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

If you go DIY, then only thing that you actually need a sparks for is to connect the AC cable from the inverter into an MCB / RCBO - that's all.

What you REALLY need is to get the brackets fitted to your roof.

Hi All, I’ve received two quotes from two different companies. Keep in mind, they haven’t been to the house and prices are before any grants. I’m kinda waiting for the pre-2011 rule to be scrapped.

My house is south facing (slightly SSE) in Co. Carlow and in 2021 my usage was about 7200 units. Had an EV for 8 months, don’t have one right now but likely will again in the next two years.

Quote 1: €10,900

• 4kw - 12x JA solar tier 1 345w panels
• 5kw solis hybrid inverter
• 5kw pure drive battery
• eddi and Wi-Fi dongle
• This one is about €1400 over the guidelines.

Quote 2: €11,800

• 5.18kw - 14 x JA Solar Pv 370w panels
• 5kw givenergy hybrid inverter
• 5.2kwh givenergy battery
• no eddi
• these guys mentioned that seai are pushing eligibility from 2011 to 2020 and they will be able to get the grant for me. They said there was no real need for an immersion (I don’t have one in anyway). I’m assuming here they mean there is no point in getting the eddi and installing an immersion in my tank.
• Going by the guidelines here, post grant, it’s about €1600 over. Allowing for price increases in the last year, I think it could be worse. Although, if I could, I’d like the hot water :D

Opinions?

Not bad quotes - I suspect I know the 2nd one.....

Your right, given the rise over the last 6 months or so they aren't outrageous. Certainly your not being "ripped off" there in either quote like we've seen from others. Can't say if this is the new state of the market or not.....it seems like it's been slowly going here.

I guess the question about the EDDI is "how do you heat your water today?" If you already have an immersion heater, then the eddi makes a small amount of sense. if you don't have an immersion then I'd agree with them, don't bother. EDDI's are typically something that, while convenient, you'll never make your money back on. I got one in myself, but to be fair, I know I'll never get the money I paid for it back in "savings". I'd spend the EDDI money on a bigger battery as a general recommendation, although it's nice to have hot water for 7-8 months of the year.

Hi All , I'm looking at getting a PV system installed this year. Usage is 7,600 kWh per year, myself and my partner both work full time from home. We have an existing thermodynamic panel for hot water.

Would be thinking about a system with battery storage but without the water diverter thing. Don't have an EV but may get one in 2-3 years.

What size system would you recommend, is it bigger is better?

Could anyone suggest companies I should contact for quotes (PM me)?

Appreciate your help, I'm new to this !

Bigger generally better.

Do you have any idea of your energy usage vs time of the day?

Will you work full time from home after the pandemic?

If your motivation is as quick as possible payback, then a small system with you using as much generated electricity as possible is the quickest way to see a return on investment. Sure a larger array may be better for the environment and give you better self sufficiency, from a purlely economic perspective they will take longer to pay off.

After pandemic will still be full time at home. Re usage, probably spread throughout day and late evenings. But conscious would need to change some habits when we get system installed.

More focused on self sufficiency Vs shorter payback time.

With a 7 or 8 Kw system, what's the biggest battery I could get (e.g. 10Kw)? Or is there a ratio limit?

Thanks 👍

In my experience with oil or even gas boilers... Good installers are not always good repair people and vice versa. To assume that only the original installer can fix a system when it breaks would be very limiting. It remains to be seen if a reliable (and local) service industry springs up for solar.

Hi you mentioned that you are availing of the newer grant system (pre-2011 rule scrapped), did the supplier say how long you will have to wait for this to kick in? I have an installation booked (didnt qualify for grant wen I booked) but now considering delaying it until I can get the grant now that the rule is changed.

I contacted SEAI today asking and they didn't have an answer, hopefully tomorrow they will have an update to when it is changing.

Delay it if you can.

I don't qualify for a grant, unless the pre-2011 goes away.

First quote in today as follows:

16 panel setup @5.5KW

5KW HYBRID INVERTER (SOLIS)

5KW BATTERY (PURE DRIVE) 

EDDIE WATER DIVERTER.

WIFI dongle

PRICE 10900 EUROS.

Optimizers extra as required @80 a pop - is this one per panel so potentially another 1280?

Question; is there any sense in leaving out the battery and installing the hybrid inverter, and then source the battery myself - is it as simple as just plugging it into the inverter?

Have requested some more quotes also.

Last 12 months total energy bills was 1170 euro (heatpump, nightrate), so with this install it's looking at around 18 years payback time if I can save 50% of the annual cost per year which seems ludicrous, almost far better to dump it into the mortgage!

Thanks for the feedback - I thought it was pretty high to be honest, esp given the likely payback period. If as you say the grant comes into play then it makes it more attractive for sure.

Re the optimizers, I dunno - there are some trees nearby which would likely shade some of the roof, but I guess it depends on how the panels are layed out and what the actual shading is. Are they vital to install? they're deciduous so bare in winter when they would be most likely to shade compared to summer.

Any thoughts on doing the battery install DIY with everything else done by installer? much in the way of savings to be made there?

One thing to factor in is your mortgage. If you get a BER of B2 or better you could get a green mortgage with better rates. If you include that then the payback will im hugely.

This is what I did, went from a 3.6% to 2.15% mortgage.

@kenmc You have the perfect opportunity right now to access shading. Right now will be your worst case scenario surely.

However, while a tree may be leafless, ANY shading on the panels will kill the output at that time for that entire string.

I'm glad to seen someone being realistic about their potential savings, and I don't believe that you are being over-cautious either. Some people are deluded.

Consider a separate Storage Inverter for a battery setup later, rather than the hybrid inverter. Be interesting to see the effect on the pricing.