Off Grid? Can you beat the bills? Our Solar & Battery Install

So, here I am with an update. Big solar install, Zappi Charger, iboost for the immersion, off grid capability and lots of solar panels.
Link to the Electric Z6 Mower: • UK Review | Ego Z6 Ele...
If you want to support the channel, please do so here: / ruralleafowner​

[@cwilsonpa]

Good to see you back. I'm very interested in your Solar journey and how to balance the power generated with needs and expenses.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Cheers!

[@ewadge]

Your adventures with the Nissan Leaf had me hooked. Loved your uploads.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Cheers dude!

[@spuddy4063]

I have your channel as SUBSCRIBED with automatic notification enabled.. Between you and Robert Llewellyn from Fully Charged I watch this space and all content. Of the two, I believe that you are a better presenter and give a full review that gives a true synopsis of real world worth of reviewing. Bravo Ian Sampson. Keep those video's coming they enable us - ME to understand what is necessary to learn.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Awww, cheers! Will try and keep putting some updates out then!

[@madm4tty]

Can recommend Gary Does Solar, really excellent presenting

[@xinam]

Good to see you back again! Very interesting video. More of this sort of thing please!

[@IanSampsonRLO]

I'll try!

[@Chrisb8s]

How funny. I just was thinking about you. We bought a mini Cooper SE last summer. i love the car. I was thinking about how crazy that j am in my 4th ev and it was started by watching your leaf videos. So I sent you a note in Instagram and here you are with a new video. How cool

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Oh wow! Sorry - missed your message (I have instagram for Rural leaf? lol cannot remember!). Congrats on the mini!

[@commuterbranchline8132]

Hi Ian, I remember the Leaf and the E-NV200 lol That env was the bargain of the century! We too are a family of 6 who have had two electric cars since 2018.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

It was, and the Zoe was!

[@gcbus2]

Yes absolutely would love to see you do more solar PV videos. Followed you for a few years now and so glad to hear from you again.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Awesome, thank you!

[@Eb3nez3r]

Hey, great to see you again. Back in the day learned all I neded to know about Leaf's from you. Cheers!

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Hi! Welcome back, been a while!

[@chrish3305]

Show us the journey! It makes great viewing and you explain it well

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Cheers, will do! You might need to subscribe if you havent already, as youtube seems to suppress my channel for some reason.

[@chrish3305]

@@IanSampsonRLO already subscribing! 😎 enjoyed the various journeys, some quite literally 🤣

[@ched999uk]

Great to see a new system in the winter. It would be great to see the app and figures in the depths of winter.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Definitely! Reporting is limited and have spent some money on a terminal and home assistant…but that is also proving to be a pain!

[@ched999uk]

@@IanSampsonRLO I just found your solar vids after getting a quote from F4S! Don't think I will be using them!!! Trying to find a reliable company is a tad difficult!

[@IanSampsonRLO]

@@ched999uk might be wise! I mean, got there in the end, but would never do it again with them.

[@JRo250]

Good to see you on again, Ian. Q: If the grid goes out, will your inverter power your home? I ask because it's common for home inverters to depend on the grid, even if you have batteries. I installed a small array at home, sort of a trial, using a Nissan Leaf battery configured for 48V nominal. It powers the house during the day for lights, fridge, PCs and other small appliances. It covers the pool pump which pulls about 2,000W as I schedule that around noon. When that's not running, whatever extra that's produced goes into the battery. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much power those solar panels produce during the summer months. I'll venture to guess you'll charge your EV during the day to soak up the extra power produced after your home battery is full. I think your Zappi works with a solar array to track production and charge the car from it.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

I chose a setup which can go totally off grid and power with just the batteries and solar combined (or just batt at night). It has an auto switch over if the grid goes down as well (as long as batteries have SOC of 20% or more)

[@suthie1953]

Welcome back. I really enjoyed your previous ev update videos. I would be really interested in following your solar panel and storage installation story. I am due a 6kwh installation with storage in April 2023 and whilst my situation is very different insomuch that I am a single old duffer household with a 2017 30kwh Nissan Leaf to my name and a PodPoint charger, I am really keen on reducing my carbon footprint in my remaining years. I am hoping I can pick up some hints as to how to run a system to its max potential whilst avoiding pitfalls. Thank you and good luck.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks! Judging by the response I might be in for some leg work lol

[@burtonnystrom4606]

Nice touch never thought of charging the car at night off battery storage during the summer months!!!😎😎😎

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Interesting thought hey!

[@markarman]

Thank you for sharing that. Very interesting as always. Please do upload more content on this subject.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thank you, I will

[@Christer885]

Great to see you back, very interested in more of the solar, I have also my renault zoe left, have a great weekend my friend 😊👍🌹

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks, you too!

[@deansh8506]

Nice to see you again Ian 👍 I've been following you from the very beginning and your videos probably gave me the confidence to go for the LEAF back in February 2014 👍 I've also gone for the solar route in June 2022, best thing I have ever done.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Great to hear! What car do you have now? Still leaf?

[@deansh8506]

@@IanSampsonRLO LEAF Acenta like yours for 5 years. Model 3 for 2 years. Sold for not much less than I bought it for. Enyaq for 6 months. Sold it for £5k more than I paid for it. Back to a 39kWh LEAF Tekna now 😂 it's fine for our general running around family stuff 😊

[@IanSampsonRLO]

@@deansh8506 quite a journey!

[@asiw]

Very interesting video, thanks for sharing.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@daveprice1608]

Welcome back and yes please can we have more. We have gone down this route with smaller scale of PV and battery and previous solar thermal from Navitron (RIP) Trying to come a balanced approach 're energy usage but relying on cheap night rate. Not really.exporting much as want to store PV in summer and time usage of washing /dryer etc. DefinItely need a second Givenergi battery. Fascinated to see how your system performs over the year year

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks. I have 2 other videos recently uploaded…youtube as always appears to be throttling their exposure to people, so just in case take a look!

[@evil17]

Good job, love to see more of ur vids on Solar & EV charging & house usage of course. Cheers from Australia

[@IanSampsonRLO]

More to come!

[@3604Kvideos]

Thank you for sharing. It's interesting to hear your take on solar.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

No problem!

[@FionaC1]

Good to have you back Ian, I was just thinking of you the other day. Fascinating dilemma of not enough power for winter and too much for summer. I’m definitely interested to see how this works out 👍🏻

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks 👍

[@juttley72]

found your channel today as I also watch other channels that show solar and battery related content as I have just had both installed. I want to compare performance etc and gain an insight into what to expect at different points in the year. Like you we are a family of six. We have just one EV at the moment, but another coming in December. A 17 Year old son who is taking his lessons and will be also buying an EV once he passes. We have an 8KW array, made up of two 4KW arrays. 1 facing south and another facing east. The east array is 13 years old and predates our ownership of the house. We also had fitted a Tesla powerwall2 mid December last year so its very new to us. Our house is fully electric with no oil or gas. Like you I also have the Ego Z6 which replaced my ride on petrol mower last may after it gave up the ghost and died on me. It's like chalk and cheese to compare the two. The Z6 can mow our field whereas the ride on petrol would not touch it and quickly got snagged as the grass was too tall and too thick. The Z6 makes it look effortless. During the summer we were getting up to 1MWH each month with a huge amount of that being exported because we did not have the battery to soak it up and the car filled up quickly. It meant in August (the first month we had both the zappi and the new 4kw array), we did 1480 miles free of charge just off solar. I have found since having the power wall installed, that about half of the time we have enough sun that it lasts the entire day. The other half of the time, it runs out after a minimum of 12 hours (so 4pm in the afternoon, but mostly later than that between 6 & 7). The power wall is only 13.5KW and I have been thinking about a second one to give me 27kw total, but I am not sure I can make the maths work. I will only be charging from the grid over the winter nights, so November onwards through to march. When I have looked at what my daily usage has been on peak rate (ie when the battery did not last for the full day) then it is between 1 & 2 pounds. So multiply that by half the month and times by the 5 months and I struggle to get close to spending another 9K on a second battery. That said, I really do want to be energy independent. Our cooking is done on a log range that we use to heat on end of the house. I have not heard of the fox batteries you have got, so will take a look into those. I would welcome a more in-depth review from you when you feel ready to make one. have subscribed and will take a look around the rest of your channel. thanks for posting. cheers John

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Basically twins! So many similarities! Thanks for posting up.

[@Joe-pv2mv]

Hello Ian, I am also glad to see you back, I've watched you all through the leaf days and also the Zoe resulting in me also having a leaf and Zoe - Fingers crossed So far I have never completely run out of charge but have had a few squeaky bum moments haha 😂. I went for solar and a battery just over a year ago ( A Givenergy 5kw inverter with a 8.2 kWh battery, my solar array is 6.75Kw over 18 panels) I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed with the output from your panels and the battery storage is definitely worth the money in the long run. I estimate that I have saved over £1000 this year and used no Gas at all for 6 months so the payback should not be as long as I first thought, especially with the high energy costs. It would be great to see how yours performs and to see if there are any interesting things you find out. I have recently looked into the Tepeo heat storage battery to completely come off gas but it is a little too expensive at the moment approx £6000 but maybe the price will come down eventually. I look forward to seeing more from you soon.😁

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thank for that information. I am hoping over the course of the 12 months (Jan-Dec) it comes back super positive overall. I have started out at the worst possible time - it can only get better!

[@nickieredshaw7835]

Yer you will get lots of benefits from your system all year we’re just 2 years on this system after having solar at last house. 2 year on near west array 6.2 kW solar and 13 kWh battery storage want more but not got the ££ yet so you will get better if u got good bit on south we have had more than 12000 kWh solar and dropped our bills substantially 2021 saved about £3000 in lower grid use and not buying fossil fuel, and in 2022 with higher prices we saved over £3000 even with low ev use for last 6 months thanks to Dvla😡 ! If had use of ev think full year we could have saved £5000 in 2022 ! Solar battery and evs rock!

[@bill_heywood]

Really interesting video, thanks. I’m just about to gave solar panels and a home battery installed and get my first EV, so I’m at the very start of this journey. Can’t wait to stop buying diesel and looking forward to grid free days in Spring/Summer. Be happy for you to make more videos sharing your experiences

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Glad it was helpful! What EV are you going for? PS - other videos have been uploaded since, but youtube as always with my content (no idea why!) suppresses it in its exposure, so you may not have seen them.

[@bill_heywood]

@@IanSampsonRLO I’m getting an MG4 Trophy, it is just so much EV for the money. I’ve watched your subsequent video, the point about the restricted charge rate for the Fox ESS battery in cold weather, I’m getting the same batteries and they will be in the cold Interesting about YT suppressing videos of small channels, the algorithm obviously thought I’d be interested in yours and suggested it… Subscribed now so I should be able to see everything

[@philipwilliams8114]

Hi Ian, we’re new to a Fox system so I found you on a general search on Fox ESS. So pleased I did - ace videos! I can’t help but fear Fox is inferior to Giv. I hope to be proven wrong and your experiences give me confidence. Cheers

[@rodden1953]

I have solar a powerwall and a Zappi and i still find it interesting to see other peoples setups , keep making the videos so many out there still spreading FUD . i just subscribed

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Welcome aboard, will try and keep the updates coming as and when!

[@MrSupergee]

Been watching your videos since the Leaf days, and was one of the reasons I bought one. Still have my 24KWh 2015 Leaf as the wife's daily (only bought tires for it and still has over 110KMs range lost two bars and 115,000KMs on the clock from 45K when I bought it) and also a 2015 Model S for my daily which is a fantastic road trip and commuter car (superchargers). Good to see you back ! Cheers from BC Canada

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Wow, nice one! Thats some miles! Nice little combo, leaf + tesla model s!

[@patdwyer6274]

Nice to see you again after all this time! 🙂 I'd definitely like it if you did a video series on the solar panels stuff - something on my 'must look into that' list. Cheers!

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Noted!

[@MikeDWinter]

Really nice setup, Ian. We had a 4kWp system (largest our roof could fit) installed in 2021, with a Tesla Powerwall (13kWh). Paired with a Zappi, it works really well. Zappi set to Eco++ all the time with a 4 hour timer for boosting during cheap rate to charge either of our two EVs. Powerwall “intelligently” fills from grid during cheap rate if the solar output is unlikely to be high enough to fill it during the day. What we find is it fully charges during winter months, then as day length increases it charges less and less during the night. During high summer it’s all solar only and regularly, for the last hour or so of the cheap rate, it also supplies power when the cars are charging as it’s reckoning there will be enough solar the following day. So far we’ve found we’re only exporting about 10% of our generation, this is mostly when there are no cars here to be plugged in. Last year we added a Mixergy tank with an Eddi, so I think our export will be even lower. The Mixergy will heat stored water up to 75°C with the solar boost, so I suspect much of what we exported before will be put into the hot water now. Following your experiences with interest…

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Quite the setup! Its good that the powerwall manages temperature with its own climate control. Any ideas on what wattage that draws? (Does it offer that in any form of data logging?)

[@MikeDWinter]

@@IanSampsonRLO no, it doesn’t show the power draw in terms of its own maintenance. The only data I have is that it runs out a bit quicker when it’s been below freezing here! That said, it may be a net benefit as more power is available / storable when the batteries are warmer. As an aside using CanZE on our old Zoe ZE40, I noticed a loss of 2-3kWh available energy when the ambient temperature was in low single figures compared with summer. The other thing which attracted us to the Powerwall was the backup gateway, allowing us to run off the battery if the grid went down. I couldn’t see if yours has a similar ability, but 28kWh would allow for a couple of days backup with careful use perhaps?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

@@MikeDWinter yes I spec'd mine to have auto switch over when there is a power failure, also possible to isolate from the grid manually and run of batts only. 28kwh might work for a day as long as no car charging or electric heating were used, so as long as we had oil in the tank we could heat the house still.

[@smudgey46]

I fellow forester like you, have followed you since your leaf days, we went the other way around to you, solar pv since 2011 and ev since 2015, upgraded to battery storage last year so now have 6.5 kw array and 14 kw pylontec storage, 28kw way to much for us but will probably add another 3.5kw battery. I'll definitely be interested in your solar journey.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Elo old butt 😉 Nice, you have a system which can just add batts without a new inverter/or ac coupler?

[@smudgey46]

Ian I had an hybrid inverter added to a 2.5kw pv array and l believe they fitted an AC coupler to the existing 4kw array so as not to interfere with the FIT tarrif, it will be interesting to see how you adapt to your large system, we use Octopus go faster to charge the car and top up the batteries this time of the year but if the weather is good in a couple of months will can survive off very little grid electricity

[@jonnyswalk4674]

Very interesting video - thanks for taking the time - I understood what you explained very well 👍

[@IanSampsonRLO]

No problem!

[@ianlove3]

Good to see you again.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks!

[@nickieredshaw7835]

Glad to hear from you again ! Watched you from the start ! More videos please ! Same setup as us just with us got 13 kWh we and you always want more battery and solar ! Solar rocks !

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Yay! Its been quite some time!

[@stocking5]

Great video, good to see you back and see your solar journey, hope to see more Ian.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks 👍

[@willymack5196]

Awesome to see you back I have missed your videos This is extremely interesting Thank you so much for sharing and it would be nice to see more of it

[@IanSampsonRLO]

You are so welcome

[@Kntryhart]

Nice to see you again. How is Bruce?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks! He is doing well, he is 7 this year!!

[@richardheasman]

Really missed your channel... so it's great to see you back! After getting an MG5 last year we are now looking at home batteries and Solar... always found your content so useful. I also hope the legislation catches up to allow the electric unicycles to be a thing in the UK. I know some of this is covered in your other channels but would like more 🙂

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Cheers Richard!

[@prop7184]

Hi Ian, glad to see you back, really enjoy your video's. Similar to you I just had a battery setup installed in November, went down the Givenergy route with a 29.5Kwh install. Already had solar from 12 years ago but it integrates with the battery setup nicely. I only have 4Kwh solar and like you said this time of year even 29.5Kwh of batteries is not enough for my house needs. But you make most of the savings on the lower cheap rate electricity you charge the batteries up with overnight. I calculated with current costs the batteries should pay for themselves in what they save me in approx. 5 to 6 years. Look forward to seeing further videos of your solar/battery setup when we start getting some better weather.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks for the info, interesting stuff. I think it has to be thought of over a 12 month period from Jan-Dec and balance out the cost savings that way, rather than micro analysing on a daily basis - just because Dec/Jan is so painfully bad! ;)

[@StephenLyons1984]

thank for your video

[@IanSampsonRLO]

No problem!

[@tomsdaddy]

Hi Ian, I've just found your channel, and this is precisely where I want to be, too, - although I'm still just at the 'mad ideas' stage ... ! I'm looking for a rural property where I can go 'effectively' off-grid, and this is the sort of over-spec'd setup I am interested in. So I'm thinking of one (or two) 10kw ground-mounted arrays, feeding into a Battery (possibly my current 24kwhr Leaf* on a V2G wallbox) (if not several) *which at 80,000 Miles is currently worth just £5,000, according to 'we buy any car' ! LOL ! Driving the entire house, including a Heatpump heating System, a Pool and I hope, some sort of (possibly DIY) Heat Battery, - to act as a heat-dump during those long summer days, - to save it until the Winter ... And perhaps if that heat battery is not all that well insulated, you can then simply 'steal' the heat it is giving off, to use as the heatsource for your HeatPump in the Winter Months ... ? Thereby allowing your Heatpump to simply work continuously but gently, 24/7, 365 at a low power level, because by drawing a gentle heat from your heat battery through the winter, it never really has to work that hard or draw that much Power ? Like I say, lots of ideas at the moment, and it's good to see someone else who has also 'thought big', and then done something about it ! Good luck !

[@tonyfrewin4822]

Welcome back Ian 👍

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks!

[@SirHackaL0t.]

Yes please, more videos would be great.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Sure thing!

[@martinwray7001]

More please

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Okey Dokey!

[@515eneg]

great videos Ian i too used the same firm as you

[@IanSampsonRLO]

How did yours go?

[@515eneg]

@@IanSampsonRLO 😂😂

[@IanSampsonRLO]

@@515eneg like that was it! Man oh man…. When was the install booked and then completed?

[@KCTalksEV]

Welcome back Ian! A massive battery, but if you are a high use household (I still can't believe it's around 3000kWh for an average household), 28kWh would be pushing it during the winter if you are using it for heating as well. I went solar in May 2021, you've reminded me I best talk about it at some point, All the best!

[@IanSampsonRLO]

You have battery storage as well? (If so what size pack)

[@KCTalksEV]

@@IanSampsonRLO Only 5.2 kWh, definitely didn't buy enough at the time! It's a GivEnergy system, so will likely add another 5.2 or 9.5 kWh pack when the stock issues finally resolve.

[@rusty911s2]

You've highlighted the incredibly low output from solar on overcast winter days. That combo of low sun and lots of cloud means my 2.7KW (theoretical peak) system is often not even powering the inverter's needs. Over cloudy winter months I might see 1-5 KWh for a whole week. I have paired the solar with 12.5KWh (useable) Pylontech batteries so at least buying in at cheap rate. You can see that even a (say) 15KW array would struggle with a large family under these conditions. All this said, I'm thrilled with my solar and there's nothing more satisfying than coming home to a full battery or driving around courtesy of sunlight. Knowing even my little DIY self installed 2.7 / 12.5 system cost me £8.5k, I'd be interested to see how your maths works out. Thanks for making this film!

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Yeah its a battle... will keep pushing to see where I can go with it all!

[@markcornwall8132]

Great to see you back Ian. Go on do some more. Now we've had the Leaf to Cornwall so how about the ride on mower, with massive home battery strapped on the back lol.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

ha ha brilliant, never again! That was a tough journey.

[@ianjco60]

Never heard of isolar boost, only mixergy on fully charged, interesting. Shared on reddit channel, binned Facebook and twitter.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Cheers! Maybe I can do a little more on that one then as well, and also include it in reporting back how the system works for us.

[@jeffcartwright7270]

Hi Ian - Glad your back !. Watched all of your previous up loads ( as least twice )👍. Would love to see more of your solar journey of course. As you have covered SO many EV miles now, would it be possible for you to do a battery SOH / Degradation video PLEASE !. This content would receive a lot of likes from fellow EV owners I am sure !. Thanks for even considering my request.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

I will have a think about that. I could do it with the env200 for sure with leafspy, so might try and find the dongle for it.

[@jeffcartwright7270]

@@IanSampsonRLO I know you are very busy, but that would be fantastic if you could thank you !. Some new EV owners still show a big fear of if their batteries are going to need replacing in a few years time. This hopeful video on the ENV200 would be a brilliant test bed and offer a lot of re-assurance about the service life of HV batteries !.

[@nickieredshaw7835]

@@IanSampsonRLOyou can do it with the Zoe too with can ze if remember we used it a lot when had our Zoe

[@marktomlin4702]

Great vid watch all your videos brought A leaf after watching your first videos I drive a Zoe now want to go two electric car family looking at solar so any advice be great hope family is well

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Brilliant! 2 family EV is great! Looking into 3rd possibly…once prices drop (IF?!)

[@bluesmoon3]

Good to see you back with a new project to show us. I've recently taken delivery of my first EV, an MG5 face-lift LR Trophy. I'm now looking at a solar roof installation and Powerwall 2. I'm interested in the alternatives to Tesla, but so far, I haven't seen anything that comes with a DNO approved Grid isolation switch to allow seamless off grid support in the event of a power outage. I'd be very interested to hear about your approach in this "Gateway Zone." I hope you get enough interest to continue the series.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks....a little spoiler, I can go offgrid with this system with an auto switch over. Maybe will do a video on it at some point

[@Dave64track]

Great video thanks for sharing your solar journey I would like to know more about how you get on.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Will do!

[@Dave64track]

@@IanSampsonRLO Looking forward to the update.

[@ewadge]

I am very interested in seeing your system install over the course of a year.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Nice one, hit the bell notification if you haven’t already!

[@paguk2000]

Glad. to see you back I would like to see your monthly generation and battery readings. Like other do on here.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Good suggestion, will try and keep on top of it.

[@xXAbdulBaqiXx]

I think your roof can have more panels .... similarly, you can vertically mount some solar panels on the wall.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Yeah, its a play of between aesthetics and functionality.

[@kevinashman9707]

Great to see you pop up on my iPad with a new upload to watch. I for one, will be very interested in this new venture as l am thinking l might try the same and l know if you’ve invested in that system, you would have researched the best way to do it…..Please continue Ian 👍

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Cheers, will do, thanks for tuning in!

[@EdDie-vz7ey]

Great Video, we are in the same situation.. one problem though, the wife is not letting me on the roof... so partially will install some solar panels on the fence

[@IanSampsonRLO]

ha ha, get up there when she is not looking ;)

[@mushroombeans123]

Great video, and great news. As you mention present challenge is daylight length and also low angle of the sun, even in Cornwall. Levels of insolation in the winter in the UK are very low. I am predicting you will be mostly fine outside of the three low angle sun months (1/2 Nov, Dec, Jan, 1/2 Feb). Spring and autumn probably fine, especially with economy 7 backup on difficult days. Summer will be rosy. Please keep the videos coming as many will be interested in your precise numbers on different seasons, and if you can share them, the investment costs for that much storage. Like you we have moved on a bit, but nothing like your investment. Our 24 kWh Leaf as gone and an ID3 (58 kWh) replaces it which is great, and 4 kW of solar expanded with another 2 kW to feed dodgy storage for off grid experimentation alongside the grid tied system. Yours is much more impressive as it is all integrated. Very cool and good for environment as you are pathfinding for others.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

How much real world range are you getting from the ID?

[@richfixescars]

Hi and welcome back. What happened to the Honda? Also you failed to mention the cost? It's all well and good buying all this, but does it make economic sense, how many years to break even?

[@bigyin.7710]

That's what I'm interested in, cost of expenditure and how long Ian, before it starts paying for itself? Was it the same company you used who were causing you problems?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

I did not fail to mention cost due to an oversight, but it will be a separate in-depth video. Will do a video soon on all the hardware and also the costs :) Honda-e - sold to help fund a house purchase :( BOO!

[@salibaba]

Good to see an update from you. So you finally got your solar sorted, and not half! That setup based on your consumption seems about right. Don't forget you can also be charging the EVs during the day in summer instead of exporting. We got our system in about 18 months ago so are now on our 2nd winter with it having got it in september. It really comes into its own in about March. We've got a givenergy system with a much smaller battery but theres only 2 adults + 1 child. Its been on grid charge since October and will be like that til March/April when the solar starts becoming enough to charge the battery through the day. I am eyeing adding an additional battery though, I've got an ASHP going in at the end of the month and am thinking I want to be maximizing running that from cheap grid power, dont think it will be financially worthwhile though, we'd only need all the extra power really for about 6 weeks of the year. Question for you though, does the iBoost modulate its power? and is there a minimum export level before it kicks in?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Nice one. iBoost you can set a min watt amount (from 100w up to 500w in 50w increments)

[@RichardABW]

Thanks for the video, I'm new to your channel. Really interested in knowing the panel spec, roof orientation and pitch.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Will try and include it in the future

[@4wheelsgood]

Great work, been with you since the drive in the old Polo when you ordered your first Leaf. Have you moved into a Stately home!? :) All the best!

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Ahhh the Polo, wow memories. Still have it! Stored in a shed. Have you gone ev/solar?

[@4wheelsgood]

@@IanSampsonRLO Yes I've been EV since 2013. 3x Leafs and now a Zoe 52. Thinking of what's next. Might be tempted by a 2nd hand Leaf and run it until if breaks. Yes solar / batteries and heat pumps. Managed to get rid of Gas completely last year. Great to see you back posting!

[@IanSampsonRLO]

@@4wheelsgood wow, nice one!

[@nickthorley1]

Good to see you back and I would love to follow the solar / battery journey. I'm guessing that doubling your pack would be the limit of capacity even if you received free batteries as you can only pump in 6-7 kw over 7 - 8 hours ago let's say 56 - 60kw overnight. Obviously if you are generating more solar in summer you could take more but worst case in winter charging from the grid then that's the limit

[@IanSampsonRLO]

If everything was PERFECT then it take from the grid 5kw, so eco 7 say 00:00 to 07:00 would allow 35kw of charge. BUT see my latest video, perfect conditions has a lot of caveats.

[@BabyGonzo5]

Hi Ian, I didn’t realise you was back streaming. More videos on the home solar. Did you move house?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Hi, surprised you came across it lol KZbin hammers this channel in terms of visibility! Yes moved house 😎

[@artel6225]

Love this ❤ great information.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks!

[@dougowt]

Great to see you back online. I'll be interested in how you get on with the panels and battery set up you have enough interest to make it worth your while. Plus re getting a 3rd EV, I know the market has changed a lot over the last couple of years, but I bought a high spec, very clean 2013 22kW (battery) Zoe, 43k miles, with 43kWh charging April 2021 for £4k and sold it September 2022 with 55k miles for £6.5k. Renault were asking for £1,800 to buy the battery, which kept coming down each year. The SOH of the battery was 96% when I sold it. I'm being told that EV prices have dropped in the last month, so I'd keep and eye out for decent deals.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

£4k for a Zoe….mental!

[@dougowt]

@@IanSampsonRLO The weird thing was I had a choice of 3 at the time for around £4k. I bought a met black, with the 17" alloys, the best Zoe rims imo. They handle better on the 17" alloys and look the part. The car was virtually mint. Even when we put it on the ramp the underside looked like it had just left the showroom.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

@@dougowt remarkable

[@davidquinn5906]

EV prices are nuts aren't they? In 2017 I bought a four hundred mile ex-demo Leaf for £12k. Leafs from that time are about £10k now.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Crazy times! Once upon a time dealers couldn’t get rid of them if they tried!

[@davidquinn5906]

After I paid £12k for it I put the reg into We Buy Any Car and they came back with £5k !

[@TheRatty2e]

Great video thanks, please keep going

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks, will do!

[@georgiou78]

Thanks for the informative video. Did you wait for F4S in the end? I'm in the same position you were after 6 months of waiting.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Yes. Over a barrel really, huge wait times and inflated prices meant starting over again was to high a risk vrs fighting it out expending huge amount of energy

[@grahammurray8707]

The original EV in the country was compulsive viewing and I would imagine the road to full self sufficiency, as the next logical journey, would be equally compelling.❤😊

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks, you never know lol

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

Your Leaf probably has V2G capability built in - can you use that in the winter months as an addition a battery?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

env200 has this capability, not sure there is a device thats on the market in the UK yet thats available to purchase?

[@seanathanq]

i need to find a way to do batteries for self consumption with my SMA Sunny Boy. I am in the US and the best option that i really see would be a $3000.00 Sunny Island Inverter so i could use 48v Lithium Iron Phosphate battery cells and set it up for self consumption, really wish there was a cheaper option.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

It can be cost prohibitive thats for sure.

[@jeffpowell1616]

Interesting video! I’m looking these air source heat pumps as well as a hot water system. Any thoughts on that subject? It seems to be in the news at the moment.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Retro install is a no go for us sadly - would need to be absolutely massive to service our requirements. Cost prohibitive in our case. EVMAN did a piece on this - in his case it worked our really well I believe.

[@Eduard.Popa.]

I wouldn't care if beat the bills, is more important to be self-sufficient. If they have problem with the grid, you have energy If they have problems with car chargers, or gas stations, you have energy

[@IanSampsonRLO]

There is certainly that in the mix for my decision to get such a big system. Although in real life it would be very hard to live off this size system even. If it was 5 times the size MAYBE it would be enough to be truly off grid for a family our size. We could get wood burners installed as well to compliment heating the house, that would bring some of the strain/reliance/demand of the electric.

[@Eduard.Popa.]

@@IanSampsonRLO the goal isn't to go off-grid but to be mostly autonomous in the situation of crysis. The EV cars need huge amount of energy but only the house having solar panels and battery is achievable and a great plus.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

@@Eduard.Popa. my goal is. I want to be untied from that system ideally and fully self sufficient, with current tech and the size required its not possible at the moment. Re car charging from the solar, it doesn’t produce enough to cover that for a single ev (we have 2) in Oct,Nov,Dec and Jan. It would give around 20 miles of range each day of solar on a single car if we did not charge the home battery and brought home usage down as well.

[@mcstan101]

ooooo you moved house... welcome back glad to see you gone solar ;)

[@IanSampsonRLO]

I had a promise to myself, that if we ever moved rather than live there for 10 years THEN go solar, go solar straight away to reap max benefit!

[@trumpingtonfanhurst694]

yes it's a bit discouraging when you discover how much battery you need to get through winter for offgrid. How much solar. In some places with relatively little sun you'd need to store electricity during the summer in a mountain of batteries. It gets problematic.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Agreed!

[@Solcellers]

Have you calculated the economy on the battery ?. Here in Denmark it vill not pay back in it`s lifetime Sorry for my poor englisch. and please make more videos 😊

[@Whereswally606]

Hi Ian, its a travesty that you only have 6.5k subs. Gonna say that your channel is most of the reason i bought my first leaf 2011 and then a 2013 (which we have sold) and now we have a 2014 outlander phev (which mostly runs electric) and im transitioning onto a commercial env200 which im putting two nv200 rear seats into via custom adapter plates as the differential between the combi (passenger) van and its commercial cousin is about £5k dearer and the inverter in the used combis tends to only have 3.6kw charging capability. Anyway end of the month im upgrading the battery to a 40kwh in the env200 and selling our beloved leaf. The recent tanking in electric prices is not helping here. Really interesting stuff re the ego packs. I've use macallister 40v ones for years on my ebikes, mower and strimmers. Great to see your solar setup, dwarfs mine (6.1kw) your roof is massive. Also that fox ess pack is interesting any reason you went with that ive others like pylontech etc. Anyway glad to see you're back, i understand completely why you would have the hiatus on the car stuff once its become the norm and everyman and his dog has become an authority on the subject.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks for the support. Lack of subscribers does suck, because so much effort goes in (KZbin will promote a cat video but not an informative one...the algorithm is its own worst enemy). Fox cube batts are just the latest and also can go outside etc etc, just liked the design and modular approach.

[@Whereswally606]

@@IanSampsonRLO i recently tried to name drop you on bootsowens channel when i was having a long rambling conversation about the state of everthing. We had just been on a job to free a commercial washing machine from a basement of a hostel in llangollen. Anyway from boots i am kept in the loop about all things KZbin and algorithm shenanigans.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

@@Whereswally606 nice one ta

[@Whereswally606]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmech5-AepaMaas At 28:15

[@andyt1048]

We still have our 2017 30 kWh Leaf and your videos really helped our purchase. We need to get solar panels soon so if you get time would love to see updates on your installation. What are all the specs on the solar panels and battery?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

I will try and get a video together of all the specs/system setup, and costs.

[@cityblue0202]

I have seen some really good wind power roof systems (that are not massive)but I can not find them for sale as yet. Have you considered wind ?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

I have, and it (a bit like solar is 4 months of the year) doesn't stack up. I might actually do it at some point if these videos do any good (not performing that well at the moment, but will give it another month to see how youtube suppresses or promotes). If youtube allows them to do well then it might be worth buying some wind devices and doing videos on performance. BUT: the whole idea is plagued with issues as far as I can see. For example, ideally you need to be in clean wind, so not disrupted by trees/hedges/anything - this means most likely placing it on your roof....but then most roofs are not designed for the lateral forces that would be caused due to the wind turbine. Then there is the reliability of the wind turbines, many on forums report failure of components and having to DIY stuff to gain any sort of reliability (waterproofing / swapping steel parts of ali etc etc). And lastly...the wind speeds required to get the thing moving are fairly high (HAWT's) meaning actually the performance figures advertised are very unlikely to be actually achieved.

[@Group51]

Blimey that’s a lot of batteries. My 5Kw battery is way too small to capture energy in the summer.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

I suppose though even with 5kwh you can run some stuff during peak?

[@Group51]

@@IanSampsonRLO I have 3.5 on both sides east and west and in high summer got close to 5kw/h in the middle of the day so yup washing machine and dishwasher time!

[@IanSampsonRLO]

@@Group51 nice!

[@mr.rocketeer777]

I have seriously tought Honda e. Any toughts is there better EV:s same pricerange. I live in Finland and there is -30c some winter days. Any idea what the range is days like these?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Honda E - best car I have ever driven, it was brilliant…BUT range is poor. What are prices like in Finland? I would do model 3 or Y (although actually looking at another env200 if I can get one!)

[@salibaba]

@@IanSampsonRLO why not try jonathan porterfield @ecocars he souces them at the auctions. a bit thin on the ground though. Id imagine many of the fleets wouldnt want to give them back 😆

[@mr.rocketeer777]

@@IanSampsonRLO 15k miles -22 advance 27k€.

[@mrglwatson]

Very interested in the solar panel journey. Also what happened to the Honda E, I must have missed that video?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Sold it to help fund house purchase (got back what I paid for it minus £600 due to some wear/scratches - couldn’t complain at all as it had 10,000 added to it!)

[@fredflintstone1428]

An in-depth view of what tariff you're on would be useful. I'm trying to go off-grid as my energy bills have gone up by 600% since Sept 2021, thanks Octopus Energy.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Great suggestion!

[@eliotmansfield]

yeh with 10kw of solar you will need a bit more storage - maybe 50kwh. But you also need check the charge current of your inverters to ensure they will fully charge your battery from grid in your off peak window

[@IanSampsonRLO]

They put in the max the batts will take (5kw constant), so 22kw / 5 = ~5 hours to charge them from 10% (the min soc allowed)

[@johnobrien403]

I like how you over powered your PV to try and bring up winter performance but it all comes at a cost. How much were the batterys?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Will do a video soon on all the hardware and also the costs :)

[@i235rider]

Came to see you in the summer but you had moved Phil

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Phil - I have been thinking of you! So glad to see this comment. Well done ;)

[@judebrown4103]

Yes, wondered where you were and I'd love to know much more detail about your install please. We are only two over sixties but considering starting with battery first to guard against power cuts and save money charging at cheap(er) rate, then graduating to solar when finances allow. We're now an ev household but would have to put a charger at the end of the garden and park a bit sketchily on a public green (as do others but not evs) to charge it with the lead crossing a rarely used path. Seriously considering it if council don't put one at the parking bays the other side of the green. Did you gave any issues fitting yours at what looks like a considerable distance from your house, or is that an illusion? Right off to checkout the ride on lawnmower vid. 👍

[@IanSampsonRLO]

We dug a trench and buried armoured cables for each of the chargers. Trench from garage to where chargers are located. The tails of the cables are longer than needed as this is not their final positions.

[@judebrown4103]

@@IanSampsonRLO oh right, simple as...that's good to know, no regs regarding protection or warnings on the cable then because it's armoured I guess. Cheers Ian 👍 Looking forward to my re about the solar/ battery install too please. 🌞

[@duncanmartin2626]

Surely in summer, you can charge one car using the Zappi as well as charging your batteries, just using the PV? We have a 4kW E/W array, and can get >20kWh on good summer days (I think the max has been 30kWh) - with your array you should be able to get 50-60kWh or more. I'm interested in your journey - we've had a Zoe and PV (with iBoost) for about 5 years, but have only just got a (measly 10kWh) battery.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Correct, should be able to - but with the key factor of actually being home lol, although I will try and work from home as much as I can to utilise this option. Amy is often back and forth so should be able to jump on the Zappi more.

[@adrianpike4649]

24kWh is a lot of storage! Do you use electricity for space heating? If not then perhaps you could reduce your electricity demand by switching to LED lights, not leaving loads on standby etc.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

28kwh 😎. All LED lighting. Just a big family and lots of hustle and bustle with people in and out etc + short days / no real direct sunlight.

[@gavjlewis]

Interested in updates about your battery. Not seen anybody using these Fox batteries.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Nice one, more to come!

[@magpieing4570]

More videos please do yo still have the Honda e

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Sure thing. Honda-e sold sadly due to house move!

[@alanbellwood2229]

Who did your installation , did you stick with first4solar?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

First4solar…nightmare of a ordeal. Got sorted in the end. May do a video on it. I have heard reports that many in the industry a operating in the same way also.

[@iainbusbridge9585]

Can you not use the car batteries to run the house. I'm sure some of the Nissan leafs has this capability.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

The do, but V2G not yet readily available here in the UK sadly!

[@IslaSprollie]

Where have you been ?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Work work work 😳😎

[@bigyin.7710]

Hi Ian, how much extra weight is now on the roof and is any future roof maintenance done from the inside of the house, slipped or broken tiles for example?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Hmmm...I could work it out approx. Re slipped or broken tiles - not to my knowledge, but I have some work to do as getting rain in somewhere!

[@MrButuz]

Man one thing to note is using 100watts 24/7 for the system idling is pretty rubbish. My 3kw Victron uses like 15 and even less if it detects it's idling. Other than that good luck have fun and you'll never get as good results as you throught you were gonna. Ps I'd do the opposite of your future pan - forget more batteries as 25+kkw is plenty - get more solar panels to cover off your winter usage more :)

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Thanks! Whats the model of your inverter?

[@edc1569]

I don’t understand the point of charging the cars off the batteries overnight in summer? Might as well charge them off solar during the day, what’s the difference?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

Not there.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

…also, forgot to mention; the batteries will be fully charged (house batts) probably by 11am so best to drain them to 10% for example by using them at night so at the start of a sunny day full sun energy is being used to charge up house batts (as cars most likely not there). If the batts start off at 100% then zero sun will be used to store.

[@MrHighvolt]

How is that smalll tower 28kw? Mine is 20kwh but 180cm high?

[@IanSampsonRLO]

That battery bank? Its 28kwh if so.

[@DuncanCunningham]

Do you still have that economy 7 night rate power thing? That was a thing back in the 80’s. Not been in England for 20+yrs. Could you use that to charge the batteries at night and use that during the day when it’s at a higher rate? Update: Never mind. I should wait until i finish watching the video before commenting.

[@IanSampsonRLO]

😎😁