Domestic Solar PV Quotes 2022 - No PM requests - See Mod note post #1

Irish Steve

The comment about which thread to use is valid, but I'm going to play devil's advocate here for a moment, as this could be a significant factor going forward for a lot of people, who are more likely to read this thread than the "troubleshooting" thread.

The first comment is that we had an "adviser" here a few days ago, and he was pretty adamant that the feed in tariff will be 11c, I didn't push the point, as there was no benefit in getting into an argument, he's representing SSE, and seemed very certain of his facts.

The whole aspect of inverter capacity is not being addressed very well by a lot of suppliers, partly because they are limited by what's available from the manufacturers. To put it simply, if you have a 6Kw inverter, and a 9Kw shower, when you go for a shower, you will be drawing at least 3Kw from the grid even if you have batteries, and possibly more depending on the time of day and the rating of power that the panels are providing at that moment,

Where this could become very significant is if you are also looking at putting a heat pump in to provide heating, depending on the size of the heat pump you install, your draw for that device alone could exceed the capability of the inverter to provide it, resulting in a grid draw, and heat pumps are best left operating 24/7 during winter months, and for the average house, the heat pump will be 7Kw or more, depending on the floor area and the BER/HLI rating, while it hopefully won't be operating at peak current most of the time, it will be using power, and that's a point where batteries and the inverter capacity will become a factor, if there's not enough Solar generated during the day, there will be an option to charge the batteries at night to reduce the peak and daytime usage, but it's not a factor that is being talked about much by some of the solar suppliers.

Another possible advantage for some will be to opt if possible for a 3 phase heat pump. There are positive reliability issues with 3 phase power, they are quieter and vibrate less due to the difference in the way power is provided to the unit, and because of the higher voltage, the current is lower, and because they don't need capacitor start systems on the comressor, there are significant positive reliabilty issues compared to single phase.

The other advantage is that if the heat pump is split across 3 phases, as long as the inverter is sized appropriately, there should be capacity available to allow the house (single phase) to still get power from the inverter, to help spread the load. Be careful though, a 6 Kw 3 phase inverter cannot provide 6Kw on one phase even if the other two phases are doing next to nothing.

Coming, but not here yet, Solis are releasing a new generation of inverters (that will be approved for use in Ireland) that can be paralled, so it will be completely feasible to have (say) a 11Kw 3 phase inverter, and to also then be able to parallel an additional inverter to enable the demand from the house to be met without overloading the system. What I've not yet been able to get confirmations on is if it will be possible to parallel a 3 phase and a single phase inverter, though if it's not possible, the difference in price between single and 3 phase inverters is not massive in the scale of things, and it will definitely be possible to parallel several 3 phase inverters.

The downside of this will be that depending on the total load that's being supported, to become less dependent on grid supplies will mean a VERY large battery array, and if there's space, a lot of solar panels

Another advantage (if I read it right) is that the new inverters will also be able to support the load in the event of a grid outage without having to use a "essential" output, many of the present inverters cannot supply AC power if the grid is out of action, other than through a much lower capacity "essential" output, and connecting that output to the whole house involves a manual changeover switch or an additional contactor to allow it to work and ensure separation from the incoming grid supply.

If you want something this complex, you will have to choose your supplier with care, in recent weeks I've asked several places for quotes for a system along these lines, and I'm having trouble getting quotes, partly I suspect because they don't have the necessary experience of installing the additional controls and safeguards that are needed for this sort of package, and also because the inverters they'd need to use are not yet available in quantity, so there's no experience out there yet, and in some respects, some of this technology is not as mature as it should be, there's a lot of issues still with the software driving these units, and compatibility with different suppliers is very much an unknown still.

Hope this helps a few of the people who are looking, some of the above is most definitely not being openly discussed by some suppliers, and getting it wrong can be expensive to fix, and cause a lot of frustration when the system can't do what it was expected to do.

bullit_dodger

I dunno Steve. I think 3 phase has it's merits, with heat pumps, car chargers etc there's certainly a place for it, but the vast (vast!) majority of people coming here don't have 3 phase, nor would I recommend that people go off and try an get it. Infact, I'd say that 50% of people coming here don't even know what 3 phase is.... and that's totally fine I think.

Everything you mentioned above is on the money, but it's probably lost on the vast majority of people who would be in here. You've an engineering background (as I do), but many people are teachers, accountants, taxi drivers and when we start mentioning 11kw 3 phase inverters......I can almost see people glaze over. It's hard to onboard into this without the added complexity I fear.

Maybe you/we should setup a 3 phase discussion topic? Dunno.

The thread really is about quotes. Sure, I'm always keen to help share the knowledge. Give back to the community that I benefited from myself in early days from the likes of unkle/slave/Graememk/etc, but really people should pose in "solar for dummies" which was explicitly labelled that way so people wouldn't feel embarrassed. When I was replying, I did think to myself that I'm perhaps propagating the problem, effectively silently ok'ing that it's fine - hence my "aside" comment.

championc

The main issue I see is expectations vs reality, and likely massively affecting heat pump owners.

Installers appear to be sizing people's system based on their annual usage, and therefore people are installing 6kWp and beyond systems. From October to March, this will cover some daytime load (maybe about 6hr worth) of a few kW's, but come into the summer and they will be exporting massively. And many of these large systems are being installed with under 5kW of batteries too.

BoxerX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119128475#Comment_119128475

I get what you are saying, but the fact remains at my age, adding a battery and the appropriate inverter takes the payback to me being 75 years old, at the rate I am going, I'll be long dead!

MAULBROOK

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119130581#Comment_119130581

Good one

moc100

Hi,

First time poster looking for some advice . I’m new to all this but got the following quote and think it’s a bit much:

These are the options as discussed for your system

• As detailed in the PDF Document - 
• 10 x Hyundai 400-Watt Panels (4.0kWh system) Huawei Hybrid inverter - the price is €7,475 after the SEAI Grant of €2,400. This system would produce approximately 4,000kW units per year

Huawei Battery Costs - 

1. Huawei 5kWh Battery and Power module - €5,350 (Total is €12,825 with the 5kWh battery)
2. Huawei 10kWh Battery - €3,500 additionally to 5kWh battery 

Other details -

• 25 year warranty for panels (product and performance) 
• 10 year warranty on Huawei hybrid inverter
• 10 year warranty on installation and workmanship
• To add the Huawei UPS Back up box for use in a power cut the cost is €1,650 
• The Eddi hot water diverter is €690 additionally 

I’m also waiting on a quote from an online based company but they are advising I don’t go with a battery? They are saying should just sell back energy to the board under the new scheme.

I feel like the first quote is a bit much but given the changes in the energy market I don’t know?

also, getting an EV in July if that makes a difference.

any advice would be great.

thanks

con747

Way to expensive, look at the sticky with installers names to get competitive quotes. https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058243236/solar-pv-boards-members-installer-information#latest Huawei is expensive with no real extra benefits.

BoxerX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119132621#Comment_119132621

Eddi's retail for €395 on the manufacturer's website.

If they are adding that % onto the Eddi, then chances are they are adding similar % to the rest.

Lots of fish in this sea, I recommend getting a few more quotes.

I do agree with the battery comment though. The new feed in tariff changes a few things. Good for backup if you live somewhere that have lots of power outages but with the feed in tariff, by the time you have paid back the outlay, its probably time to replace the cells! It also sounds like you will be using the vast majority of all the power your array will produce if you are charging an EV and utilising an Eddi on your hot water tank. Others are likely to disagree, but the three suppliers I have had quotes for all said pretty much the same......and I'm getting on in years, so it was touch and go if I would be dead before I clawed back the massive outlay!)

DieterDicht

Where am I going wrong?

I get 0% interest in the bank and have the money to buy a battery. This is for me a no brainer. House is already insulated to A2 level and I have a heat pump.

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119134091#Comment_119134091

I'm generally "pro-battery" (something in about the 5Kwhr range for most people), it will pay for itself in about the 10 year mark.....or there abouts. But it's not a "given" that it's right for every user case. Take for example you have a holiday home and live in it for 2 months of the year. Obviously getting a battery for that wouldn't make sense. Your not there enough to use it.

Basically you need to spend 20-30 mins with Excel and crunch the numbers to make sure that it's right for you. for 90% of people they'll see it's a positive thing even with the current prices. Who knows how much a day unit will be in 5 years, which will naturally shorten the payback timeline.

Forget FIT - it's going to be nonsense. Maybe €100/year. People will disagree/argue with me, and they are perfectly allowed to have those opinions, but while I'd love to see a superb FIT....nahh, won't happen.

MAULBROOK

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119134194#Comment_119134194

+1

oojohoo1

Hey all,

So mine was

19 x 370W JA Panels

6.4Kw Solis

2.4kw battery(missed the battery grant by a couple of weeks)

€13549 after grant. They were probably 600/800 dearer than the rest of the quotes. But the lad that came out knew his stuff and made everyone else look like cowboys.

Plus he gave us a good reason to hold onto our old ESB meter ;)

championc

That's a shocking price. If you've ordered it, I'd be cancelling it immediately

Rough Guide

€1.2k per 1kWp of panels

€550 for an Eddi

€1k per 2kW of batteries

And a 2.4 battery will be full by 09:00 these mornings. Have you stuff to use all that power during the day ? A 6.4kWp system will generate a lot of power, even on a half decent day

Curiousness99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119136535#Comment_119136535

I’ve a quote for broadly the same system except a 5k battery for about 11k after grant, keep looking

MAULBROOK

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119136535#Comment_119136535

Definitely think you can do better on this.

Irish Steve

Well, I was expecting a crazy figure, but for the pig iron, I got a quote from one of the one stop shop suppliers *name removed* for a heat pump and solar.

Please form a queue to bring in the hysterical laughter.

Solar, 4.02 Kw , 12 panels, unspecified inverter, Eddi diverter, and a 5 Kw puredrive battery, before VAT at 13.5%, and before grant, €15.5K, so effectively north of 15K after the grant !

Yeah, I was sitting down at the time, and the heat pump price was even higher, they are looking for 30K after grant for the complete install.

In their dreams! Very glad I've been doing some serious research before going into this, there is no way with this, not with the other stuff that will be done later this year.

I may well try and get a thread going to discuss combines solar and heat pump sizings, as I really do have to wonder about some of the quotes that are being put out there, but I'm not ready to go there yet, still too much information to get.

rachb

Hi everyone,

Just looking into solar panels at the moment and have been looking back through some of the quotes here to get a rough idea. I've had one company out and it seems a little dearer than some here, so just wanted to ask, are the quotes here including vat or without?

DrPhilG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119140352#Comment_119140352

Prices listed tend to be vat inclusive. Have you checked the list of installers used by members?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058243236/solar-pv-boards-members-installer-information

Curiousness99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119139572#Comment_119139572

I'd be very keen on combined solar and heat pump thread, I'm planning on solar and to replace an 18 year old heat pump this year

At least the one BER will do for both once the work is completed 😀 so I can get the Grants

Seems hard to get pricing info on heat pumps, initial verbal price I got was around 12k before grant, seems a good chunk of money but I've no clue how much the unit would cost

rachb

@DrPhilG, thanks for that, I'll try some of them too, just starting out with quotes so good to see the comparison here.

championc

I'm not convinced by a heat pump being the solution for heating. Seems that anyone with one has astronomical usage, and massively more than I use via gas.

MAULBROOK

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119140770#Comment_119140770

Yep with you on that. I have no interest in it.

Mr Q

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119140770#Comment_119140770

I have a heat pump and the running costs are very inexpensive I find. But like you I have heard plenty of people complaining about the running costs.

Between 2000 and 2500kWh per year for heating, cooling and hot water.

hold my beer

We've a heat pump going into a newly built house soon. Was told unless the house is sealed properly, the heat pump can be overworked and inefficient

Curiousness99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119140770#Comment_119140770

I've a heat pump and it seems expensive to run(but I’m in a very exposed site with a house design that will cost a lot to heat regardless of source) but I've heard huge variety of usage so I don’t agree with the general statement as I’ve heard of people paying feck all too, however if you have a airtight or near airtight house, any form of heating will fairly cheap

I know someone who intstalled a heat pump in a fairly old poorly insulated house and the usage was huge but it was still nearly 50% cheaper than the oil equivalent (but a bad oil set up in that there badly insulated pipes with the boiler some distance from the house)

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119140380#Comment_119140380

What type of system are we talking about? It shouldn't be mad expensive to just upgrade your heat pump in a house with an existing system.

Curiousness99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119142036#Comment_119142036

It’s a NIBE Heat pump, I assume fairly high output as the house is around 3500 square foot, been Googling to get some price info without much success

MAULBROOK

Back on track lads, ya know Solar pv quotes 2022.

tommyjin83

First time poster on this forum.

Just started to look around for quotes and one I got yesterday seems to be a bit dearer than what I see from other posters.

Main purpose of our Solar PV will be to improve our BER (currently C3) to the B band. And save some energy cost.

Below is what I got yesterday

DESCRIPTION    QTY                       TOTAL

390W JA Solar PV Panels/Modules          9             3.51kW

3.6kW GivEnergy Hybrid Inverter             1                             

5.2kWh GivEnergy Battery Storage          1                             

MyEnergi EDDI Power Diverter Smart Immersion              1                             

PVProtect / Shunt Switch             1                             

AC & DC Isolators            1                             

AC & DC Cable  1                             

Renusol Roof Mounting Kit          1                             

                                               

Electrical Installation      ✔                           

Roof Mounting Installation          ✔                           

Commissioning of System with Online Monitoring            ✔                           

Subtotal €10,750

VAT13.5%

Total Vat €1,451

Total €12,201

€2,253 SEAI Grant Applicable* € 9,948

What do people think about this quote? (This quote is from one of the company listed in the sticky.)

Aka Ishur

Hi folks,

Got 2 quotes below.

Quote 1

4kWp (Hyundai) 10 panel south facing system, Van Der Valk mounting system, slate fittings, Huawei Hybrid inverter, and BER assessment. 

€9,520- system cost 

-€2,400- seai grant 

=€7,120- net cost after grant (Cost to customer)

Quote 2

For a mid sized PV system quote of 4kWp (10X400W Trina) (unspecified inverter)

Cost including VAT is approx. €8312

Grant applied from SEAI €2400

Final Cost €5912

Would I be right in saying i would be too long making up the difference in price with any improvement in efficiency?

Thanks,

Eoin