Self-build in Perth & Kinross - hello

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, john ferrigan said:

Hi Kevin

NB It's Kelvin, as in degrees K and The Kelvin Hall.

[Kelvin]

Been a while since I’ve updated progress largely because nothing major has changed until today. 
 

After putting off the decision on our PV and batteries I decided against installing them on top of the cliff. It was  introducing too much cost and complication for not much gain. In the end I decided on fitting them to the garage roof. This meant an east/west install and we had space for 19 panels (the SVP on the west side being a limiter). That decision made I then looked at all the various battery systems that also supported backup either partial or full. I looked at and got quotes for several systems before narrowing it down to three: 

 

1. Powerwall 3 

2. GivEnergy All in One

3. Sigenergy. 
 

I ruled out PW3 for a few technical reasons but Elon Musk also put me off. I already spend money on Starlink and if I could find an alternative then I’d likely swap to that. 
 

I ruled out GivEnergy largely because I was finding it hard to actually get any local companies to quote. Four companies told me they used to install them but have stopped due to too many issues trying to commission systems, and too many re-visits that cost them money. I contacted Giv directly and they put me onto a Manchester based company and while they quoted I didn’t like their pushy sales approach plus they are in Manchester and I’m not, so not ideal. 
 

I also looked at Fronius, SolarEdge and Fox and ruled them all out for various reasons mostly because they didn’t deliver what I wanted. 
 

In the end I decided to go with Sigenergy. Not exactly risk free as they are a fairly new company (2022) and their products haven’t had much field testing. However it did everything I was looking for, was very flexible in terms of battery storage sizing, and offered whole home backup with instant switchover to off-grid mode. It was also a reasonable price and in fact one of the cheaper quotes.

 

Installation started last Monday and was finished today due to some delivery issues and we’ve been running on it since mid-day today. We switched it into off-grid mode and it is indeed instantaneous. It’s a 24kWh system in 3 x 8kWh modules with the hybrid energy controller the top module. The whole thing is very compact taken up very little space. I had the battery fitted in the garage and the gateway is fitted in the house plant room. It’s also relatively compact and has some nice features such as a ‘smart port’ for connecting large loads to it (like an ASHP) You can also connect a generator to it if you wanted to go fully off-grid. Install problems aside commissioning the system was really quick and as quick as the installer clicking a button to me receiving the email to create an account and login into the app. It will take me a bit of time to work out the best way to configure the app but for now I’ve put it into AI mode to let it sort itself out.

 

Cost was just over £15,000 for everything including the G99 application etc. We have a Home Energy Scotland grant which saves £2500 (Scottish Government has stopped offering this) 
 

[Kelvin]

There are a few milestones for the self-builder - buying a plot, getting planning permission, the first spade in the ground etc. Taking the Heras fencing down is surely one of those. I took the last panel down today and the fencers are cracking on with the fencing and will be finished by Thursday next week.