Solar for Beginners [ask your questions here]

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123104358#Comment_123104358

Would you mind linking to the garo at wesco? I'll get my electrician to fit I think. Just want to make sure I pick up the right type etc

Mr Q

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123104505#Comment_123104505

Two differend brands in 32A with 100mA

https://www.wesco.ie/products/p-garo-b32-100ma-rcbo.html?name=100ma&type=fastsearch

https://www.wesco.ie/products/p-chint-203078-rcbo-c32.html?name=100ma&type=fastsearch

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123104690#Comment_123104690

just curious… why the different thickness?

Ha Long Bay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123104949#Comment_123104949

It's the second one you want not the first one. It should be 1P +N

Mr Q

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123104949#Comment_123104949

Can fit more in a limited space with the single width one, which is a bonus for me.

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123104949#Comment_123104949

The neutral isn't normally switched in the single module one

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123105424#Comment_123105424

I guess the obvious question is the thicker one better?

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123103017#Comment_123103017

I ordered this one, will just get my electrician to swap over when it arrives… probably a few weeks.

The lips

Folks would solar install be worthwhile for a low electricity user like me? 2700 units on the meter in 12 months.

I have a small area for South facing, max 3 panels, plenty of East/West orientation.

Gas combi boiler heats the water required.

Including optimisers etc is it a worthwhile investment for me.

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123135473#Comment_123135473

100% yeah. We had same low usage.

Plenty of us here have East / West splits.

Forget the South if can only fit 3 panels. Likely that 'string' of panels will be too small to start producing power. Needs a minimum voltage and 3 panels tends to be that minimum. I know as happened to me!

oaklands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123135620#Comment_123135620

….unless you use micro inverters….

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123137317#Comment_123137317

True, but for simplicity for new people I excluded that. Installers are very unlikely to add a strings on E + W (and OP has plenty of space on those he said), and then a micro inverters on another roof. That's beyond solar for beginneers. Not tying to shoot you down or get into a debate.

The lips

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123135620#Comment_123135620

I would not be doing a diy install but hiring a company. To be most economic at time of install I would get a panel on every available space on the roof but with my current small consumption would a smaller array of about ten panels be more suited.

Brego888

Lads how do you go about deciding on what company to go with? There are so many options!

Don't want to necessary go with the cheapest but need some idea what to look out for.

GhostInTheRuins

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123142917#Comment_123142917

Download your meter data from esbnetworks and upload it to energypal.ie. It's the best comparison site out there.

Brego888

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123148238#Comment_123148238

Isn't that a comparison site for energy providers?

I am looking for how to decide on solar panel installers

Mcsirl

HEy Everyone,

DOes anyone know any installers that are doing Deye or Sunsynk invertors ? Looking for a 12 panel system with one of them if possible, cant seem to find anyone that does them though.

Thanks

Padre_Pio

Anyone have a payback breakdown for a battery system?

I'm speaking a 5kW solar setup, with Growatt inverter, which has a battery option of a 5kw battery for about €1.5k. Just cant work out if it's worth the money.

Payback period is coming in at 6 years with Electric Irelands day/night rate and FIT, but this is based on today's prices, which could be very different a year from now, never mind 3 or 4.

paddy236

It depends how you use the battery and the size of the battery.

I built a 15kW diy battery for €1800.

I'm on energia EV plan so I charge the battery between 02:00 and 06:00 for €0.08 and then run the house from the battery during the day. So this is a discount of €0.28 per kW(peak rate is €0.36)

We have a heat pump and during the winter the battery only lasts until 13:00-17:00. But for the rest of the time there is surplus battery capacity every day.

And this is without solar panels.

I'm changing to x2 15kW batteries (30kW total) and will hopefully be able to get through a winters day without needing to use the grid on the peak rate.

MacDanger

We have a PV installation (7.6kW) and we're considering getting a battery but from what I can see, the maths don't really add up at the moment unless I'm making a mistake somewhere.

The below calcs cut a few corners for simplicity but please ignore that for now unless it's something that would make a tangible difference. I've also left out the fact that I'll lose ~10% on the way in and out of the battery so the below calcs may be overly optimistic.

For the winter months, our usage is roughly as follows:

Oct: 370kW

Nov: 560kW

Dec: 740kW

Jan: 750kW

Feb: 530kW

Mar: 370kW (estimated to be the same as Oct)

We're on a night rate of 0.16 and a day rate of 0.31 (FIT of 0.24)

So if we get a 6kW battery, we can expect to effectively shift ~180kW/month (6kW/day) from the higher rate to the lower rate for the 4 middle months and roughly half (since our PV production will cover most of the rest) that for the two shoulder months so I'm saying 5 x 180kW moved from the higher rate to the lower rate = 900kW @15c (31c - 16c) = €135 savings

For the remaining 7 months, we can fill the battery at the lower rate of .16 and sell it at .24 so I'm saying 7 x 180kW = 1260kW @8c (31c - 16c) = €100 earnings

So it's coming to €235/year and at an outlay of 3795 (6kW battery plus changeover switch), it's a 16 year payback which isn't great.

I can't really see a case for this being worth my while with the way my rates currently are - anyone disgree? I'm thinking of putting it on hold until there's a significant change in the rates

jkforde

yep, use the grid as your battery while feed-in rates remain decent

mjatkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123211887#Comment_123211887

I've not done the math based on your usage, but you can buy a DIY or even prebuilt (check post before yours) 15Kwh battery for less than €2000.

Swap to EV plan Energia do 4 hour EV rate of 0.075 Cent per Kwh, charge the full 15KwH, run the house for day off the solar and battery when needed, then flog back any surplus before 2am when EV window opens again.

Pay back will be much smaller than 16 years.

mjatkey

Why no panels, also you'll need a seperate charger to charge up 30Kwh of batteries in a 4hour window? (if you are discharging any surplus down to say 6% SOC). A 5Kw inverter running flat out plus supplying house will probably give 15-20Kwh charge in 4 hour window.

MacDanger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123212722#Comment_123212722

I'd be a bit wary of going DIY with anything electrical - do you need a reci to install a DIY battery or is it fully DIY?

We used to be on that energia plan (4h window @ 8c) but switched to their other option (9h window @ 16c) as it worked out marginally better for us based on usage (heat pump coming on late at night and early in the morning tipped the balance). The previous option would be better with a battery setup

mjatkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123213228#Comment_123213228

No, I belive anyone can work on DC power as long as they know what they are doing. There is a wealth of information on DIY batteries on here and a whole series of videos on Youtube from our own ghost on building and connecting the Seplos batteries to a Solis inverter, well worth a watch.

MacDanger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123213510#Comment_123213510

Sound, will have a look

mjatkey

Guys, was doing some simple charge and dis-charge testing on the new Seplos at the weekend.

Checking for heat on any of the connections/busbars etc.

The only piece that was anything other than completely cold was the bottom centre busbar that joins the two banks together, it was barely warm but not stone cold that every other item I checked was.

Question, would there be any point in "doubling up" on the busbar as I have load of spare ally bars that weren't used?

Or maybe re-drill a couple of the spare flexi bars to fit?

Thanks

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123228186#Comment_123228186

Just checking - if you were using an IR thermal imager then did you check that the emissivity was set right for steel and also that it wasn't just a reflection off your body?

I would check that there was no debris or corrosion on the terminals before you assembled the link and then check the torquing of the bolts. Run a multimeter on the mV setting between the two battery terminals (not the link itself) and see if you're getting a Vdrop - but even if you are then I think it's not something to worry about given the width of the link.

mjatkey

Thanks, no nothing as sophisticated as a heat camera, terminals were clean when assembled and torque was ok at weekend (rechecked all of the bolts). I'll check with the meter.

Does doubling the amount of surface area not make a difference?

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123228477#Comment_123228477

It can do but not in this case as the electrical contact is being made on the surface of the battery terminal where it meets the link and at the underside of the bolt where it also meets the link, so adding a link on top of the link isn't going to double the surface area. Plus, the heat might not be coming off the link itself, it might be coming off the terminal or screws.