Domestic Solar PV Quotes 2020

garo · 01-03-2020 11:45pm

gomamochi1 wrote: »

Bit of both self sufficiency and environmental reasons.
Good sized space for e/ w facing panels on garage and existing house . How many panels do u recommend I get quotes for given6 person home with one ev charging currently? Thanks

Get as many panels as you can afford. If you have an EV during the day, no reason not to get 10+10 = 20 panels. If you cannot afford that get what you can. Don't bother with either battery or diverter. Note you will be exporting more without a battery but your EV should soak up most of the excess. When it's at home.

garo · 01-03-2020 11:47pm

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

Just an after thought here. I have to replace the fireplace which is going to cost around €3000 for a pellet stove and remedial works. If i were to shell out this level of money on the 14 panel pv system incl battery, would it be more beneficial for me to replace with an electric fire?

I don't think an electric fire is the most efficient way to heat up a room. You'll find more information on other forums on boards. My guess - and just a guess - would be to just close up the fireplace altogether.

worlds goodest teecher · 01-03-2020 11:48pm

garo wrote: »

I don't think an electric fire is the most efficient way to heat up a room. You'll find more information on other forums on boards. My guess - and just a guess - would be to just close up the fireplace altogether.

Going with 8kW pellet stove

garo · 01-03-2020 11:53pm

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

Pellet stove

Yeah pellet stove would be fine. You really won't get that much output in the winter that you could justify an electric fire. Think about when you need that fire. Usually when it is cold and dark outside. Not the best time for solar PV.

worlds goodest teecher · 01-03-2020 11:56pm

garo wrote: »

Yeah pellet stove would be fine. You really won't get that much output in the winter that you could justify an electric fire. Think about when you need that fire. Usually when it is cold and dark outside. Not the best time for solar PV.

Its looking more and more like PV is the very last thing on a very long list of upgrade items.

Breakerz · 02-03-2020 12:22am

unkel wrote: »

Financially, very little. It will cover the base load of your house during a lot of daylight hours during most but not all months of the year. On a south facing system in a reasonably good area of Ireland you can expect a yearly production of 2000kWh, and if you use a third of that, it will shave about €135 off your yearly electricity bill. More if we are getting a feed in tariff, possibly another €65 per year. But there are more reasons for someone to put up solar PV than just money. We all need to pull our weight when it comes to climate action. And even from a financial point of view, the return on this system is far better than what you get on a savings account. And far less risk than the stock market. And electricity prices are likely going up over the next few years, which would make the payback time of this system shorter.

New houses have to comply with the building regs, part of which is energy consumption. Putting up a few solar PV panels is the cheapest way to make new houses comply.

I agree in general but in relation to Solar I don't think it's possible to run a cost efficient system based on the technology available so far. To produce the panels you need to produce green house gases anyway and that's not taking into account the heavy metals like cadmium leaching out of the panels into your soil and the disposal after 20-25 years. I don't think solar on a small scale level is going to be cost effective or green to be honest.

garo · 02-03-2020 12:28am

Incorrect. Those studies showing PV as not green are years out of date. Panel efficiency has improved significantly since then and a 2019 study shows that panels pay for themselves in terms of total emissions after 1-2 years. As regards leeching of cadmium do you have any references? Haven’t seen any studies on installed panels leeching material.

PV or not PV · 02-03-2020 7:28pm

Looks like going without a battery makes sense. Hopefully the grid can become a pseudo battery with some credit/FIT. I have a excel sheet comparing systems with potential generation against my 2019 consumption trend. I cant post, in summary it estimates a 4 Kw system could shave €400 off an annual bill of €800 with a payback period of 16years. Does this sound correct? Almost all my usage is during the day. Hot water is beneficial to me, as I do save on power to my washing machine and dishwasher by having hot water plumbed in and available. This means I do have to light my range every second day or so in summer...

unkel · 02-03-2020 11:27pm

And panels are not disposed after 20-25 years. Panels last for many decades. Performance goes down over time, but only very little.

ercork · 03-03-2020 12:38am

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

Going with 8kW pellet stove

An air to air heat pump (for approx €2000) might be worth investigating too. Plenty of posts on here about them.

garo · 03-03-2020 9:28am

PV or not PV wrote: »

Looks like going without a battery makes sense. Hopefully the grid can become a pseudo battery with some credit/FIT. I have a excel sheet comparing systems with potential generation against my 2019 consumption trend. I cant post, in summary it estimates a 4 Kw system could shave €400 off an annual bill of €800 with a payback period of 16years. Does this sound correct? Almost all my usage is during the day. Hot water is beneficial to me, as I do save on power to my washing machine and dishwasher by having hot water plumbed in and available. This means I do have to light my range every second day or so in summer...

Yes that sounds about right. This is a realistic payback estimate.

garo · 03-03-2020 9:31am

unkel wrote: »

And panels are not disposed after 20-25 years. Panels last for many decades. Performance goes down over time, but only very little.

Good point.

So it seems there is potential from Cadmium leeching from broken up and improperly disposed off panels but not with intact panels. But then improperly disposing off an AA battery also causes harm. One thing these studies don’t compare is the amount of heavy metals let into the atmosphere by a coal burning power station. A truly scientific comparison would look at both sources.

ggsolar ireland · 05-03-2020 11:14am

The payback would be 7.9yrs if there was a FIT in place similar to that in the UK and Europe about 5 years ago. when the FIT in the UK was 13p/kwh and an additional 4p/kwh a total of 17p/kwh.

Our gov. here are dragging their feet at deciding a FIT rate.

ggsolar ireland · 05-03-2020 11:24am

If you where replacing your fireplace, my opinion would be to install a cast iron stove with back boiler. This has been shown to be one of the most efficient way's to heat home. Gas central heating is the most economical heating source as the boilers now are plus 90% efficient and the price of gas is a 5c/kwh. The out lay for a heat transfer system is way expensive and not as efficient.

ggsolar ireland · 05-03-2020 11:26am

I think the best way to go is Nuclear as the waste and material requirement is really low compared to all forms of alternative energies.

ercork · 06-03-2020 4:25pm

ggsolar ireland wrote: »

If you where replacing your fireplace, my opinion would be to install a cast iron stove with back boiler. This has been shown to be one of the most efficient way's to heat home. Gas central heating is the most economical heating source as the boilers now are plus 90% efficient and the price of gas is a 5c/kwh. The out lay for a heat transfer system is way expensive and not as efficient.

The SEAI have done up a sheet which compares the delivered energy cost for different fuel types (p2 of the link below). Gas, as you say, works out cheaper than most other fuel types (oil, wood, coal, etc) at 7.62c assuming an efficient condensing boiler. However, heat pumps are the cheapest of all to run with unit cost ranging from 8c to 4c depending on performance. If you're on night rate electricity, this figure is halved for one third of the day.

https://www.seai.ie/publications/Domestic-Fuel-Cost-Comparison.pdf

Of course this sheet only covers the unit cost - not the capital cost of installing (or retrofitting) the various systems.

Snhjou · 06-03-2020 9:30pm

I've been quoted for 14 Bisol 310w.

Battery System (Alpha)
4.34kWp of modules kitted to 5.7kWh battery storage
14 x Bisol 310w Monocrystalline modules (All black modules)*
Ground mouting
Projoy Fire Safety Switch
Garo Switch Gear
Alpha 5 kWp Inverter kitted to 5.7kWh storage capacity
Costing
€10750(inclusive of VAT)
Without grant.

Any thoughts/experience of that?

Zardaz · 06-03-2020 10:29pm

Snhjou wrote: »

I've been quoted for 14 Bisol 310w.

Battery System (Alpha)
4.34kWp of modules kitted to 5.7kWh battery storage
14 x Bisol 310w Monocrystalline modules (All black modules)*
Ground mouting
Projoy Fire Safety Switch
Garo Switch Gear
Alpha 5 kWp Inverter kitted to 5.7kWh storage capacity
Costing
€10750(inclusive of VAT)
Without grant.

Any thoughts/experience of that?

I got a similar quote for a very similar 4.34KWp Bisol system (probably the same guys), tile roof mounted though, for 10K (inc vat) - 3K grant = 7K

From my research, the Alpha gives a big battery for the price, looks good enough to possibly put inside the living space of your house (assuming you like star-wars style decor), but is not as widespread as the bigger named stuff in tha market (solax etc), so support might be a little riskier in the medium to long term.

However, one useful feature I think the alpha has is a couple of relay-driver-outputs, with programmable conditional control. This could be easily used to turn on and off the immersion, for the cost of a bit of wire and an extra contacter in the consumer-unit. (plus electrician labour of course....). A Poor-Mans Eddi, so to speak.....which might actually have an economic payback.

jimmyging · 07-03-2020 7:02am

I’m going ground mounted (console bins ) , grant less, and battery less for varying reasons . I already have a zappi , ev and phev
18 *345W Q cells
6 kw solis inverter
8k incl vat installed

Snhjou · 07-03-2020 12:28pm

jimmyging wrote: »

I’m going ground mounted (console bins ) , grant less, and battery less for varying reasons . I already have a zappi , ev and phev
18 *345W Q cells
6 kw solis inverter
8k incl vat installed

Hot Water Diverter is an additional cost of €400.

And do I need optimizers?

Snhjou · 07-03-2020 12:30pm

jimmyging wrote: »

I’m going ground mounted (console bins ) , grant less, and battery less for varying reasons . I already have a zappi , ev and phev
18 *345W Q cells
6 kw solis inverter
8k incl vat installed

My panels are on a metal frame, I do not know what is the best option.

phester28 · 07-03-2020 10:06pm

dont know about the install but a panel is about 150 and a console bin is about 50 euro both including vat.

So 4k buys the panels including vat. and the inverter is 1162 including vat.

5k for most of the parts leaves 3k for install.

I know there are a few more consumables but it sounds very high margin for profit for a ground install that should be largely possible for a DIY

jimmyging · 09-03-2020 9:40pm

phester28 wrote: »

dont know about the install but a panel is about 150 and a console bin is about 50 euro both including vat.

So 4k buys the panels including vat. and the inverter is 1162 including vat.

5k for most of the parts leaves 3k for install.

I know there are a few more consumables but it sounds very high margin for profit for a ground install that should be largely possible for a DIY

You’re correct phester but this is the best of a bad lot of quotes I’m getting . If you break it down it looks like there is 2.5 k for installation so for one guy doing two 8 hour days that’s €150 / hour rate . I went to college for 5 years and I don’t earn that ...! I know these are average figures but ...

Gazzler82 · 09-03-2020 9:41pm

Ok final scores on the doors - got quotes from 5 different installers. Looked for 10 panels - no battery, no hot water diverter. Scaled them for cost per watt and then adjusted further for "quality" by dividing by yield at 25 years!

Supplier Cost incl grant Installed capacity Cost per w D Factor (Qual) Overall D/E
D 3400 3000 1.13 0.8 1.42
E 4700 3200 1.46 0.85 1.73
B 7600 4000 1.9 0.87 2.18
B 6700 (7 pan) 3200 2.09 0.87 2.41
A 5900 3000 1.97 0.8 2.46
C 4185 (6pan) 1980 2.14 0.85 2.49
C 5039 (7 pan) 2340 2.15 0.85 2.53
A 4565 (7 pan) 2100 2.17 0.8 2.72

Mickeroo · 10-03-2020 10:52am

Can you amend the proposed size of your array after you have applied for the grant does anyone know?

Snhjou · 13-03-2020 9:54pm

Do I need planning permission for a ground mount solar system?

Charlie-Bravo · 16-03-2020 12:25pm

Planning exempt subject to conditions...always best to seek independent advice from an appropriate professional for your specific setup.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2007/si/83/made/en/print

c) The installation or erection of a solar panel on, or within the curtilage of a house, or any buildings within the curtilage of a house.

....5. The height of a free-standing solar array shall not exceed 2 metres, at its highest point, above ground level.6. A free-standing solar array shall not be placed on or forward of the front wall of a house.7. The erection of any free standing solar array shall not reduce the area of private open space, reserved exclusively for the use of the occupants of the house, to the rear or to the side of the house to less than 25 square metres.

ggsolar ireland · 18-03-2020 4:54pm

Thats a very good quote.

are you going grid tied with batteries.

OnLooker · 19-03-2020 9:38am

Long time viewer of the renewal energy threads and I thoroughly enjoy the discussion and help provided. Going to bite the bullet this year and hopefully get a Solar PV setup to do my bit for the environment. I just want to get everything clear in my mind before getting companies out for quotes etc.

A bit of background. We have a double fronted 4 bed in Dublin that's East facing with Tiled roof. There is always someone in the house during the week as both of us work from home on rotating days. Utilities like dishwater, washing machine etc. are normally on during the day. We have 3 young kids so the demand for hot water is quite high. Energy consumption for last year was 4343 KW.

I would love a steer on what would be the best setup required?

- Should I go to with 4KW worth of PV Panels if I can fit them (think I can). 300,325 seem to be the cheap option than the 400s.
- Where should I place the panels to maximise the power produced? Split over different sides of roof?
- Should I divert any excess power to hot water? iBoost is the piece of equipment?
- I don't see the value in adding a battery. Am I right?

Any help greatly appreciated.

rx8 · 19-03-2020 10:25am

OnLooker wrote: »

Long time viewer of the renewal energy threads and I thoroughly enjoy the discussion and help provided. Going to bite the bullet this year and hopefully get a Solar PV setup to do my bit for the environment. I just want to get everything clear in my mind before getting companies out for quotes etc.

A bit of background. We have a double fronted 4 bed in Dublin that's East facing with Tiled roof. There is always someone in the house during the week as both of us work from home on rotating days. Utilities like dishwater, washing machine etc. are normally on during the day. We have 3 young kids so the demand for hot water is quite high. Energy consumption for last year was 4343 KW.

I would love a steer on what would be the best setup required?

- Should I go to with 4KW worth of PV Panels if I can fit them (think I can). 300,325 seem to be the cheap option than the 400s.
- Where should I place the panels to maximise the power produced? Split over different sides of roof?
- Should I divert any excess power to hot water? iBoost is the piece of equipment?
- I don't see the value in adding a battery. Am I right?

Any help greatly appreciated.

PM sent.

ggsolar ireland · 19-03-2020 12:46pm

If you send me the coordinates of your house I’d probably be able to help you out.

OnLooker wrote: »

Long time viewer of the renewal energy threads and I thoroughly enjoy the discussion and help provided. Going to bite the bullet this year and hopefully get a Solar PV setup to do my bit for the environment. I just want to get everything clear in my mind before getting companies out for quotes etc.

A bit of background. We have a double fronted 4 bed in Dublin that's East facing with Tiled roof. There is always someone in the house during the week as both of us work from home on rotating days. Utilities like dishwater, washing machine etc. are normally on during the day. We have 3 young kids so the demand for hot water is quite high. Energy consumption for last year was 4343 KW.

I would love a steer on what would be the best setup required?

- Should I go to with 4KW worth of PV Panels if I can fit them (think I can). 300,325 seem to be the cheap option than the 400s.
- Where should I place the panels to maximise the power produced? Split over different sides of roof?
- Should I divert any excess power to hot water? iBoost is the piece of equipment?
- I don't see the value in adding a battery. Am I right?

Any help greatly appreciated.

OnLooker · 19-03-2020 1:57pm

ggsolar ireland wrote: »

If you send me the coordinates of your house I’d probably be able to help you out.

PM sent. Thanks

gomamochi1 · 19-03-2020 2:21pm

ggsolar ireland wrote: »

If you send me the coordinates of your house I’d probably be able to help you out.

pm sent

gomamochi1 · 19-03-2020 2:43pm

https://www.suncalc.org/#/40.1789,-3.5156,3/2020.03.19/13:41/1/3
very handy website to see solar gain through out the year. put in your eircode or address and see

mun1 · 19-03-2020 3:30pm

Finally diving into getting a PV system, some great info here .

Have a large South & SW facing roof which could easily take 10-14 panels in limerick area.
Got one quote so far from nationwide company

12 panel system
3.72 kw
Hybrid inverter (no size specified)
2.4kw battery
Power diverter for immersion

€10,200 inc VAT after grant.

Based on what I’m reading here , it Seems high to me , but finding it hard to get any other firm quotes . Any ideas ?

Mickeroo · 19-03-2020 3:38pm

mun1 wrote: »

Finally diving into getting a PV system, some great info here .

Have a large South & SW facing roof which could easily take 10-14 panels in limerick area.
Got one quote so far from nationwide company

12 panel system
3.72 kw
Hybrid inverter (no size specified)
2.4kw battery
Power diverter for immersion

€10,200 inc VAT after grant.

Based on what I’m reading here , it Seems high to me , but finding it hard to get any other firm quotes . Any ideas ?

Most quotes I got for a very similar system (though excluding hot water diverter) would have been around that mark before grant.

rx8 · 19-03-2020 4:11pm

mun1 wrote: »

Finally diving into getting a PV system, some great info here .

Have a large South & SW facing roof which could easily take 10-14 panels in limerick area.
Got one quote so far from nationwide company

12 panel system
3.72 kw
Hybrid inverter (no size specified)
2.4kw battery
Power diverter for immersion

€10,200 inc VAT after grant.

Based on what I’m reading here , it Seems high to me , but finding it hard to get any other firm quotes . Any ideas ?

Tried to send PM but not permitted.

My system cost €6400, after grant. Similarly specced to above. That quote seems way too much.

unkel · 19-03-2020 6:21pm

What the lads said. That system should cost no more than about €6k incl VAT after the grant. Some companies like that active company with an 8 in their name try to rip you off.

mun1 · 19-03-2020 7:24pm

Had to change my options to allow PM to go through. Should be good to go now

rx8 · 19-03-2020 8:58pm

mun1 wrote: »

Had to change my options to allow PM to go through. Should be good to go now

Sent now

BrendanD · 23-03-2020 12:37am

Could you pm me the details too please

rx8 · 23-03-2020 8:42am

BrendanD wrote: »

Could you pm me the details too please

No problem, sent now.

ggsolar ireland · 23-03-2020 12:49pm

That company screwed me too.

mun1 · 24-03-2020 7:46pm

Recent quote :

14 panel 310 watt panels (4.3kw) roof mounted
Solis 3.6kw inverter (?)
2 x 2.4kw pylontec batteries
iBoost diverter

€10,700 inc vat and before grant. (Grant = €3,000)

Queried 3.6kw inverter for 4.3kw input. Is this ok ?
Installer wants me to look after seai grant myself. Is this normal ?

Any thoughts ?

garo · 25-03-2020 12:01am

Looks like a decent quote. Yes you have to do some of the grant paperwork yourself. The installer will also need to upload some stuff on their side.
3.6 inverter for 4.3kW panels is fine. Though you can ask them for a bigger inverter. The 5kW inverter is only 50 Euro more.

championc · 25-03-2020 12:33am

garo wrote: »

Yes you can do the grant paperwork yourself. The installer will just need to upload some stuff on their side. But note with the new regime grant will go to installer so you pay them net of grant.

So this installer wants the client to do his admin work and then also trust that the client slso does it correctly to ensure that he's paid ? Sounds like the installer doesn't realize that he's the one who will be paid by the SEAI.

It actually makes a lot of sense. We've seen people chasing installers to get paperwork uploaded to be able to be paid grants, with every possibility of it never being done, since the installer previously had no incentive to complete it, unless a client cleverly did a deal to with old the grant amount.

I certainly wasn't aware that the grants would now be paid to the installers instead.

Mickeroo · 25-03-2020 12:35am

garo wrote: »

Looks like a decent quote. Yes you can do the grant paperwork yourself. The installer will just need to upload some stuff on their side. But note with the new regime grant will go to installer so you pay them net of grant.

You sure about that? It asks for your IBAN and all that when you set it up and it looks like it's the installer that does all the paperwork.

Tarant · 25-03-2020 1:44am

I couldnt be happier

Told him I can by the hardware for 4.500€ from solartricity.ie

4.2kw 14x300w panels east/west
Solis 3.6kw inverter
2.4kw pylontec battery

He give me a quote for 6.700€ (It's now over 8k on his site)

minus Grant of 3.700 (last year's)

and a reversing Meter:):):)

But I am still waiting on the Grant Money, install was August 19

jams100 · 25-03-2020 1:59am

E30i wrote: »

There is a lot of useful info in the 2018 Thread but with the new grant structure I thought it would be useful to have a new reference thread for prices/package.

This will allow people to make a decision on what is currently available under the new Grant.

€11k + VAT less the €3000 grant for 4kw and 8.2 KW battery on a 2 story slate roof.

Hi,
We got the pv panels roughly 5 months ago with Solar Electric, rang up several different companies and they were the cheapest I could find, by a distance. We went with 6 panels with a diverter, they came to the house done a survey went through everything and suggested 6 would be the best value for us, they probably could've tried to bullsh**ing and suggesting 7 panels and a battery but they didn't (I had done my research anyway so knew what we needed).
The price we paid was €4,596 - the grant €1,260. So the total cost was €3,336.
This is exactly what we got a 1.8 kWp PV System with 1.5kW SMA string inverter.

They installed the panels and all electrics in the one day

Hope this helps in some way!

jams100 · 25-03-2020 2:01am

Just to add the payback period for us is around 13 years, which isn't too bad considering any money you leave in the bank you will earn nearly zero interest on. If we went with the battery the payback period was something like 25 years (I think). Hopefully feed in tariffs will come in soon too which will reduce payback period further

Domestic Solar PV Quotes 2020

Comments