@allyfish So far, I have found that the Agile rate tends to be equal or better than the lowest rates other than possibly non-EV tariffs that I have looked at on OE site. I mention ‘non-EV’ because I cannot avail myself of any such tariffs as I don’t drive. I have done comparisons with the Octopus Compare software and find that Agile always come out cheaper FOR ME AND MY NEEDS, your mileage may vary of course. Having a 27 kW/h storage facility does work in my favour of course as I only need charge at the cheapest rates - these are nearly always less than 20 pence per kW/h - and sometimes very much less; perhaps it is the privilege of being retired with time on my hands to exercise my nerdy side!  Regards, Toodles.

How many quotes have you had for solar PV and battery storage? Were Project Solar the best quote or the only one? I only ask because I also frequent the MSE Forum Green and Ethical Board and Project Solar has a bit of a reputation for over inflated prices.

@dougmlancs just the one quote so far… went with them as they had good reviews on TrustPilot and because they say their panels are made in the UK for the UK climate. Will check out the MSE page…

pare there any companies you would particularly recommend?

thanks,

katie 

Can I ask what their quote was for and how much? It might be reasonable. The only national firm who I know people have had good experiences with are Octopus Energy but depending on where you are in the country, there will likely be local installers people can recommend.

@dougmlancs it’s just under £15,000- 13 panels with 6kW battery…

That does seem high to me- my own system was £9500 installed in May 2023 and that was 12 panels (4.44kW total) and a 9.5kWh battery. In the last 6 weeks I’ve had quotes for our church to have solar panels which I’ve included here. The top one is most similar to your quoted system but the battery is almost twice the size and there’s the added expense of the extra high scaffolding and fitting the panels to a slate roof taken into account. I would try to get another quote- people on here or the MSE Forum will likely have good recommendations if we know whereabouts you are.

@dougmlancs Bearing all the above in mind, when I was ready to place my order and sign the contract some 18 months or so back, my prospective installer said that though PV panels would have an ROI, the battery probably would not. I was not working on the same basis as they were as my reckoning was more about convenience, security of supply, being able to store excess PV during the sunnier times, never mind the ability to ‘download’ at cheaper times and the flexibility this allows. I don’t think they could foresee the massive increases that then came about in energy prices. I suspect that if the present energy costs are to stay with us for the foreseeable future (and I can’t see that they won’t;-) ) buying into battery storage may well now show an ROI! Oh for a crystal ball!!! Regards, Toodles.

@toodles exactly. Your story mirrors mine. My installer wanted top dollar for the battery, and of course the penny hadn't then dropped about using it in winter with flexible time-of-use tariffs, for offpeak charging and discharging during standard and peak rate times. In the end I got the same battery installed by a specialist battery installer for less even after paying the 20% VAT.

@toodles I completely agree with you and for me as well, the battery is forming a good ROI (even more so come winter with the ASHP I expect). Some installers are just adding way too much markup on batteries so I just want to make sure the OP gets as much for their money as possible.

@allyfish In my case, I wondered if my installer even wanted me to purchase a battery! I had done a lot of research before contacting any installers and pretty well knew what I wanted installed and it was just the practicalities of installation where and how I wanted the panels and switchgear really. As to having a second Powerwall, well, I think they thought I had more money than sense or was totally mad and insisted on me thinking about it until the first one was up and running - then consider if I REALLY needed to double the capacity. I have related elsewhere on this forum about them messing me about by insisting I wait on a report from my DNO before they would consider ‘allowing’ me to have a second battery! Long story shorter, I went to my ASHP installer and purchased the second one over £2000 cheaper and installed in a few weeks. My first installer wanted 25% deposit (this was last November) and the earliest delivery would have been January 2024. Regards, Toodles.

Just had my OE statement for Aug.- Sept. And my average price per kW/h using Agile = 16.18 pence and this looks ‘betterer’ to me than other offerings might have given me. Regards, Toodles.

One thing to consider about buying a larger battery with the intention of charging cheaply overnight is how fast the battery is able to charge. If you have 50 kWh of battery storage but it only charges at 2.5 kW, then over a 4 hour period it will only have charged 10 kWh. In fact, you'd need the cheap period to be 20 hours in order to fully charge the battery! So this set-up wouldn't make sense. In winter, your solar PV won't contribute a significant amount to your energy usage (though of course it all helps!), so the overnight charging is the primary way to reduce average electricity costs. Therefore it's worth calculating how fast the battery is able to charge and how long the cheap period is on your tariff, and therefore the maximum kWh of overnight recharge you're able to achieve. You might use this as a guide to the upper limit for how big your battery should be.