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Solar PV systems - feature differences

  • 04-08-2023 12:12PM
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,281 ✭✭✭


    I'm considering solar panels & one installer quoting said that 'other installers won't have a system like this'.

    I only recalled this later.

    Is there a marked difference between the 'systems' on offer in Ireland ?

    • what are the key feature differences between the different systems eg tech, hardware, capacity ?
    • what are the key features I should be looking for ?

    Note I have an EV & will want to be able to easily switch power to charging the EV as & when required.

    Thank you



Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,821 ✭✭✭✭the_amazing_raisin


    First off the "other installers won't have this" is probably BS, most of them seem to buy components from the 2 or 3 suppliers in the country.

    Only exception I know of is Huawei inverters which are supplied by literally one company

    Generally speaking there's two types of PV inverter, one that doesn't connect to a battery (grid tie) and one that does (hybrid inverter)

    If you want a PV system with a battery then you'll probably need a hybrid inverter

    You can still get a battery with a grid tie inverter, but it'll have it's own inverter built in and is often called an AC coupled battery

    Beyond that, I'd just measure your roof and figure out how many panels you can fit up there. Then multiply that by the panel wattage and that'll tell you the max wattage you can install

    Inverters are typically limited to 5.75kW to comply with microgeneration regulations. You can go above this but you need to pay €1100 to ESBN for the connection fee, so generally not worthwhile

    Since you have an EV, you'll want to install a charger which can sense excess solar and divert it to the car. The most popular example is the Zappi but I believe chargers from Ohme, EO and Wallbox can also do it

    They all work in a similar way, a sensor clips around the live wire into your house in the meter cabinet and this tells the charger when you're sending power to the grid and how much. The charger will then start charging the car at a slightly slower rate in order to use up as much excess solar as possible without taking energy from the grid

    You can also have a home battery with this system as well, mine currently charges the house battery and once that is full it'll start exporting (or charging the car if it's plugged in)

    There's other options to divert solar energy, a lot of people use a hot water diverter (Eddi or similar) to run the immersion heaters for free hot water

    There's even ways to run a heat pump for free and super efficient hot water or space cooling. You can also do space heating but generally the days you need space heating don't have a massive amount of sunlight, so you might not have a huge amount to spare 😁

    "The internet never fails to misremember" - Sebastian Ruiz, aka Frost



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,283 ✭✭✭micks_address


    there are probably small differences in hardware -

    the discharge rate to and from battery is an important factor to look at if you are getting a battery - some limit at 2.6kwhr, some go higher. The higher to and from the battery the better as it means you can cover more simultaneous house load or charge the battery quicker during cheaper night tariff windows etc.

    Also consider the application/UI for monitoring and control. All should do pretty similar. I have a Givenergy system and i like their cloud UI - lots of data there and they give you easy access to settings you need. Easy home assistant integration as well if you want to play around with that.

    MyEnergi have their libbi system now which would integrate nicely with the Zappi car charger, Eddi etc.. Givenergy due to bring a charger to marker this year as well. Would agree that the more you have in the same manufacturer eco system generally the easier it is.

    That being said, the Zappi and Eddi work fine with other makes of equipment.



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