Choosing solar can be complicated as there are many options to select from.
We can really cut the mustard with our straight talking plain advice, and here is out view.
Grid tied solar only has a value if you can use the power and make the power. if your hard at work all day then having a large system will only send power to the grid, what little your home uses will be saved.
Most homes will use less than 200 watts of power.
Due to the changes in weather, you would want to “solar up” so that on the more adverse days you still meet that target, but not so much as to add costs with little returns.
Coming in at £265 is a 400W kit (panel and inverter)
Coming in at £371 is a 800W kit ( 2 panels and inverter)
Here is the catch…
To install these inverters you would need to contact your electrician to install a new circuit.
Fitting a 6 amp RCBO to a isolator switch and running a 2.5mm SWA cable to the Henley block which sits next to you meter. This can be costly, but you may find some lower costs if you shop around.
You should be paying around £50ph. and materials, around £275 would be a ball park figure.
If we take £342.21 + £275 this gives us a total of £617.21 making this an equivalent of 2,128kWh
Your solar yield will vary, but we will use 4.8Kwh per day as a guide, and count only 275 days a year making the system produce 1360Kwh giving the break even point between 1.56 and 2.1 years. at best.
I have NOT included mount systems, but you would want a basic and simple want to have this installed and should have the panels free of shade and south facing. For example on a shed roof with Z brackets. which are around £10.00. I also did NOT include the cable from the isolator to the inverter this can be around £5 per meter.
Positioning the panels where there is a dual MPPT ( 800W is dual) you would off set the panels to face slightly east and slightly west. This will take away the midday peak power and shift this to the morning or evening. You can read more about this here.
this could be a waste of time for some, as some tariffs now have negative midday power or day power as solar has really taken off in terms of users. therefore the grid is over filled with power and want to get rid of it and even pay people to use it.
to maximize on this abundance you would want a completely different system with batteries and hybrid. A little beyond the scope of this article.
Lest look at calculated power for the midlands and the return.
An 800W solar panel system in the Midlands can generate around 650-750 kWh
Factors Affecting Yield:
- Location: Exact location within the Midlands can influence the yield. South facing balconies with minimal shading throughout the day will generate closer to 750 kWh.
- Sun exposure: As mentioned earlier, the amount of direct sunlight hitting the panels directly impacts yield. Aim for at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sunlight per day.
- Tilt angle: Ideally, the panels should be tilted at an angle equivalent to your latitude to maximize sun exposure throughout the year. In the Midlands, this would be around 52 degrees.
- 750kWh is £217.50 giving zero point around 2.83 years
- Life time profit revenue £1,559.47+ (10years includes costs)
Check out the string inverter here and the micro inverter kit here
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