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Solar panels at home, worth it?

maddness

I’m sure this has been asked before but I can’t find a relevant thread so here goes.

I am wondering about getting solar panels fitted at home and am struggling to find any real world feedback on potential savings so thought I’d ask here. If I was to do it I would go all in and get two EV’s to replace our ice cars and just wondered if anyone has done the same and has it been as good as I imagine it might be? I know there are many variables but am just curious about the whole experience.

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AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058319170/solar-panels-at-home-worth-it

From April to July all my driving was covered by Solar excess..

so for about 4 months I didn’t pay to charge my car (assuming you don’t count the initial outlay for the Solar PV)

My advice: install the biggest system your roof will fit.

Gumbo

Yes. Get as big an array as possible.

then consider battery and divertor V FIT.

Don’t bank on it fully charging your cart for all your needs and see if the system works. Then any charge is a bonus.

My system is set up so it fills the battery then the hot water and very little excess after that.

youcancallmeal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121270937#Comment_121270937

How much was your solar setup, do you have batteries to store excess as well?

Jonathan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058319170/solar-panels-at-home-worth-it

Lots of info over in the Renewable Energies forum.

https://www.boards.ie/categories/renewable-energies

djan

People will be quick to mention how their bills have gone down and are charging for "free" but the key is to look at the total ROI given the panels lifetime and any maintenance and then make the decision. From what I've seen from people's sums in Ireland, unless you can diy a substantial part it won't really be worthwhile.

burtner

Solar is a no brainer in sunny country. I have a small array and would NOT recommend solar in Ireland, There are many many days when production is as low as 2% of rated or even less , It does of course give 100% some days a year but not enough to make it worth it. You need to over spec considerably to make it work.

maddness

Thanks for the replies. Not sure if we will go ahead but have someone coming during the week to give us a quote.

I’ve considered an EV plenty of times over the past year or so and am still on the fence!

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271318#Comment_121271318

I’d disagree , people are seen 7-8 year pay backs especially with batteries.

my parents top up their battery during the boost rate and haven’t had to import during day rate at all , with a 5 kW system they were exporting 3.1KW at lunch time today.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271318#Comment_121271318

A properly sized system will pay for itself in about seven years.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271351#Comment_121271351

I also have a small array and would encourage anyone who can afford it to go ahead especially now with 0% Vat.

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271455#Comment_121271455

You don’t need Solar PV to make an EV worthwhile if you charge at home on night rate electricity. Even if you’ve a substantial Solar PV system, it won’t really charge your car during the day if you’re using the car to commute to work.

Fitz II

My own modest system has a 6-8 year ROI and that seems to be fairly standard. If you can charge your car during the day, that's great, but a lot of people don't have their car at their house during the day, and if they do they don't drive much. Mine about halves my electricity bill and I top the batteries during the night rate for the morning load, it improves the BER on the house too and increases resale value, so I think in general its a good thing, but unless you have a lot of roof space and a load of batteries you not going be living off the grid.

RoboRat

I have a 7.4kwp south facing array with a 10kw battery. I got it installed in July 2022 and it cost €12,400 after grant.

Within 13 months, it had paid 1/4 of the install cost through energy savings and FIT payments, and that was before I got an EV. It's ooking like it'll pay for itself within 4 years now and my bills are around 1/10 of what they were annually.

I got a loan, but I worked out the average cost of electricity per month, and adjusted the loan so there would be very little variance compared to what I was already paying. Electricity prices went up and I actually ended up paying less monthly.

I definitely recommend getting it done.

djan

Fair play to those getting the 8ish year returns, just shows how many variables are involved and maybe the tech/price has improved too . I will say the some of the ones I know of were installed a fair few years ago and had returns of 15+ years, so really depends on how much you can put on roof and usage amounts and patterns. Just be careful and do the sums in detail first and go from there but it's not a guarantee as sometimes made out.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271318#Comment_121271318

No maintenance on PV panels. Maybe you are mixing up the older thermal evacuated tubes which require glycell changes every other year?

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271717#Comment_121271717

The systems were cheaper years ago so ROI was lower. Again, you mention the word “fair few years ago” so maybe these were the evacuated tubes that only heated water?

For example, I installed a 4.7kw array with 5.2 kWh battery and eddi in 2017 and nett cost to me was €3700. Not repeatable today of course.

This week my dad is getting a 4kw array, 5 kWh battery and eddi installed for €8500. After grant that will be 6,230. ROI on that will be very quick IMO.

eagerv

We have a modest 4kWp system and a 4 kWh battery.

Reckon 8 to 10 year payback. But don’t really care because of the value of enjoying it… nothing better than seeing 40 km to 80 km surplus going into car….😊

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271318#Comment_121271318

Well that's not true. I'm looking at 6 years payback. Our long summer days are epic and if you can export a decent amount then the ROI gets better. With a battery I charge overnight on the boost rate and run the house for a fair bit of the winter days. My bill for the year will be probably just under a grand for this year where it would probably be closer to €3,500 or more.

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271795#Comment_121271795

I’ve recently got some proposals from 3 different providers for a large roof mounted commercial system. They all mentioned the PV panels may need to be cleaned 1-2 times per year for optimal performance. Would this fall under maintenance ?

eagerv

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121272082#Comment_121272082

Most modern panels are cleaned by rain. But in a long dry period they do get quite dusty and probably loose some efficiency. In the summer I use to fire up a high powered hose on to roof which did keep them clean. But there is probably an advantage having surface mounted panels where you could give them an easy clean with a soft long handled brush.

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121272175#Comment_121272175

Ground mount would also have that advantage if you had space in your garden rather than roof mounted.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121272082#Comment_121272082

People here have panels for more than 10 years and never had to clean them with the amount of rain we get. Maybe the providers are looking for more income in the future coming back to "clean" them for you. Mine are up nearly 2 years in the sticks and I haven't seen any loss of power without cleaning them. You will find much more information here https://www.boards.ie/categories/renewable-energies

orangerhyme

Does anyone know how many domestic solar panel arrays are being installed per year Ireland?

I don't mean new houses that come with them, or solar farms or commercial premises. Just private houses that add them.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121272082#Comment_121272082

I haven’t cleaned mine once since 2017. Peak performance (generation) and peak kw spike hasn’t dropped since.

So no maintenance.

djan

Honestly this may be it and then my bad for the misinformation. I was surprised myself by them mentioning this and while they said it was PV solar, seems like they used the wrong terminology as the returns on those and maintenance allude to it being the different set up you mentioned. Thanks for clearing that up!

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271351#Comment_121271351

I saved 500 in my first year. Electric Costs have gone up so I save more now. I was also able to charge my car all summer. All from a 3.2kw solar array

eagerv

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121272232#Comment_121272232

Yep. A pal has a 8kW ground system in a pure south direction. Cannot believe what they produce. Would love to have similar..😊

Ginger83

Our 8kWp system has generated over 5000kWh since late February and 3.2kWp faces northwest

Gumbo

@unkel Your thread prayers have been answered 😂😂

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271351#Comment_121271351

That's a common misconception. Ireland is actually rather good for solar PV

The Netherlands have by far the highest number of solar PV panels on private homes per capita. And their PV is 20% worse than Ireland. And before you mention the fiscal regime, they have net metering over there. Our system is almost as good with our generous feed in tariff. In some ways better if you have cheap night rate.

But of course the production of solar PV on a rainy winter's day in the week before Christmas is near zero

batistuta9

What size area are you talking for these systems?