magutosh

Hi folks, While we are waiting on the build warranty, is it possible to insure the house without it? I tried search for an answer but most places just want to sell you insurance rather than explaining it. Many thanks. Dominic

Will do in due course! Powerwall costs £8400 I think, which is fixed by Tesla, doesn't matter which installer you use. The connection is through Tesla Gateway, which diverts the electricity to the house, battery or back to the grid, very cleverly done. At the point of our build, tesla is the only battery comes with 10 year unlimited warranty. With powerwall and solar pv, you can join tesla's tariff, which you pay and get paid the same (11p per kwh, no standing charge), when you draw power from the grid and export it back. I think that might be the next best thing after FIT. Slim chance of paying it itself but hopefully summer exports can offset the winter demand.

I struggled to find much info previously before our build, now it's completed, I'd like to share our experiences for those who are in a similar dilemma as myself. Our build has a south east facing pitch at 40 degree, designed to be optimised for solar pv, with 16 in roof panels installed, total of 5.3kwh output, in Stockport, Northwest, by no means the sunniest part of the country. We wanted a storage battery from the start, which plays a catalyst in energy dependency since we only have electricity, which also powers air source heat pump, in the end we decided on Tesla Powerwall, more capacity, better warranty, cheaper tariff (Tesla Power Plant or Tesla Energy Plan if you also drive a Tesla), better app control and more advanced battery tech etc. Some, including ourselves were skeptical about how well our theory would work, whether there would be enough sunshine to even fully charge the battery, never mind export back to the grid to offset cloudy days. The results are staggering. We have 82% energy offset since the system was commissioned (two months approx) including charging EV, and recently we are running 98% self sufficiency, with battery getting full charge by 10am! Selling the rest back to the grid for the same cost as we draw from it, thanks to Tesla's tariff. Of course, on rainy days we draw from the grid, but it's definitely looking like a worthy investment, especially when we experienced our first power cut, battery took over seamlessly, and the only house on the street with lights on! We now only wish to installed more solar pv on the rest of the roof! So far, solar pv + storage battery is working very well, far exceeded our expectations, and it's worth bearing in mind, it is not about the absolute saving on your electricity bills, but more self sufficiency and energy independence. Of course, the longer you have the system running, the more you will save, it is only a matter of time to recoup initial investment.

Yes, they did all the calcs. They sized a less powerful Daikin system for us, compared to a 14kw Ecodan, which still operates comfortably in extreme cold, based on the calcs. Their figures are pretty much on par with each other, heat calcs were slightly under what SAP/EPC numbers, by a couple of hundred on heat demands, not sure if that's good or bad?

Given Vincent from Magna Renewables a call, he's based in Runcorn but does work up and down the country, a highly skilled installer with exceptional attention to details. He's recently completed our ASHP and Solar PV, can't recommend him enough. Our neighbour asked him to install solar pv after seeing his work.

We do have a SAP report, but I can't see any field in particular address heat loss?

Total floor area comes to around 210 m2, we will install MVHR being a very airtight house. I'll fire them an email for the heat loss calcs now.

We use 142mm Kingspan TEK sip panels with u value of 0.2 for roof and walls, floor has 300mm eps kore insulation with u value of 0.1. We haven't seen any heat loss calculation yet, only SAP report, every party likes to keep that close to their chest until they get go ahead.

It's new build with insulated foundation, so we have already buried the UFH in the concrete. Regarding the heat loss calcs, the first company quoted us the ecodan supposedly has done it, and quoted the 14kw unit, but when we asked to reduce it, they were happy to accommodate? Which make and model would suit UFH for entire downstairs and upstairs bathrooms, with wall mount radiators in bedrooms, in your opinion?

We got quoted £1800 to install solar pv and storage battery. Out of all the electricians we asked, none of them would touch solar pv, but all of them say they use someone else just for that. I did some reading just now, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on the MCS certificate, though every article mentioned it when it comes to lender concerns, seems to me the main focus is on if the panels are leased or owned outright.

Not a survey, but he did send me case studies and some figures that I"m going through now. Other quotes have included a performance report, but they seem to support what they quoted for, rather than an impartial.

I think it was by a builder actually who's considering putting solar pv on his roof, but I haven't verified that yet. Either way, by separating material and labour, it became instantly a cost saving approach comparing to other quotes. If the difference isn't substantial, I would probably go down the MCS route. I'm hoping summer time would somehow compensate with dismal winter days.

Thank you for that. I actively explored non MCS installer option with little success, along the line someone mentioned that I could not sell the house with solar panels if they weren't installed by MCS certified installers? Was that a bluff?

I've not yet found anyone installs solar pv who's not mcs certified, I was told without mcs certified, it would be a nightmare if I were to sell the house in the future?

Hi girls and guys, I'm sizing and pricing up solar pv for our new build, came across an mcs installer that happy for us to source our own panels. We try to maximise half of our roof for a 6k system, since electricity will be our sole energy source in the future, which powers ashp, appliances, electric vehicle and possibly a storage battery. Previously we've been quoted 4k system which I wasn't keen on based on our potential usage (4 bed house with electric car), then I found out the reason they all quote 4k system so they don't need to deal with DNO (lazy buggers!), I thought being certified they'd help you size up panel according to demand, clearly not! If we can source panels without markup, it would make sense to increase the size at material cost, with hope it would generate enough for our own consumption, also a good amount to export back to the grid. What would be your approach given a similar circumstance? Regards Dominic (Stockport, Northwest)