Hi all

I am thinking of going for solar panels for my roof
as solar panel systems goes right now they generate through the day
and what you dont use gets sold into the grid at something like 4p per KWH
then at night when the solar power is not generating you use the grid power
and buy back at 16p per KWH so even if you generate enough to power your home completely
you are basicly only getting free energy through the day
and it shaves off a third of your energy bill or around that figure.

Thats about to change though as companys like tesla and samsung and bosch
are releasing specialized home battery's
that through the day the excess power gets stored in these lithium polymor batterys and at night the electricity stored powers the house
so you pretty much go off the grid almost completely.


I am planning to do this to my house once these batterys are in mainstream
production which should be within the next year.

as my house is perfect for it and I think I should have the space for a 6kw array on my roof and the best part it will never be seen from street level.





have any of you got solar panels and if you do whats your feedback on them and opinions ?

cheers

 

Never heard of these battery things. Will deffo be up for buying that if they do become available.

 

just curious would you be able to stick them on that roof? it looks quite low would you need planning too?

 

they are just going into mainstream now as the next big thing to complement
the roof solar systems.
some companys are selling them now but I am waiting until the big names are on the market which should be in the next year.

tesla powerwall when this comes on the market I will go for the solar system and this powerpack

http://www.teslamotors.com/powerwall

 

dont need planning wife checked that one.

it does look low but its just the way the picture is
its a two story house upstairs and downstairs
so its actually pretty high mate

 

Surely you don't want stick holes in that roof !

Grandparents had solar panels x2 which would simply provide hot water when the sun shone ( summer mainly) , separate cylinder etc

New tech battery storage would be godsend in girlfriends house in Zimbabwe

 

from what I read you would be surprised how much a uk home can generate from solar panels.

there is a website that checks all the information from around the uk from solar panels
and you type in the details of the system and where you are in the uk by pinpointing it out on google maps type thing
and it calculates from the what other solar panels generated in your area
and when I done mine it worked out with the system I want to go for each day it would generate much more daily than I consume on a daily basis
the only month that would not produce enough daily to power my house is
december where it says it would generate 70 to 80% of the electricity each day.

E4 on the right hand side is the average KW generation per day throughout that month
and considering I consume in my household between 5kw and 5.5 kw per day
solar system with one of these specialized batterys is perfectly viable here in the uk.

also the panels work off daylight not only direct sunlight which is important to consider as well.

 

also its a felted roof so the bolt holes get covered in a tar flashing then felted over
to make it completely water proof

 

Have a read of Tesla's battery put in the shade by current and cheaper kit, the comments, and search for a few other similar articles on El Reg!

Not quite as clever as it is made out to be

mb

 

thats not the only one on the market though there are others like samsungs SDI
yea the 2 kw output is low I read one of the other competitors batterys is like 5 kw

also the 50 cycles per year and 500 per lifetime is for the 10kw emergency back up power only
its the 7kw one thats interesting as that is for daily cycle and has a daily cycle of around 3000 so 10 years worth of daily cycles.


plus come on now this is first generation stuff here its only going to get better
plus why I am not buying anything right now so if it is a big disaster
I can avoid it but if they iron out the kinks and if it does work then I will buy it

 

We had a 16 panel 3.68kw system fitted in Nov 2011 so were on the highest tariff at around 50p/kW/hr. Last year we earned about £1800 incoikme and saved around 25% off our leccy bill. Was a great investment, all income is index linked and tax free as well.

 

some battery systems that are up and coming

http://www.assuredsolar.co.uk/#!energy-storage/ckli

bosch being the 5kw output rather than the teslas 2kw output

 

have you seen these battery back ups before chip I think when they are mainstream they will be great

thinking on going for 4kw upto 6kw on my house if these battery thing work good but
waiting to see how they pan out

 

So how much do you reckon for the whole install Nizmo..?

 

We are having a 4kw 14 panel system fitted early next month, all for under 6k.

 

You won't regret it.

 

Just been looking at that and it seems a really good idea. Will have to take a look at the systems available in a few months after all the hype has settled down.

 

It makes a lot of sense, a friend of mine has had a 4kw system on his roof for just 22 days and has saved over £60 in total

 

Hi

I have had solar panels on my roof for well over a year and the savingings are huge

I never payed for mine so I do not get the feed in tariff but while there is enough light my roof provides me with 4kva so as long as you do not go over that limit its free

I have been in the ups industry for over 15 years and understand battery tech quite well but up to now you would need a shed load of batts to go self sufficient

 

Hi Guys sorry for the late reply
I am working abroad right now so sometimes I am in the desert so no internet.

the more I read about these solar panels the more I am thinking of going for it.

yea monkey nuts now with lithium ION batterys fairly came down in size
plus with this type of battery they can discharge down to like 10% as well which is good

 

subscribed

 

Why do company's fit solar panels for free?

 

Because they reap most of the income generated from the system.

 

Also subscribed

 

Exactly, and how long before you actually own them?

 

Probably wrong here but I'm sure I was told its 25years By then the panels will be well fubarred.

 

True but do I care no because I am getting my power up to 4Kva free so for zero outlay I win

They rent the sky above your roof and in return you get free power agreed you do not get the feed in tariff but as I have not payed anything it does not matter

We just make sure all big leccie chewing items are not used at the same time

ie washing machine or dish washer

I have a fair sized marine fish tank and the system during daylight hours runs for free

 

And there you go, don't think it's a worth while investment IMO.

 

But I have not invested so not sure what you mean

 

Are you sure you don't need planning permission?

I ask because it appears you have a flat roof and would therefore need to mount the panels at an angle (~20-30 degrees) which would require some sort of framework, taking the height of the panel mounting above the standard mountings on 'normal' rooftops.