Domestic Solar PV Quotes 2020

Just to update , decided to go down the DIY route (I’m an electrician) as I’ve now lots of free time in the evenings . I also worked out I would be giving €2-3k plus grant money to the installer .

Going for 3.7kw , 12 x 310W panels , two strings , 8 south facing on roof of shed and 4 W facing on gable of shed (gets good evening sun)
3.6kW Solis hybrid inverter.
IBoost for hot water

Not doing battery as took advice on here re price and as I’m not getting grant then not worth it at this stage (still getting hybrid inverter for possible battery addition later)

Total cost for all materials (including fixings and cable )is €3,900 inc VAT and delivery.
Looking forward to the installation and the trickiest bit for me will be mounting the panels on shed roof.
I’m sure i will be back here for advice during installation/inverter setup.
Thanks to everyone on here who gave me great advice on installing solar and I’ve learned a lot over the last few weeks.

mun1 wrote: »

Going for 3.7kw , 12 x 310W panels , two strings , 8 south facing on roof of shed and 4 W facing on gable of shed (gets good evening sun)
3.6kW Solis hybrid inverter.
IBoost for hot water

Not doing battery as took advice on here re price and as I’m not getting grant then not worth it at this stage (still getting hybrid inverter for possible battery addition later)

Total cost for all materials (including fixings and cable )is €3,900 inc VAT and delivery.

What would your cost be if you drop the iBoost and also revert to normal inverter?

KCross wrote: »

What would your cost be if you drop the iBoost and also revert to normal inverter?

Just tot it up on the likes of midsummer.ie

championc wrote: »

Just tot it up on the likes of midsummer.ie

I want to see his figures though. He's a tradesman and may have negotiated better prices or getting them from different sources.

Ultimately he should run the numbers and decide if both of those things make financial sense.

KCross wrote: »

I want to see his figures though. He's a tradesman and may have negotiated better prices or getting them from different sources.

Ultimately he should run the numbers and decide if both of those things make financial sense.

It will always make sense to go the DIY route if you have the capability within your own skills. The less involvement from any 3rd party contractors (sparks / roofer), the lower the overall cost. The result based on cost is the payback time. If you can get the materials at a lower cost, well clearly the payback timespan will be less than buying at full retail rates. So if you get a company to do the whole lot, then you can add a few more years to the payback period.

championc wrote: »

It will always make sense to go the DIY route if you have the capability within your own skills. The less involvement from any 3rd party contractors (sparks / roofer), the lower the overall cost. The result based on cost is the payback time. If you can get the materials at a lower cost, well clearly the payback timespan will be less than buying at full retail rates. So if you get a company to do the whole lot, then you can add a few more years to the payback period.

I have quotes from SEAI registered installers for 4.2kWp systems that are only a few hundred more than his cost... but they dont include iBoost or hybrid inverter... hence my question.

He also has to factor in his time. He's probably doing very little right now due to Covid but his time still has value.

So, again, I'm just looking to see what his overall cost would be without those two things (iBoost and hybrid inverter) and then he will have a better feel for whether he is really saving anything going the DIY route.... at €3900 I dont think he is.

handpref

It has been suggested before that the grant had become an installer subsidy.
After waiting over 18 months for my grant the above statement would appear correct.

I locked in a pre-grant price back in 2018- in August the grant figures were released.

For a 5.4kwp system with 5.0kwh’s of battery storage, hybrid inverter, installation ect it came in at €10,200.

The total minus the 3800 grant is €6400

That figure should be in or around a ball park figure for the above system.

Being made wait so long for my grant was appalling, the nonsense excuses, calls not returned ect was extremely stressful and worrying.
When it came to getting the grant sorted a few extras had to added- that was fine, it also had to have proper certification which again was fine given the roofer terminated the cabling.

In December 2018 i rang the sales rep that I had dealt with. I asked him when it would be sorted, he gave me excuses about not having electricians and other technicalities. I offered him €1000 of my grant payment to get it processed before Christmas.

I did this for two reasons.
1. I had been out of work with a nasty illness and had gone down to half pay.
2. Christmas was coming and I didn’t want to have to borrow money for the kids presents ect.

The rep never got back to me and then stopped answering my calls and fobbed me off to another lad.

Fast forward then another year and the change to the seai grant process and they have to act.
The shunt switch is fitted, commissioning is finally done by an outside contractor.

I then receive an invoice for €1000.

I query the invoice and am told that I promised this to the sales rep. The silver tongued Englishman strikes again, they couldn’t just let things be. The same man who stopped taking my calls thought the company should get a bonus.

I was forced to pay the €1000 for fear of my grant portal closing.

On top of this I had got the company a referral back in 2018, the same sales guy told me I was due a referral fee, I never got one.

The company recently sent me an advertisement offering a €200 voucher for anyone who gives a referral. I queried the one outstanding to me and did not receive a reply.

On a side note I was also told that they would include a zappi car charger, that never happened either.

If you are getting anything included as an extra get it in writing.

The new grant system protects the customer as the company claim the grant money back.

My system does work well- I’m happy with the setup and hardware. The lads in Giv energy have their heads screwed on and cannot be faulted.
If you can find an installation company that works to ISO standards it may be helpful, it should mean that they have a protocol and proper communication and complaints system.

I didn’t come down with the last shower and have been trade based for over twenty years, I’ve never experienced anything like this before and I’ve learnt a very valuable lesson. Do your homework before parting with your families hard earned cash.

Absolutely shocking.

I never realized how much control the installer had of the grant. There seems no recourse other than the Small Claims Court. Another option would be to threaten a "lis Pendens", if you gather the right info together and line up the ducks.

I'm so glad I did a self install.

KCross wrote: »

I have quotes from SEAI registered installers for 4.2kWp systems that are only a few hundred more than his cost... but they dont include iBoost or hybrid inverter... hence my question.

He also has to factor in his time. He's probably doing very little right now due to Covid but his time still has value.

So, again, I'm just looking to see what his overall cost would be without those two things (iBoost and hybrid inverter) and then he will have a better feel for whether he is really saving anything going the DIY route.... at €3900 I dont think he is.

Without hybrid inverter and iboost cost would be €2,480 inc vat

BTW my time is time spent doing something i will enjoy doing and get some satisfaction from vs watching TV etc. so my time cost me nothing (but time).

If wasn’t on a covid lockdown it might swing me towards getting installer and going grant route. It’s not just about saving money

mun1 wrote: »

Without hybrid inverter and iboost cost would be €2,480 inc vat

When I say, "without hybrid inverter" I mean replace it with a standard one.

If you are saying that you can get a 3.6kWp system installed with no iBoost, no battery and a standard 3.6kW inverter and the total is €2480 then, imo, you should absolutely do that and forget the €3900. The iBoost and hybrid inverter are questionable as to whether they are worth it. Depends on you really.

If you really do want to add a battery later (which I think will be a waste of your money) you can still do it by simply swapping out the inverter at that point and selling the old one... it wont cost much more than paying for the hybrid inverter up front now for an option that you may never use/need.... thats my opinion. Take it or leave it!

For €2480 you'd have a cracking system that is standing you small money with a much quicker payback time. When there is a Feed-in-tariff the grid will be your battery.

Got to agree with KCross. The iBoost and hybrid inverter will increase your payback time by many years. That said, for many of us (myself included), renewables has become a bit of a hobby, so money isn't everything here.

KCross wrote: »

If you really do want to add a battery later (which I think will be a waste of your money) you can still do it by simply swapping out the inverter at that point and selling the old one

There is another option too, just leave the current system in place and install a separate grid connected battery inverter with a battery attached to it.

What can i say I’m a tech nerd and projects like this are a bit of a hobby of mine .
The way i look at this is that the money was in my account earning no interest and by building this solar project i get some small payback every day and get the satisfaction of building something .

Did much the same thing in investing in prize bonds , not much payback but Better than nothing .
And yes the €2,480 was including a single phase 3.6 Solis inverter.
Biggest expense was panels and I could have saved another few hundred on cheaper panels

Unkel/Kcross, good suggestion but I’m not sure how two different inverters in parallel would work out , with impedance differential, load sharing etc . I want to play around with iboost and the idea of power diversion when solar/wind is up and demand is present .

mun1 wrote: »

What can i say I’m a tech nerd and projects like this are a bit of a hobby of mine .

Thats perfectly fine too as long as you are doing it with your eyes open.

Either way, at €3900 you are still getting a decent system at a reasonable rate.

You've gone for 3.6kWp. Is that the max you can do on your roof space? Could you see yourself extending it in years to come?
If yes, get a higher capacity inverter now to future proof that (say a 5kW inverter). It shouldnt change the price much.

garo

mun1 wrote: »

Without hybrid inverter and iboost cost would be €2,480 inc vat

I don’t think the hybrid inverter plus iBoost is worth it then. Save yourself money and go for the 2480. It will also keep your install simpler. Yes you will export more for free but that 1420 will cover about 8-10 years of exporting. And we will likely have a FiT by then. If you do want to spend more spending half that money on more panels would be better for the environment and for you financially.
Definitely do consider a non-hybrid inverter with the intention of swapping out or attaching AC couples battery storage later. The two inverters as suggested would work fine as you are essentially attaching the second inverter AC side and not connected solar PV to it. The second inverter just picks up AC to charge the battery.

Attached is the schematic of my system as currently installed, with separate solar and storage inverters

KCross wrote: »

Thats perfectly fine too as long as you are doing it with your eyes open.

Either way, at €3900 you are still getting a decent system at a reasonable rate.

You've gone for 3.6kWp. Is that the max you can do on your roof space? Could you see yourself extending it in years to come?
If yes, get a higher capacity inverter now to future proof that (say a 5kW inverter). It shouldnt change the price much.

Eight of The 12 panels that arrived today are going on shed roof which is south facing and the other four going on the west facing gable . Inverter going in the shed.
I have a large dormer west facing roof which i could use in the future with separate inverter .

Four of eight roof panels installed today , tough work but challenge is working out the sequence of installation (tightening clamps etc) as panels take almost all of the available roof space. A bit like a puzzle i suppose

gomamochi1

mun1 wrote: »

Eight of The 12 panels that arrived today are going on shed roof which is south facing and the other four going on the west facing gable . Inverter going in the shed.
I have a large dormer west facing roof which i could use in the future with separate inverter .

Four of eight roof panels installed today , tough work but challenge is working out the sequence of installation (tightening clamps etc) as panels take almost all of the available roof space. A bit like a puzzle i suppose

Would love to see some pics as hoping to self install also. Thanks

RCSATELLITES

Anybody that thinks the government grant is saving them money, is only kidding themselves. The government grant is another irish form of manipulation. It is the same as someone gives you a quote then they add on the grant on top then take it off. If is was to save the world and all that then the government should give the grant to actual people who have solar panels be if they done it themselves or got 1 good guy out of the 10 coyboys that are out there. Unfortunately it's the same as all the trade in this country Rob the customer then never answer again.

Sorry for the true rant.

theBOFH

Hi all,
Just wondering if it would be possible to get some general advice on a new solar install.
It is a new build with a South-west facing roof so not going to be eligible for the grants. Not expecting shading to be a problem and heating will be via a heat-pump.
No EV's (yet) and the house we are in at the moment currently has a base load of around 400watts which I would expect to be the same (or greater) in the new one.

Going for the DIY install as it should be easy enough to get the panels installed at the time of roof construction and the fact that we are not able to apply for the grant.

Not going for the battery storage as it seems cost prohibitive at the moment. Not going for the diverter option as it also does not seem worth it based on reading the threads. Will be going for the day/night rate which will allow for the heat-pump to heat the water during the night rate.

Will probably go for a Zappi charger when we inevitably get an EV. Work from home a one or two days a week so the car would be plugged in during the day + weekends.

I am ok with feeding back to the grid in the short term with hopefully some form of feed-in-tariff arriving in the long term.
Objective would be to 1. reduce the consumption of the more expensive day rate and 2. reduce the carbon footprint of the house in general.

Currently looking at the 3KW mark as being around the sweet spot of cost vs some form of production in the winter which will meet the base house load.
(not sure how to estimate the winter production). Not looking to heat-water or charge batteries.

Looking at 10 of the Longi Mono 350W or Longi Mono 315W panels with a 3kW Solis inverter.

Would around the 3KW mark make sense?

Cheers

Mickeroo

Honestly I would just plaster as many panels as I can fit up there.

+1

As many as you can fit. They are cheap and they will last many decades. Put up 6kwp (20 panels) and you will offset a lot of your yearly electricity use, even including your heat pump. For now it will go back to the grid for free (so you are just doing the right thing, with no financial reward), but it is likely we will get a feed in tariff and / or batteries getting cheaper in a few years time so you can add them. And it's almost certain you will have an EV in the next few years, so you will be able to charge that too from your panels

garo

Agreed. Put 6kW on if you can. It will especially help in the winter when you need it the most. Nice username btw.

As others say, go for all you can fit. You'll get feck all excess from 3kw to go into an EV. Look at the YouTube channel "The EV Puzzle" and you'll see what 6kw will do, and how much 3kw won't

Subotai

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a PV system, and I've had a few quotes. This is the best one so far. What do people think of it:

12 Panel array totalling 4.8kWp made up of 12 x 400W LG panels,
5 KW Solax hybrid inverter,
5.6 KW Solax battery,
Diverter.

The price is €13,600 including VAT, before the grant, or €10,100 before the grant, if I leave out the battery.

Any thoughts???
Is the battery worth it for this price?

Subotai wrote: »

Any thoughts???

Expensive.

The benchmark for a 4kwp system with a 2.5kWh battery and diverter should be about 10k incl. VAT before the grant. Add a grand for your bigger battery and 500 for 4.8kwp over 4kwp, so about 11.5k incl. VAT before the grant.

I suspect your 400wp panels are one of the main reasons your quote is so expensive. Can you get a quote with cheaper panels? Or have you only the space on your roof for 12 panels?

Subotai

12 panels would be the most I could fit on the roof alright.
I'll try and get a few more quotes!

Several different installers have recommended these 400 watt LG panels to me. Are they worth the extra?