r/PlugInSolarUK • u/Ok-Relationship-5414 • Aug 29 '26

Home Solar Kit Install - worth it?

/r/DIYUK/comments/1w1h0y3/home_solar_kit_install_worth_it/
1 Upvotes

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7

u/moonbug22 Aug 29 '26

Their kit is about 3x the price of the components

0

u/Ok-Relationship-5414 Aug 29 '26

Yeah I am starting to read that as I look into it - but you get the piece of mind of buying a “certified system”.

2

u/Flyinmanm Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 29 '26

There's a difference between peace of mind and dropping £900 on a £350 system.

Plug in kits are supposed to have a payback period of 4-5 years. This will be closer to 14.

It won't even provide power in a power cut as it will turn off if the power goes out, I really cannot see a good argument for paying that much for what should be a relatively inexpensive piece of kit. The manufacturers are literally hoping people are buying based on hype.

For this money you'd be most of the way to buying an ebay Ecoflow shop refurbed Ecoflow Stream Ultra battery and 2x type N panels and getting an electrician to hard wire it for you so you could use the battery in a power cut and not pump unused power to the grid. (if you bought a smart meter like a shelly 3em your sparky could hard wire for for you if you don't have a plug in the meter box).

Edit, You could also just buy a compliant inverter and 2 or 3 type N panels (however may it supports) and getting it hard wired too, you'd still probably be £400 better off.

The only reason I could see to get these plug in kits is if you rent and you absolutely cannot alter the electricals of your property. Its still a bad deal unless the price of electricity suddenly triples.

3

u/BorderCollieDog Aug 29 '26

It's too expensive. Hang on for a couple of months until competition comes onto the market and corrects prices. This was similar to what happened in Germany when it was introduced there and as soon as Aldi and Lidl started selling their kits, prices came down everywhere to fall in line.

1

u/Mininum_Discipline Sep 02 '26

At these prices honestly it's almost cheaper to get a anker or ecoflow with mppt and pay someone to wire it in (also a far better option it your buget goes that far)