DIY install

I got 2 300w panels for 90 each including the vat

Ha found them! They were 275W Trina panels offered to me for €62 + VAT (trade price) by midsummer.ie in May 2020

That's the trick with all this renewable stuff. Buy them (very, very cheaply), install DIY, use them for some time and sell them on when you upgrade for more than you paid for them (to cover the cost of other materials, cables, mounting, etc.). In other words: zero years payback time on your investment. Profit on the very first day you install. If I had the space, I'd install 100kwp LOL, not even messing here.

It was quite cheap, but to put things into perspective, midnight are selling very efficient 445W Longi split cell panels for €143 + VAT. Solartricity have Amerisolar 380W for €130 + VAT. Those are from respectable wholesalers with an invoice, warranty and support

Doesn't look anywhere near the double the price you claimed anyway, does it? Those prices are full retail prices on their website right now, you might get them cheaper if you ask for a discount. And that's not taking into account your suppliers credentials or lack thereof 😁

Do you never ask for discounts? And I'm sure if you looked hard like you did last year, you could find some dodgy crowd again that could sell you old panels for a good bit less per watt than those all above board prices from the fully legit boys ;-)

And that makes them about 25% more expensive per watt than the ones @Ubbquittious got. Some of that is the extra transport costs. Some of it is the fact they are higher wattage, more efficient panels which are cheaper to fit and make better use of available limited roof space and some of it is because they are from a legit crowd with warranty, support and an invoice

Nothing at all like the dramatics of "Panels are nearly double wha I paid for them last year". QED.

Inlaws are looking at going the DIY route. I have a couple of questions if you lads don't mind.

Is it OK to keep the old analogue meter?

If DIY is done with only the connection to CU being done by an electrician, is anything else needed? No grant application expected

Strictly speaking you will also need to submit the NC6 form to ESB Networks.

https://www.esbnetworks.ie/docs/default-source/publications/micro-generation-notification-form-(nc6).pdf?sfvrsn=c54433f0_4

You don't need any signoff

You initially need to nominate a sparks on the ESB NC6 Form. They send back the approval to proceed letter to the sparks, but the sparks doesn't have to do anything.

You then possibly need a sparks to connect the inverter to the fuse board, but there's no "sign off" thing.

The only difficult bit (IMO) is putting the brackets onto the roof.

CAUTION - Only IE certified Inverters can be installed in Ireland. So while an inverter from China might comply "specs" wise, it cannot be connected to the grid unless it has the IE certification. The cert needs to go in with the NC6

The cert is like a type approval, not an actual bit of paper that comes with the inverter when you buy it. You can just look up if it is mentioned in the spec sheet of the inverter. It doesn't matter if the inverter is new or second hand.

It's only a testing Country Compliance thing - the old certification was EN50438-IE (I think further revised)

I bought a Chinese EN50438 certified Inverter but wasn't permitted since it never got tested and approved under the Irish version of the regulations (even though it was able to adhere specs wise).

So the Irish market is limited to certain models, more due to certification issues / lack of.

Nothing wrong surely posting a list here. It's a list of inverters, not installers

It might be helpful though. I have a brand of inverter neither of those currently sell, would be good to know all the options I think.