r/SolarUK

Hi All,

Hoping for a bit of clarity about the quotes we've had. We spoke to 3 installers, a local guy, a family run company and a large company.

All seem to have decent reviews across the board but where I expected they'd all roughly solidify on a specific setup, they've confused the matter more!

I'm looking for input if you would be so kind on the quotes?

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Quote 1 - £12,000

• 12x Aiko 490W Panels
• Sigenergy Bat 10 (Battery)
• Sigenergy 6kW inverter
• (Gateway optional for an extra £1000)

Quote 2 - £10,000

• 12x Hengdian DMEGC 465W Panels
• Hanchu 9.4k Battery
• Hanchu 6kW Inverter

Quote 3 - £11,100

• 18x Aiko 515W Panels
• Dyness 10kW Battery
• Solis 8kW Inverter

Quote 4 - £12,600

• 18x Aiko 515W Panels
• Sigenergy Bat 10 (Battery)
• Sigenergy 8kW inverter
• (Gateway optional for an extra £1000)

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The first 2 quotes suggested splitting the panels 6x South Facing, 6x West Facing. The last 2 quotes when discussing with the guy, he seemed surprised they suggested West as the east facing clearly gets more sun overall (He used a satellite view heat map overlay) and he was right, not by much but enough that makes a difference. He then said if we can afford it, he would recommend doing 6 on each of the 3 facings.

Our daily usage averages 8kWh a day across the year (not including the EV). So I don't think we need the 18 panels, but are we better off doing that now and future proofing? He did say he was happy to provide a quote for 12 panels instead of we preferred.

I've not heard of Hanchu, Hengdian or Dyness so not sure what sort of "quality" they are or any pitfalls? I have heard of Sigenergy, so tempted to lean towards those quotes...

Hello folks - I’m about to push the button on the below, but thought I should perform the Reddit acid test before doing so!

The G99 outcome has me in at 6kw export.

This is the cheaper of two quotes I obtained, following negotiation, from a national supplier:

22 x Aiko Energy 475 Watt Panels (AIKO-A475-MCE54Mb)
1 x Tesla Powerwall 3.0 (11.04kW - 3 MPPTs) (Tesla)
1 x Tesla Powerwall 3 [BAT] (Tesla)
1 x Powerwall Backup Gateway 2

Total cost installed = £13,500

So this morning I woke up to both of our Powerwall 3 units sitting at 98%.

That immediately seemed odd because the system is set to Time Based Control and today has a strong solar forecast. There should have been no reason for it to top up overnight.

I checked the energy graph and realised the system had actually charged the batteries to 100% and then started a calibration cycle. Interestingly, the Tesla app never showed the usual calibration warning. I only spotted it through the NetZero logs.

The frustrating part is that calibration now means the system will dump the entire battery capacity back to the grid.

What makes it even worse is that our DNO export limit is capped at 8 kW. At around 8:30am the system was already generating roughly 3 kW from solar, so the batteries could only discharge at the remaining available export capacity. It is basically like trying to empty a bath while the taps are still running at full flow. At that rate it could easily take all day.

The bigger issue is that as solar generation improves through the day, the export rate from the batteries could reduce even further or potentially stop altogether. Our solar array is 16 kW, which is double the DNO export limit, so during strong generation periods the solar alone can consume the entire available export capacity.

In the end I turned off the solar DC isolators just so the calibration could finish in a reasonable timeframe.
This brings me to the main issue. The only options Tesla gives to postpone calibration are 8:30am or 3:30pm. You can choose a different day, but those are the only time slots available.

What I cannot understand is that the system clearly knows:

1. The solar forecast for the day
   2)The tariff rates when running in Time Based Control

Yet the calibration process appears to completely ignore both of them.

The last time this happened, the system started calibration at around 3:30pm and actually imported electricity during peak rate pricing to charge the batteries from around 40%, only to immediately dump that energy straight back to the grid.

I emailed Tesla asking them to make calibration respect Time Based Control and carry this out overnight when electricity is cheapest, but all I received was a generic “thanks for your feedback” response.

Surely I cannot be the only person who thinks this is an area where the software needs major improvement?

Hi everyone (again :D),

A quick word of context first: Helios is my Home Assistant card (a Lovelace card for HA) that I released a few days ago. I've had a lot of feedback since then, and I wanted to offer you a solution to a problem quite a few of you ran into.

I hesitated a lot before posting yet another message, because for the past week I've really felt like I've been flooding the subreddit, and that's not like me. But given the announcement I had to make about Helios, I wanted to give it a dedicated post. I get a lot of support messages, and I think I can finally show you a solution that should make everyone happy. So, sorry in advance for cluttering your feed a little more.

About Helios: I've been pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm and the feedback on my card, but I also picked up on a lot of frustration on your side. For many of you, you weren't in a LiDAR zone covered by Helios.

Unfortunately, after spending many hours trying to find compatible providers for the majority of you, I hit a serious wall. Between the data formats, the incomplete websites, and the APIs that work whenever they feel like it, I tried to find a way for as many people as possible to get access to this feature. And that's when a certain u/jourdant suggested adding a feature to my card: the ability to import a homemade LiDAR map, along with all the tools to do it.

So I decided to recycle my little OVH VPS to offer you an alternative, and above all community-driven, solution: https://helios-lidar.org.

It's an automatic conversion pipeline that supports the majority of LiDAR formats available in each country. Anyone can head to the site, convert their map, and receive a ready-to-use LiDAR map along with the YAML configuration that goes with it. I wanted this tool to be simple, free (of course), and practical. The data is only kept for 10 minutes, both to preserve everyone's anonymity and to avoid overloading my server's storage.

If any of you finds a working API for a country, all you have to do is submit a pull request on the site's GitHub repository, in the "LIDAR_SOURCES.md" file, and the whole community can benefit from that link.

It's simple, community-driven, practical, and, for now, maybe a little slow given the computing power I have :X, but I wanted to share it with you. I'm convinced that with LiDAR data, Helios's predictions are much finer and more relevant than with other forecasts.

So I'm going to stop flooding for good and let you breathe a little with this project. I'll do the same myself: I've spent a lot of hours on it recently and I'm going to ease off a bit. I plan to bring you a 1.7.0 with plenty of new features, but it'll come when it comes. I want to take the time to do things right, and above all to do my best to give you a quality card.

Hoping this card brings you as much joy as I had designing it.

Don't hesitate to keep reaching out to me by DM; I'll do my best to help you and reply as quickly as possible. I was very busy wrapping up 1.6.0, which means quite a few of you had to wait a few days before getting an answer. If that's the case, feel free to open a discussion thread on the Helios GitHub: most of the issues you've run into have probably also been hit by other users.

And for the curious, here are all the links. Everything is open source, even the site:

• The site: https://helios-lidar.org
• The site's repository: https://github.com/ReikanYsora/Helios-Lidar
• The card's repository: https://github.com/ReikanYsora/Helios
• The page to edit to add a LiDAR coverage link: https://github.com/ReikanYsora/Helios-Lidar/blob/main/LIDAR_SOURCES.md

Please don't hesitate to send me your feedback, I strongly encourage it: that's how this tool will keep growing and improving.

And if you feel like it, feel free to drop a little GitHub star on both repos (or buy me a coffee sometime if you can). It's always nice to see that the project sparks some interest :)

Feel free to share the link too: I'm afraid the HACS integration request might take longer than expected (I'm guessing around 1 to 2 months).

And sorry for the length of this message, but the topic is a little complex and deserves, I think, to be explained properly.

Thanks everyone, and see you soon :)

ReikanYsora / Jérôme

Sorry, I deleted the previous post because it sorely lacked clarity.

261wh/kg for Na-ion is nuts. Not sure how they achieved it. Article is also saying they have achieved GWh scale production already and so we should see some EVs launched with it soon.

I've had a quote from Glow Green for 4 x Fox EP12Plus and a 10Kwh Inverter. Has anyone had a similar installation? If so, how did it go? What's your experience with Fox ESS EP12 Plus Batteries?

Did this happen to any of you before? I opted in for an Axle event that is scheduled today from 20.30 to 21.30; it is 20.40 now, and nothing is happening. This event is still in my account, shown as an upcoming event.

Getting a new solar + battery install on Tuesday and wanted to get some advice from people already running SigEnergy setups.
System being installed:
* 22 x Aiko 475W panels (10.45kWp total)
* SigEnergy SigenStor EC 6.0SP inverter/controller
* 9.04kWh battery (SigenStor BAT 10.0)
* SigEnergy AC EV charger

Estimated generation around 7,500kWh/year

Roof is split across multiple orientations, so generation should be spread through the day rather than one big south-facing peak.

I already plan to ask the installers for modbus / local API access. Also plan to sign up to Axle when export approved.

Main thing I’m trying to understand is the best way to run the system initially.
I’ll still need to charge the EV overnight, so I’m interested in how people balance:
* overnight battery charging on cheap rate tariffs (on Ecotricity ev tariff)
* leaving battery capacity free for next-day solar
* EV charging schedules with the SigEnergy AC charger
* import/export settings in the SigEnergy app
* whether to use “self consumption”, TOU, or other operating modes initially

For anyone with SigEnergy kit:
* any recommended settings from day 1?
* anything you wish you’d checked before the installers left?
* any quirks with the app/software?
anything especially worth automating via Home Assistant or Modbus in the future?

I’ll also be applying for export with Ecotricity as soon as I receive the commissioning docs/MCS paperwork.
Would appreciate any advice or tips.

We moved into a new home in the New Year and immediately started the process of getting solar panels with a local company. Having had all the permissions granted and scaffolding erected, the installation was booked for today and tomorrow.

The installers arrived this morning and got to work straight away. All seemed okay until mid afternoon when the final panel was being lifted on. It became clear that they had fitted the wrong panels, with a lower wattage than what we had paid for.

They owned up straight away and started to take them down. Head office then called to rebook and they couldn’t start again tomorrow so now having to wait until Tuesday next week. I’ll need to book another day off work to be home.

Now, the AIBU: I’m in two minds about how to react.

1. I’m grateful they were honest about the mistake and got to work rectifying it. Just accept it.
2. I’m annoyed for a few reasons: I’ve booked today and tomorrow off work for no reason and I’ve sat all day at home whilst the workman drill etc. They were perfectly polite but it’s just a wasted day off. I’ve now had to book an extra day off work to accommodate the new date. And a petty annoyance - it’s meant to be super sunny all weekend and in anticipation of generating excess power that we can’t yet export, I’ve invited friends and family over for the bank holiday weekend to use the hot tub (one we acquired with the house and can’t justify the running costs of). I imagine it will cost us £30-40 extra on our energy bill to heat the hot tub which would have been covered or mostly covered with solar.

So the question: would it be unreasonable to say ‘thank you for being honest, but it’s an inconvenience and could you cover our costs as a goodwill gesture please’

How is home battery storage capacity applied to the home, storage capacity is calculated based on the voltage of the battery so how do you figure out how much capacity you actually have with household voltage applied because for example a 16kwh battery at 51volts isn't 16kwh at 230volts. So how do we figure out how much capacity we actually need?

Hi all. I've been doing some research, mostly through Gary Talks Solar and looking on here, and I still feel quite lost.

My annual usage is around 7,400kWh which I know is on the high side. I also have mobility equipment running in the house that relies on electricity, so having reliable power and ideally some backup capability is important to me. I have three air conditioning units, which I would want to run as heaters in the winter if I am able to get good solar panel coverage, to reduce my gas usage. So my usage will likely go up a fair bit if I do that.

From what I can tell I probably need a larger than average system and a 10–15 (20?) kWh battery to go alongside it, but I'd welcome any input on that sizing.

I have an east/west split-pitched roof and also a largeish flat roof. Between the two I'm hoping there's enough space for a larger than average system. I have no loft space due to an upstairs extension, which I imagine can affect how you attach the solar panels to them.

I've come across two installers I'm considering, from Gary Talks Solar:

Spirit Energy (spiritenergy.co.uk)

Skylar Solar (skylarsolar.co.uk)

Has anyone used either of these, or have recommendations for installers in the Berkshire/Bucks/Windsor area?

I was hoping to get a third to come out and quote to compare three different quotes, so suggestions would be very useful.

I was also thinking about getting octopus to come out and quote as well, but they seem to have quite a varied review on here!

Thanks

I've noticed that many batteries advertise a 10-year warranty, but when you read the small print there's often a throughput or cycle limit attached.

Are there any batteries available in the UK market that genuinely offer a 10-year warranty with no cycle or throughput restrictions?

Curious to hear what installers and homeowners have come across.

Solar panels just installed on the Summer House and now my wife has ordered a log cabin to replace it. Good thing is that will take four panels.
So finished work sitting in the garden watching the EcoFlow software counting the pennies and cursing every time a small cloud passes by, damn that’s 20w I lost.
So I have an EcoFlow Stream Ultra and am getting the feeling it was too small as the battery is charged to 81% and still a good few hours of sunlight left.
I have an EcoFlow Micro inverter at the front of the property with 2 x 460w panels, what is the most economical way to expand battery storage given that soon all that lovely power will go to waste?

Eon I had the solar panels and battery fitted end of March and not had any building reg documents, electric work certificates or the Mcs I think they call it to get SEG payments I have email Eon with other issues the dragging the panels and damaging them Must have email 100 times still getting the same response. Can someone help me out, seems am going around in circles

Hi all, was checking my octopus smart meter and was surprised to see I was importing power at 3pm with full battery and the sun out, checked the fox app to see batteries were not online so went outside to check, noticed the batteries were turned off and the screen on the inverter was frozen with the time being around 10:00 am. Has anyone had anything similar happen?

Trying to work out whether solar is actually financially worth it for our house in the UK, and I would really appreciate some grounded opinions from people who are not salespeople.

We live in a 1930s red brick terrace in South East England with an east/west facing roof. The house is currently under major renovation, and we have already done most of the realistic insulation and efficiency upgrades that are practical for this type of house. It has been fully rewired, loft insulation upgraded, windows improved, and downstairs wet underfloor heating is currently being installed.

The house already feels dramatically better thermally. Upstairs rooms sit around 20–21.5C with very little radiator use, and the house holds heat surprisingly well now.

We have had two solar quotes:

16x LONGi 535W panels
10.24kWh Dyness battery
Solis 6kW hybrid inverter
Quoted generation: 5664 kWh/year
£9640 installed

12x AIKO 465W panels
10kWh Growatt battery
5kW inverter
~£8100

My problem is that the more I research solar, the more it feels like a “lovely to have” rather than an obvious financial decision.

We would likely need finance 6k towards the project(~6% probably), export rates already seem to be falling, battery lifespan worries me relative to payback time, and inverter replacement costs are another factor. We also do not have an EV, and because the house only has on-street parking, it is unlikely we would ever realistically install a home charger.

The irony is that because the house is already becoming much more energy efficient, the solar savings potential also seems lower.

I am struggling to justify another £8–10k financed project during an already expensive renovation when the return seems to be 10+ years away.

Am I being overly cautious here, or is this actually a fairly reasonable conclusion in the current UK market?

Hi,

I am planning to do a loft conversion and a garden room for my home, and I'm considering in-roof solar panels as part of this work, since these will be new roofs.

• The garden room is about 8x6m
• The dormer roof for the loft conversion will be about 3.8x6.1m

I wanted advice on whether this is a good (or bad) idea and how to go about doing this.

Thanks.