Solis S6-EH1P8K-L-PLUS – Why I Chose It and What I’ve Learned So Far

Batpred · 2025-10-20T20:32:36Z

I ended up with a Solis S6-EH1P8K-L-PLUS (8 kW) hybrid inverter, and so thought it might be useful to share why. A hybrid inverter is basically the brain that sits between your solar panels, batteries, and the grid, deciding—many times per second—where power should flow. If you picture a normal solar inverter, it just takes DC power from your panels and turns it into AC for the house or export. A hybrid inverter does that and manages batteries: charging them when there’s surplus solar or cheap grid energy, and discharging when prices rise or the sun’s gone. Here’s what it quietly juggles in the background: ☀️ From solar → house / battery / grid 🔋 From battery → house / grid ⚡ From grid → house / battery (if allowed) So it’s not just converting; it’s scheduling and balancing. That’s why you see models like the Solis S6-EH1P8K-L-PLUS called “hybrid” or “energy storage inverters.” Needs and goals For a typical 4–5 bed house with an EV in SW England, my goal was flexibility—avoiding double work later when the house grows and needs an extra EV point, a heat pump, or more storage (has anyone ever had an installer actually praise what was already there? Exactly.) Disclosure: My engineering and general science background, IET membership etc means this was an option for us. Essentially tinkering within reason. What mattered to me ⚡ Fast battery charge/discharge rates and strong export capability. 🧰 Manufacturer support we can actually reach—too many stories of pop-up installers disappearing. 🔌 Compatibility with a wide range of batteries and accessories for future expansion. 🔋 The cherry on the cake was being able to handle power cuts gracefully—some of these units can keep a home running for days if paired with enough storage. So far, the Solis has been a solid, expandable bit of kit. We only had it installed after we had the consumer unit swapped with one with the latest safety features and plenty of capacity to grow. One quirk worth flagging:It quietly “cleans up” some of the electrical imperfections we get from the grid. In my patch, the DNO’s neutral feed isn’t what you’d call rock-steady. That means a conventional 30 mA RCD may not behave as you expect. This is usually needed if you’re planning to bury cables in the wall—many electricians prefer to use plastic ducting for this reason and speed of installation. Speak to your electrician for advice. In practice, the inverter smooths out stray currents between neutral and earth. Some folks in the forum call these “leaky” inverters—a non-technical nickname that sounds worse than it is. It doesn’t waste measurable energy or affect your bill; your meter is on the live conductor. The “leak” current is tiny, and the inverter is tidying up the messy bits of the supply than the idea of spilling juice. All in all, it was a capable, forward-looking choice if you’re also after a system that can grow with your needs. Notes You can find more background and our journey so far here. Please do not interpret it as a recommendation, there are plenty of other inverters that can do this. Just not many options that handle 8kw (a standard EV charger) and retail for around £1300.

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Bash

(@bash)

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04/12/2025 6:03 pm

Posted by: @batpred

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Just wanted to share a link here to the "process" I am following to get a contract (possibly with Octopus) to export. I do not have PV at the moment, but may as well have it ready.

And by @majordennisbloodnok 's calcs, the battery that could have cost me £1000 can be worked by Solis AI to get a yearly return of return of £87..

I'll be interested to see how you get on. Are Octopus still charging for this route, or is it free now?

I also don't have an MCS certificate. As ours would be installed in our detached garage, I fitted it myself through the garage consumer unit that I could easily isolate.

Doing it myself came in at just under £5000 for 48kwh for everything. I did have to dig a trench in our granite chipped driveway to get the data cable to the smart meter, but other than that it was very easy, (even the application and sign off with UKPN).

I reckon I probably did a better job than most installers also and it only took me one day for the install and another to lay the data cable under the driveway.

I was happy to sacrifice the MCS certificate as I had no plan of exporting, although I might be tempted in the summer months, as we will have spare capacity when the HP is switch off for heating.

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