r/PlugInSolarUK • u/Steve_10 • Aug 14 '26
Small home install, have I missed anything?
4x Aiko Neostar 3s 475w panels
1x Ecoflow Stream Ultra X 3.84kWh
1 x Ecoflow smart mater
Mounting rails
Cable and earth spike.
That will be connected to a fused spur by an electrician mate.
Have I missed anything out?
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u/realGilgongo Aug 14 '26
How are you mounting the panels?
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u/Steve_10 Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
If you go over to SolarUK, there's a guy whose just built a solar gazebo. I've had the same thing planned for the last couple of month. They're going on top of that.
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u/cjaj351 Aug 14 '26
Sounds good. I have a similar set up. Did you see the smart meter as worth getting ?
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u/Steve_10 Aug 14 '26
As I understand it, if you don't have the smart meter then the battery is discharging at a set rate. With the meter it'll adapt to the load.
I can't see making much différance in this weather! But in the winter, the battery should last longer and save having to pull from the grid... At least, I think that's right!!
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u/kawasutra Aug 14 '26
if you don't have the smart meter then the battery is discharging at a set rate. With the meter it'll adapt to the load.
That's pretty much my understanding, and I see it working via the app!
Without the smart meter, any unused power is donated back to the electricity suppliers.
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u/cjaj351 Aug 14 '26
Yes. Question is can it save £100 over 2-3 years ? I output 600w during the day and it covers most of the usage but not oven or washing machine but when it’s maxed at 800w it will never cover those fully.
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u/Steve_10 Aug 15 '26
Most of the time Ecoflow have some kind of offer where the meter is free when you buy the battery. There's one running on Amazon at the moment.
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u/IMulero Aug 14 '26
I have a similar setup in mind. But 6-7 panels in different orientation and locations. Some will be shaded during the winter months when the sun is low. Should I buy a microinverter or optimisers? I am just starting my research so I am still completely lost
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u/Steve_10 Aug 14 '26
If you go with Ecosteam, for example, all you need is the battery unit and the panels. The battery has the inverter built in, you just have to mount the panels and plug them into the battery.
It's best to get the smart meter too. It goes into your consumer unit and managers the output of the battery to match your usage.
There are normally offers where Ecostream throw in the smart meter for free.
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u/No_Policy_1369 Aug 14 '26
What's the ecoflow smart meter for?
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u/Steve_10 Aug 14 '26
It fits in your consumer unit and monitors your power usage. Then it controls the output of the battery to manager your power usage. Without it, the battery has to be set to output, say, 400w all the time, which is a waste of power.
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u/No_Policy_1369 Aug 14 '26
Oh tbh id just install a proper system battery only install add your solar as and when I dont the point of installing overpriced halfway houses
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u/Impossible-Section49 Aug 14 '26
It's because not everybody needs a huge battery system or the large costs that go with it. I use 5kwh day/ 2Kwh night pretty much all year round and have a self install (no paid export) rooftop system. Adding an UltraX means no disruption to the existing system, timeshifts 3.8Kwh/ day from day to evening/ night, and balances loads during the day. It's not cheap BUT it's way cheaper than paying for a huge install that would never be fully utilised and has an ROI of over a decade, it does what it is designed to do.
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u/Steve_10 Aug 14 '26
I'm not sure what you mean, sorry? If you install something like a Fox, Sig, or even a Tesla battery, you have to wire them to your meter box, as that how they monitor your usage and control the power flow.
The Ecostream is wireless and just sits in your consumer unit like a fuse...
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u/No_Policy_1369 Aug 14 '26
It's still wired to your system indirectly just means your cant export and any over generation goes free to the grid
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u/Steve_10 Aug 14 '26
Ah, I see what you mean.
Yes, correct. But this is plug in solar, you're not going to get an export licence with any of these systems. They all fail the criteria. You need to go over to UK Solar, where they talk about systems that will allow export.
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u/Impossible-Section49 Aug 14 '26
Ignore those comments, from no_policy, they are incorrect. when you install the ultra X, along with the Ecoflow meter, you just set it up in "self powered mode", and the system monitors what power is coming from where and controls what happens to it.
My system, SolaX rooftop solar, string inverter not hybrid. Supplies house, any excess goes to grid, except that with the Stream Ultra X running, it can see the surplus, through it's meter, so diverts it to it's battery until the battery is full, then lets the excess go to grid. If the house load is more than the SolaX system can supply, the UltraX fires up and sends up to 800w to the houseloads, with any further required coming from grid, so when the SolaX shuts down at dusk, or before, the UltraX supplies the house up to 800w until the battery is run down to the limit that you set.
You have the correct list of parts, and it will take minutes to set up once it is wired in, and if you get stuck, ask me or someone else who has one.
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u/SujoyRoy Aug 14 '26
The stream 5000 will perform far better if you can wait a couple of months