diy solar

diy solar

Hybrid inverter, what to buy?

No, the standard rate went up by just under 5p a kWh which switching.
So your bill went up by a hefty £42.00 a month in the winter and £21 in summer, but charging your batteries at night saved you, what? Thinking about it, is 4 hours enough?
And is the price fixed for the next few years? It may be worth it if we get in now and avoid the disgusting 54% price hike.
 
it can work with DIY LiFePo4 batteries
That's good if you want to make your own; I don't as if an insurance inspector sees the mess of wires and cables he's going to say "no way".
Off the shelf ready made looks neater, and with the nice manufacturers sticker on every battery it will give a better impression.
At the cheep end of the market they seem to be around the same price anyway.



Oh go on do tell, what's funny? :) A bunch of blue bricks with a spiders web of wires, plonked in a plastic clothes storage box isn't going to impress an insurance company. It will just give them the excuse to refuse a payout when your house burns down; even if it is totally unrelated (kids smoking a spliff ect).
 
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  • VAT will be scrapped on home energy-saving measures such as insulation, solar panels and heat pumps
That sounds good as I haven't bought mine yet, but what's the betting the price stays the same.
I wonder if this applies to batteries from China.
 
That sounds good as I haven't bought mine yet, but what's the betting the price stays the same.
I wonder if this applies to batteries from China.
Yes have also thought this, I have a quote being prepared for a givenergy system who visited on Monday, I wish I'd had it before this announcement.
 
So your bill went up by a hefty £42.00 a month in the winter and £21 in summer, but charging your batteries at night saved you, what? Thinking about it, is 4 hours enough?
And is the price fixed for the next few years? It may be worth it if we get in now and avoid the disgusting 54% price hike.
You need to bear in mind mind that I now have a EV with a 75kwh battery and I really don't want to be charging that bugger up at peak rates. Also, I'm making use of the off peak tariff by scheduling things out of hours AND I want battery storage, this is the whole point of the battery storage to fully utilise the off peak tariff. I have roughly worked out that I can fully charge an 18kwh battery during the 4 hour off peak window. given the solar input as well this wouldn't be required anyway.
 
That sounds good as I haven't bought mine yet, but what's the betting the price stays the same.
I wonder if this applies to batteries from China.
This only applies to registered installers installing the kit at 0% VAT charge to the customer not a DIY purchaser, you'll still pay 20% if you buy the kit yourself. As for the inital question I use a Solis 6kW Hybrid here in the UK with a seplos BMS and LFP cells.
 
You need to bear in mind mind that I now have a EV with a 75kwh battery and I really don't want to be charging that bugger up at peak rates. Also, I'm making use of the off peak tariff by scheduling things out of hours AND I want battery storage, this is the whole point of the battery storage to fully utilise the off peak tariff. I have roughly worked out that I can fully charge an 18kwh battery during the 4 hour off peak window. given the solar input as well this wouldn't be required anyway.
Sounds like you on a good'un.
75kw whoomph.
 
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The neutral in all US houses are tied to ground so not sure why a transformer being ground would be much different? I researched UK wiring and honestly from my background of being an electrical engineer, a licensed builder, and master mach, don't see how the neutral can't be tied to ground at multiple places so that the voltage is "referenced" to ground. If the voltage isn't referenced to ground then you could potentially have voltages that drift far from ground and can create a very dangerous voltage. Not only the safety shock hazard but also components not being able to handle large voltage differences causing large potential for internal arching. I am sure I am missing something.

I would love to help more but not sure what is available where you are at. Maybe give us a couple options that you are trying to decide between.

Outback, Victron, Sol-ark, Midnight all are very good components but cost a lot. How much is your budget? There are cheaper options like Growatt.

Good Luck...
You got this wrong, ground connection should be only connected at one point in the system which is your first means to disconnect.

 
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You got this wrong, ground connection should be only connected at one point in the system which is your first means to disconnect.

Tell me you didn't read and understand without telling me you didn't read and understand.....

You are referencing using US standards, and the OP is in the UK.... Sorry but they do things different over there.... They bond at the utility transformer in many instances and being that they have only 230 volts and don't use a neutral to create 120/240....
 
I'm also wondering what inverter to get for my system, I don't expect to be exporting to the grid but I do worry that I may waste money and buy an inverter to be told its not upto UK legal standards and can't install it so what hybrid inverter isn't going to break the bank? can I go for one of these amazon cheaps or do I have to spend over £1,000 to see g98/g99 approved???
 
It looks like the Sunsynk 3.6 is no good for what I want.

What if you have no can bus socket on your cheap ready made batteries?

In a power cut, the back up power from this inverter comes from the "Load" outlet and not the bidirectional grid cable. So we have to run new cables all over the house from the "Load" output. Just like all the other inverters out there.

Edit: The manual states that it works with lead acid and lithium ion batteries, but no mention of lithium iron (lifepo4).
 
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Sunsynk system
Gezmond did you go with the sunsynk system? And what batteries are you using? And where are you getting them from?
I'm starting to fret about the energy crisis that is still unfolding in the uk.
 
Thanks guys.
Am I allowed to l ink to the very popular auction site, or is that a no no on this forum?

Anyhow I'm looking at an Epever 5kw, and the photo says it all, as underneath the unit is "AC in" and next to it is "AC out".
Which means mains in, and house hold circuits out? Which is exactly the same as all of the inverters that I have looked at, or am I missing some thing?
The grid tie that I have is mains in, that's it, simply wire one cable to the fuse box. Really that is what I was hoping for..... But not SMA.

Looking forward to your input please chaps :)

Edit: I see Growatt has to use a specific battery type and brand, so that's them out :(
Hello Fingers,
You may link to many things, unless you are trying to sell something. If you are selling something follow the rules for vendors.

Linking to products you are considering would make it easier, then we would not have to search for items like the Epever 5kw. ;)
It would save time and you may get better advice.
 
Gezmond did you go with the sunsynk system? And what batteries are you using? And where are you getting them from?
I'm starting to fret about the energy crisis that is still unfolding in the uk.
No, I've not got anything yet. The summary of my research is that to get any of these named brand systems you need a registered installer which can save VAT but they charge absolutely silly money for installation labour costs, so any VAT saving is lost. I can buy my own but then have to pay the VAT and install. At present looking at a package from Voltacon or Callidus do pre-built systems you can just screw to the wall and plug in to your consumer unit.
 
Take a look at the SigmaMax 6048 Hybrid inverter from SPS, you may like it.
 
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