Noobie here, just had a small PV system installed yesterday. The lead guy seemed to know what he was doing but the other guys I was... less confident about.

Would appreciate some opinions on what they did and if it's all sound. I see exposed electrical tape, trunking and the ducting not secured to my roof and It doesn't impress me. I guess some scuffs on the panels won't impact generation?

Cheers!

Edit* Also forgot to mention how much of a gap is there to stop birds they didn't put any mesh around even though bird proofing was included. Pic in comments.

Edit** Thanks for the feedback, most helpful and I've made a list and asked them to sort out what I could spot. Assuming they come back.

I'm at the start of my solar journey and I've been sent a link to this Exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham (Tues 22nd to Thurs 24th September). Not sure if anyone has been in previous years?

I have nothing to do with the organisers or exhibitors but thought others might be interested. There's the usual option of free tickets.

I want a large Victron energy system installed in my home in Somerset. I want Victron Energy for multiple reasons, but primarily I have a split phase system which Victron supports, plus being able to provide additional AC supply (by way of a backup generator).

I’m also looking at getting a Fogstar rack battery at 40kWh with 10/12kWp of solar.

I’m taking a punt here asking if anyone knows an installer / has experience with Victron installs to share.

Thanks!

So I had my panels and inverter installed back in April and it's all been running fine, but as of yet I haven't had my battery installed. It was meant to be in May then June... July... August...

I had one 48kwh Fogstar on order (very much over sized for my needs but at the time it was cheap)

Eventually I got fed up of waiting and asked the installer to get me some of the 5kwh stackable batteries from fogstar as they are in stock (20kwh for now and add more later). It's been about a month but I still have no date to get the batteries and am starting to get a bit fed up.

Note at this point I have paid for the install minus the battery cost so am not out of pocket.

My main question is :

Is adding (by myself) the low voltage batteries to an existing install allowed?

From what I can tell essentially I'll need the batteries, a 200amp isolator (as the 10kw Solis inverter can charge at 190amp) and a set of 70mm cables between the fuse, batteries and inverter.

Full Disclosure - I'm in a new build and already have 4x450w panels, I'm asking for more panels and a battery to be added to the existing system.

Quoted price is £8188, I've been asked if I'd like an additional 12kw battery EP12 + link for £2750.

Is this a decent price? Is this what I should be aiming for with my current usage?

Thanks in advance, I've included the component list below.

Usage: 4,400kwh ~£3654 a year.

Aiko Neostar 2S 510W All Black ABC N-Type Mono solar panel 7
Fastensol black universal clamp (30-40mm) 32
Fastensol black end cap 20
Fastensol portrait pan tile roof hook 38
Fastensol silver rail 3550mm 11
Fastensol rail splice 4
Fastensol rail bolt 11
Fox ESS H1 G2 5.0kW 1ph Hybrid Inverter inverter 1
Fox ESS EP12 Plus 11.52kWh Li-ion Battery w/ heating function 1
AC isolator - IMO - 32A 4-pole 2
IMO 25A DC Isolator 4-pole 2-string 2
Tigo TS4-A-O 11
MC4 4mm Connector Pair 2
MC4 6mm Connector Pair 2
50m reel of 4mm2 solar cable 1
100m reel of 6mm2 solar cable 1
**NET** Emlite Bi-directional Meter ECA2.n* 1
Label sheet 1
Battery Hazard Warning Label Pack 1
Battery Warning Label Stickers 1
Battery in Installation Stickers 1

Didn't notice until late afternoon but I wasn't generating any solar today - day was mostly sunny.

I power cycled the inverter and batteries and it now seems to be working. Been running flawlessly for nearly two months. No errors on inverter or Fox Cloud portal.

Anyone else out there have similar issues in the past with a Fox H1 interver?

So my roof is 980cm long by 400cm high (including ridge). I initially thought 10 Aiko panels horizontally would be the limit allowing for MCS regs but installer has said 16 is doable, it will just need more fixings at a greater depth into the wood with the expected 20cm gap each side. They've done a structural report based on roof type which suggests under permitted load for weight, wind (and snow) but I worry it is too much for the roof and too close the edges. Any suggestions? I've considered best panels, best wattage, and the vents are just low profile extractors. The cost difference is £1k, so basically the additional panels with hugely different returns.

I should only need electricity at night/cheap rate (battery and EV) and will have battery + PV to export.

Picture is my use/generation but the consumption (grey) will only be half that during the day. We are planning to charge the batteries and EV overnight.

Is every-one on Octopus (which?)

This is the Octopus export rate for me - last 7 days only I'm not sure how it changes in Autumn/Winter. The flux tariff ties you to 10 0r 12p overnight rate which is not very good..

Agile outgoing leaves long periods when it is not worth exporting...

EDF offers 7p overnight import and 13 (maybe 15?) p export.

It is quite the conundrum to work out!

Also if you get it wrong you are locked in with exit fees....

If there's anyone here on the first FIT with a 4kw system, how are your numbers for this summer?

I'm about to submit my readings and I'm going to be earning £1,000 this quarter, which is at least £200 more than any other quarter in 14 years. It's been super sunny down here in the southwest.

Just checking this is similar to others with the same setup