Domestic solar PV quotes 2018

Neil. J. F

Spiked at just over 2kw a couple of times in the afternoon i.e when the Westerly panels would be getting the best of the sun.
Have 8 facing East and 6 facing West (uneven split due to velux windows)
Poor performance from Easterly panels, took until just before midday to reach 1kw

AidenL

Neil. J. F wrote: »

Spiked at just over 2kw a couple of times in the afternoon i.e when the Westerly panels would be getting the best of the sun.
Have 8 facing East and 6 facing West (uneven split due to velux windows)
Poor performance from Easterly panels, took until just before midday to reach 1kw

What part of the country are you in?

I’ve been in Athlone and Ballyshannon today, spectacular sunshine all day.

I’m regretting I’ve no PV yet.

Neil. J. F

South Dublin, sunny day here too.

niallers1

Limerick 23.3kwh today with 4.2kw east/west array.

2.4kw west
1.8 kw east.

rolion

Monday morning,

May i suggest something please !?
I opened a thread earlier where i kindly asked users to "show off" and post reports of the performance, setups and monitoring.

This thread here for "quotes" only is anything for except quotations and systems and prices.

If you feel is a technical issue,open a dedicated thread.

No offence,still searching for my morning cofeee ...

PS
Yesterday was first day this year when i had EV fully charged by PV at home,water at over 70 and house self sustained.
Better go and put it in dedicated post...

reklamos

rolion wrote: »

Monday morning,

May i suggest something please !?
I opened a thread earlier where i kindly asked users to "show off" and post reports of the performance, setups and monitoring.

This thread here for "quotes" only is anything for except quotations and systems and prices.

If you feel is a technical issue,open a dedicated thread.

No offence,still searching for my morning cofeee ...

PS
Yesterday was first day this year when i had EV fully charged by PV at home,water at over 70 and house self sustained.
Better go and put it in dedicated post...

I know I've seen it somewhere but cannot find it anymore. Can you please add link or maybe make it sticky?

phester28

at this point the thread is so cross pollinated it might be easier to rename this to just "domestic PV discussion" and start a new one for quotes only

Kerryman3

@Neil.J.F- 4.2 kW system, E/W split with same set up as Niallers, 28.7 kWh yesterday according to my app.

Neil. J. F

I'll continue with my update because I think it's helpful for anybody thinking of getting solar pv, not alone to look at a price but also to see how systems perform in the real world and how well companies install the systems.
As I mentioned earlier in the tread, we eventually got our system hooked up and while the system was working, it did not seem to be producing what it should be. I contacted the tech guy and sure enough, one of the strings was not working at all. So, next day tech guy arrives on site and tells me that the wires from the strings have been crossed but he's not sure where. There then follows an hour or so of taking wires out of one place and putting them into an other, which finishes up with a bright flash, a loud bang and a circuit breaker being tripped.
Long story short, the inverter is banjaxed and their sparks will have to do some rewiring. We're being told it'll all be fixed tomorrow??
My two questions arising out of all this are 1) Why wasn't the system tested when being wired up and 2) Why wasn't the problem spotted by them afterward, as all system data is visible to them at all times?!
I'm sure it'll be a great system whenever it gets going!
To be continued.......

Shefwedfan

Ok, I know I have talked about it but considering the plunge finally....

My thought at the moment is not to bother with the battery, it is expensive and excess I will heat water or put back into the grid....

So costs, I was with Next Gen Power before but are they still best value for money? I would want to kick off with around 5kW so what would I be looking at? just for panels and hot water convertor.....thanks

unkel

With a 5kwp system, you would get another EUR2.4k subsidy if you do go for the battery. Effectively making it pretty much free...

Unless of course you are doing DIY install without subsidy.

Gumbo

Neil. J. F wrote: »

I'll continue with my update because I think it's helpful for anybody thinking of getting solar pv, not alone to look at a price but also to see how systems perform in the real world and how well companies install the systems.
As I mentioned earlier in the tread, we eventually got our system hooked up and while the system was working, it did not seem to be producing what it should be. I contacted the tech guy and sure enough, one of the strings was not working at all. So, next day tech guy arrives on site and tells me that the wires from the strings have been crossed but he's not sure where. There then follows an hour or so of taking wires out of one place and putting them into an other, which finishes up with a bright flash, a loud bang and a circuit breaker being tripped.
Long story short, the inverter is banjaxed and their sparks will have to do some rewiring. We're being told it'll all be fixed tomorrow??
My two questions arising out of all this are 1) Why wasn't the system tested when being wired up and 2) Why wasn't the problem spotted by them afterward, as all system data is visible to them at all times?!
I'm sure it'll be a great system whenever it gets going!
To be continued.......

Damn! Not good!
I just hope they fix the issue and get you back up and running ASAP.
Only thing to come out of it is least you now know there was an issue with the products and that it wasn’t got to do with sun, orientation etc

Coltrane

My own installers tell me (they’re quoting for an upgrade to my existing 5kWp array, without battery) that an A/C-side battery is treated as a source of production and so counts towards ESB Networks’ 6kW limit for micro generators.

So I have to choose between battery and more panels.

Makes sense to me, but some of the comments on here seem to differ.

Anyone else get the same advice?

thos

Neil. J. F wrote: »

I'll continue with my update because I think it's helpful for anybody thinking of getting solar pv, not alone to look at a price but also to see how systems perform in the real world and how well companies install the systems.
As I mentioned earlier in the tread, we eventually got our system hooked up and while the system was working, it did not seem to be producing what it should be. I contacted the tech guy and sure enough, one of the strings was not working at all. So, next day tech guy arrives on site and tells me that the wires from the strings have been crossed but he's not sure where. There then follows an hour or so of taking wires out of one place and putting them into an other, which finishes up with a bright flash, a loud bang and a circuit breaker being tripped.
Long story short, the inverter is banjaxed and their sparks will have to do some rewiring. We're being told it'll all be fixed tomorrow??
My two questions arising out of all this are 1) Why wasn't the system tested when being wired up and 2) Why wasn't the problem spotted by them afterward, as all system data is visible to them at all times?!
I'm sure it'll be a great system whenever it gets going!
To be continued.......

I had same 'crossed wires' issue, but they must have guessed the right combo and fixed it before doing any damage to inverter.

This is part of the problem when parts of the job are sub-contracted, the roofers put up the panels and just drop the string cabling without clearly labelling, a separate electrical comes along and does his bit, but isn't checking final results either. I would agree, this should have been picked up with a proper post-installation check and test.

Stefs_42

thos wrote: »

I had same 'crossed wires' issue, but they must have guessed the right combo and fixed it before doing any damage to inverter.

This is part of the problem when parts of the job are sub-contracted, the roofers put up the panels and just drop the string cabling without clearly labelling, a separate electrical comes along and does his bit, but isn't checking final results either. I would agree, this should have been picked up with a proper post-installation check and test.

thats a very low quality job done seems to me. as when installation of my system was commenced yes there were separate roofer crew but electrician was on the site and worked in team with panel installers.

reklamos

Neil. J. F wrote: »

I'll continue with my update because I think it's helpful for anybody thinking of getting solar pv, not alone to look at a price but also to see how systems perform in the real world and how well companies install the systems.
As I mentioned earlier in the tread, we eventually got our system hooked up and while the system was working, it did not seem to be producing what it should be. I contacted the tech guy and sure enough, one of the strings was not working at all. So, next day tech guy arrives on site and tells me that the wires from the strings have been crossed but he's not sure where. There then follows an hour or so of taking wires out of one place and putting them into an other, which finishes up with a bright flash, a loud bang and a circuit breaker being tripped.
Long story short, the inverter is banjaxed and their sparks will have to do some rewiring. We're being told it'll all be fixed tomorrow??
My two questions arising out of all this are 1) Why wasn't the system tested when being wired up and 2) Why wasn't the problem spotted by them afterward, as all system data is visible to them at all times?!
I'm sure it'll be a great system whenever it gets going!
To be continued.......

wow.
Forgive me if I'm wrong but didn't you say that you had battery full charge and tank of full water at midday? I fins it hard to believe that you would have all that with a bad string.

Neil. J. F

reklamos wrote: »

wow.
Forgive me if I'm wrong but didn't you say that you had battery full charge and tank of full water at midday? I fins it hard to believe that you would have all that with a bad string.

No, only producing a few hundred watts before midday, easterly string not working at all. Work being carried out as I type.
Here’s hoping.....

KingCong

Got a high level over the phone quote of 5200 (after the grant) for a 2.4kwh system with a hot water diverter. Am I right in thinking that's a very high price for a pretty small system?

phester28

sounds high. assuming slate, east west split no battery and a hot water diverter my est figure would be 4.5k before grant. basing on my exposure to quotes I have been getting

AidenL

Neil. J. F wrote: »

No, only producing a few hundred watts before midday, easterly string not working at all. Work being carried out as I type.
Here’s hoping.....

Did you get sorted?

Neil. J. F

No end in sight, the first sparks returned and found several faults that the second sparks had made when making the final connection but even with these faults corrected, no joy in getting both strings to work.
They now suspect a loose connection on the roof but who knows?!
As was mentioned earlier, this is the result of electricians and roofers not working together on the same day.
I’m ready to blow a fuse myself at this stage!

unkel

Coltrane wrote: »

My own installers tell me (they’re quoting for an upgrade to my existing 5kWp array, without battery) that an A/C-side battery is treated as a source of production and so counts towards ESB Networks’ 6kW limit for micro generators.

So I have to choose between battery and more panels.

Makes sense to me, but some of the comments on here seem to differ.

Anyone else get the same advice?

Yes, that's right. But you don't have to get An AC side battery, you could just replace your existing 5kW inverter with a hybrid 5kW inverter (DC side battery)

jspuds

Got my system installed yesterday and really impressed with the setup and the company that installed it.
Happy to recommend the company if anybody wants to PM me.

Only issue now is I'm obsessed with the app

4.8kW system with 7.2kW battery, Zappi charger & Eddi hot water divertor.

thos

jspuds wrote: »

Got my system installed yesterday and really impressed with the setup and the company that installed it.
Happy to recommend the company if anybody wants to PM me.

Only issue now is I'm obsessed with the app

4.8kW system with 7.2kW battery, Zappi charger & Eddi hot water divertor.

AC or DC battery?

jspuds

thos wrote: »

AC or DC battery?

Hybrid invertor so DC

thos

How is it working with your Zappi so far?

Got my Zappi installed yesterday, also hybrid inverter with DC side batteries, but trying to get my head around the Zappi consuming power from the batteries instead of just pure surplus.

jspuds

thos wrote: »

How is it working with your Zappi so far?

Got my Zappi installed yesterday, also hybrid inverter with DC side batteries, but trying to get my head around the Zappi consuming power from the batteries instead of just pure surplus.

On eco plus changed the settings as per the manual for DC batteries and that stopped pulling from the batteries. However I had it set to boost at midnight and that ran the batteries down at a rate of 2.4 kW (rest from the grid) until they hit 10% then switched to 100% grid.
Installer checking with Myenergi how to get around this.

reklamos

jspuds wrote: »

On eco plus changed the settings as per the manual for DC batteries and that stopped pulling from the batteries. However I had it set to boost at midnight and that ran the batteries down at a rate of 2.4 kW (rest from the grid) until they hit 10% then switched to 100% grid.
Installer checking with Myenergi how to get around this.

There seems to be issues with Zappi diverters in draining the batteries. When I was getting my system installed, I was also going for Zappi but installer told me about battery drain and gave my choice between Zappi and Solar iBoost. He said they are dealing with Zappi to get battery drain fixed but I went went with iBoost, no problems so far.

Shedmanstyle

€11,000 for a 2.4kW PV with eddi system which after the grant and a bonus comes in at €7500. If I get 6 people to sign up I get the money back. Win win for me I think. Just need to activ8 the contract with them now.

Shefwedfan

unkel wrote: »

With a 5kwp system, you would get another EUR2.4k subsidy if you do go for the battery. Effectively making it pretty much free...

Unless of course you are doing DIY install without subsidy.

Sorry I missed this, why would I get another 2.4k? I thought the battery only got 1k grant

Evd-Burner

Shedmanstyle wrote:

€11,000 for a 2.4kW PV with eddi system which after the grant and a bonus comes in at €7500. If I get 6 people to sign up I get the money back. Win win for me I think. Just need to activate the contract with them now.

lol. you'll have great crack signing people up :P

bunderoon

Shedmanstyle wrote: »

€11,000 for a 2.4kW PV with eddi system which after the grant and a bonus comes in at €7500. If I get 6 people to sign up I get the money back. Win win for me I think. Just need to activate the contract with them now.

11K??

Shedmanstyle

bunderoon wrote: »

11K??

Before the grant and discount for being the first in the area. I'd done a very small amount of research on this but enough to have an approx. figure in my head. JHC how many people are they getting to sign up to this?


After the rep. left I looked into them and seen a few threads on the company. I really wondered at the insistence of both partners being there and then seen its to sign a binding contract as you have invited them and it's not a cold call.

I had my trusty calculator out calculating payback - 9 years - if I was never to get an electricity bill in that period! Needless to say, no contract was drawn up or even offered. He bloody knew well he was well out of his depth when it came to facts.

gally74

Shedmanstyle wrote: »

€11,000 for a 2.4kW PV with eddi system which after the grant and a bonus comes in at €7500. If I get 6 people to sign up I get the money back. Win win for me I think. Just need to activate the contract with them now.

Way way roo much

Shedmanstyle

gally74 wrote: »

Way way roo much

Yes, I'm really annoyed to be honest. In fairness they offer a reasonably low APR on their finance deal which would appeal to many and would suck many in also.

Alkers

Shedmanstyle wrote: »

€11,000 for a 2.4kW PV with eddi system which after the grant and a bonus comes in at €7500. If I get 6 people to sign up I get the money back. Win win for me I think. Just need to activate the contract with them now.

Literally almost double the going rate

Shedmanstyle

Alkers wrote: »

Literally almost double the going rate

Double the discounted rate - more than thrice the quote before grant and discounts.

SeaFields

I may have missed it but have been looking through the thread looking for opinions on the ESB themselves installation of PV system. You can put the total cost on the ESB bill interest free for three years. Has anyone any feedback on using them rather than the private installation companies?

We're in Kerry with southern facing roof and a family growing up fast so putting serious consideration into PV or solar water panels. Would prefer the former tho.

Shefwedfan

SeaFields wrote: »

I may have missed it but have been looking through the thread looking for opinions on the ESB themselves installation of PV system. You can put the total cost on the ESB bill interest free for three years. Has anyone any feedback on using them rather than the private installation companies?

We're in Kerry with southern facing roof and a family growing up fast so putting serious consideration into PV or solar water panels. Would prefer the former tho.

They are very expensive, it was cheaper to just get credit than use them

Also they are up the Ying yang with paperwork....wouldn’t even talk to me till full planning done etc

Shedmanstyle

Shefwedfan wrote: »

They are very expensive, it was cheaper to just get credit than use them

Also they are up the Ying yang with paperwork....wouldn’t even talk to me till full planning done etc

Rep would not give me the copy of the quote he wrote out, so he reluctantly allowed me to take a picture. I will post it up once I have edited out some details.

unkel

Shedmanstyle wrote: »

Win win for me I think. Just need to activ8

Oh sweet Jaysus. You were completely ripped off. Any chance you can still bail out?

Shedmanstyle

unkel wrote: »

Oh sweet Jaysus. You were completely ripped off. Any chance you can still bail out?

Maybe if I don't activ8 the contract!

unkel

Please do not go ahead. You are very lucky if there still is a way out.

Shedmanstyle

unkel wrote: »

Please do not go ahead. You are very lucky if there still is a way out.

Not a chance Unkel , clearly I didn't sign anything nor was it offered- He wasn't a hard seller as such, I think from early on he knew he wasn't going to get an easy sale.

For companies like this, I always think of my parents and those of any generation that are not clued in. My folks fell for something like this years ago, Cost them €1500, for nothing but a scam.

pale rider

My experience is that this is akin to the gold rush since the grant came in, I have posted elsewhere about my experiences so won't bore readers again.

Great care is required, do your homework, I reviewed balance sheet figures for the companies I had on my shortlist on the CRO and if the history and numbers did not support their story I was not interested, companies will do great business in this area and can disappear in a few years when the grants go, who will be there for you when that occurs, the guys who are around the longest that's who, the ones with decent balance sheets.

My install was completed a week ago, 4.2 kW on roof, 6kw battery, diverter, installation was seamless and impressive, happy to recommend by pm, paid nothing like some of the quotes here and I would not avtive8 that contract in a fit, happy enough so far, the app could be better and I'm getting power from the boost diverter to the immersion before my battery is full but that is just tweaking I think.

Negotiate hard, I see Energia are finally in the game, if you are a customer you can register for a special price lottery, check out their website, too late for me but might help somebody.

niallers1

thos wrote: »

How is it working with your Zappi so far?

Got my Zappi installed yesterday, also hybrid inverter with DC side batteries, but trying to get my head around the Zappi consuming power from the batteries instead of just pure surplus.

On eco++ mode it should be taking from solar only
on eco + mode it will take from solar and the shortfall will come from battery and or grid ( try use this setting during the day time so most/all is coming from solar PV.

you might need to change some settings on the Zappi.
If you charge at night time then I think it's going to drain the battery no mater what.

_dof_

Surely the battery should have some configuration that can prevent discharge during the low tarriff times?
If anythinyg you'd want to charge the battery during that time instead of discharging.

niallers1

_dof_ wrote: »

Surely the battery should have some configuration that can prevent discharge during the low tarriff times?
If anythinyg you'd want to charge the battery during that time instead of discharging.

You can set the inverter to charge the battery at this time as far as I know.

Shefwedfan

13 Panels (4.55kw) with battery storage = €11,918 incl. VAT
minus €3,800, total cost to you = €8,118.

That seems expensive, they have 5 free Eddie....have the prices gone up and now down?

Shedmanstyle

I got a quote from local company today. Similar to my previous post. 2.4kW with diverter. 3.5k