke · 21 November 2019 at 8:13PM

Thoughts:

1. recommendations really depends on where you are and whether there are people on here with experience in your area.
2. Whether you get recommendations or not get a few quotes and post the specs on here.
3. If you name companies you find some here may have heard of them.
4. NE won't be viable. SE is good especially if you get a battery as it will start charging up earlier in the day.
5. Don't be drawn in by gadgets which unethical pundits will try to convince you will save you more. Again let us know here what you are being offered.
6. Figures from installers will generally be over-optimistic - but we can help in that regard too.
7. Don't rush, think it through. It's a big investment.
8. Good Luck and have fun researching!

Max_Power · 21 November 2019 at 8:59PM

Thanks for the reply.

Area is NW London,

Well, I had a "quote" from the ever busy Project Solar.
Poor chap who had to deliver it was polite, well mannered, and seemed like a really nice chap.
Alas the numbers his spreadsheet came out with had me actually asking him if he'd made a mistake.

With a 3kw 10 panel system (330 watts per panel) with 7 of the panels on the northeastern facing roof
and battery storage since we have the BEV to feed. Return on investment, £46,000 over 25 years, so the £14,500 price tag was an absolute bargain, so I was told.
No.
Which is, what prompted me to post on here. Looking for anyone out there who's not going to waste my time with an unrealistic quote based on purely fantasy figures.

Watts, Amps and Volts are my meat and drink, I know small scale PV (I mean _tiny_ device scale) inside and out, but I have no idea what a "panel optimiser" is supposed to do in the context of domestic generation.

Max Power.
//===================

Yes, I am indeed turned up to 11

Hexane · 21 November 2019 at 9:23PM

I sometimes think Project Solar must put a lot of people off having solar panels, they always come out with ridiculous prices.

If you agree to sign up to "Grid Services" you could get a 4.1kWh battery system for just over £3000 although they're currently showing "out of stock" https://batterystorage.edfenergy.com/powervault/powervault-with-grid-services/

A 4kWp solar panel setup including inverter, should then cost you about £4000 more, fully installed.

So that comes to about half what Project Solar are quoting you.

pinnks · 21 November 2019 at 9:54PM

Welcome. This is a good place to get the advice you are seeking.

Leaving aside the cascade of comments you will find on here and no doubt receive about that particular firm I am astounded at the suggested return over a completely arbitrary period.

The original govt subsidy ran for 25 years but for most of its existence it was only 20. Now that it has been ended the savings are those from your own consumption of the generated electricity alone.

I assume they have used some crazy figure for energy inflation but on a flat basis, £46k over 25 years is £1800+ per year for electricity. I use about £500 of electricity per, of which about half is from own consumption - and my system is 5.25kWp over ESE and WSW rooves!

Ok, so batteries would help but even with batteries you aren't going to remove the need for some grid import, so savings of more than £400, or perhaps £450 per year seem unlikely (unless you run your business from home). So where does the additional £1,400 per annum saving come from?

Good luck in your search.:beer:

1961Nick · 21 November 2019 at 11:01PM

Max_Power wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

Area is NW London,

Well, I had a "quote" from the ever busy Project Solar.
Poor chap who had to deliver it was polite, well mannered, and seemed like a really nice chap.
Alas the numbers his spreadsheet came out with had me actually asking him if he'd made a mistake.

With a 3kw 10 panel system (330 watts per panel) with 7 of the panels on the northeastern facing roof
and battery storage since we have the BEV to feed. Return on investment, £46,000 over 25 years, so the £14,500 price tag was an absolute bargain, so I was told.
No.
Which is, what prompted me to post on here. Looking for anyone out there who's not going to waste my time with an unrealistic quote based on purely fantasy figures.

Watts, Amps and Volts are my meat and drink, I know small scale PV (I mean _tiny_ device scale) inside and out, but I have no idea what a "panel optimiser" is supposed to do in the context of domestic generation.

Max Power.
//===================

Yes, I am indeed turned up to 11

There was something amiss with his spreadsheet! You'd need to generate around 12,000 kWh pa & use it all to make that kind of saving.

A 3kWp system will generate around 3000 kWh pa & even with an 7.2 kWh battery you'd only save 2500 kWh over the year (200 kWh export + 300 kWh round trip losses).

At 15p/kWh that's a saving of £375 pa ... break even in 38 years!

Reed_Richards · 21 November 2019 at 11:33PM

Max_Power wrote: »

... I have no idea what a "panel optimiser" is supposed to do in the context of domestic generation.

This is to do with the way your panels interact. My understanding of this may be wrong but this is what I believe to be correct:

Panels are wired together in groups which are electrically in series. Their total voltage output must be constrained to match the inverter so there may be several groups. If one panel in the group is in shade then not only does it produce little power but it also resists the passage of current from the other panels. So the effect of a shaded panel is to throttle the power output from the entire group. An "optimiser" prevents or minimises this. I'm not sure how this is done; any explanation I have read has been more jargon than science.

Exiled_Tyke · 22 November 2019 at 6:33AM

Reed_Richards wrote: »

This is to do with the way your panels interact. My understanding of this may be wrong but this is what I believe to be correct:

Panels are wired together in groups which are electrically in series. Their total voltage output must be constrained to match the inverter so there may be several groups. If one panel in the group is in shade then not only does it produce little power but it also resists the passage of current from the other panels. So the effect of a shaded panel is to throttle the power output from the entire group. An "optimiser" prevents or minimises this. I'm not sure how this is done; any explanation I have read has been more jargon than science.

Indeed! Sounds like a Solar Edge set up. If there is shading of panels as mentioned above or (as in my case) panels at different pitches and orientations, then it's needed to make the most of the potential generation. If these problems don't exist then it's not needed and the premium paid for such a system is a waste of money.

Also don't confuse these with voltage optimisers which some installers recommend. These really are a con. Run away from any firm that suggests them.

And if you haven't got the message already. Stay away from Project Solar!

Hexane · 23 November 2019 at 9:21PM

Ken posted this link on another thread. https://www.thesolarpeople.co.uk/shop/special-offer-4-2kw-solar-pv-system/

I've no experience with the company, but the price is right. The inverter and some of the panels they're offering are the same manufacturers as mine, and the wi-fi monitoring stick being included is nice too.

Max_Power · 27 November 2019 at 11:55AM

Well, fun times ahead...

Another call from Project Solar, "We're doing work in your area, so we can fit your system for less. Forget £14k, how does £9k sound ?"
Wrapped up in a 45 minute phone call extolling the virtues of boiler optimisers and mains voltage regulators. (eyeroll)
Still nothing in writing...

Gave "The Solar People" a call. Waiting for a quote.

Spoke to Moixa
7x390watt mono panels (total 2.7kw)
3.68kw inverter (Solis)
"Smart" Battery 4.8kWh (3.8 useable)
Gridshare
Just shy of £11,000

Still No.

JKenH · 27 November 2019 at 2:02PM

Max_Power wrote: »

Spoke to Moixa
7x390watt mono panels (total 2.7kw)
3.68kw inverter (Solis)
"Smart" Battery 4.8kWh (3.8 useable)
Gridshare
Just shy of £11,000

I got my system through Moixa. Originally it came with a 3kwh battery but it was somewhat old tech (they have now changed the battery) and I had them take it away so am left with just the panels. I did find Moixa very good to communicate and negotiate with and my original system including battery and 7.8 kwp panels ended up less than what you have been quoted by them. Moixa do subcontract the solar panel supply and installation.

Please don’t quote me as I am still in discussion with them about my DNO application and don’t want to spoil my relationship. You could show them the solar people pricing and suggest a price to them that you would accept (say £7000) as their main priority is I believe to get people signed up to their Gridshare (H2G) scheme. As yours is a relatively small installation the labour and scaffolding costs will form a big part of the cost so less than £1k per kwp of panels is unlikely to be achievable. ( I am thinking of a cost split £3.5k panels/£3.5k battery.) Also bear in mind that if you are planning to have a solar diverter (such as an IBoost) fitted you might find it clashes with your battery.

Looking for Solar PV Supplier / installer reccommendations

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