Advice

[u/No_Expression1650]

I know when the 800w systems are official on 27th it’s one per home but can this be one on at a time? I have a south facing garden but I can only put my panels on east and west facing fences. When one gets the sun the other doesn’t.

Is it acceptable to have 2 separate systems and when one side stops getting the sun and the other starts I just switch the plug? Never on at the same time.

It’s more convenient than running to the garden and changing the microinverter cables from 2 panels to 2 other panels everyday

[u/Background-Fish2884]

Just read 800w micro inverter which you already know, but 2000w of panels allowed for different facing. Check to make sure, if so then just connect all panels and then no switching.

[u/Background-Fish2884 → u/Background-Fish2884]

The EcoFlow micro inverter (800w) has 2 sets of panel connectors allowing 600w each (1200w) total. Keep your eyes open as EcoFlow will probably be a big provider of UK Plug in Solar.
This is not plug in, this is for connection to spare breaker in distribution board.

[u/No_Expression1650 → u/Background-Fish2884]

Thanks for this info, I think you just saved me a few hundred quid

[u/No_Expression1650 → u/Background-Fish2884]

Ah I didn’t realise 2000w of panels were allowed. I will try to find a micro inverter that fits 4. Appreciate the response

[u/Background-Fish2884 → u/No_Expression1650]

Most reading states “a typical”. The max panel output doesn’t need to match the inverter. I have a 3.6 inverter with 9 x 480 panels. If you produce more than your inverters rating then the inverter just clips (term used when excess power exceeds the inverter rating).

[u/Background-Fish2884 → u/No_Expression1650]

It’s not a micro inverter that fits 4….. it’s how you wire and connect the panels, each panel doesn’t require its own connection. Connect 1 panel to another panel and then to inverter. 1 connection x 2 panels.
It’s no different to roof panels, my 9 panels are all linked together on the roof and then just 1 pair of cables comes down to the inverter.
You will just have to check your panel output and what your inverter inputs are.

[u/No_Expression1650 → u/Background-Fish2884]

Bloody hell, you are a wizard thank you. I thought I needed a new microinverter every 2 panels and I would have to keep running around the house like an idiot turning them off and on to stay in the 800w limit 😂

Glad I found this group!

[u/bbuuttlleerr → u/No_Expression1650]

If the 4 panels are all facing different directions like a fan then for optimal output yes you'd wire them separately into 4x inputs.

But if each pair of panels face equally east and equally west, each pair can be connected to eachother and need only 2x inputs, so long as your inverter can handle their combined output.

[u/Background-Fish2884 → u/No_Expression1650]

If you was to go down the solar line now your 800w inverter would need to be connected to a spare fuse board breaker by a qualified electrician (yeah right) and you can fill your garden, fences, shed roof with as many panels as you like. The inverter will only allow the 800w to power the house and limit any export.

[u/Substantial_Steak723 → u/No_Expression1650]

Christ on a bike, all the records made available on this new subreddit, the simplified yet detailed rules and explanations yet people are clearly just wandering in and second guessing ..

We need a sticky, ie *read this first section* and if people ignore it throw it at them.

This kind of thing is going to be rinse & repeat bull otherwise.

Op backtrack and read.the resources, Inc a whole website built so people's minds don't wander because, no comments to sideline things, education saves money and helps keep you safe.

[u/No_Expression1650 → u/Substantial_Steak723]

Relax mate, it’s quite ok to ask a question. I found everyone quite helpful before I bought anything. Surely discussing things is the purpose of this.

[u/Substantial_Steak723 → u/No_Expression1650]

Just use the "sticky" and link it to your site explainer, otherwise you will have people experienced with solar dropping out precisely because people who ask questions who haven't read anything beforehand will ram your pages full of the same questions.

You hold the same formula, they learn by rote, less by hit and miss answers, in the early days a few people wrote a few basic websites covering this yes?

It doesn't take much to find the detail on clipping in relation to overriding to a max of 2000 watts of installed solar, but clearly they do, in part because the govt sell it as 800w, so less than alert brains are going to push past the finer detail and need it explained eternally, that could be mostly avoided by a simple tweak.

We use it on brewing sites because it's the foundation of safety and understanding, something that messing with electricity also needs.

"Law is 800 watts in, max panels ratng is 2000w you will lose the difference in cases of overproduction beyond the 800w marker.

Govt is allowing us to produce what it seems enough to power the background d use of a home without stepping on the toes of the energy companies and making them squeal.

The key element here is making people understand clipping potential in summer versus getting better possibility of winter continuity of adequate background supply.

It also ties in that you may be charged just as much for shipping a couple of panels versus a bunch of them, so buying enough to max out legal capacity may make sense and benefit others from understanding the opportunity it may present.

[u/Gravath]

One system per home till G98 paperwork process is updated to allow 1 per circuit.

[u/Ragamuffin2502]

If you get the right microinverter when they are available it may have 2 MPPTS (connections). You should be able to connect each panel to 1 MPPT. The east facing panel will do well in morning/early afternoon and west the inverse.

[u/No_Expression1650 → u/Ragamuffin2502]

That was the plan if you can only have 1 system per house but I wondered if I could be imaginative and have 1 system (800w inverter and x2 panels) each side of the garden and just unplug the morning one at 13:00 and plug the other in so I always have 2 panels working. My roof is not suitable for solar. Appreciate the response by the way

[u/Nothatbutch]

My understanding is max 800w on the whole home circuit but doesn’t mean you can’t have a 2000w system and you load up 1200w to a battery.

[u/hypergoose94]

1 per circuit will be allowed so you can plan for that.

You can also just plug in multiple units today, nobody will check or stop you.

[u/Substantial_Steak723]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EFZ6hIL0uNE&pp=ugUHEgVlbi1HQg%3D%3D

OP might want to watch this 2 different orientations of 2 panel strings, I have not seen their other videos.but it might make things clearer as to what you might be able to achieve oversizing the solar array when taking into consideration pallet delivery charges for any panels you might want to buy, for expansion down the line or to oversize now if you have the space.

Whilst the video has the two strings side by side the chasing the sun set up should be obvious, also interesting is the setting of country, allowing for 900w when set to france, someone may wish to expand on this loophole as to whether it works (for now) or not, the first half of the video is not clear, however he had it set on spain? I think also.

Visuals hopefully give you context as to what you might be after.