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Seplos battery with solis inverter thoughts


DocD

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Hi everyone. I'm new to this site. 

What are your thoughts on a battery storage system with 5kw solis inverter and 15.5kwh seplos battery? 

Just want to utilise the cheap night tariffs to charge battery over night and use it during day. 

No solar panels. 

Look forward to comments on the hardware

Thanks

 

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1 hour ago, Originaltwist said:

Yes, ROI is challenging but if you have  a heat pump to multiply the benefits then it heads into no-brainer territory.

I know it's subjective too. There's no ROI with plumbing or similar, so it gets down to whether it's something you can live with or without. Yes, if you've got the threat of power outages, you live off-grid, or you have a brilliant deal with your electrical supplier (export and night tariffs) then it's worth it in my eyes. But if you want it because you think it's going to help lower your bills significantly (and it's a cool bit of tech) then I don't think we're there yet.

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I have a 3.6kW sunsynk inverter + 15.5kWh Seplos battery (from fogstar).  Building the battery was slow but easy, and I think should only be done by people with some electrical experience.  It's so crucial not shorting stuff out!

I got the vertical 280L battery - big recommend - it's got wheels!  Once built, a 15kWh battery is insanely heavy, so wheels are very helpful.  Only issue I noted was having to pack out the bottom myself to get good battery compression.

We use 7.5p elecy always now too.  Well - more like 7.5p/efficiency, and the round trip efficiency is 76% (round trip carefully measured AC-batt-AC averaged over 30 days with a mid certified meter), making it 9.9p/kWh.  The sun is peeking out now, so it'll all be free soon!

 

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So I use around 20kwh electricity over 24 hours (when not charging my EV 

5kwh off peak and 15kwh peak 

 

15x30p = £4.50 daily = £1638 yearly

15x7.5p = £1.13 daily = £409.50 yearly

Equates to £1230 saving per year

 

If battery/inverter fees are £4500 for above system then just under 4yrs ROI

If battery/inverter fees £6500 for pylontech instead of seplos then just over 5yrs ROI

Battery life 6000 cycles so still should be good for a while

(hope my calculations are correct!) 

 

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Next thing is about DNO. 

The electrician said no need to inform DNO as nothing is going back to the grid. 

Other companies are saying need to do an application for G99

Someone else said can just do G98 application 

Which is right? 

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I think your electrician doesn't want to bother his a**e talking to the DNO.  It doesn't matter if you do/will export - it matters if you can.  So if that Solis inverter can export, then the DNO need to know - and if it's over 16A ACrms (which it sounds like it is), then you need to ask permission.  If <=16A ACrms, then you just need to inform the DNO - hence a lot of inverters being rated at that limit rather than over it.  

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Thanks for explaining. 

Can a person like me who knows nothing about electricity apply? Or would the electrician need to? 

What would have happened if they installed without permission? 

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£3k (if i found the round the right publication) for 15kWh battery, inverter, installation and DNO application is a bit too good to be true!  Wouldn't be suprised it cutting some corners..

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49 minutes ago, Dan F said:

£3k (if i found the round the right publication) for 15kWh battery, inverter, installation and DNO application is a bit too good to be true!  Wouldn't be suprised it cutting some corners..

Been quoted £4500 installed 

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1 hour ago, DocD said:

Been quoted £4500 installed 

That makes more sense. Remember shouldn't be charged VAT now.

As others have said, I'd avoid anyone that suggests you don't need a G99 application, you do.

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4 hours ago, DocD said:

So I use around 20kwh electricity over 24 hours (when not charging my EV 

5kwh off peak and 15kwh peak 

 

15x30p = £4.50 daily = £1638 yearly

15x7.5p = £1.13 daily = £409.50 yearly

Equates to £1230 saving per year

 

If battery/inverter fees are £4500 for above system then just under 4yrs ROI

If battery/inverter fees £6500 for pylontech instead of seplos then just over 5yrs ROI

Battery life 6000 cycles so still should be good for a while

(hope my calculations are correct!) 

 

Who supplies your power, your e7 rate is really low

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5 hours ago, DocD said:

So I use around 20kwh electricity over 24 hours (when not charging my EV 

5kwh off peak and 15kwh peak 

 

15x30p = £4.50 daily = £1638 yearly

15x7.5p = £1.13 daily = £409.50 yearly

Equates to £1230 saving per year

 

If battery/inverter fees are £4500 for above system then just under 4yrs ROI

If battery/inverter fees £6500 for pylontech instead of seplos then just over 5yrs ROI

Battery life 6000 cycles so still should be good for a while

(hope my calculations are correct!) 

 

Battery will do more than 6000 cycles, will just degredate in terms of usable capacity with use.

 

The one assumption you are making is that you peak usage is never more than 21A (5kW).  If you have peak usage above this, then you'll be pulling from the grid at 30p.

 

BTW, do you have or plan to get PV too?

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2 hours ago, Dan F said:

 

Battery will do more than 6000 cycles, will just degredate in terms of usable capacity with use.

 

The one assumption you are making is that you peak usage is never more than 21A (5kW).  If you have peak usage above this, then you'll be pulling from the grid at 30p.

 

BTW, do you have or plan to get PV too?

Not planning on getting PV. Don't want to risk anything on the roof. I'll be happy with 7.5p peak charges with battery. 

 

DNO just came back to me following my EV charger install last month.. Saying they will need to do fuse upgrade (currently 100amp) and also service cable replacement to cope with increased demand. Also they're saying I'm looped so will need to do neighbour as well 🤣😭. Lucky me 4 month wait.

Looks like battery install might have to be delayed? 

 

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10 minutes ago, DocD said:

they will need to do fuse upgrade (currently 100amp)

I thought 100A was max for residential supplies.

 

11 minutes ago, DocD said:

Looks like battery install might have to be delayed? 

Not necesarily, you could get something G98 compliant and just install it. You don't need to ask for permission, just notify.  Also, just because they want to reinforce supply, doesn't mean you'd necesarily have 5kW inverter denied.

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18 hours ago, DocD said:

Hi everyone. I'm new to this site. 

What are your thoughts on a battery storage system with 5kw solis inverter and 15.5kwh seplos battery? 

Just want to utilise the cheap night tariffs to charge battery over night and use it during day. 

No solar panels. 

Look forward to comments on the hardware

Thanks

 

 

I am in the process of self-installing just such a system. In my case the hardware is

A Seplos Mason 280L (14.4 kWh, A-grade cells) £2156

A Solis RAI-3.0KW 48ES 5G AC Coupled Inverter £640

 

I don't have or plan to install PV. I will be using this system to shift the majority of my power usage onto E7.

Just finished the wiring today, tomorrow is the big switch on

Wish me luck

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3 minutes ago, Cooeyswell said:

A Seplos Mason 280L (14.4 kWh, A-grade cells) £2156

Is the 280L the vertical one? I've got two of them.

 

3 minutes ago, Cooeyswell said:

A Solis RAI-3.0KW 48ES 5G AC Coupled Inverter £640

Can't you go one size up with inverter?  With 3kW inverter, you will only get cheap/e7 electricity if your consumption is below 3kW.  Put the kettle/oven on, and you'll likely be paying peak rate..

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7 hours ago, DocD said:

Thanks for explaining. 

Can a person like me who knows nothing about electricity apply? Or would the electrician need to? 

What would have happened if they installed without permission? 

Yes you can and its straight forward- download the form and see what info you need. You'll likely need to supply a single line diagram of your house distribution but Google it and you'll likely find something you can doctor.

 

If you installed without permission, you'll be breaking the terms of your electricity supply contract and the national terms of connection which I think are legally enforceable. A G99 is straight forward so why would you want to not do the right thing. No ones going to check up on you unless there's a problem.

 

If you go for a 3.68kw G98 inverter instead of the 5kw one, then all the G99 paperwork, and fee, go away but you'll likely be drawing on the grid more often than with a 5kw unit

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30 minutes ago, Dan F said:

Is the 280L the vertical one? I've got two of them.

 

Can't you go one size up with inverter?  With 3kW inverter, you will only get cheap/e7 electricity if your consumption is below 3kW.  Put the kettle/oven on, and you'll likely be paying peak rate..

 

I did look at 5kW inverters, most of these seem to be hybrids and cost around £500 more. Bizarrely several 5kW hybrids will only provide/source 3k to the battery (Growatt). They also (as mentioned) require a G99 sign-off prior to the install along with payment. G98 is a lot simpler.

 

I think this size gives the best "bang per buck" for my purposes. I am not attempting to cover all power consumption scenarios. From observation I expect to cover 80-90% of my peak usage with a 3kW system.

 

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3 hours ago, Dan F said:

I thought 100A was max for residential supplies.

 

Not necesarily, you could get something G98 compliant and just install it. You don't need to ask for permission, just notify.  Also, just because they want to reinforce supply, doesn't mean you'd necesarily have 5kW inverter denied.

I don't know what's max for residential, but they email me today saying will need to upgrade/increase my fuse

 

So the only issue with G98 compliant is that the inverter would be 3.68kw? 

I'm looking at my bill and most of the day I'm always less than 1kw usage. Only goes over 3kw when charging car at night. Maybe 3.68kw inverter will be ok for my needs 

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