10kWh LifePO4 DIY Battery Addition..... Here is my write up.

Bought from oye last year around this time. Think late march is the next sale

Thanks to @unkel, who has been very helpful, not to mention the other contributors of this thread, I will soon join the ranks of LiFePO4 battery bank owners. Lots of stuff on order including 16S 280Ah bank, JK 200A BT/CAN BMS. The inverter is going to a SunSynk 5 kW. No immediate PV plans but it will be no doubt added sometime in the future when the funds allow. So the main usage will be to timeshift those 9.8 c/kWh dual rate units.

I had already ordered a 16S2P 200Ah modules from aliexpress/PWOD for €2.7k, but as there was no availability after paying for it I got the other cells instead for about 100 yoyo's more. Disappointing but that was all that was available in EU and I didn't want to try other suppliers as yous have had good luck with PWOD. The bank will be installed in garage where I have some space on the "attic" level above the rafters. I suspect I'll have this running sometime in May once the components have arrived.

I'd almost argue that it's more environmentally friendly to install battery only than to install PV only. If done at scale it will contribute hugely to stabilising the grid and reducing the number of peaker gas plants needed and make better use of existing renewable electricity. And once you have a hybrid battery system setup, it's easier than Lego to click a few panels in series and click it into the inverter.

If your budget is very small, obviously just a basic small PV system will do the trick. My first system cost me about €400 all in for 3 panels and a plug in inverter. Back then the pay back time was about 3-4 years. At today's electricity rates it would have been less than a year. Low hanging fruit!

Even if you just have no space like an apartment (with a balcony) and / or a tiny budget, get one panel and a micro inverter!

Hip roof is sh1t for PV. But if you can fit 4 panels to east and 4 panels to west, you'd have a decent setup.

No need for any grants really for anything. They disturb market prices and and up in the pockets of people who really don't need it (like installers) or people who would have gone ahead buying anyway if there wasn't any grant. Waste of tax payer's money, particularly the very expensive red tape system around it

Battery cells came today. I wont have time to install for 2 weeks as I have too much going on :(

Really looking forward to it though :)

Well....

I'm collecting my Tesla M3LR tomorrow so will end up being busy with that over the next few days.

To use the battery I have to run a CAT6 from the consumer unit to the office (back of the garden) where the battery will go, there is conduit in the garden, its the internal part behind skirting etc that will be hard as I have to take out storage in the utility and parts of the kitchen. Will be following the SWA power cable and existing CAT6 network cable, I just never took a battery into account with CT's when building during covid. Always knew I would do solar just never thought of a battery.

Then I have to build a storage unit in the back of the office (2 separate rooms, office front storage shed at the back) to hold the batteries, beside the solar inverter and the new SOFAR ME3000SP. But to do that I first have to level the floor with leveling compound as I never had a chance to finish that part of the project during covid.

All while working this week, a trip down the country this weekend in the new car with the family and a trip away with work next week. Not to mention one of the kids has a confirmation the following weekend and then we are into Easter school time off.

Priorities suck sometimes! Would love nothing more than to get stuck into the battery after a few days playing with the car :)

Can't wait to finally get a car with more range. I changed role in work in October 2021 where I get a car allowance.

Originally ordered the Skoda Enyaq in October 2021. War broke out in Ukraine and I was told I would not get the car until mid 2023 at best. In the end I would have had it by January 2023 but I cancelled in May 2022.

Ordered the Toyota BZ4X in May 2022, was supposed to get it for early July 2022 but there was a mass recall for some wheel falling off safety issue. There was no communication from Toyota on when this would be resolved but in the end I would have had the car by January 2023.

Come September 2022 I was sick of waiting for the Toyota so I cancelled it and ordered the M3 as I had more financially from saving what I would have been paying on a loan. Was hoping to have this in February 2023 but here we are now in March.

Well guys I got yesterday the BMS, connected today and surprise... it doesn't work. I get an "Abnormal Communication" error on the LCD when I press the reset button to start the BMS and that's all, green light flashes(the right one), I can't connect with RS485 . Any help would be great appreciated :(

I connected everything in the order specified in manual, checked all wires for right voltages . B- to battery-, B+ to battery + ...

Link? When I went in a moment ago, with all the coupons I could grab and in $ I get something like €1325 (without the VAT). Still a very decent price for the 16 CALB 200Ah

Yeah biggest tip for Ali sites is to price in USD, they have awful rates of forex

I will sell my 16 PWOD "200ah" cells if anyone is interested. I presume any cells bought from them now will test similar to mine.