@Thebeeman

[sharpener]

You can send me a PM from here. Or post here, others will see it and will probably contribute to the discussion which may or may not help.

It would be useful to know:

What is your incoming supply (phases, amps)
Have you got an earth rod (TT supply) or do you use the supplier's earth (TN-C-S/PME)?
Annual consumption peak (kWh)/off-peak (kWh)

What is the typical load profile in kW (a) at night (fridge, freezer, computers, TV on standby etc) (b) peak - probably while cooking supper with many lights on if you cook with electricity (c) any electric heating (d) how is the water heated

What is your present PV setup (panel and inverter type and rating) and annual yield (kWh)
Do you want it to work during a power cut

Do you want the batteries to supply the loads in a power cut and for how long
(a) all of them (?kW) (b) only part (?kW) (c) if so will it be reasonably easy to split them into two groups of circuits at your consumer unit (d) no/none/don't care

Anything out of the ordinary for a normal domestic setting

HTH

[Thebeeman]

Hi 'sharpener' and every body else. I'm busy reading a few threads and will gather the data that you've suggested and will return to ask lots of newbie questions.
Thanks for the 'sharpener'.

[Thebeeman]

PV installed 2/2011, new inverter fitted 6/2019. Cost total £16734.
Panels Sungrid SG-215M6 (Australian).
Inverter now Fronius Primo 3.6-1
Grid supply single phase 100 Amp
Supplier earth
Annual Import Year to 15/06/22 2780
Export 2188
Solar Output 3750
Cook on Rayburn/ gas hob/ use microwave as oven.
Heating and hot water by oil, I dread to think of the cost of next fill.
We have water from a borehole so use electricity for the pumps.
Do not need backup power as we have a 100Amp auto-start generator in situ.

We are a pair of Wrinklies so we currently use as much "free" power as we can.
Not allowing for the "free" electricity we've used the panels are £4336.47 in profit just from the FIT up to the end of April quarter.

I used to be in QA in the defence industry so I'm anal at gathering data, if you don't know what's going on you're not in control.

Having had a good read of this forum I'm thinking Luxsolar Ac coupled inverter with 6x 2.4 Pylontech batteries.

I've had an email quote for that setup installed including VAT £7738. Is that a good price, I don't think I could it cheaper myself.

P.S. Should have added that the meter/PV is 100 mts. from the dwelling so a back battery system would be difficult and pricey.

[sharpener]

Hi there, thanks for comprehensive brief.

Our situation is quite simiilar, retired couple in a barn conversion in the South Hams. I opted for a Victron-based system, DIY bundle of 5kVA inverter/charger and 7.1 kWh Pylontech Force-L2 from here https://essandsolarsolutions.co.uk/prod ... undle.html, came in under £6k including ancillaries and VAT. Etienne Rossouw very helpful in sourcing alternative batteries as the listed ones were not available, this is a continual problem ATM as you may well discover.

As you do not need backup mode the 3kVA model with 10.1kWh of Pylontech would probably suit your requirements and from them would be £6350 inc VAT. So your Luxpower quote sounds quite competitive with this as a turnkey offer. Presumably you have found this thread https://camelot-forum.co.uk/phpBB3/view ... f=14&t=868? In summary a good product, rubbish UK support but if you have an installer you can trust that is probably not your concern (at least in the first instance <g>). Personally I am not a fan of the nationally advertised over-the-web promotions (though that is how we got our solar installed in 2011) but equally I am still waiting for 3 local suppliers to give me even a survey date for extra PV (which _does_ need an MCS installer).

I did the ESS G99/G100 application to WPD and all the installation work myself (am chartered engineer) but it was quite straightforward and would pose no difficulties for an independent electrician. System can be interrogated and reconfigured over the internet so Etienne was able to help remotely with initial setup.

Optimising the battery size can be difficult. What is sufficient to last through summer nights will not be enough in the depths of winter. For us the problem is compounded when we are away as then even 7.1kWh of storage is much more than we need. However with an average import of 7.5kWh/day I would think you might not need as much as you propose. You also seem not to be on Economy 7 or a similar tariff, consider this for time-shifting in winter, the economics depend on whether the difference between night and day rates justifies the battery depreciation involved which depends in turn on what warranty is offered.

Lastly I am a bit surprised if you haven't been using the surplus PV to heat the water. In 2011 I had to build my own diverter circuit but now there are quite a few available commercially, the Eddi in particular seems to be well regarded. Paradoxically water heating interacts quite strongly with the economics of battery storage, however at current rates it is actually worth heating the water with our oil boiler if it allows free solar stored in the battery to displace peak rate consumption in the evenings.

Probably enough to be going on with. Good luck with your voyage of discovery!

[sniper]

@sharpener I hope you don't me asking.

I've been looking at getting quotes, so far quotes have included lux 3600 @ £1800, GivEnergy 5kW @ £1550.

My question is VICTRON MULTIPLUS-II GX 48/5000/70 equivalent to those, in that solar panels and batters can be connected to it with no additional victron accessories needed? I ask because I've watched videos where they also mention battery controller etc.

I am looking at getting 4.5kw to 5kw panels with one Pylontec battery to start with.

Thank you

[Stinsy]

@sharpener I hope you don't me asking.

I've been looking at getting quotes, so far quotes have included lux 3600 @ £1800, GivEnergy 5kW @ £1550.

My question is VICTRON MULTIPLUS-II GX 48/5000/70 equivalent to those, in that solar panels and batters can be connected to it with no additional victron accessories needed? I ask because I've watched videos where they also mention battery controller etc.

I am looking at getting 4.5kw to 5kw panels with one Pylontec battery to start with.

Thank you

£1800 for the LuxPower? I paid £600 for mine!

[sniper]

Yeh, i'v really not been able to find out how much the lux costs in UK, I know they can be sourced for around $800 from china.

GivEnergy 5k I can get for £1300 inc inc. So even that seems overpriced, is it common for markup to be so high? considering install range so far is £2000 -- £2500.

[Stinsy]

Yeh, i'v really not been able to find out how much the lux costs in UK, I know they can be sourced for around $800 from china.

GivEnergy 5k I can get for £1300 inc inc. So even that seems overpriced, is it common for markup to be so high? considering install range so far is £2000 -- £2500.

At the moment everything is expensive! Demand is super-high.

[sharpener]

quotes have included lux 3600 @ £1800, GivEnergy 5kW @ £1550.

Out of interest I have looked briefly at various lux models, they differ a lot, for example at least one doesn't have a proper UPS capability, the supplier just offers to fit a double 13A socket. Which one exactly are you thinking about so I can compare its capabilities to the Victron setup?

My question is VICTRON MULTIPLUS-II GX 48/5000/70 equivalent to those, in that solar panels and batters can be connected to it with no additional victron accessories needed? I ask because I've watched videos where they also mention battery controller etc.

No, I think Lux etc. are hybrid inverters which have both a PV inverter and a battery charger/inverter capability. I already had a working PV system with Steca inverters so didn't need that. In addition to the basic Victron Multi and connecting cables my setup just has an ET112 meter for the pre-existing PV (it works fine without it but then it doesn't show up on the mimic diagram or in the statistics. I didn't buy the fancy laptop connecting lead as I have done all the setup over the web.) Big advantage is that the entire house runs off it, so didn't have to segregate critical from non-critical load wiring which would have been expensive and intrusive. If you don't cook by electricity the 3000VA model might do.

I am looking at getting 4.5kw to 5kw panels with one Pylontec battery to start with.

If you are starting from scratch these would need to be connected via a separate MPPT, or you could go for the Victron EasySolar range which has it built in (not sure if it has UK certification yet).

[Stinsy]

quotes have included lux 3600 @ £1800, GivEnergy 5kW @ £1550.

Out of interest I have looked briefly at various lux models, they differ a lot, for example at least one doesn't have a proper UPS capability, the supplier just offers to fit a double 13A socket. Which one exactly are you thinking about so I can compare its capabilities to the Victron setup?

My question is VICTRON MULTIPLUS-II GX 48/5000/70 equivalent to those, in that solar panels and batters can be connected to it with no additional victron accessories needed? I ask because I've watched videos where they also mention battery controller etc.

No, I think Lux etc. are hybrid inverters which have both a PV inverter and a battery charger/inverter capability. I already had a working PV system with Steca inverters so didn't need that. In addition to the basic Victron Multi and connecting cables my setup just has an ET112 meter for the pre-existing PV (it works fine without it but then it doesn't show up on the mimic diagram or in the statistics. I didn't buy the fancy laptop connecting lead as I have done all the setup over the web.) Big advantage is that the entire house runs off it, so didn't have to segregate critical from non-critical load wiring which would have been expensive and intrusive. If you don't cook by electricity the 3000VA model might do.

I am looking at getting 4.5kw to 5kw panels with one Pylontec battery to start with.

If you are starting from scratch these would need to be connected via a separate MPPT, or you could go for the Victron EasySolar range which has it built in (not sure if it has UK certification yet).

All Lux inverters have UPS facility. How the installer implements that is about the installation rather than the inverter.

What do you mean by: "proper UPS capability"? If you mean "whole house backup" then that is very complex and expensive with any inverter brand.