Looking for Thoughts on Quoted System

[Leighton]

Hi,

Relatively new to this so wondering if some of the experts of this forum could lend a hand by looking over a quote I received recently. Based in Norfolk with a South facing roof that has no shade at any point of the day so thought it'd be a good idea to look into solar with battery storage. This is following a renovation and new roof. Maybe should've gone down this route before having it tiled (concrete interlocking) but I've never been one to do things the easy way! Anyway, a run down of the system is:

•11 x 385 watt JA Solar photovoltaic panels. 4.2Kw
•Sofar Hybrid Inverter (HYD series)
•iBoost solar water heater
•Bird exclusion
•5.12kw Sofar Amass battery (GTX 5000)
•10 year workmanship guarantee
•25 year solar panel warranty
•UK power network fuse upgrade where needed
•Fully commissioned

Total cost £9,824

I could add a 2nd battery, which would take the price up to £11,777. While going down the MCS route is another £500.

Another option is solar with iboost, guards, and MCS (i.e. no battery storage) is £6,996

Not sure whether any of the above is decent value without the MCS... I've experience of working with electrics and have an electrician who would help out. Essentially going down the DIY route for cheaper than above. However, this would take up my time that could be better spent elsewhere on the house!

I suppose my main question is whether the above is decent value/a decent system? Also, from what I can tell it seems to be kit from well known manufacturers, but would be grateful if anyone who has experience with any of it could comment.

 

[binky]

Not too bad a price.

 

[Sharpend]

Not too bad a price.

…………… but the quality……………

 

[binky]

…………… but the quality……………

JA fine, iboost fine, not so sure about Sofar, I've not fitted one of those.

 

[Leighton]

…………… but the quality……………

I had thought they were OK quality... Is that not the case? Is it all of the equipment or specific components?

 

[Sharpend]

Binky is our resident go to guy for all things solar.

 

[Leighton]

Not too bad a price.

For each option?

Must admit I am leaning toward the single battery system and asking if they'll add the MCS cert as a gesture of goodwill. The second battery might be a bit of a stretch at the moment...

The amount of power we'd use is a bit of an unknown as the house's m^2 has been upped a bit, with a home office I've put together in the garden that's electrically heated. Previous yearly use was approx. 2,500kwh so would estimate it going up to 3,500kwh

 

[Sharpend]

Just as a side issue, what are the life expectancy of these batteries? And how recyclable are they?

 

[binky]

Just as a side issue, what are the life expectancy of these batteries? And how recyclable are they?

Battery life around 17 years, and completely recyclable

 

[Leighton]

I've now gone a bit further down the road and think we've decided on an installer/supplier. Their sales guy has been round to take a look and said we can fit between 9 and 11 panels. The roof has several roof lights and is angled at different pitches so it's difficult to tell till up there.

One thing he did mention is that as there's a 16° roof pitch at one portion of the roof, and a 22° at the other, the system will need 'optimising'. Now I've done some reading into optimisers and from what I can tell they're designed to prevent throttling of system output if one panel is generating a relatively low level of power. Their use appears to be aimed at systems with heavy shading in some portions while the rest has good sunlight. Mine would not have this as there's good sun all day with no obstruction to sunlight. The rationale appears to be based solely on the 6° difference on pitch, which doesn't sound right to me... Does anyone have any experience with these and of their limitations/benefits in the my configuration?

 

[binky]

I've now gone a bit further down the road and think we've decided on an installer/supplier. Their sales guy has been round to take a look and said we can fit between 9 and 11 panels. The roof has several roof lights and is angled at different pitches so it's difficult to tell till up there.

One thing he did mention is that as there's a 16° roof pitch at one portion of the roof, and a 22° at the other, the system will need 'optimising'. Now I've done some reading into optimisers and from what I can tell they're designed to prevent throttling of system output if one panel is generating a relatively low level of power. Their use appears to be aimed at systems with heavy shading in some portions while the rest has good sunlight. Mine would not have this as there's good sun all day with no obstruction to sunlight. The rationale appears to be based solely on the 6° difference on pitch, which doesn't sound right to me... Does anyone have any experience with these and of their limitations/benefits in the my configuration?

Nothing wrong with optimisers, but if you wanted to go down that route I would opt for Solaredge. Depending on the panel split it maybe possible to cable the panels on separate strings, but I doubt that it would make much difference to overall performance. Personally, I prefer not to have anything on the roof that will need replacing in 20 years time, it also doubles the electrical connections, which are the most common failure points on any system, and difficult to fix.

Locked to prevent being resurrected (again)