Anyone with Solar PV ?

I run a very humble hybrid PV system on batteries mostly without an inverter as it's more efficient to just use DC regulators if you can cable it well. It works and is more reliable than a grid. The only way it works though is with gas cooking, combustive heating and frugal energy use.

The incentive for free grid tie inverters and extra 9c per unit on first units is no longer available.

The best argument for micro-generation is not cost but conscience. Once you realise how hard it is to generate a clean kWh then you don't waste them as easily.
Battery cycling alone will generally cost you a little more than grid charges depending on how well you treat the batteries. Traction lead acids are still competitive with LiFePO4 batteries in terms of price per watt.
Ex telecoms and public building emergency lighting systems are a good source of well maintained cheap batteries halfway through their lifespan.

Off-grid setup;
Isolated supply, low install cost, high maintenance.
Lack of generation when batteries are full.
Ventilated battery and back-up generator storage.
5 - 15 year battery service life.
Requires energy conscious operator.
DIY generators/turbines.

Grid Tie;
Feeble government incentive.
Expensive compliant inverter and generators (inverters must be grid compliant this does not guarantee grid is inverter compliant).
Constant generation.
Moderate maintenance.

Regarding charging an EV, the grid tie is more efficient. Battery to battery charging is charge reluctance compounded.

DIY Wind turbines

DIY Solar Panels
DIY Solar Tracking

ted1

Deleted User wrote: »

No not at current costs but eventually they will be economically viable.

In the years to come used EV batteries will be used for storage and the ESB are already looking into this which would make the replacement costs much cheaper if you need to replace your battery, though car manufacturers may not allow a new battery to be installed.

The ESB have loads of little projects on the go, doesn't mean any of them will ever come to life.

Battery storage is not really suitable in large scale. Pumped Hydro or compressed Air would be better options

freddyuk

freddyuk wrote: »

For maintenance free service Sealed batteries are better but more expensive.

I'd argue ventilated open lead acids are best Freddy. Not all sealed batteries are maintenance free I've had to water a few. 15 years of electrolyte can need topping up.

freddyuk

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I'd argue ventilated open lead acids are best Freddy. Not all sealed batteries are maintenance free I've had to water a few. 15 years of electrolyte can need topping up.

15 years is only achieved if you are careful about charge/ discharge levels. I am impressed if you got that and interested in exactly what they are and your maximum discharge?
If you mess up WLA and gas them off you can top them up no problem with water which is my point. I know you can break into sealed (VRLA) and add water but that is not something you could recommend normally and would not be something I would advise. The idea is you have them as a convenience if you are not totally into battery maintenance ie. for a small off grid garden building etc. If you boil off VRLA then they are in effect damaged but yes you could refill them I agree.
If you manage to get hold of proper deep cycle batteries from a submarine or fork lift or such like then you absolutely have to charge them properly or they will not last as long as they could. They need a good high voltage stirring on occasions.

ted1

ted1 wrote: »

The ESB have loads of little projects on the go, doesn't mean any of them will ever come to life.

Battery storage is not really suitable in large scale. Pumped Hydro or compressed Air would be better options

Well they have plenty of time to plan for used ev batteries to become available.

Pumped hydro might be good if we had mountains ?not what we call mountains.

Compressed air I'm not sure is viable , don't know much about it for storage. Other than it wouldn't work in a car,

There is battery storage on a large scale but I can't rem the details if i can find it I'll post the link.

Wasn't there a proposed project called the spirit of Ireland which was a pumped storage in the west somewhere ?

freddyuk

freddyuk wrote: »

15 years is only achieved if you are careful about charge/ discharge levels. I am impressed if you got that and interested in exactly what they are and your maximum discharge?

Well current batteries are junk Freddie, they're 4 year old Elecsol 125Ah 12v. Discharge between 10% and 50% per cycle since I learned better practices ... :rolleyes:.
They're taking a dive for the scrap heap. They had a very hard first year.

I've spent the last 7 month's re-engineering the charging & monitoring system that I now expect to get 7-9 years service from Crown 6v semi-traction WLA.

For a larger scale operation I'd go with forklift 2v cells and expect to be able to get 10+. As to where I got the 15 year figure I've heard of semi-traction lasting 9 years so expect more from well maintained traction.
Any traction batteries I'd be purchasing would be ex-service until I knew I had things running well enough to maintain them properly. So maybe 2-6 years on a second hand set then consider new ones.

If you want the ability to fast charge it has to be OLA.
Higher charging voltages keep the sulphates in line too.