Prices sound about right?

[Alshamal]

I’ve got a Lux 3600 ACS Inverter with 3x 3.2 Greenlinx batteries  system fitted 13/10/22 which I’m well pleased with supplying 98% of my daily use! My last years electricity  usage was approximately  6,000.KWH. So I’m not looking to fit solar panels on south facing semi bungalow roof!

i’ve had a quotation for fully fitted all certificates using existing inverter. 6xJinko Panels 415 (2.4) kWp @ £ 4,397.00. & 9 Jinko Panels 415 (3.7)kWp @ £5,022.00.

 

 

 

[Redbeard]

"...So I’m not looking to fit solar panels "

 

Presumably not = 'now'.

[Redbeard]

I wonder if the ridge section is the width of a 'landscape' panel, in which case I guess you'd get 5 panels up to the L of the stack. One more can go anywhere you want in the remaining triangle. I think 9 might look 'busy'. I am no expert of aesthetics, and not a lot bothers me, but I think the 'notchy' look where PV 'climbs a hip' is not to everyone's taste.

 

Prices look about what I'd expect. Some have, I think, had 4kW for £4k or just under, but £4400 sounds acceptable to me (especially when that could have cost £17 - 20k in 2009/10!!

Edited January 15, 2023 by Redbeard
typo

[PhilT]

1 hour ago, Alshamal said:

I’ve got a Lux 3600 ACS Inverter with 3x 3.2 Greenlinx batteries  system fitted 13/10/22 which I’m well pleased with supplying 98% of my daily use

which tariff/rates do you have?

[Alshamal]

I’m on Octopus Go 7.5/38.5. I have an EV and charger!

[Alshamal]

Hi Redbeard thanks 🙏👨‍🦳 i am looking to fit panels👍

[Nick Thomas]

The 3600ACS doesn't have a DC in for the solar panels: https://luxpowertek.com/lxp-acs-3600 - so presumably when you say "using the existing inverter", what is meant is "a second inverter will be added for the solar panels". Definitely worth querying them if it's unclear.

 

Price isn't bad, but you can't do G98 if you have two inverters with the combined max output exceeding 3.6kW. You also won't be able to charge the batteries from solar in the event of an outage.

 

It'll be about the same price (maybe a tiny bit more expensive if the second inverter they intend to add is a cheapo unit) to *replace* the 3600ACS with a 3600 hybrid: https://luxpowertek.com/lxp-hybrid-3-6k . This can have both your new PV and your existing batteries connected to it, so you still come in under G98 and can charge the batteries from the solar when the grid is down. You can also sell the existing 3600ACS inverter for a bit of pocket money or keep it as a backup / future project.

Edited January 15, 2023 by Nick Thomas

[Alshamal]

Hi Nick Thomas

Thanks for your reply I thought when i had the inverter/batteries fitted i was led to believe the inverter would do all I needed if and when i went for solar! It explains when asking to supplier for information on solar they’ve never replied! I’m only 3 months down the line since finding out! What is the difference in price of the inverter i have to the hybrid one I can’t seem to find any pricing for just Lux inverters ! If I went back cap in hand and pleaded ignorance which isn’t far off!

and see if they would exchange it?

or just accept it and pay for an extra inverter! 🤷

[Nick Thomas]

@Alshamal you can always ask ^^.

 

if they promised you it would do the PV as well, and you have that written down anywhere, you can argue the goods aren't as described / fit for purpose. If you paid on credit card and they persist in silence, you could reclaim the money on that basis, which would at least give them a reason to contact you.

 

I don't know about this specific model of inverter, but they generally cost £500-1500. The thing the company will be trying to avoid is the cost of doing the installation a second, rather than anything to do with the hardware itself.

 

Before doing anything else, though, worth checking the model number on the inverter for yourself and making sure it is a 3600 ACS rather than a 3600 Hybrid.

 

Who did you use, OOI? https://homeenergygroup.co.uk/ did mine (I got the PV first, battery second); they rocked up with an ACS to install, but I refused it and asked them to come back with a hybrid, which they did manage on the same day. They sent me a handover pack, which was nice of them.

[Nick Thomas]

Difference in price between https://homeenergygroup.co.uk/lux-hybrid-battery-storage-greenlinx/#enquire and https://homeenergygroup.co.uk/lux-ac-battery-storage-greenlinx/#enquire is quoted as £280 FWIW

[Alshamal]

They supplied and fitted mine but I think i can honestly say it’s my fault for not knowing enough about what I wanted and may need in the future! The difference in price would make it worth upgrading at a reasonable cost in comparison to paying a grand plus with panels!

 

I spoke with them this afternoon and pleaded ignorance and everything else,so may be lucky 🤞just have to wait and see. I’m just starting the process of P V every thing seems to be worked out from Google earth!

[Dillsue]

22 hours ago, Alshamal said:

They supplied and fitted mine but I think i can honestly say it’s my fault for not knowing enough about what I wanted and may need in the future!

I'd disagree with you on that. Whoever installed it for you is likely a professional and should have run through options with you. As you wanted an inverter/batteries, fitting PV at a later date is a blindingly obvious thing to do so they should have asked about that. They're at fault, not you.

[Alshamal]

What’s the benefits of using Micro Inverters just been told they are better and the way to go! But are they more expensive one for each panel! 

[jack]

10 minutes ago, Alshamal said:

What’s the benefits of using Micro Inverters just been told they are better and the way to go! But are they more expensive one for each panel! 

 

The main benefit is in cases where there's partial shading of a subset of the panels over the course of the day. Without getting bogged down in details, microinverters allow each panel's power output to be optimised individually, whereas an ordinary inverter can only optimise for a long string of panels (usually one or two strings per inverter for a simple domestic installation).

 

The problem with the latter is that the power of the string is constrained by the lowest output panel. For example, having one panel partly shaded can massively cut peak production of the string as a whole, even though the other panels are in full sun. This is why it's important not to have chimneys or aerials (etc) shading a panel where ordinary inverters are used.

[Alshamal]

I have a battery system charging on Octopus Go and charging my EV on the cheap tariff overnight! How would a panels system using micro inverters connect as they will be supplying AC current ! I’m new to this🤷

thanks for all help 

[jack]

There's microinverters (generate AC at each panel) and optimizers (generate an "optimized" DC at each panel, for conversion to AC by a central inverter). Sometimes "microinverter" is informally used to cover both options, but worth checking what's being proposed.

 

I don't know much about battery systems, but I guess you'd need an AC battery charger for use with true microinverters, because there's no DC output for a DC charger to use.

[Temp]

I think you need some box of tricks to replace or work with the battery charger. It needs to charge the battery when the PV is generating and limit the charging current to what the PV is producing. 

 

Then at night if there is spare capacity in the battery top it up from the grid.

[Dillsue]

1 hour ago, Alshamal said:

I have a battery system charging on Octopus Go and charging my EV on the cheap tariff overnight! How would a panels system using micro inverters connect as they will be supplying AC current ! I’m new to this🤷

thanks for all help 

If youre looking to change to a Lux hybrid inverter, youll not be able to use micro inverters as they produce AC which isnt compatible with the DC PV input of the inverter.

 

If you want to keep the inverter youve got now and use micro inverters for your PV, youll need to speak to your DNO and likely make a G99 application as your total potential output to the grid is over 16amp(3.68kw).

 

One thing I noticed from the photo you posted is that if the West face of your bungalow isnt shaded you can add panels the that bit of the roof as well as the south face.

[Alshamal]

Just had a conversation with an installer who only uses micro inverters! Apparently this cuts out my inverter issue but this means the same amount fo inverters as panels! But wanting to know how I would charge batteries and EV, he also proposed 10 panels as say 5 on the south and 5 on the west.

[Dillsue]

Probably best to speak to your DNO before you comit to anything to check you can add the extra export.

[Nick Thomas]

You can charge from AC with your existing 3600ACS inverter, but making it happen in sync with the output from your microinverters would be challenging. Not impossible, but... awkward, for sure.

 

What's best for any given installer may or may not be best for you and your situation. If you've got someone who only does microinverter installs, they're probably not going to give you an honest assessment of whether you'd benefit from them or not. Someone who is happy to design+fit either depending on site conditions is more likely to arrive at the optimal setup.

 

The 3600 Hybrid has DC inputs for two strings, so one option is to put the "awkward" panels (assuming there's enough of them and they're fairly similar in awkwardness) on string A and all the good panels on string B. Or you can just not use the awkward spaces and, as @Dillsue suggests, have the west face as string A and the south face as string B.

[Alshamal]

What’s your thoughts on this quote and projections!

[S2D2]

4 minutes ago, Alshamal said:

What’s your thoughts on this quote and projections!

Get some more quotes, that's ridiculous for a 4kWp install. Take 40% off and it would be reasonable. Less if that's switching for a hybrid inverter, it's not clear from the quote.

[jack]

If you're anywhere near Guildford in Surrey, I'd heartily recommend the guys we used a few years back: https://techforenergy.co.uk/
 

Unlikely to be the absolute cheapest, but they definitely know what they're doing (not always a given in this industry).

[Alshamal]

Hi Nick Thomas

How did you find out the prices of the Lux Inverters? And is there only one retailer in the country. I’m getting no reply from Home Energy Group on help !