Domestic Solar PV Quotes 2022 - No PM requests - See Mod note post #1

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121474222#Comment_121474222

So the limit is 5 kw export. This implies the maximum input of the inverter in terms of voltage and current. Too many panels and you are in danger of breaching the maximum input no load voltage. Choice of panels will optimise this. Hybrid inverters generally can output greater than 5kw, 5 to grid and maybe 2 to battery. If you want to output max to grid and additional to home consumption, you can spilt your home circuits into on and off grid. (a trivial job at the consumer unit). You can then buy an inverter with and off grid branches, such as the Sungrow, or install an extra low cost non hybrid. One on grid and one off, panels spilt between them. Off grid would give power backup during a failure from panels, from the battery if it was hybrid. I'd imagine you'd be fleeced by installers for this second option though, even if it only involves maybe a €500 extra unit.

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121468873#Comment_121468873

As a fellow procrastinator, get quotes. You have enough data. And I say that kindly :)

East / West is a common setup and works well. What I have. Produces maybe 80% of a South setup.

Ignore Eddi. Export rate is 20C plus for unused units. Heat immersion on cheap night rate instead and export what Eddi would of used.

Max out what the roof and budget can take as others have said

Boots87

Thanks DC999. I am chipping away at getting my quote in line with the 1.2 by KwP which I found on here. Boards has been so useful plenty of great info around

Muahahaha

Wondering what others think of this quote. Ive been trying to hit the 1,200 per kwp benchmark but after almost 10 quotes over the last 6 months have not been able to find a company at this rate. It is probably because my system is limited by a small roof which has a velux window thus reducing the size of the solar array.

Anyway quote includes a hybrid inverter & an Eddi. It is either 7 Jolywood panels of 415k watts for e4,700 (net of grant) or if possible 8 panels for 5,000 euro. So its going to be either a 2.9kwp or a 3.3kwp system. So 7 panels would work out at 1,620 per kwp and 8 panels at 1,515 per kwp.

Im under a bit of pressure as the grant is reducing by 300 in January and the company can get the paperwork in before Xmas to avoid the decrease. So need to make a decision in by next week.

Couple of questions- when people talk of the benchmark of 1,200 per 1kwp is that calculation not including the Eddi? And any feedback on these Jolywood panels and 3kw Suzhou Hypontech string inverter, have never heard of them as most companies seem to use Jinko panlels and unsure of if a 3kw inverter is big enough or what limitations it has. And would also welcome comments on paying about 1,600 per kwp. Should I just truck on and suck up the 300 euro decrease in the grant to try to find a company at 1,200 per 1kwp. Or is my small roof and system forever going to mean I cant hit that benchmark? Because thats what it kind of feels like after lots of quotes way above it.

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121490681#Comment_121490681

The 1.2k is including grant but not eddi or the extra for a hybrid inverter.

With smaller systems it's hard to get down to that figure.

I'd personally ditch the eddi as the feed in is so good

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121490681#Comment_121490681

I paid €1600/kWh 18 months ago. Mine is a small house so they put panels on 4 different sections of roof. So took way more labour. I’m still delighted to have solar.

You’re paying more than the rule of thumb as it’s a small system and labour costs are largely the same if they mount 20 panels our 8. Plus as you’ve gotten 10 quotes, the costs are what the market can charge at the moment.

A 3kWp system is very small. I’d suggest get the largest the roof and budget can take. EVs, electric heating….mean our houses will consume more electricity in the future.

A 3kW inverter is plenty for 8x415w panels. Most inverters can be oversized by close to 50% of panels. The installer can check the max limit.

Drop the Eddi as others have said. FIT is paying 20c plus for an unused kWh sent back to the grid. Then just pull the trigger and book it in. 

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121490923#Comment_121490923

Thanks for this. Yeah I think I have to accept Im not going to find a quote at the 1,200 per 1kwp benchmark as it is such a small system.

Just on the Eddi though, if Im paying 33c per kwh from Energia and they are only giving 20c FiT does it not make more sense to heat the water using solar power rather than using power at 33c per kwh?

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121492119#Comment_121492119

How do you currently heat your water?

Oil? Gas? Immersion?

Oil/gas cost could be in the 10-15c/kWh range.

Electric(immersion), well ideally you would do the bulk of your heating on night rate.

Back to oil/gas, the eddi is only replacing the cost of that say 15c. And it costs 500. That's 3333kwh you need to put through the eddi before you actually save any money.

If you exported the same amount at 20c, that. Would be worth €666...

Eddi is a convenience option. Not an economic one. As long as you know that work away.

funnyname

We use 11k units pa, looking to offset this with a solar pv install, currently no EV but hope to have one in the next year or so. We have 3 roofs available for panels, house south and west facing, garage (ac connection to the house) south facing.

House was surveyed yesterday, asked them to maximise the system so as to future proof it.

Got a quote this morning of €17.3k net of grant, I think it looks very good, any comments?

34 panels (430w), 5kw hybrid inverter in house, 5kwh battery in house and 5kw inverter in garage.

H south - 17 panels

H west - 7 panels

G south - 10 panels

nickibopp

At the end of a frustrating year I'm desperate for a bit of advice please. Paid a hefty €5k deposit back in August on an 11 panels array with a Livoltek hybrid Inverter (incl 5.12K battery) producing 4143kwh/a (€13,300 before SEAI grant, €10,900 net) based on the solar company's assurance that in addition to the 5 panels on my roof (which they installed in August and are sitting there doing nothing) the further 6 panels could be installed using a cherry picker on the gable end of the house (east-facing, the roof faces South). The company then decided it wasn't safe to use a cherry picker due to power lines overhead and told me to get my ground level Lean-to roof reinforced so they could climb up on it and install on the gable from there. In the midst of lots of other work what was causing lots of other trouble we couldn't get anyone to do the lean-to roof job.

The solar company says at last that their roofers will do this reinforcement ("only 2 hrs work" they keep saying) and I am trying to agree that they pay the labour and I'll pay the materials as I have no need of a reinforced roof only for them to finish the job they started. I have also asked them to give me a discount for the electricity I should have generated.

They have now come back with a revised proposal with a change in hardware and I am concerned that they might be cutting corners to recoup their costs at my expense. They are offering €320 off the invoice towards electricity not generated, and €250 off for a hot water diverter that I didn't need, which seems fair and any reduction is welcome. But the spec has changed from a Livoltek inverter (not apparently on the SEAI EEE list so maybe that was a lucky escape) to a Solis 1p5k-4g.

This is the proposal:

11 x RSM130-8-440M 440 Watt Panels (Risen Energy Co., Ltd.)

1 x Solis-1P5K-4G (SOLIS - Ningbo Ginlong Technologies)

1 x BX51100 (Dyness)

Standard System Price

€13,300.00

Any thoughts would be well appreciated. I really liked the company and probably could have shopped around more but they were local and really helpful - there has been a lot of personnel change while I've been dealing with them, though, and I have lost quite a bit of faith in them. But with my deposit paid I feel a bit backed into a corner.

Thanks...

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121492216#Comment_121492216

Thanks for this, At the moment I heat water using a night rate of 14c/kwh. So I suppose with that in mind it makes financial sense to not get the Eddi and continue to heat water overnight at 14c a unit and for any excess solar power during the day to be sold back to the grid at 20c a unit.

Cole

Hi everyone,

Any opinions on this quote?

• 10 x Jinko Tiger 435 N-Type (JKM435N-54HL4R-B) 435 Watt Panels (Jinko Solar)
• 1 x Solis H1 Energy Storage 3.6kW Hybrid 5G Inverter with DC switch (Solis)
• 1 x Dyness 5.1 kWh Battery (DL5.0C)
• 1 x FSS
• 1 x Eddi with Hub
• 1 x BER
  • €11,321.00

Many thanks for any views...all very new to this!

staples7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121493723#Comment_121493723

No offence but you sound painful to deal with, the power lines are not the installers problem, nor is the roof that cannot support them. If my installers turn around to me next week and tell me they can't install due to factors connected with house or surroundings. Im not going to ask them to pay the labour associated with extra work for them to get up there.

I think the installers made a mistake by half doing it, they should have just walked and given your deposit back. Your now looking for lost electricity 😳😳

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121493526#Comment_121493526

Woah! That's 14.6kWp of panels but the ESB limit is a little over 5kW of an inverter in total. That means the system can't produce more than 5kW. You can oversize to around 8kWp on a 5kW inverter depending on the design and roof orientation. But nothing like 14.6kWp.

Unless you already have 3 phase you can't go that large. What was their rationale for such a large system?

Or to get above the 5kW limit, you need to pay the ESB 1k for an 'NC7' so you've a large connection from the house. But that's not non refundable AFAIK and can be more costs on top of that to EBS.

Looks like they are providing 2 x 5kW inverters. Once the 5kWh battery is filled (which will really really early in the morning based on your system size), then 2nd inverter won't be doing anything.

Btw, it you're using 11000kWh a year, it's 30kWh a day average without an EV. You've a heatpump I guess, yeah? So in winter it's more likely 50+kWh a day and much lower in summer. A 5kWh battery won't touch the sides of such a heavy winter usage - mentioning in case you're not aware.

nickibopp

Thanks, you're probably right, point taken.

ablelocks

got a top level quote for huawei system - 22 panels, 10kw battery, (no eddi needed have solar tubes for hotwater apr to sept and oil-fired when needed))

circa 14k (not incl grant) - does that sound ok?

Comer1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121500509#Comment_121500509

Sounds very good indeed

nickibopp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121495723#Comment_121495723

Thanks, you're right I am thinking and overthinking and stressed beyond sense. You did misunderstand me though for the record - the roof supporting the panels isnt the issue (house roof is already full owith 5 panels) , the other 6 panels are going on a wall and that roof in question is a plastic roof over my washing line that is now required to support workers to work from while installing onto the wall. I'm worried about damage to the plastic roof, risk to the workers, you name it, I've lain awake freaking out about it. And of course the colossal cost that I fear is an unwise investment. You're right, I'm lucky they put up with me, thanks for the perspective, i needed to hear it.

tonysopprano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121500509#Comment_121500509

http://davidhunt.ie/solar/

Breezy_

That quote calculator changes from go for it to skip it with a euro difference.

Stop using it.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121501334#Comment_121501334

Interesting, because even at €15500.00 it says the below

Cole

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121495567#Comment_121495567

Anyone? (that's excluding the €2400 grant).

tonysopprano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121504645#Comment_121504645

http://davidhunt.ie/solar/

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121501334#Comment_121501334

I tend to agree, It's a simple three rule decision tree, it's no HAL. Users shouldn't infer any intelligence or intuitive process to it just because the decision process is not obvious from the advice given, though there is an attempt to flesh out decisions in the notes.

The entire rule base is as follows, based on the price to you after Grant, BER, Eddie. If you're not entitled to a Grant, the decision is still based on the Kwp price calcuated less the appropriate grant

1. Kwp<=€1150 then "Go for it,"

2. €1150 <Kwp<=€1300 then " Get more quotes"

3. Kwp>1300 then "Look elsewhere"

A similar rule set is applied to where 'Batteries are Included'. So in this calculator world a 5Kwp system is ideally €5000 to you (after €2400 grant, (total €7400). "Go for it" up to €5750, "Get more quotes" €5751 to €6500,"Look elsewhere" from €6501 onwards. The very basics of ChatGPT reasoning, and all AI for that matter.

jiminho

Hi folks, just want to get your thoughts. We’ve almost completed a fairly major renovation at our house and have some “leftover” money from the loan we took out. Not necessarily looking to spend but we were thinking of Solar as we have a roof that faces due south at a good angle with no shading. We got one quote for €5.9k (4.3kw). Based on 31c/kw with our supplier and expected power generation, this works out at a saving of approx. €120/mth (€1,440/annum). The loan amount to pay for this works out at €65/mth (€780/annum) over 10 years. Even if we only get the feed in tarrif of 21c/kw, that should pay for the loan and then some.

Am I missing anything or is this an easy slam dunk decision?

tonysopprano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121505092#Comment_121505092

Not as straight forward as that. What about nighttime or when the sun don't shine or long periods over winter?. Will you be in the house to use whatever you generate?. Do you use electric showers, washers, dryers, heat pump, electric heating etc. All must be considered for each individual house

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121505092#Comment_121505092

If this were the case, installers would put in solar free with a meter, and take the revenue from you for the solar power that would otherwise come from the utility, then you own the kit after 10 years.

This model works commercially when replacing large industrial and commercial premises older fluorescent lighting with LED, installer pockets the savings for x years.

€5.9 seems a good price though for 4.3 kw, what, 10 panels?

jiminho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121505099#Comment_121505099

I WFH 4 days/wk. Use gas for heating and hot water. It looks like our annual energy use was approx 4,000kwh last year.

Understood about the “sun don’t shine” comment but over the course of a year, are the energy generation calcs fairly accurate? The feed in tarrif for SSE is 21c/kwh so at the calculated annual energy generated value of approx 4600kwh, this works out at €80/mth (960/annum) so essentially paying for the loan. That’s if 100% of the energy generated goes back to the grid so surely I would end up somewhere in between….

jiminho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121505112#Comment_121505112

Yeah 10 panels, 430kw per panel.

What am I missing then from my calcs?

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121505133#Comment_121505133

4600 a little optimistic, unless you're in the sunny South East. https://solarshare.ie/news/are-solar-panels-worth-it-in-ireland-2/

I'd say 950 Kwh/Kwp might be more realistic, but if it displaces say one third at home use, 31c and two thirds at FIT, 21c, you're still looking at €80+ per month*. Unknown are possible maintenance costs over ten years, and a big drop in FIT if energy prices drop. Looks like it would pay alright.

* 950×4.3=4085kwh/annum. 4085×⅓×31c + 4085x⅔×21c = €994/annum, €83 per month.