Solar Quote Help Please

[canalsiderenovation 156]

1 hour ago, gc100 said:

My electrician can supply a 8k. PV system for about £2k, plus a couple of days work (£360). This is trade prices with no markup 

 

This seems really cheap even for trade. If I were to get trade prices for the materials alone for the system I want are still more than £2k.

[canalsiderenovation 156]

Just wondering if the Solic200 is a good alternative to the Solariboost Immersion Controller? I've got a cheaper price but don't want naff products for the sake of saving a few quid....

[dpmiller 477]

iBoost is more configurable and can drive two loads, plus has the option of the Buddy remote display

[Nickfromwales 3,035]

On 04/09/2020 at 08:02, canalsiderenovation said:

 

This seems really cheap even for trade. If I were to get trade prices for the materials alone for the system I want are still more than £2k.

IIRC, no MCS certificate means zero export payments. You’d be better off with a smaller array and self-consuming all you generate if you go ‘DIY’. 8kWp may be pointless unless you can store all excess on site; eg big cylinder. 

[ProDave 3,913]

I self consume almost all that I generate.  If I had qualified for export payments, I would have been paid less than £15 so far for export.   How much extra would I have to have paid for an MCS system?  How long would that small export payment take to pay that extra cost?

[Nickfromwales 3,035]

52 minutes ago, ProDave said:

I self consume almost all that I generate.  If I had qualified for export payments, I would have been paid less than £15 so far for export.   How much extra would I have to have paid for an MCS system?  How long would that small export payment take to pay that extra cost?

Point being, fit the right amount of PV if you’re not getting paid to spill over back to the grid. Agree on the uplift, but MCS is more than just getting paid, it’s insurance and diligence also, eg to ensure the array will perform admirably vs the effort / cost to install it 

[scottishjohn 658]

I,m hoping ,maybe dreaming ,that by the time i get to building my house it might be viable to go totally off grid 

no problem with space for panels or battery storage and ?or stand by generator  etc 

.

last time i got a ballpark  quote for power supply it was around 25K

 any big movements on battery pricing ?

 

 

[ProDave 3,913]

If you have not already done so, take a look at https://lifeattheendoftheroad.wordpress.com/

 

The guy that lives off grid at the north end of Raasay.

 

What he does not know about off grid power is probably not worth knowing.

[pdf27 69]

11 hours ago, ProDave said:

If you have not already done so, take a look at https://lifeattheendoftheroad.wordpress.com/

The guy that lives off grid at the north end of Raasay.

What he does not know about off grid power is probably not worth knowing.

His current house was also designed from scratch to be off-grid, based on decades of experience of living off-grid at the time he designed it. It's a seriously impressive piece of work.

He's on the Navitron forums as Camillitech - I'm pretty sure he's got full details of his build on there as well as his blog.

[Onoff 4,456]

11 hours ago, ProDave said:

If you have not already done so, take a look at https://lifeattheendoftheroad.wordpress.com/

 

The guy that lives off grid at the north end of Raasay.

 

What he does not know about off grid power is probably not worth knowing.

 

Does he consult? Might be worth @scottishjohn enquiring. Let's face it, his is a bit out of the ordinary what with the space, the quarry etc. 

 

As an aside I wonder if there's any mileage in water source heating via the quarry?

 

Edited September 6 by Onoff

[scottishjohn 658]

8 hours ago, Onoff said:

As an aside I wonder if there's any mileage in water source heating via the quarry?

If I was keeping the qaurry and building a house on a high plateau at the rear of it --then yes the lake is 20-30m deep --never freezes  and a hydrologist has told me tha catchment of it is good for 5kw hydro .

 gshp on my house 300ft+ above it is a non starter as the insulated piping required is over £100 a meter .

next your going have me using a solar pv to pump water up from lake to a holding pond + excess water from my water supply in most times of the year  and then use hydro with 300ft drop to make power  at night .

I certainly can accommodate someone if the buy they quarry and want to do  that 

Edited September 6 by scottishjohn

[ProDave 3,913]

Ah ha yes, your own solar PV powered pumped storage system.  @Onoff will come and install it for you,

[SteamyTea 1,481]

On 05/09/2020 at 15:57, Nickfromwales said:

but MCS is more than just getting paid, it’s insurance and diligence also, eg to ensure the array will perform admirably vs the effort / cost to install it 

Been arguing that very point for years, but it falls on deaf ears.

 

23 hours ago, scottishjohn said:

last time i got a ballpark  quote for power supply it was around 25K

 any big movements on battery pricing ?

Price up a generator and the associated running costs, that then gives you a base price to work to when it comes to pricing batteries.

 

[Nickfromwales 3,035]

2 hours ago, ProDave said:

Ah ha yes, your own solar PV powered pumped storage system.  @Onoff will come and install it for you,

AFTER he makes it first  

[gc100 61]

I'm planing to move in and see what my consumption is throughout the day over a period before I decide exactly the amount of PV. I've got the ok for 8K system with the DNO but if I'm only using half of that I'll only purchase 4K for example. Pointless finically really at the moment given prices of storage or selling to grid, or I could do 8K and then offset my green footprint which I might well do.

[DamonHD 30]

4 hours ago, gc100 said:

I'm planing to move in and see what my consumption is throughout the day over a period before I decide exactly the amount of PV. I've got the ok for 8K system with the DNO but if I'm only using half of that I'll only purchase 4K for example. Pointless finically really at the moment given prices of storage or selling to grid, or I could do 8K and then offset my green footprint which I might well do.

It should be a relatively cheap (and non-fake) offset to get as far towards zero or negative at home on energy as you can.  You can always add storage later, but for now the GB grid doesn't have enough solar, so you're fully green without IMHO.

Rgds

Damon

[SteamyTea 1,481]

4 hours ago, gc100 said:

could do 8K and then offset my green footprint which I might well do.

Does that mean you can drive a Range Rover, or have a bonfire every month.

[gc100 61]

22 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

Does that mean you can drive a Range Rover, or have a bonfire every month.

That would be nice

[pdf27 69]

2 hours ago, gc100 said:

That would be nice

Burning a Range Rover every month is apt to get expensive though!

[scottishjohn 658]

2 hours ago, gc100 said:

 

sounds like the old joke 

 

 "doctor i have broken my hand --will i be able to play the piano when its healed

 doctor--yes

thats funny couldn,t play it before-- bbbum

[Onoff 4,456]

4 minutes ago, pdf27 said:

Burning a Range Rover every month is apt to get expensive though!

 

Satisfying though.

[AliG 602]

I'd like to know what investments your other half has access to. For £3-4k you get an index linked return of 7-10%. If you plan to move soonish then payback might be more relevant, but it isn't a bad return on the investment.

[scottishjohn 658]

27 minutes ago, AliG said:

For £3-4k you get an index linked return of 7-10%.

you mean a POSSIBLE  not a gauranteed  7-10%----providing corvid don,t make everything crash when second wave hits

[AliG 602]

I am assuming the sun isn't going anywhere and electricity prices inflate over time so it is pretty much a guaranteed return.

 

*prices may go up as well as down

[scottishjohn 658]

1 minute ago, AliG said:

I am assuming the sun isn't going anywhere and electricity prices inflate over time so it is pretty much a guaranteed return.

 

*prices may go up as well as down

your definition of an investment is different to mine -normally you can cash in an investment -

No  invertors to go bang which totally upset all your careful calculations on pay back of a system  

 I understand your comparison --but its not an investment  ,its a choice of how to possibly save money by using diffrent tech -not something  that  earns money

you could same savings by just turning down the heating and wearing a jumper .

I am not anti PV -far from it --but don,t call it an investment please