Solar Energy and saving money

Maybe it was poorly worded but ‘get 32c” meant that’s what you get as a credit for every kW you sent to the grid. As I mentioned one of the companies tariffs is in the top 5 options for out exact usage per 30 mins over last year. Which I know from already having run the comparison.
 
This is an update to the post that I wrote on 6 September last year. (post #2 on this thread.)

Two years ago my PV solar system was installed. It's a west facing, roof mounted, 10 panel 4.15 Kw system with a 5Kw battery and it cost €9.9k to install.

In the first 12 months, the system produced 3365 kWh of electricity.
In the second 12 months, the system produced 3555 kWh of electricity. (so, over 5% more sunshine!)

In the past 2 years I have sold 77% of the PV units produced to my energy supplier, generating an income of €1,090.00
I have consumed the remaining 23%, which has saved me an estimated €490.

Further savings have been realised from charging my battery overnight at the night rate and using the stored power during the daytime. I estimate conservatively that this has saved me approximately €700.

So, ignoring depreciation, the cumulative return on my outlay of €9,900 after 2 years is €2,280. And it's all tax-free!

(The promised lifetime of the panels is at least 25 years, and both the battery and inverter should last for at least a decade.)
 
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Gervan said:
Only up to €400 a year (per named householder on the electricity account) in feedback income is tax free.
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Which is a stupid policy, it should be if you're in still credit net of the electricity costs then you pay tax on that full net amount, not the current tax the full export credit (over 400) ignoring the electricity import costs. It's currently like taxing a company on it's revenue not its profits, even if it's running at a loss.
 
Marsupial said:
Two years ago my PV solar system was installed. It's a west facing, roof mounted, 10 panel 4.15 Kw system with a 5Kw battery and it cost €9.9k to install.
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Marsupial said:
So, ignoring depreciation, the cumulative return on my outlay of €9,900 after 2 years is €2,280.
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So you're looking at 9 yrs to break even? It's a pretty long pay back. I suppose as energy prices rise, and they will, the break even time will reduce.

In time a bigger battery and using more of your own produced energy will be the norm as the FIT is phased out.
 
CharlieMac said:
So you're looking at 9 yrs to break even? It's a pretty long pay back.
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Frustratingly, I wasn't able to put any east-facing panels on my roof - and the cost of ground mounting them was ridiculous - so I don't get any free juice before around 11.00 a.m. In the future, I would like to get a second battery as well as some east facing panels, but suspect that I'd need to buy a new inverter, which would make the payback longer.
 
I'm in the process of getting quote and comparing however due to velux windows on my south side there a bit of working around them and different installers have given me different numbers. Some questions:

Is there any resource with reviews of panels, investors and batteries?

For panels I have quotes for Bauer, TW (Hefei), Leapton Sonal and Jinko, some are more powerful than others but perhaps bigger too?

For investors I have Huawei Hybrid, SigenStar EC 5.0SP, Sigen Hybrid 5.0 SP2 and Sig Energy Hybrid. Are the last 3 the same? Any pros and ons?
 
Hello,

I'd encourage you to join a group on Facebook, called "Irish Solar Owners Group".

While you won't find direct comparison tables for various manufacturers on that group, you will get a lot of information from other buyers, solar power enthusiasts, people in the trade etc.

It's proven to be a super (free and independent) resource for both myself and many others here.

We have a Velux window, so had to factor that into our own decision making, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be easily dealt with (as a starting point, keep in mind that panels can run either horizontal or vertical).

Panels are also the cheapest part of the investment, so ensure you install as many as you can, when getting the job done. Generally, the more efficient panels are larger, but with ever improving technology, that may not always be the case, anymore.

Also, if you've a chimney, or part of your roof is shaded for periods of the day, you may need individual optimiser fitted to some panels, and while they come at an additional cost, they are often worth it.

I'm no expert on manufacturers, but one important thing to keep in mind is this....while Huawei are a good brand, you are restricted to only buying Huawei components into the future, if you get their invertor. That put me off them tbh, but it's a personal decision.
 
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MrEarl said:
you are restricted to only buying Huawei components into the future, if you get their invertor. That put me off them tbh, but it's a personal decision.
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I just joined, although I find the Facebook format poor for going back and reading stuff, Is there any pinned post with info that I am missing.

The sales pitch I received from the Huawei sales person was that there are less issues with using the one company where as when you mix and match and something goes wrong they all blame each other. From experience (not solar) that has some potential to be true.

Do you know anything about the dynamic rates coming in and which are comparable?
 
faketales said:
The sales pitch I received from the Huawei sales person was that there are less issues with using the one company where as when you mix and match and something goes wrong they all blame each other. From experience (not solar) that has some potential to be true.
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One way or another, this is your installer’s problem and not yours. Tbh, I hear more regrets about buying Huawei than any other manufacturer, mostly because of the vendor lock-in.
 
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