PV solar panels - advice please to self purchase and install

boarduser01

Hi,

I am planning to install PV solar panels next year, and need to start researching.

I already have a GSHP running underfloor heating, and solar panel supplying hot water, both of which I am very happy with, but would now like to reduce my electricity bills a bit, as we run everything off electricity in this house!

Where do I start with getting all the information together to purchase the PV panels, inverter, etc and do we need to pay a specialist installer, or can any electrician deal with the inverter and meter changes. The installation would be on an un-used flat area in the back garden, that has good sunlight all year round, so no roof climbing required!

I don't want this thread to turn into a cost / benefit thread, there are plenty of those on this board, but any way to keep costs down for installing would be good to know!

Thanks in advance for any help.

quentingargan

Any electrician can install, but many don't know the ins and outs. If you PM me I can send you an outline of what the spark needs to do.

You should initially submit an NC6 form with ESB, but you will need to have chosen your inverter first.

If you are mounting in the back garden, you can either put the inverter outdoors, or take the DC from the panels back into the house. Funnily enough, ground mounting systems may work out more expensive than roof mounting, though I can understand you not wanting to go on a roof. The cheapest mountings are for steel roofs (corrugated or trapezoidal) so if you had a shed that would be your cheapest option. You may like to make a porch or car-port if you are handy.

There is also a ground mounting system that uses something that looks like a plastic coal bucket which the panels are mounted on. But you may find it cheapest to get your own galvanised steel to make the basic frames and attach conventional solar roof rails to that steel frame.

Have you an idea of how many panels you want? Or what your budget is? Ballpark, I think you could guess about €1 per watt plus €500 for all hardware, so for example, a 2kw system hardware might cost about €2500 plus VAT.

Calahonda52

just asking: are there export tariffs still?
https://www.esb.ie/esbnetworks/en/generator-connections/micro_gen_connections.jsp#q3

quentingargan

Calahonda52 wrote: »

just asking: are there export tariffs still?
https://www.esb.ie/esbnetworks/en/generator-connections/micro_gen_connections.jsp#q3

No export tariff at present. Most people in the industry expect this to change. I didn't point this out because the OP wanted to avoid this being a cost benefit analysis thread.

boarduser01

Thank you for your reply, I have not yet done any calculations on how many panels we might need. Any advice on how to calculate the number of panels for our personal use? I would like to cover as much of our electricity usage as possible, I am not worried about how much we throw back to the esb. Are there any online calculators to work out how many solar panels / what kW to aim for? I don't have a set budget yet.

I would definitely find the outline for the spark helpful, I will pm. Thanks again.

quentingargan

It all depends on your consumption trends. If the house is empty during the day, you won't be able to use much of your own consumption. If you are happy to export your surplus (albeit unpaid at present) and re-import it at another time, you might gear up to produce enough to offset your use. It all depends on what you want to achieve. I can PM you a report from PVSyst simulation software on what a typical 10 panel system would produce in Dublin on south facing 35 degree pitch roof.

Calahonda52

quentingargan Can you pm me the PVsyst report and the sparks work list please. Thanks