yes, definitely best to go big from day one. Incremental unit cost of adding panels will be much greater than at the time of the initial install. I do plan to keep the EV parked and connected most of the time. I understand that technology is coming/emerging where you can use the EV battery as additional storage, and use it at night to send power back into the house, etc. How close are those technologies, or are they already here?
Nowhere near close for general EVs getting it, I looked into this, 2025 might be earliest it gets approved but, the new Leaf does support bidirectional charging though one of those chargers currently cost over 5k.
Plenty of cars on the road today that can handle vehicle to grid load e.g. Ioniq5.
Outside that any car can do it, I've my Model S and a sine wave inverter that could keep things going for days with extension lead
All Leaf's (from inception) support bidirectional charging as this is a cornerstone of CHAdeMO, plenty of folk using their car for direct emergency supply, IIRC the used Leaf's in Japan to provide electrical support for natural disasters years back
Yeah only chademo cars have that standard approved, anything with CCS does not for now and running an extension lead from the car to your fridge is not the same as V2H/V2G which is connected directly to your house via the wall charger to the consumer unit.
But then again anything is possible and I'm sure the "extension lead" can be wired in such a way that you could connect it to a few circuits in your board too.
So I understand that the data on the app only updates every 5mins so doesn't always reflect what's happening correctly. However I understood the inverter is live and therefore info should be accurate. So can anyone explain how its saying my house needs 840w and yet the batteries are sending 1030w to feed it? The app is actually bang on instead of the inverter! Only thing that comes to mind is the clamp reading the demand for the house...could this need to be calibrated? I had an owl meter on my meter before solar and you could change the voltage setting. I eventually worked out that 225v reflected what we were getting at the house. Could the clamp be set for 240v and therefore display incorrect reading? Doesn't explain how the app is right though as app data surely comes from inverter🤔
I am seeing the same, as long as there is battery available it always seems to drain 100-200w more than the house load.
I put it down as inefficiency of converting DC to AC but maybe someone here knows better.
So could you just keep a leaf and use it as home storage after the range drops too much and you buy something else?
unfortunately the search function on the new forum leaves a lot to be desired. Can anyone point me to the posts on sub-contracting installation if someone buys all the materials?
I think you would be better of contacting a company that deals in this
They would have a better discount on the parts for a start. Plus they will cover the warranty on all parts. Some will cover the battery and inverter for 10 years (for what ever that means)
I'm sure I have sent you my preferred contractor but if not send me a PM
Yes thanks. Have a strong idea of what the solar provider packages are included. Curious as to whether those that sourced the materials and installer separately saved anything. Every little helps when moving house!
I understand that to avail of the grant, the house has to end up as a C3 of higher after having the work done... But if the house was already a C3 as per the last BER assessment, do you still need to get the BER done again?
Yes, unfortunately. We were already at a B3, and needed to get another one done following the PV install.
Yes, assessment criteria changes, what was a C3 could be a Dx if BER carried out few years later
Used Nissan leaf for €6000 has a 40kWh battery, could be onto something here lads..
A grand now for 2.4 Pylontech makes 40kW 16 grand..
Where are you getting a 40kWh Leaf for €6k?
Presumably this? https://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/nissan/leaf/fpa/202110258883649
That's a 24kWh Leaf, not 40kWh. And battery most likely at around 70% state of health.
Ah nuts, well a 20Kw battery for €6000 is still a grand cheaper than what I paid earlier this year and you get a free car thrown in..
I built a 20kWh battery for less than €3k.
Yea I know and hats off but I wouldn't be fully at ease with a DIY battery in my house, I'm a firm believer in Murphy's law..
You're getting the exact same batteries slapped together in a fancy metal case for 5x the price with off the shelf batteries.
I think you're being somewhat short sighted. It's not difficult and I'd damn trust my self build with good proper cells over wrapped in cases Leaf cells
Maybe so, but they are in a metal box's with a built in brain with temperature sensors and isolation switches.
Look it's all personal preference but I wouldn't sleep easy at night not knowing I have that extra layer of safety.
I wouldn't have a Leaf cell pack in my attic. If I had gone that route it would have had to go in the garage.
Expertise required?
Not a lot to be honest. Plenty of help from more experienced folk on here.
Absolutely not. You need a spanner or rachet, a crimping tool and a digital multimeter mainly. After that, you just need to take your time.
The batteries are a doddle. The time consuming part is wiring up the BMS
and double checking the BMS wires before plugging in.. and not doing it at 12am.... thankfully in my case it was only a cheap balance board!
There is a sparky in the family so they could double check before plug in. Beginning to sound like getting an install without battery might be a reasonable option. Or unlock the grant with smallest battery then sell that battery.
Yup @graememk isn't the only one with that experience. It was about 2am that I frazzled 2 transistors on my BMS. Everything cabled and checked and I was just moving the batteries off the shelf and onto the floor.
But fuzzy 2am brain failed the double check everything rule and I fired up with 2 of the BMS cables attached to the wrong cells.
