Quote for solar panels in Wales on a 4 bedroom house

[Helen Geeen]

I’ve heard through the grapevine that octopus are using Fox Ess systems, not sure how true it is. But it’s a budget system. You’ll definitely be able to get a better deal for a more higher end system for that price, and a bigger battery.

I’d get some quotes off of some local companies and compare.

[Henry Smith]

I bought 10 panels 5kw battery and 6kw inverter for £1500 and did it myself. Up to now I’m more or less off grid and my on grid cost is less than £40 this year (plus SC)!

[John Irish]

My advice would be research your intended installer thoroughly. Preferably a local one. They are your first port of call with any issues so you need to make sure they have excellent customer service. I used a very reputable local independent and when there were a couple of teething problems (with the battery) they were out and sorting it next day, not the cheapest but I really don’t regret paying a few hundred quid more for peace of mind.

[Jeff Winters]

10 panels is a pretty small system. Do you have roof space for more?

Also try your local installers (listed on the MCS Website).

Personally, a battery wasn’t economic as I have Gas Central Heating.

[Edward Jackson]

Get 3 quotes and understand the amount of power you get and quality. Also look at battery storage too and the service you’ll get. Are they FULLY qualified to do the job properly. Do the sums. Think about how long you’ll live there and will you get your money back.

[Joe Wild]

Here’s my experience fwiw

It’s a minefield

company a, b and c will promise you x, y and z

Local is good

If the quote involves someone coming out and actually doing a proper site survey that’s good.

If they will discuss kit with regard to that vast forum knowledge you think you have that’s good

You can check companies house etc for company status , that’s good

But recommendations are worth a fortune if previous customers are happy then chances are you will be .

Money is important but after a long time of eating rump steak I now prefer fillet.

(You generally get what you pay for ).

Bear in mind with the modern complexities of equipment and tariffs it is not imho a fit and forget consumer appliance

Gotchas

You don’t really want any kit in the loft

You will need to get to it apart from heat , fire risk etc

Also now there are recommendations against batteries in the loft

Batteries – do you want / need ? if its a financial decision between more panels or batteries always go for more panels, if you make sure the inverter is a hybrid ( battery compatible) they can easily be added later

Heres some thoughts –

I have batteries so i can run in the summer , very rarely using grid power

BUT

If you put 10kWh into your battery you will save the difference between export rate and import rate

On octopus tracker import and fixed export this is –

17p – 15p – conversion losses per kWh so your batteries will save you about 15p per day

They are more of a help in the winter if you can load shift ( fill them on cheap rate and use the power in peak rate

Batteries outside – they need to be kept warm , if you are comfortable with the temperature so are they.

Be aware some batteries are 80% depth of discharge and some are 90% ask the question – you want 90% or more batteries

The difference is – you pay for 10kWh and can use 8kWh or 9kWh

Max panels , fill the roof

Panels are cheap – fill the roof

Maximum export – use the grid as a financial battery.

When calculating size don’t use base load use 24h consumption to calculate.

Make sure the company are mcs registered.

Submit DNO (G99) application and modify install to suit .

Solar panels make electricity – more the merrier

Inverter allows you to use it – 5kW min if possible – some installer will tell you you want a 3.68kW , this is so they can install and then notify the DNO

DNO tells you what you can export – more the merrier but out of your hands

Aim for a big inverter minimum 5kW – this will cover home loads supplied from solar or batteries

Don’t forget bird protection on the panels .

[Kev Phillips]

Look at your daily usage on electricity. Then x 1.5 and try and get a battery around this size. In winter you won’t get much output from your solar so can use the battery to charge up at cheap rate in the night and cover your daily usage

[Malc Nuneam]

I’ve had a 4kw system since 2011 and on a 100% south facing roof and it’s excellent. I generate way more than I would have imported without a system. However on a 50/50 south north I wouldn’t have bothered.

But be wary of what installers say you’ll generate and save ££ when I was looking into adding a battery two years back two quoted I would save £2k per year having a battery. Before the quote I told them my total import was less than £500 per year so how the feck I could save £2k god only knows It also worked out that still having to import the majority in winter and winter being a crap generation period it would take twenty years before the battery paid for itself

So take little notice if what an installer says and spend a lot of time recording your current usage throughout a year.

[Marc Jansen]

just to throw our hat in the ring. We’re based in Neath and cover right up to the Severn Bridge.

We’re approved by MCS, NAPIT, RECC, TrustMark, Trading Standards and are approved installers for SunSynk, Tesla, SigEnergy and others. We’re also Octopus Trusted Partners.

Please do feel free to check our work on Facebook (Blue Electrics) as well as our reviews on Google and Checkatrade.

Finally you can see some of our work on our YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/@blueelectrics) and our website has lots of useful information on time of use tariffs and maximising your solar (https://www.blueelectrics.co.uk).

We’re really passionate about solar, and everyone at the company and our offices use solar, batteries, smart tariffs and EV’s every day, so we’d rather be honest in our advice than sell you a system that isn’t right for you

We do free, no obligation surveys with an electrician (we don’t have sales people), and offer a 10 year workmanship warranty (backed by the IWA) as standard, in addition to the 10 year inverter/battery warranties and 25 year solar panel warranties.

Hope you like our work and reviews, and hope to speak with you soon! Good luck with your solar journey.

[Martin Allport]

Do more quotes. Thanks expensive. I done 10 oversize panels and 5kwh battery for 9k 3 years ago. Prices went down since then

Edit: your golden rule will be do as many panels as physically possibly (go with company who offers most panels) and everything adjusted to that. Size of battery make sure it is at least your average daily consumption over at winter. So I would imagine 10-15 kWh for your usage

[James Adams]

10 panels £1000, 5kw battery another £1000, inverter and other bits and bobs worst case scenario another £1000 The rest of the money is installation. A south facing 4.5 KW system (10x450W what a good panel should output) will make 25 KW on a good day and 2.5 on a shity one, and anything in between on the rest. Yours is not south, will probably make 15-17kw on a good day.