My Solar PV and Battery Install - Why I chose a GivEnergy 13.5kWh All-In-One Battery and Gateway.

[@ianblack1033]

Hi Matt. Ive watched dozens of videos regarding different types of install. Your method/installation and instruction is one of the clearest ive seen. Showing those graphics, great idea, simple to understand. Thanks very much takin the time to do this. I will definitely use the code when i take the plunge in a few months!

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

Glad it helped

[@veleriebee]

Very good installation!!!

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

Thanks!

[@RichardABW]

03:15 Another benefit of DC batteries is if your inverter would clip with excess DC solar power, it can go into the battery rather than being lost.

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

yes, very true

[@ayoubtourabi6836]

Thank you for sharing your installation. @SolarJourneyWithMatt, does your battery or inverter goes offline when simulating a power outage? Do they do often offline. I'm experiencing these issues on my recent installation

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

Hi, no the All-in-one has been specifically designed to stay online during a power cut. The gateway discounts the house from the grid but keeps the battery and solar connected and running. Most other hybrid systems can be setup with some sort of EPS but the capacity of it can vary.

[@Stugadget]

I Wish there was an alarm to tell you when there was a power cut that way you would know to managed the stored power.

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

Yes, its a bit poor that there's no notication builtin to warn you. As I use Home Assistant i've created a simple automation that monitors the grid frequency. If it detects that the frequency has dropped below 49Hz for more than 10 seconds it sends out at alert to my phone and nest speakers.

[@chrisgavin]

Hi, thanks for sharing. This is pretty much the system I'm interested in ! The GiveEnergy AIO battery inverter is 6kW, the solar inverter is 5kW. Surely both of these exceed the 3.68kW limit for the simpler G98 DNO approval... Did you not need to apply for the more complex G99 approval for this system ? If so, what were the extra time, money and complexity costs for doing this please ?

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

Yes this version of the AIO requires a G99 application. For my DNO there was no charge but others do. This was all handled by my installer and only took a week or 2. There is a 3.6kW version of the AIO now that can be installed under G98.

[@chrisgavin]

Awesome reply, thanks for this. Sounds like you had a v. good experience with your installer and DNO. Nice ! I did see there's the new 'restricted' version of the GiveEnergy AIO, seems a shame to restrict the system this way, but I get why they are offering this too.

[@pb871]

Poor customers of Scottish Power (I am one) will have to stump up £380 for G99 approval.

[@kristiansnelling9576]

My installer did my G99, at no cost, but it did take a couple of months for approval. So glad I didn't have to pay though

[@michaelsuszynski810]

Dear Matt, I recently watched your video on KZbin with great interest. I have a question regarding energy storage solutions, specifically about the possibility of using a battery storage system independent of solar panels. My idea is to charge the battery overnight when electricity rates are lower and then use this stored energy to power my home during the day, especially when electricity prices are at their highest. I should mention that I don't own an electric vehicle, so the system would be solely for home energy use. Have you explored or discussed such a scenario in your videos? I am curious to know if this is a feasible option and would greatly appreciate any insights or analysis you might have on this topic. Thank you for your content and looking forward to your response. Best regards, Michael

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

That is certainly an option to consider, and in the winter thats what I actually do as the solar output is low. Charge up on cheap overnight electricity and use the battery to power the house during the day. In the UK a seperate battery system installation was taxable at 20%, but if installed at the same time as solar then both would be 0%. That's generally why people went for solar or solar+battery. This is changing on the 1st Feb so that a standalone battery will be 0%. That will shorten the payback period, and we will see a lot more battery only installs.

[@suszynskim]

Thanks for your reply, Matt. From your video, I understand that installing your solution is the best option. Could you provide any specific tips or considerations I should keep in mind when looking into this? Also, are there any particular models or brands you recommend for someone just starting out with solar and battery systems?

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

Brands that I looked at were Telsa Powerwall and the GivEnergy solutions. I discounted the Powerwall because of it's locked down nature but that might not be something you care about. You also need to decide if you want whole-house backup or just EPS. Then you need to know what your current electrical usage is, to size the battery you need. Any decent installer should go through all of this with you.

[@CrystalNetZero]

@@SolarJourneyWithMatt Thanks for your sharing, it's very useful for those who are interested in solar and battery storage. For the ROI, hybrid inverter+battery all in one product seems to be the best solution which may only need about 4-5 years to recover the cost. May I ask that, have you considered about Myenergi or Sigenergy or other brands for comparison? How is payback cycle with Givenergy solution? I will appreciate your kindly feedback.😊

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

When I looked at the Libbi battery system (because I already have an Eddi) the costing of it was £'thounds more than a GivEnergy system. I'm not sure if they have come down in price since then. On paper my ROI is around 10 years, but I think it will actually be less at around 7-8. But ROI wasn't the only reason for me to install the system.

[@Electronzap]

Nice.

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

Thank you

[@boxtriker]

Been working on this sort of setup for home hear but going with a 5kwh Hybrid as I need close to 20kwh of battery's and 2 x 9.5 fit the bill with 10 panels East and 10 panels West of 425w giving 8,5 Kwh total giving a predicted output of a bit over 7000 kwh a year. On site use is 6500 a year most days see's a average 15 to18kwh used so store as much as i can power cuts are short time if ever so going down the DC path makes sense over the 13.5 all in one and more power going out to grid can you add more battery's to the AC system all in one i cant see anyplace they say you can daisy chain the battery's like a Dc setup so as to make up a 23kw with one more 9.5 on it

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

Daisy chaining the All-in-one is meant to be appearing at some point. The batteries and gateway have terminals for in and out.

[@keithw7777]

My DNO (northern power) refused me a 5kWt inverter meaning I could not have 20 panels My installer said that it's not unusual for DNO to restrict systems like this when Allin one is part of package. I asked about appealing and they said no point! The reason for the restriction is to prevent my system exporting too much. Still feel irritated by this decision h2onorth

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

@@keithw7777 I imagine that would be very frustrating. I feel that some DNOs haven't been investing in the local grid. Over the next decade it will be interesting to see what they do with more houses having EVs and ASHP.

[@boxtriker]

DNO came back hear no problem thats tuff luck on that system should be in by end of Feb

[@asimhussain7782]

what is the purpose of isolation switch and why should you get one installed?

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

It's mostly to help out the electricians. Technically they aren't allowed to pull the main fuse to the house so they can work safely on the fuse board, it should be a DNO employee that does that then reseals it. An isolation switch allows the electrician to lock off the supply safely.

[@asimhussain7782]

​@@SolarJourneyWithMattI see, thank you!

[@goodcat1982]

So what is in the all in one then? I don't get why you need the gateway or Solis inverter. I thought that was inside with the battery? Hence "all in one" ?

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

It's a bit of a poor name from GivEnergy. But it's an all-in-one AC coupled battery. So the inverter and battery is in one unit. Technically I don't think you need the gateway but that allows for whole house backup.

[@joseywales3848]

The gateway houses the monitoring for the battery system. Without it, the battery would not know when the PV power is being generated, power is being exported or being imported. It also acts as the change over switch during a power cut. The Solis inverter is for converting the dc from the PV to ac, the All in One has the battery inverter incorporated into the enclosure of the battery to converter ac to dc and back again as required.

[@caymanblack9567]

how much is this system roughly? THX.

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

It was around £12.5k

[@pmbpmb5416]

Is the battery system modular ?

[@SolarJourneyWithMatt]

GivEnergy have said that sometime soon multiple AIO batteries can be daisy chained together. In tender of the AIO itself it has 4 separate modules inside, but they aren't upgradable