How Much Battery Storage Should I Get With My Solar System? Lets Discuss It!

[@alpselectrical]

How much battery storage to get is a difficult decision to make but hopefully, this video helps a little to make the right choice from the outset!!! Let me know in the comments how much battery storage you think is the right amount and if you plan to force charge and force discharge your batteries?! Thanks for watching! :)

[@adhdengineer]

One thing to watch out for is the battery cell configuration. I'm having a bit of a todo with my solar installer because the batteries i got are a weird 15 cell configuration whereas a normal LiFePO4 48v battery has 16. This means that i can't add any other type of battery than the one i got, whereas i want to be able to grab any standard battery out a DIY one like the seplos mason kits and connect it to the battery bus. I accept this isn't a use case for most solar customers but it is for me.

[@alpselectrical]

Oh no, sorry to hear you are having a few issues, hope you get it sorted! Thanks for your comment :)

[@photoman152]

BSL Batteries? I have the same issue as they have now changed to 16 cell so I can’t upgrade any further. Managed to get one of the last of the older type to get to my ideal capacity.

[@pmbpmb5416]

The ability to mix battery sizes such as sigenergy is useful .

[@alpselectrical]

Hi, thanks for the comment, yes there are brands that offer varying sizes, but usually those require wall mounting which means you need space adjacent to the existing batteries. So much to consider with batteries, but plenty of options out there!

[@tomdunn1512]

the loft restriction for batteries isjust reccomendation at the moment not regulation so you can still have them in the loft

[@alpselectrical]

There is a lot of confusion around this with installers and the regulators, however as an MCS installer and accredited with NAPIT we have been advised by both MCS and NAPIT that we should be treating this as if it were a regulation and under no circumstances should we be installing batteries in the loft. If in any doubt I would recommend contacting MCS and your scheme provider for guidance on this. We have not installed batteries in loft spaces since the announcement and most others have taken the same approach such as Octopus and other large national companies.

[@tomdunn1512]

@@alpselectrical that's interesting, my installer is also mcs and napit accredited installers but are still suggesting installing in my loft

[@alpselectrical]

We had our MCS annual assessment two weeks ago and this was again reiterated to us, and the assessor highlighted the problem that installers are still doing it despite the recommendation and pending change to regs! Regardless of whether this is a regulation or recommendation right now, surely as the homeowner would you wish to follow the guidance/recommendation anyway? It is highly likely it will be changed to a regulation and when it does it may affect home insurance and the saleability of your home having batteries in the loft. It is anyone's guess if insurance companies/surveyors/prospective buyers will give any consideration to whether the batteries were installed prior to the change or after. It is more likely that when they were installed will be irrelevant just that they are in a loft and we now consider this to be not conforming to regulations (when that change is made official). Another thing to bear in mind is if you ever wanted an extra battery added to the system and the regulations have then changed you could not install them in the loft at that point and the whole system would then need to be relocated. Most installers are adopting this change now,, including the big nationals as mentioned previously. There is no way we would install batteries in a customer's loft now or since the announcement back in April. It's concerning, to say the least, that installers are regulated by the same bodies and have different opinions on something so important. I am not surprised though as the way this information has been delivered has been nothing short of confusing and very sudden.

[@iameccles]

Great video, really clear and practical

[@alpselectrical]

Thank you very much for your comment :)

[@investingforrealpeople8343]

HI - Just had a system installed - 5.92 Kwh / 6kwh Inverter / 5.8Kwh Storage which I want to increase does the fox app automatically update if you add a battery or do you need administartion access. System is Fox ESS

[@alpselectrical]

Hi thanks for the comment. What battery is it? Is it the cube like in the video? Usually the inverter will automatically see the new battery, as long as it has been set up correctly with the communication cables etc, but there shouldn't be anything to do in the app. I would advise asking the original installer to do it for you just incase though! :) Fox service centre technical helpline are super helpful and can help you with any queries you may have :) Best of luck with it

[@investingforrealpeople8343]

Hi Yes it is a cube battery and it is made up of 2x2.9Kwh - I want to add an additional 2.9 if not 2x as my calculations suggest an average annual use of 9.3 per day but currently this time of year it is between 4-6, This would suggest I think thta winter use is going to be above 10KWh ? Oh and thankyou for your response. Very much appreciated.

[@alpselectrical]

The cube is the best battery on the market in my opinion currently, not just because it looks great, but because of the ease of installing and adding to it. It couldn't be easier for you, firstly shut down the system from the AC and DC side, and turn off the master switch on the BMS, simply lift off the BMS (top module with the leads connected) add your new module on top of the one under the BMS and put the BMS back on. The you are done! 10 minutes max!

[@Tony-fl3rl]

The fox cube looks like a sungro battery pack

[@rodden1953]

if i went on to their export tariff would i be abled to still keep my olf government FIT payments ?

[@alpselectrical]

Hi, thanks for the comment. I sam afraid you can only have one or the other. What is your FIT rate? The reason I ask, is that there are some great export rates available now, that may be better than what you are receiving on your FIT payments so you could switch if it was financially justifiable.

[@getintheremike]

You said it was a 10 minute job for you so what is the cost you charge Bfor a 10 minute installation?

[@alpselectrical]

Hi, thanks for the comment. There is a little more to it than just the 10 minutes to lift the battery into place, with registering it, set up and MCS paperwork etc, obviously transport and travel, and believe it or not the DNO need to be notified of additional batteries so we do all that too. But we charged this customer next to nothing on top of the cost of the battery (less than £80) due to him being a solar customer of ours, and we look after all our customers ongoing as we want them to get the very best from their systems for the life of them.

[@matthewknight5641]

I thought I needed around 10 kw . Now I have 45 kw and it's perfect but it just goes to show..... You will need more than you think. And the more batteries you have the longer they will last because they are not being worked as hard

[@alpselectrical]

Hi thanks for the comment, and you are bang on right. Great to hear your batteries are working well for you! Most people increase their storage as time goes on as they see the financial benefit in doing so!

[@matthewknight5641]

@@alpselectrical yep for sure. And once you see the system working it makes it easier to justify buying more batteries.

[@alpselectrical]

Yes exactly!

[@matthewknight5641]

@@alpselectrical another thing to consider about battery storage is this... The larger the battery bank the less amp draw per cell and less often the cells will be drawn to a lower state of charge. The larger the bank the more cycles you get from the bank simply because the batteries are under less stress. Batteries are still expensive although they have been coming down in price but having around a week or so of reserve power with very little or no charge is a great investment that adds that extra couple levels of security to a good solar power system.

[@alpselectrical]

Hi, yes that is actually a very good point! :)

[@adrianellis4497]

Without battery storage solar is a complete waste of time, 80% of people are at work during sunlight hours unable to benefit from the Inconsistent British sunlight by using appliances etc whilst sunlight generating solar is available. It's just another con along with all the other cons we've been sold over the years. Now I presume if you can afford a massively expensive battery and fire proof storage solution any generated solar electricity during British sunny weather may be useful when you come home from work, other than that a total waste of space.

[@alpselectrical]

Thanks for sharing your opinion :)