Plug in solar

[Odds]

I think your spot on, there will be I am sure some homes where they are worthwhile, but 95% of homes, they will not pay for themselves for years, and there are far better options.

Neighbours had solar panels fitted years ago and despite some advantages to having them installed i still think they're unsightly and unnecessary for most folk. Our energy bill for August was under £100, and i don't think a solar roof would've made it any cheaper.

What's the point of having a plug-in solar panel when it uses electricity to power up? Until they can make a battery small enough and powerful enough to do the job it feels like another gimmick on the road to a technology that's actually affordable and sustainable.

 

[denso13]

No, the definition of a circuit means you can have a large final circuit, on one fuse, but for final circuits you can have multiple final circuits on one fuse.

I'm not talking about the definition of a circuit, I'm talking about what the spec says. It's saying you are better with individual circuit control rather that multiple circuits going through a wired fuse. This is for DIYers remember.

 

[denso13]

What's the point of having a plug-in solar panel when it uses electricity to power up? Until they can make a battery small enough and powerful enough to do the job it feels like another gimmick on the road to a technology that's actually affordable and sustainable.

Millions used across Europe might say differently. If it was a gimmick I think that would have been proved by now.

 

[ebee]

Hmm " It`s a well known fact!" springs to mind - Countered by "Just because the majority (or a lot) of people believe someting that does not, in itself, make it become true!"

Is the proof of the pudding dependant on how many have eaten it?

 

[denso13]

Is the proof of the pudding dependant on how many have eaten it?

No, but I know we tend to avoid puddings that don't get a very good reputation, and go somewhere better. If we go somewhere better and their puddings turn out to not be very good, we don't go back there either. And we let others know to avoid that place.

 

[ebee]

Remember that there Irish Mini-Boiler Thingy we had much debate on?
I do not really think we got much of a real concencus on that one.
I do wonder if dear old JohW2 got that experiment up and running yet!

 

[Munroast]

Neighbours had solar panels fitted years ago and despite some advantages to having them installed i still think they're unsightly and unnecessary for most folk. Our energy bill for August was under £100, and i don't think a solar roof would've made it any cheaper.

What's the point of having a plug-in solar panel when it uses electricity to power up? Until they can make a battery small enough and powerful enough to do the job it feels like another gimmick on the road to a technology that's actually affordable and sustainable.

properly installed systems capable of export are very good at the environmental / climate change level - we need them. But forget it if you think you will be saving money, payback time is long, only those who do not need to save money on electric can afford them.

As for this plug and play stuff - utterly pointless and probably environmentally damaging. for the vast majority there will never be a payback either financially or environmentally. Unless you have a use for that 800w when it is being produced, and most people don't during the afternoon, then they are totally useless.

And i'm a big fan of solar, 9kw system and can claim all my electric use (including ev van) is 'net zero'

 

[SUNRAY]

Millions used across Europe might say differently. If it was a gimmick I think that would have been proved by now.

I'm not an expert and have no personal experience of running solar other than a portable unit which I've borrowed a few times.

Many years ago when solar was first being installed domestically and the FIT was 45p/kWh I had a 'consultant' come around for a quote, he went round the house counting lights (as replacing them with CFLs was part of the package) and went through his work sheet, I can't remember the details but according to those I was going to save more on my electric bill just because of the bulb change than my whole bill was - which of course is physically not possible! The final figures based on the errors showed payback time as close to 10 years but the loan (~£12K) arranged by him made it 13 years or my bank 11 years. Deleting the false lighting figures almost doubled the 10 years. At the time life expectancy of the panels was 10 years the system was guaranteed for something less than 10 years. I elected not to throw my money into what I assumed would be beneficial only to the generating service.

2 friends of mine went with him (The reason I called him in), one had read his meter on the 1st of every month for years and continued to do so for > 20 years until he passed. Including the repairs and replacements he never broke even. The other person decided not to replace the failed panels after the guarantee period.

Millions used across Europe might say differently. If it was a gimmick I think that would have been proved by now.

I'm sure the modern systems are more efficacious and efficient otherwise they wouldn't still be around.

 

[ebee]

Yes that`sthe thing.
Can be good enviromental (take the eviromental cost of producing it too though and at least divide by the years using it anc inviron cost of disposal.
So if can be good, think about your own particular usage, will it save eviron/your costs then if so it can be a good thing, no problem and well done you.

There will be some who do not realise that for them, no savings or a lot less than the top line, the hype about them often detracts about the specifics.
(remains me of the lady who called upon a relative and was puzzled to see her cooking chips in a big normal pan instead of her chip pan, when asked if her chip pan had broken "No, I have been to see my GP, he told me to get rid of the chip pan!" LOL.)

 

[ericmark]

Import cost £38.32 and export payment £50.79 for August, so my bill is -£12.47 so yes solar is paying for its self. But that a 6 kW array, not 2 kW which is maximum with plug in, and is using a battery to store it, not permitted with plug in, and with an off-peak tariff, which is unlikely to work out well with plug in. In answer to @Odds

I have now said many times, clearly plug in solar will reduce the energy bill, but as to how it compares with a stand-alone battery and solar, is more to the point.

So if I was to put two solar panels on my wall, and use a plug in grid tie inverter, how would it compare with same two panels, and a battery pack, and a pair of leads one going clockwise and one anti-clockwise around the room powering cabinet lights, up-lighters, phone chargers, chairs, TV and video in the room?

What plug in solar is doing, is removing the need to distribute the power around a room or house. And how easy it will be to distribute the power does depend on the home.

So easy enough to work out how much power per year from a 2 kW array, I simply look at my 6 kW array and divide by 3. What is a lot harder, is to work out how much of that power can be used. And putting a cap on a 2 kW array of 800 watt which you can actually use, means we have very little data to draw on.

I have paid £21.70 standing charge in August, I only used £16.62 OK does not really help as most of that was off-peak, so

this is likely better, but for plug in it does not really tell us very much, and most the YouTube videos are done by people who already have solar, even the efixx one, he used batteries, so in real terms people are buying blind, they have not a clue what it will save. I have guessed at around £75 a year, but it is a guess, and even after being fitted a year, it will tell very little. If I look at my own totals, 2025 was far better to 2024, 2023 it only went in this time of year, and 2026 clearly not a full years data, I have a 6 kW array pointing South-West with a 5 kW inverter, and 6.4 kW of battery now, but to begin with only 3.2 kW.

But the stand alone or grid tie, it is all down to not what the solar produces, but what I can use of that production, I look now that looks very good, but I know that is down to the iboost+ heating my domestic hot water, which allows around 150 watt of export before it diverts power, watching the graph you can see how the use follows solar production, so reasonable sure that is where the power is going. So maths 800 watt, minus 200 watt back-ground, and 150 watt before iboost+ cuts in so max of around 450 watt into the domestic hot water, and the iboost+ costs £300 not really worth it with my solar panels, hardly worth it with plug and play. There do seem to be some cheap versions as to how well they work I don't know?

Using something like this in the kitchen could ensure all solar is self used, but again stand alone battery or grid tie is the main question.

 

[ericmark]

only those who do not need to save money on electric can afford them.

OK, will hold up my hands, it was either invest the money, pay tax on the return, plus more tax when I die, or add value to the house, and have less electric bill. And not sure if I have done the right thing.

 

[denso13]

Yes, will be a good buy for some and not for others, no doubt about that. But some have had issues with this since it was first mooted, and just keep coming up with more problems.

It's just to get the Governments green target numbers up, they know it won't work, its just a con. Expert testing and recommendations is just a con, they just do what the Government tells them. The consultation was fake, no point in responding with my opinions, no one will listen. It is dangerous, houses will burn down but it won't be reported. Cheap dangerous Chinese knock offs will flood in and no one will know, people will die. The installation standards don't make any sense, written by incompetent buffoons, and overseen by bigger buffoons. It works well in other countries with a high level of customer satisfaction, but the UK has older, different wiring so it will never work. Even if the instructions were correct, which they aren't, people will just ignore them anyway and plug in loads with huge batteries. People can't be trusted to follow the instructions and notify the relevant bodies as they are required to do, there is no incentive to follow the law. It will never be policed properly, so what's point.

I'm sure I've missed a few.