Balcony solar PV

Fueltheburn
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2023 12:14 pm

Re: Balcony solar PV

#1081

Post by Fueltheburn »

Hoymiles HMS 800 connected to 2 off 405W Canadian Solar Mono Perc Hiku black frame with MC4 Evo2.

HMS800 from offgrid tech back then £220+ shipping (and tax if you got nailed by HMRC.)
Panel cost was a whopping £157.78+ vat

Now: HMS 800 CIRCA £200
405W Panel cost <£60/panel.

Painful seeing how much these panels have depreciated sitting in my garage for 18 months :facepalm:

Cost for micro system now would be paid back in roughly 25-26 months. Nae bad.
3kW FIT Solar
0.8kW balcony solar.
2,372 W of turbine at Whitelaw Brae
6kw Panasonic air to air heat pump for downstairs.
2 WBS. Stovax 8kw and 5kw Morso squirrel
Rointe D series in 2 bedrooms and bathroom.
Aiming to go fully electric....
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Joeboy
Posts: 8148
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 4:22 pm
Location: Inverurie

Re: Balcony solar PV

#1082

Post by Joeboy »

Fueltheburn wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2024 6:39 pm Hoymiles HMS 800 connected to 2 off 405W Canadian Solar Mono Perc Hiku black frame with MC4 Evo2.

HMS800 from offgrid tech back then £220+ shipping (and tax if you got nailed by HMRC.)
Panel cost was a whopping £157.78+ vat

Now: HMS 800 CIRCA £200
405W Panel cost <£60/panel.

Painful seeing how much these panels have depreciated sitting in my garage for 18 months :facepalm:

Cost for micro system now would be paid back in roughly 25-26 months. Nae bad.
Aye it was for me! Exercise maybe in cracking on rather than them sitting in garage? Not judging honestly, it just accelerates the losses to you. I'd buy another couple at deep mates discount but that might sting even more.... :twisted: :xl:

It was nice to bring the Hoymiles 400 1T to the panels today and for them to start outputting in under a minute. I never quite get over how groovy that really is.
19.7kW PV SE, VI, HM, EN & DW
Ripple 7kW WT & Gen to date 19MWh
42kWh LFPO4 storage
95kWh Heater storage
12kWh 210ltr HWT.
73kWh HI5
Deep insulation, air leak ct'd home
Zoned GCH & Hive 2
WBSx2
Low energy bulbs
Veg patches & fruit trees
richbee
Posts: 612
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2022 3:39 pm
Location: Northumberland

Re: Balcony solar PV

#1083

Post by richbee »

Joeboy wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2024 4:39 pm
Silverwings wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2024 4:02 pm
Joeboy wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 11:52 am That's No1 son system passed its 1year milestone. It has performed flawlessly. A touch under 600kWh generation.

Image

I have no idea which cost per kWh figure to use so I'll settle on 26p. That's £153 in year 1. 8-)
That's good going. Quite quick return on investment there. What panels and inverter are you using? Thanks
We use many combos. You can choose the Hoymiles microinverter of your choice (capacity/number of connections) based for example on your available panel size. 2kW is easily achieved. Know your circuit though that you are tying back into. Condition/wire gauge existing loads on it. What is the circuit design, spur, radial, other?. Can provide more info later, no worries but out with wife. Ask away pal, glad to help.

Image
I keep asking on the Hoymiles social media pages when they are officially coming to the UK and usually get no answer, but the other day I got a reply - they said they may be announcing something in the next month!! Would be good to get an official wifi dongle, and not have to go through e-bay and customs declarations to get hold of them :xx: :xx: :xx:
Solar PV since July '22:
5.6kWp east/west facing
3.6kW Sunsynk hybrid inverter
2x 5.12kWh Sunsynk batteries
1.6kWp Hoymiles East/West facing PV on the man cave
Ripple DW 2kW
Ripple WB 200W
Fueltheburn
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2023 12:14 pm

Re: Balcony solar PV

#1084

Post by Fueltheburn »

Joeboy wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2024 8:41 pm
Fueltheburn wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2024 6:39 pm Hoymiles HMS 800 connected to 2 off 405W Canadian Solar Mono Perc Hiku black frame with MC4 Evo2.

HMS800 from offgrid tech back then £220+ shipping (and tax if you got nailed by HMRC.)
Panel cost was a whopping £157.78+ vat

Now: HMS 800 CIRCA £200
405W Panel cost <£60/panel.

Painful seeing how much these panels have depreciated sitting in my garage for 18 months :facepalm:

Cost for micro system now would be paid back in roughly 25-26 months. Nae bad.
Aye it was for me! Exercise maybe in cracking on rather than them sitting in garage? Not judging honestly, it just accelerates the losses to you. I'd buy another couple at deep mates discount but that might sting even more.... :twisted: :xl:

It was nice to bring the Hoymiles 400 1T to the panels today and for them to start outputting in under a minute. I never quite get over how groovy that really is.
Definitely! They are going up to replace the FIT panels. New 6mm² cables to replace the 4mm². 6mm² cables crimped and soldered just because. Solis inverter going on as well with a WiFi dongle for tracking output.

Planning my attack all this week. Was looking at placement of the roof ladder this evening and how to get the panels down with the least issue :xx:
Might take a few days to get wired in.


Crimped
Image


And soldered
Image

I will be getting more panels at some point as there will be a steel portal going up and it will get covered. This will be a good point to stick in an order
3kW FIT Solar
0.8kW balcony solar.
2,372 W of turbine at Whitelaw Brae
6kw Panasonic air to air heat pump for downstairs.
2 WBS. Stovax 8kw and 5kw Morso squirrel
Rointe D series in 2 bedrooms and bathroom.
Aiming to go fully electric....
User avatar
Joeboy
Posts: 8148
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 4:22 pm
Location: Inverurie

Re: Balcony solar PV

#1085

Post by Joeboy »

richbee wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2024 9:29 pm
Joeboy wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2024 4:39 pm
Silverwings wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2024 4:02 pm

That's good going. Quite quick return on investment there. What panels and inverter are you using? Thanks
We use many combos. You can choose the Hoymiles microinverter of your choice (capacity/number of connections) based for example on your available panel size. 2kW is easily achieved. Know your circuit though that you are tying back into. Condition/wire gauge existing loads on it. What is the circuit design, spur, radial, other?. Can provide more info later, no worries but out with wife. Ask away pal, glad to help.

Image
I keep asking on the Hoymiles social media pages when they are officially coming to the UK and usually get no answer, but the other day I got a reply - they said they may be announcing something in the next month!! Would be good to get an official wifi dongle, and not have to go through e-bay and customs declarations to get hold of them :xx: :xx: :xx:
That is great news! :xx:
19.7kW PV SE, VI, HM, EN & DW
Ripple 7kW WT & Gen to date 19MWh
42kWh LFPO4 storage
95kWh Heater storage
12kWh 210ltr HWT.
73kWh HI5
Deep insulation, air leak ct'd home
Zoned GCH & Hive 2
WBSx2
Low energy bulbs
Veg patches & fruit trees
Silverwings
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2024 12:13 am

Re: Balcony solar PV

#1086

Post by Silverwings »

I see Solax have added a microinverter into the UK market, very reasonably priced too! About the same as the price I managed to import one from Ebay Germany, but I'd much rather buy here in the UK.

https://theecosupermarket.co.uk/product ... icro-1000w

https://www.solaxpower.com/products/x1-microinverter/
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nowty
Posts: 5827
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 2:36 pm
Location: South Coast

Re: Balcony solar PV

#1087

Post by nowty »

Silverwings wrote: Thu Oct 24, 2024 8:49 am I see Solax have added a microinverter into the UK market too. Very reasonably priced too. About the same as the price I managed to import one from Ebay Germany, but I'd much rather buy here in the UK.

https://theecosupermarket.co.uk/product ... icro-1000w
https://www.solaxpower.com/products/x1-microinverter/
Blimey with 2 MPPT inputs for £165, add 2 x 500W panels from city plumbing with free delivery for circa £170 and you have a 1kW system for £350. :shock:
Last edited by nowty on Thu Oct 24, 2024 9:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
18.7kW PV > 109MWh generated
Ripple 6.6kW Wind + 4.5kW PV > 26MWh generated
5 Other RE Coop's
105kWh EV storage
60kWh Home battery storage
40kWh Thermal storage
GSHP + A2A HP's
Rain water use > 510 m3
Silverwings
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2024 12:13 am

Re: Balcony solar PV

#1088

Post by Silverwings »

nowty wrote: Thu Oct 24, 2024 9:07 am
Silverwings wrote: Thu Oct 24, 2024 8:49 am I see Solax have added a microinverter into the UK market too. Very reasonably priced too. About the same as the price I managed to import one from Ebay Germany, but I'd much rather buy here in the UK.

https://theecosupermarket.co.uk/product ... icro-1000w
https://www.solaxpower.com/products/x1-microinverter/
Blimey with 2 MPPT inputs for £165, add 2 x 500W panels from city plumbing with free delivery for circa £170 and you have a 1kW system for £350. :shock:
Amazing isn't it! What the cheapest way of getting them wired in properly do you think. My Dad wants some but he wants it done properly, not just via a plug 😉
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Joeboy
Posts: 8148
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 4:22 pm
Location: Inverurie

Re: Balcony solar PV

#1089

Post by Joeboy »

Silverwings wrote: Thu Oct 24, 2024 9:28 am
nowty wrote: Thu Oct 24, 2024 9:07 am
Silverwings wrote: Thu Oct 24, 2024 8:49 am I see Solax have added a microinverter into the UK market too. Very reasonably priced too. About the same as the price I managed to import one from Ebay Germany, but I'd much rather buy here in the UK.

https://theecosupermarket.co.uk/product ... icro-1000w
https://www.solaxpower.com/products/x1-microinverter/
Blimey with 2 MPPT inputs for £165, add 2 x 500W panels from city plumbing with free delivery for circa £170 and you have a 1kW system for £350. :shock:
Amazing isn't it! What the cheapest way of getting them wired in properly do you think. My Dad wants some but he wants it done properly, not just via a plug 😉
Ideally you would tie it back to a spare breaker on your cu on its own. Or you could tie into a fused wallplate.

https://www.ced-elec.co.uk/SearchResult ... tion-units
19.7kW PV SE, VI, HM, EN & DW
Ripple 7kW WT & Gen to date 19MWh
42kWh LFPO4 storage
95kWh Heater storage
12kWh 210ltr HWT.
73kWh HI5
Deep insulation, air leak ct'd home
Zoned GCH & Hive 2
WBSx2
Low energy bulbs
Veg patches & fruit trees
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Joeboy
Posts: 8148
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 4:22 pm
Location: Inverurie

Re: Balcony solar PV

#1090

Post by Joeboy »

We now have three Hoymiles units operating in three houses.
1000W
800W
400W (only 200W of panels)

Along with 7 Enphase micros each running a single panel. That's up about 4kW of potential PV generation, it was great doing them all as the outcome is instantly tangible and as a lot of it was 2nd hand it satisfied that side of my brain.

Although the prices quoted on the new gear a couple of posts up make that a lesser desire unless it's your thing.
19.7kW PV SE, VI, HM, EN & DW
Ripple 7kW WT & Gen to date 19MWh
42kWh LFPO4 storage
95kWh Heater storage
12kWh 210ltr HWT.
73kWh HI5
Deep insulation, air leak ct'd home
Zoned GCH & Hive 2
WBSx2
Low energy bulbs
Veg patches & fruit trees
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