Solar power?

[thruxton]

Hi there.
Does anyone here know about solar systems for homes in the uk?

I could detail what I’m looking for but first …… Is there any one out there?
Or recommendation for a good forum?
Thank you.

Regard.
Rich.

[dave6]

There's a few threads on Pistonheads about solar, worth reading through.

www.google.com/search?q=pistonheads+solar

[thruxton]

Thank you.

Rich.

[boggissimo]

We've got a ~5kW system on our house, with 12 kWh batteries. Fitted in 2018 so we got in while the government was still paying for producing. Between April and October we can more or less power the house without getting anything from the grid. For the rest of the year we charge the batteries at night on economy 7.

Doesn't fix the gas bills though!

[thruxton]

Thanks for that.
All information is very helpful.

Rich.

[Dweenimus]

Jul 25, 2022 20:39:01 GMT boggissimo said:

We've got a ~5kW system on our house, with 12 kWh batteries. Fitted in 2018 so we got in while the government was still paying for producing. Between April and October we can more or less power the house without getting anything from the grid. For the rest of the year we charge the batteries at night on economy 7.

Doesn't fix the gas bills though!

You clearly need to go one step further and get a heat pump and be completely off gas!
I have 4kw solar, 8.2kwh battery and a heat pump! The charging batteries at cheap rate is great. I've not taken anything from the grid (apart from charing the EV) in months now!

[wannabe]

Jul 27, 2022 18:38:52 GMT Dweenimus said:

Jul 25, 2022 20:39:01 GMT boggissimo said:

We've got a ~5kW system on our house, with 12 kWh batteries. Fitted in 2018 so we got in while the government was still paying for producing. Between April and October we can more or less power the house without getting anything from the grid. For the rest of the year we charge the batteries at night on economy 7.

Doesn't fix the gas bills though!

You clearly need to go one step further and get a heat pump and be completely off gas!
I have 4kw solar, 8.2kwh battery and a heat pump! The charging batteries at cheap rate is great. I've not taken anything from the grid (apart from charing the EV) in months now!

I'm guessing that neither of these systems fall under the label of 'cheap to buy and install'... lol

[dadbif]

I had solar water heating whilst living in Spain, super in the summer months, but had to rely on gas from September onwards, didn’t work even on long sunny winter days.

Always fancied solar power, can never understand why it is not more widely adopted, it only requires sunlight, not heat.

[Dweenimus]

Jul 27, 2022 23:36:24 GMT wannabe said:

Jul 27, 2022 18:38:52 GMT Dweenimus said:

You clearly need to go one step further and get a heat pump and be completely off gas!
I have 4kw solar, 8.2kwh battery and a heat pump! The charging batteries at cheap rate is great. I've not taken anything from the grid (apart from charing the EV) in months now!

I'm guessing that neither of these systems fall under the label of 'cheap to buy and install'... lol

Kinda was for me...
I'm a plumber and the wife is an electrician.
£9k for the Heat Pump with a 7k payback grant (over 7 years). So the price of an average boiler swap.
Battery was about 3k trade prices.
Solar was 2k with my builders putting them up while the roof was being replaced.
So 7/8k ish total. Tbh it all got swallowed up in a 100k extension 🙃

[warpspeed]

Jul 25, 2022 8:25:56 GMT thruxton said:

Hi there.
Does anyone here know about solar systems for homes in the uk?

I could detail what I’m looking for but first …… Is there any one out there?
Or recommendation for a good forum?
Thank you.

Regard.
Rich.

Not in the UK.

I am in Australia, so know nothing about the UK solar industry, or your rules and regulations. Climate is totally different here too.

But I can probably help you as far as the technology itself goes.

Two good forums, depending on your area of interest.  

The Back Shed in Australia is undoubtedly the best as far as the electrical/electronic side goes, particularly in designing and building your own electronics.  

Its really hard core DIY if you are into the nuts and bolts and soldering side of home brew electronics.

www.thebackshed.com/forum/index.php

The other Forum is the DIY Solar Power Forum.  That is American, pitched at a much lower technical level, but there are endless discussions there about the pros and cons of various commercially available solar equipment, particularly cheap Chinese. Its a VERY active Forum.  Most Forums seem to be slowly dyeing these days, but that one has a very active following.

diysolarforum.com/

I live in the suburbs, but can be completely off grid if I wish to be. Only require occasional three phase grid power for some of my larger workshop equipment which is for hobby use only, so its not critical. I am a retired electronic design engineer and used to design commercial inverters and UPS among other things. All the electronics here is designed and built by myself, so my knowledge of specific commercial products is just about zero.

I could not advise you on which commercial inverter or solar controller might be best to buy, but could help you to build your own.  Its a completely different type of knowledge.

My own design of 5Kw inverter is of a rather unique design (I call it a Warpverter) its been running continuously here now for over five years without a single problem. 

At least twenty other Warpverters have now been successfully built by people all over the World, and another two are nearing the final stages of construction.

This is all free and open source knowledge available on the internet to anyone that is interested, I am not selling anything !! But there is plenty of free advice available.

Its all jolly good fun and quite instructive.

[atlex]

Sept 8, 2023 1:08:33 GMT warpspeed said:

Jul 25, 2022 8:25:56 GMT thruxton said:

Hi there.
Does anyone here know about solar systems for homes in the uk?

I could detail what I’m looking for but first …… Is there any one out there?
Or recommendation for a good forum?
Thank you.

Regard.
Rich.

Not in the UK.

I am in Australia, so know nothing about the UK solar industry, or your rules and regulations. Climate is totally different here too.

But I can probably help you as far as the technology itself goes.

Two good forums, depending on your area of interest.  

The Back Shed in Australia is undoubtedly the best as far as the electrical/electronic side goes, particularly in designing and building your own electronics.  

Its really hard core DIY if you are into the nuts and bolts and soldering side of home brew electronics.

www.thebackshed.com/forum/index.php

The other Forum is the DIY Solar Power Forum.  That is American, pitched at a much lower technical level, but there are endless discussions there about the pros and cons of various commercially available solar equipment, particularly cheap Chinese. Its a VERY active Forum.  Most Forums seem to be slowly dyeing these days, but that one has a very active following.

diysolarforum.com/

I live in the suburbs, but can be completely off grid if I wish to be. Only require occasional three phase grid power for some of my larger workshop equipment which is for hobby use only, so its not critical. I am a retired electronic design engineer and used to design commercial inverters and UPS among other things. All the electronics here is designed and built by myself, so my knowledge of specific commercial products is just about zero.

I could not advise you on which commercial inverter or solar controller might be best to buy, but could help you to build your own.  Its a completely different type of knowledge.

My own design of 5Kw inverter is of a rather unique design (I call it a Warpverter) its been running continuously here now for over five years without a single problem. 

At least twenty other Warpverters have now been successfully built by people all over the World, and another two are nearing the final stages of construction.

This is all free and open source knowledge available on the internet to anyone that is interested, I am not selling anything !! But there is plenty of free advice available.

Its all jolly good fun and quite instructive.

Actually quite interested in this. Will reach out.