Extend or 4kWh of Solar; install Batteries- anyone done it?

Thu 13 Oct 2022, 21:50 (last edited on Thu 13 Oct 2022, 22:04)

Grid tied solar PV is generally fairly straightforward, being back fed into your consumer unit. An off grid or hybrid solution cannot be back fed and needs to be controlled by a changeover switch linked to or incorporated into a hybrid inverter. The operating philosophy is also very different, grid tied battery storage systems should discharge the batteries every 24 hours, hybrid systems hold the batteries at full charge until the grid fails (similar to an uninterrupted power supply system (UPS)).

Thu 13 Oct 2022, 20:34

All too scary for me ! 

Thu 13 Oct 2022, 19:53

Hi Malcolm, we've chatted about solar before on another thread, we have a 5kw array and a 6.5 kw battery. Ours needs the grid to function though - it wouldn't work in a power cut. 

I believe there is some kit we can get that would allow us to go off grid, but I think it's unlikely you could get that installed before the winter as there's so much demand. For us, it's probably not worth it, as we would manage fine in a 3 hour power cut. 

You could ask the company that supplied your panels about upgrading and the cost/timescale. 

You may find you can manage in a 3 hour power cut if you have a well insulated home, a laptop with a decent battery, a mobile phone you can hotspot from and a back up power pack for your phone kept fully charged. 

Thu 13 Oct 2022, 17:03

Malcolm, just pointing out that if you post 15 inches of column print in every post, you have already lost your audience. First rule of journalism: engage them in your first paragraph.

Thu 13 Oct 2022, 16:27 (last edited on Thu 13 Oct 2022, 17:26)

I think I got a reply from someone who'd done this but I cannot now find the system-mail. Maybe I'm imagining it with a dream. Can you get back in touch with me?