DIY install

Firstly know exactly what you want (size of system,battery or not)and then get at least three quotes from grant approved installers, then price up the equipment you need for a DIY install and also factor in the price of a sparks to commission system and send Nc6 form to ESBN.There are savings to be made by going DIY but weigh up all the factors.

Can you give us details on spec cost supplier etc

A Boardsie has a thread here about self install. https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058166412/self-install-solar-pv/p1

Here's another thread you might find interesting. https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058218819/solar-pv-planning-and-what-to-expect-at-install#latest

Have you a link?

Did they organise shipping and customs clearance

Forgot to say they also sell batteries, but I didnt get any details off them.

That's a very good price for a 10kWh complete system, although most of us in the forum built our own for a good bit cheaper again. Where do you get that price and does it include shipping, import duty and VAT? We typically paid about €1300 plus a few hundred for a BMS and some cables and busbars. All landed including all taxes.

Other question, did you price up your kit with Irish companies like solartricity.ie to see how competitive they were?

And why did you go for a very expensive hybrid inverter if you did not add batteries?

Sure. But that could well mean that your battery system will never pay for itself. So what's the point then of installing it?

The only two viable options of having a battery are:

1. DIY and get cheap parts
2. SEAI grant install. This option will not be available for ever, is it still even there now FIT is coming?

Not sure it's so binary. There are a lot of factors to consider when looking at "Buy verses DIY".

First and foremost, I think the person has to have the basic skillset. Sure, not everyone is an electrical engineer, or just happens to know how to wire up a battery array off the cuff, but many of these things can be learnt from people on this forum, who I've seen time and time again, give excellent info. Or from others like Will Prowse on Youtube,etc. but the "basic skill set" needs to be there. Some "have-a-go-hero" who struggles to wire a 3-pin socket or just understand the fundamentals of electric circuit is just ASKING for trouble. Sure, considering they are ~50V and that in itself (probably) won't kill you, they are relatively safe, but.... you don't want to be accidentally short circuiting one those puppies. Lots and lots of joules = Bad-medicine(tm)!

Then there's the willingness to take on the project it. I could (and still might) make a DIY battery, but as you say, it involved a certain amount of time and effort, and to be honest.....it's just easier to order one premade, like I did myself.

The price equation though is pretty stellar. You mention buying a battery for 2000 verses building one for 1300, but what's missing there is capacity. For 2000 you'll probably get 2.5Kwhr, while the lads in the battery forum are knocking out 10Kwhr for that €1500. To buy an equivalent 10Kwhr prefabricated. you'd be talking ~€5-6K i reckon. That's a significant difference (5x the capacity for the same money)

I'm not endorsing either. I bought a prefabricated one myself, but I certainly can see the appeal of a DIY if you have the skills.

Apologizes - I missed that.

Yeah, that certainly would tend to swing the argument in the favor of the prefab's. I did (quickly) have a look though as to how one would go about obtaining one of these batteries. Seems to be unobtainium as far as I can tell. Were you able to get a price/website where you could order one yankinlk?

(I'm not interested in ordering one as I already have a 8.2Kwhr battery - but I'd be curious to know if this was a real option for people other than being a nice advert I did see....

Supply 48V 100Ah Lithium Battery Wholesale Factory - Yangtze Battery Co.,Ltd (member of Yangtze Solar Power Group)

but not sure if it's the same)

Yeah - I did see that recent Will Prowse video where he was saying "Why would anyone buy cells anymore....etc". Interesting video.

Of course it's one thing to have a product out there which gives excellent value/performance, it's another thing to be actually able to get one. The graphic card situation for the last 2 years a good point in case! Those Eg4Batteries have sparked my interest in the past, but can't seem to find a supplier in Europe.

20Kwhr for €2,200, I mean no matter what way you slice/dice it.....that's savage money for that capacity. I could do with it too..... :-)

I haven't seen any link for a 10kWh battery for €2000 including shipping, duty and VAT. Can you please provide one? If you can then I will agree with you that's a good choice for only a few hundred more than DIY, with less work involved and probably some sort of comeback should it fail

Linky please?

I have seen good value second hand ones for sale in the USA alright but the price about doubles by the time you'd have them landed. And there are no companies like batteryhookup in the EU with decent prices afaik. Stand to be corrected though, but I doubt anyone will find that link...

In the meantime, people here in Ireland with 10kWh installed have a few options like Pylontech, where a ready made system will cost north of €4000. In other words: it will never pay for itself (without thousands in subsidy)

This is what I think of most technology. Cost will go down, size will go up. Ill give you a link in a year when im buying! :)

Have you not seen the semiconductor market in the last year. Prices don't always go down 😋

I like your optimistic attitude :-)

And yes, loading the battery up at night from mostly renewables is better for pocket and planet. I have been doing that for years. And the more electricity you consume in the house (with a fairly large PV install), the quicker the battery pays back for itself. But with some sort of FIT imminent, it is almost certain that if you have a battery installed by someone, without a subsidy (those are the 2 conditions I keep mentioning), that the battery will never pay for itself unless you are lucky that the whole system keeps working for the like of 30 years or so, I wouldn't bank on that...

Ouch. I have only provided a viewpoint that conflcits with your very stubborn (there is only one way) attitude. Its not needed in this forum - you ought to try and be a little more polite.

I linked to two posters who said they got a price on a Battery. I never claimed to have got the price myself. Check yourself they are both in this thread - and neither has returned with more info. Maybe it exists today, maybe it doesnt. It certainly will sooner or later.

I agree with the calmer and more circumspect @bullit_dodger - paying too much for anything will never pay back. But cycling an off-the-shelf 10Kw battery will be fine for my circumstances if the price is close to DIY (ie not triple).

Edited: Im going to give you the last word cuase i suspect thats all you really wanted.

From memory €75 duty, approx €660 vat

You should ask for a flash test report for your order. No one ever does this. Each panel is checked and the output measured and recorded. The variation may affect your installation as all panels are not the same. Each panel can then be tested on site before installation. If you need to claim for a failed panel then you have the serial number and test report available. These panels are NOT MCS certified as claimed so maybe not fully honest manufacturer or just an "oversight".

The cables on the panels are very short! Normally 900mm minimum so you can connect panels in series but yours will not reach! If you are using parallel and series configuration will you have sufficient cable and connectors? You only have 50 metres of cable.

The panels of this size are very heavy if you installing on the roof. Minimum 2 man job once you get them up there.

Will the mounting hooks be suitable for your roof type? There are all sorts for different roof coverings and they are not interchangeable.

Have you actually designed the system? This is important. You will need the combiner box if connecting in parallel as the amps will be high and protection will be required. How many ways in the combiner. Where will you site this as possibly many cables required to be fed to it - it cannot go on the roof.

You will need isolaters , generation meter, CU breakers, inverter certification (for Ireland), monitoring equipment (included?), battery cabling, termination lugs, crimping tool, cable conduit/protection and fittings, etc. etc. I would properly design the system and get what you need now as the kit will be expensive here. Who will service the system if it goes off while you are away? It can happen and I suspect will need manual intervention.

Just my take on this and hope it is useful.

Can anyone give me an idea of how difficult it is to get installers when you're providing the panels and inverter?

I'm guessing most of them want you to buy the gear from them and so won't be too happy with DIY customers?