PV solar panels and battery storage

PV solar panels and battery storage allow you to benefit from the sun - night and day. Incorporating storage capabilities has to be the most game-changing technology today.

PV to battery storage.

OPTIONAL - Battery storage can be part of a PV-package deal or incrementally installed further down your solar-powered road.

In a nutshell.

Today's battery storage systems are an innovative monitoring, management and storage product that now puts your PV solar panel's excess power to use within your home before exporting to the grid.

The pride in using solar power at night with a PV to battery storage device feels satisfying. When you realise that this same stored-power was electricity that additionally already rewarded you through the tariff scheme.

This set-up means you don't have to pay to import increasingly expensive electricity later in the day giving increased energy independence. 75% of a typical household's energy costs in the evenings.

The science bit.

The same lithium-ion battery in which one layer called the cathode, is made of a blend of nickel, manganese and cobalt oxide (NMC) and are similar to EV (electric vehicle) batteries.

Specifications.

VDE 2100-712 compliant.
Tesla 0.91m x 0.76m.
3-10 kWh output. 750-volt maximum DC input voltage.
Ten years warranty.

MCS solar panel installers.
For your peace of mind.
All our MCS installers are RECC scheme members and work throughout England, Scotland and Wales. All our MCS solar installers have an ethical attitude when dealing with customers.
MCS PV solar installers

"PV solar panels with battery storage is the first game-changer of the 21st century. EV's (electric vehicles) come close behind as the second."

Keeping track of the amount of energy produced at your property will put you in the best position to gain the more out of green power.

Installing an energy monitor such as the SolarEdge enables you to track energy generation over the course of a day, a week or a year. Using this information, you can then decide when your PV panels are producing enough energy to charge your car, use your washing machine or allow to charge your battery storage.

There's nothing more satisfying than powering your home using energy generated by the solar PV panels on your roof, but what if you're out all day at work? It's still possible with the latest Tesla Powerwall, and SMA sunny boy storage means that you can store this surplus energy and use it to heat your evening bath or power your television.

Additionally, power controllers like the PV to hot water converters, divert surplus power into an immersion water heater element to keep your water temperature to a preset minimum. When you return home in the evening, the hot water from your taps will have been heated by your owner solar panels, making your bath that much more relaxing!

What's more, by using battery storage at your property to complete tasks later in the day, you'll be reducing your reliance on power from the National Grid in the evenings and therefore preventing future proofing your home for the next three decades.

Questions about PV and battery storage

Batteries can be installed indoors or outdoors with minimum fuss. DIY installations are not possible because legally installers require a Part P electrical qualification.

Savings depend on the size of your Photovoltaic system and the amount of electricity you use in your household, but a four-person family with a 4KW PV panel system can expect to save substantially. Use our get 'get a quote' service to receive individualised performance data for your property.

Yes, because currently the export payments, pay for 50% of all your units exported. This set-up means you can use all your units for battery storage, but still receive all the export payments as per usual.

Lithium ions interspersed throughout this layer, and when the battery's charged, an electrical current drives the lithium ions out of the cathode, into a fluid filled with electrically conducting ions, and into another layer, called the anode, which is made up of stacks of graphite.

Several, but this depends on how many appliances used at any time. A 10 kWh sized system will give you ten kilowatts over the period of an hour, a hair dryer takes about 1 kW to run, while a washing machine uses several kW to run so that new system could power an average household for several hours in the evening.

Typically 3000-4000 recharging cycles from full drain to full charge. The system is designed to switch between devices on demand and seamlessly automatically.

Yes, making the installation teams aware that you have Economy Seven will allow them to structure the install to draw from the grid rather than the battery.

PV solar panels and battery storage in the UK

The wrong people always teach us the right lessons in life, and that is especially true when it comes to those who are currently selling the new battery storage and PV solar panels.

This week, the first Tesla Powerwall battery storage system was installed into the lives of a Welsh family.

Unfortunately, in the same week, we've learned that other solar companies offer and are overcharging for battery storage systems against wildly exaggerated claims.

These types of sales-based companies are identified by minimum technical knowledge and using high-pressure sales tactics. These cold-calling types are only a minority, but who are spoiling for the majority of decent installers in the solar industry.

Many ethically-minded installers are divided at this early stage as to its benefits, especially as there are so many variables. The 'one-size fits all' approach is no longer sensible when selling photovoltaic with battery storage. I suggest that's it depends on the final installed cost as to the viability for most people.

One trusted installer I know has just been to see a couple that was quoted 11,500 for a 3 kW system with battery storage and voltage optimiser by a national company.

The sales rep told them they would be off-grid for most of the year and their total savings would be over 1,000 per year, despite the fact they're existing bill, is only 650.

This claims can be many thousands of pounds overpriced, and claims made are just wrong. Similar situations will be happening each day throughout the country as these types of companies adapt to recent feed-in tariff changes.

The single most common aspect of getting a good quality solar panel system installed by an ethical installer at a reasonable price, so that you can genuinely benefit financially is research, research, research.

Discounts and special offers are designed to whip you up into a frenzy of excitement, so you sign-up that day. If you don't and research first, then they know they have lost you.

The fact the feed-in tariff incentive scheme attracted sharks into the industry has not done the industry any favours. However, solar panels are genuinely a beneficial technology and great at what they do; it's just a shame that the con men are still out there today.

Ultimately, solar panels are a great way of reducing our dependence on an ailing and increasingly costly energy network. You can benefit financially long-term, but only if you get a simple system at the right price.

A big thank you to Andy at Lincolnshire Solar for this breakdown of the reality of battery storage systems running alongside PV solar panels.

A Typical house using the national average of 3800 kWh per year and solar PV system generating 3500 kWh per year.

The Energy Saving Trust quotes an average saving of 125.00 per year for a typical home; they also quote 0.145 pence per kWh.

125.00 divided by 0.145 = 862 kWh used in the home from the generated solar PV system or a saving of 23% of the 3,800 kWh.

Look at it this way, if you use 3,800 kWh per year, you use on average 10.41 kWh per day, so it's only possible to save 10.41 kWh per day.

From data downloaded from my customers SMA inverters, I have come to the following conclusions.

Ordinary PV savings without Battery storage according to the Energy saving trust (EST) is 125.00.

Battery Storage savings over 300 days @ 5KW (size of battery bank) 1500 kWh @ 0.13p =195.00.

Solar PV systems with battery storage may not be eligible for the FIT's payments if installed before the generation meter.

One benefit of the Solax inverter charger is in the event of a power cut the inverter can power the home up to a maximum load of 2kW, a manual changeover switch is required to isolate the incoming supply, and an external earth rod is necessary to earth the property.

It is important to point out that PV solar panels installed in different locations will give different output figures. However, as these numbers produced in Lincolnshire and this is a central location within the UK, I would use them as an average with more significant figures occurring the more southerly your location and lesser data when your situation is more northerly.

There are brilliant battery storage systems on the UK market that are tried and tested around the world. PV solar panels working alongside battery storage devices and even EV charging are an option to consider in addition to the current incentives for solar panels. A good solar installer will be able to advise you on both types of system.

Yes, there are sharks in our industry as with any other, but clear facts will always trump 'bullshit' sales when the time is taken to research your options correctly. Remember sharks feed off ignorance!

Yes, solar PV and battery storage systems are on the rise, and it will remain a viable option for many when bought at the right price from a trusted MCS installer.