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Any fellow British souls installing solar?

I

IoantheJones

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Joined
Sep 6, 2022
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Hi - I was wondering if there were some fellow Brits hiding around these 'ere parts?
Especially if they know of any good suppliers of solar/battery stuff for the UK (ideally a bargain server rack 48 V 5kWh battery would be a treat)
Granted, I've not been that long trying, but I'm honestly finding it a bit of mare getting any response out of most suppliers - it's almost like we're being herded into 'official' installers that want a frankly daft amount of money for solar systems!
All the best, yer quality bunch,
Ioan,
 
Hi, welcome...how do you find Tyson Fury fighting Anthony Joshua? (just a one-shot shameless plug, not intending to hijack your thread mate). I'm rooting for Joshua on that one.
 
Hi, Just joined the forum from Scotland. Am still in the process of building my modest 350 Watt shed/garage off grid system and hoping to run my chargers, power some 12 volt lights and maybe boil a travel kettle now and again.
 
Jimbo53 said:
Hi, Just joined the forum from Scotland. Am still in the process of building my modest 350 Watt shed/garage off grid system and hoping to run my chargers, power some 12 volt lights and maybe boil a travel kettle now and again.
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Aye - this fella is doing a similar sort of project - and the kind of thing I'm thinking off to begin with -
- it's just sourcing the parts is a bit daunting! :)
 
IoantheJones said:
Hi - I was wondering if there were some fellow Brits hiding around these 'ere parts?
Especially if they know of any good suppliers of solar/battery stuff for the UK (ideally a bargain server rack 48 V 5kWh battery would be a treat)
Granted, I've not been that long trying, but I'm honestly finding it a bit of mare getting any response out of most suppliers - it's almost like we're being herded into 'official' installers that want a frankly daft amount of money for solar systems!
All the best, yer quality bunch,
Ioan,
Click to expand...
Hi Ioan

Been living completely off grid for 5 years now on the banks of the River Severn in Worcestershire.

Slowly been upgrading our cabin and solar system over that time and pretty much where we want to be now.

Found panels on Gumtree and sourced batteries and other stuff from various suppliers - found a few useful discount codes here and there :)

Some details of our system in my profile page.

Good luck with your project!
 
clarkpeacock said:
Hi Ioan

Been living completely off grid for 5 years now on the banks of the River Severn in Worcestershire.

Slowly been upgrading our cabin and solar system over that time and pretty much where we want to be now.

Found panels on Gumtree and sourced batteries and other stuff from various suppliers - found a few useful discount codes here and there :)

Some details of our system in my profile page.

Good luck with your project!
Click to expand...
That sounds fantastic - it might take some time for me to work up to that, but keen to start soon :) I've got a background in electronic engineering (which is some help, but it's not electrical engineering - more circuit board design stuff) - so I was contemplating making my own battery with BMS - I'd love a server rack battery, but they seem hard to get here in the UK (In the States there are 5kWh 48volt ones for about $1500!) I'll have a look at your system later, thanks for that, much appreciated, Ioan :)
 
IoantheJones said:
That sounds fantastic - it might take some time for me to work up to that, but keen to start soon :) I've got a background in electronic engineering (which is some help, but it's not electrical engineering - more circuit board design stuff) - so I was contemplating making my own battery with BMS - I'd love a server rack battery, but they seem hard to get here in the UK (In the States there are 5kWh 48volt ones for about $1500!) I'll have a look at your system later, thanks for that, much appreciated, Ioan :)
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No problem. I've stuck with FLA for that very reason. Maybe next upgrade LiFePo4 rack batteries will be affordable! (But hoping these Rolls S290s will last a good few years)

There's a few pics at various stages in some of my other posts if you want to search through. Here's the latest incarnation
diysolarforum.com

Victron porn

Replaced my old EpEver charge controllers with Victron 150/35 Smartsolar and battery smart sense today, and really rather pleased with myself. Simple things really do please simple minds ? In fact, I was so chuffed with myself, I showed my wife what I had done, and her response was , 'How...
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com
 
Do you have solar already and looking to add battery, or starting from scratch?
 
Hello, I'm UK - Norfolk. Have had FIT 4kw PV for around 8yrs, c/w diverter(fitted by myself) which diverts /senses when there is export and diverts this electricity to 1 of 2 loads - immersion heater /pool heater or air heater. Has been working faultless.
Presently in process of installation/ awaiting delivery of 16kwh battery back up / hybrid Inverter to form an ESS system.
Steep learning curve to get a good understanding of ESS / prismatic / clamping force kgf / BMS / RS485 / charging curve knee ect ect, but hey every day is a school day ?
Great forum, read lots and then decide what is right.
 
Battery to store / use more of the currently exported energy ( exported electricity is not metered, so use it or export it I still get payed the same).
And yes full DIY install, give hours of fun in man cave ?
 
I have a grid tied system, for whole house off grid, I would say 16kwh is a tad small, unless all heating /hot water/cooking was non electrical
 
Think carefully about what it will power, how much Solar PV you will need and the batteries / grid connection to support this. In the UK the biggest challenge is lack of sunlight especially in the winter where on a bad day with dark cloud you could get 10% of your summer output. Most UK energy providers give a past daily power usage on their apps / websites which helps to plan things to work all year round. Also think how you can rearrange things at home to reduce power usage as well. Ours is setup to run what we need for over 2 days without any power / PV.
 
IoantheJones said:
Hi - I was wondering if there were some fellow Brits hiding around these 'ere parts?
Especially if they know of any good suppliers of solar/battery stuff for the UK (ideally a bargain server rack 48 V 5kWh battery would be a treat)
Granted, I've not been that long trying, but I'm honestly finding it a bit of mare getting any response out of most suppliers - it's almost like we're being herded into 'official' installers that want a frankly daft amount of money for solar systems!
All the best, yer quality bunch,
Ioan,
Click to expand...
Hi, I've found https://www.bimblesolar.com reasonably priced with excellent communications and fast responses, their prices were favourable too. I've literally just hung my Solis inverter on the wall and trying to program it to do what I'd like it to do! Oh and they didn't baulk at sending a heavy inverter to me on the Isle of Man unlike many. No doubt I'll be asking questions on here shortly! [And no, I have zero connection to them save for spending a few quid with them].
 
Chorlton- fully understand where you coming from on winter production, I'm under no illusions about winter PV gains and the UK PV / what u get from it - too much power in the summer / not enough in the winter ☹ .
Inverter is going to be Victron multiplus ii gx 48v 5000va and reading up on this it has a ESS add on with a smart function which monitors past production / usage and adjusts the allowable DOD accordingly. Will keep a close eye also on the DOD with bluetooth BMS and online monitoring of Inverter.
Agree with the best way to cut energy Bill's is don't use the energy in the first place, over the years I have installed LED lighting / solar thermal / PV / wood burner ( with back boiler to heat water /radiators) / mechanical air extract with heat recovery / temperature - speed controlled circulation pumps / air sealing / insulation ect ect in ongoing effort to save £££.
Battery ESS is the next obvious choice to me.
 
hi, i am in derbyshire,, building an off grid solar system, so far ive got, 4 * 400 panels + 2 * 255w panels
2 mppt controllers and a victron pheonix smart inverter, also got 4 lithium ion batteries - they are 12v going to build a 24v system, wiring the 400w panels in 2 seperate arrays and in series, hence the reason for 2 * mppt, not decided what to do with the 2*250 yet,
 
Jimbo53 said:
Hi, Just joined the forum from Scotland. Am still in the process of building my modest 350 Watt shed/garage off grid system and hoping to run my chargers, power some 12 volt lights and maybe boil a travel kettle now and again.
Click to expand...
Ha, you know solar requires sunlight...!!! ?

I'm from Sunny Suffolk UK... and getting a system installed next week.

Full disclosure, I'm not DIY'ing it as I'd kill myself and or burn down my house...

I've been posting to myself about my install for months. Feel free to have a read and catch up on the progress.

Good luck keep us posted on your progress.
 
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new to solar,new to this forum,getting my system installed in a few weeks time hopefully.based in leeds,uk
 
New the the forum myself, Manchester area. Had my test system for about a year. I started with 6 x 265W panels facing east on my shed roof with a Victron mppt charge controller and a bank of 4 old car batteries at 24v. With a Epever 2KW inverter, has been great for learning how it all works.
I now have another 6 x 235W panels which are going to be mounted on the side wall of my house which faces south, with a hinge system I designed to be able to adjust the angle. (I am quite proud of it) and I am looking to build an Eve cell LiFePO4 24v battery in the coming months.
 
Smudgey said:
...going to be mounted on the side wall of my house which faces south, with a hinge system I designed to be able to adjust the angle. (I am quite proud of it)...
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Pics or it didn't happen...!
 
BigA1 said:
Pics or it didn't happen...!
Click to expand...
I haven’t made the system for setting the angle yet. Still working on it, but the prototype hinge is up with two panels.
 

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That's smart! By "the system for setting the angle yet", are you thinking of a microcontroller and some motors?
 
Hi, just joined the forum from Cardiff. Looking to build a 15 kWh ESS system built around the Victron Multiplus II and currently navigating the waters of Alibaba looking to find the batteries.

I'll design it to add solar next year. I plan to write up my design and post it here on the forum to get feedback / see where it can be improved. I'd prefer server rack batteries over a DIY build but DIY build using CATL 302Ah is giving 50% more kWh per £ at the mo based on the quotes I'm getting on Alibaba..
 
SeaGal said:
That's smart! By "the system for setting the angle yet", are you thinking of a microcontroller and some motors?
Click to expand...
Thanks, no just some sort of legs at different lengths for each month. But computer controlled angle selection sounds cool. Could put them flat against the wall during storms.
 
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