Dillsue

If that is the building regs compliance doc that is being signed off then no problem others having done some or all of the wet install. If its the gas safe cert then it should just be the fitter thats worked on the gas elements, AFAIK

Last time I looked at gas safe rules, a fitter can only sign off work theyve done themselves?

Ah, it was the 16 metre poles I was concerned about!!!

Is the array high up or particularly exposed? No experience with lightning protection but believe you need pretty chunky cable from each exposed conductive part to earth so could end up spending more on cable and earth rods than a blown module, which is unlikely to take a strike unless it's on top of a hill or tall building.

That's a question for whoever's signing off your install as they know what and how things have been installed. But.... As I understand things if its just panels and their DC cabling on the mounting frame with the inverter and AC being elsewhere, then any earthing is pointless as the DC from the panels isn't referenced to earth. This means that there isnt a fault path to earth so having any earthing provision isnt going to do anything to clear a fault. Take professional qualified advice to be sure, as thats not what Im offering. Watch you dont fall off the steps when hammering the poles in!!

The MCS forecast for our original 4kw system was lower than any real annual generation since install in 2015. I assume MCS used the same data as PVGIS but if there were meaningful differences between PVGIS and MCS it would well known. With a split array you will always have shading, with the east facing array in the sun in the morning and the West not in direct sun, assuming a reasonably pitch roof. The opposite will be true in the afternoon. Both arrays will generate when they are not in direct sun. To get round that problem you can wire each array to its own MPPT controller or use optimisers/micro inverters. To work out what total max output will be for any given time you can use the PVGIS hourly forecast figures and crunch them in excel. Find your local highest annual yield from the last 10 years then download the hourly figures for that year for each array, separately. Put the date/time/kw output for each data set next to each other then sum the kw outputs for every time period. Then sort to find the highest summed output. Use that max figure to size your inverter bearing in mind that some inverters can take significantly more DC input than their rated value- a Solaredge 3.68kw inverter can have up to 5.6kw of DC input from panels.

As I understand things a battery can be retrofitted to a Solaredge system at anytime, days, weeks, months or years after installation of the inverter/panels. Inverter/app/web portal all need configuring with any new kit but that can be done anytime.

Nope. Don't beleive its required for self install. Just have to be competant.

[Quote from spammer deleted by mods] Why is that??

If youve got enough clearance above the HW cylinder you can get long immersions. Quick Google search says screwfix do a 3' one. That's gonna heat a fair bit of your average cylinder.

Ok. You'll need the right spark as theres a degree of live working!!

Grey box top right is for joining thick black cable to the grey cable that goes into man cave main switch. That goes completely. Black box top left is the Henley block that moves to where the grey box was. That leaves lots of extra space above the existing meter for your new smart meter. If you need more space to the side you can move the man cave main switch to the right a bit but I dont think youd need to. Should all make sense to your spark??

Other than a free smart meter theres not alot of tech needed that most people havent already got to use a fancy E7 tariff?? Trying to save a few £ with TOU and storage then you need to do your sums

Going back to your original pics, theres what looks like an armoured cable running up to the top right of your meter box. There's a gland showing so I assume there's the corner of a junction box showing? I guess this could be the supply to the man cave??. If it is, then you can gland the armoured cable into an angle bracket fixed to the side of your meter box and connect the cores directly into the fuse switch. You can then bin the junction box and move the Henley block to where the JB was. Plenty of room for a new meter then. If I'm guessing wrong then maybe post up a picture of the entire meter box to take the guesswork away.

We've had a Solaredge SE4000 in the loft since 2015 and the heat sink gets luke warm in the middle of summer. Mount it on a sheet of Hardie backer if youre concerned about it setting fire to the loft. If you use an inverter with a plastic case then more chance of that melting and catching fire if the electronics go south. If youre using a cheap inverter thats not on the ENA database then I'd be more concerned about quality than something the manufacturer has invested more time and effort in testing. I'm not sure a quality MC4 connector poses much risk if crimped with the correct tool. Ive seen a connector crimped with a pair of pliers that the cable pulled out of and thats likely where the risk with the connectors lies?.

Yep, prices shot up in spring last year with the rise in the price cap. If you bought before then everything would have been much cheaper

Interesting. Can you share make, wattage and where youre buying them??

Not sure why you'd need 3 phase?? We've got 2x3.68kw(7.3kw) inverters on a single phase connection so your 6kw could be doable on a single phase.

If you can't get enough heat transfer through a basic indirect coil, you can always add a solar coil to the immersion boss and series plumb the 2 coils. See solarcoil.co.uk. They do coils with an integrated electric element if you want to retain that feature.

Still a bit unsure of this "change"! In the FAQs they link to OFGEM guidance dated August 2021 Section 7.73 says "Where it is not possible or practical to measure export by export meter readings, deeming is permitted". If youve got a second non MCS system then its not possible to work out where any exported eleccy has come from so you can probably stay on deemed payments. Equally if you add a small battery or wind turbine youll likely be able to stay on deemed, if you want to

Do you have a link to the OFGEM news?? We've got a 4kw MCS installed FIT system and a second 8kw non MCS system. No smart meter just now but would be interesting to know how they would deal with payments if we had a smart meter fitted and a mix of MCS and non MCS generation going through the meter to export. A back door way to get paid for non MCS generated eleccy??

G98 is a notification for micro generation less than 16 amp(3.68kw) per phase G99 is an application for micro generation greater than 16 amp(3.68kw) per phase G100 is for export limition as a supplement to G99 if the DNO requires it I suspect most installs will only require a G98 notification

I know it's not what you want to here but its his word against yours if he's claiming you were party to moving the panels onto a more shade roof. Your best asking Which or citizens advice for more informed guidance. As the installer has offered to remedy all the defects, other than the disputed panel location, seems to me your best bet is to let him fix everything and trade off the loss of generation compensation youve been offered against the labour to move the panels.

And if you dont consent to that, just move the ASHP supply to your CU.

Maybe Im wrong but I seem to recall you saying the installer claiming you influenced the panel location. If its his word vs yours that would seem a bit grey legally. If youre happy to pay for which membership but then be told youve got limited/no grounds for a claim, then go for it. I beleive citizens advice will give you similar guidance for free