An electric strategy saving £,£££s thousands 💷 - Full year Solar PV review

[@MyApole]

Hi Nigel, thank you for the excellent summary. After my first year I managed 4.6Mwh from a 4.75Kw installation. I was 77% self powered and my solar offset was 93% (from powerwall stats) so very pleased I took the plunge. As you say it's a journey and now I have the confidence it does make sense I'm looking at what the next step for me will be. Happy new year and thanks again.

[@robbiepilot]

Thanks so much for your encouragement - yes we are go......

[@eddiegough8895]

Hi Nigel, great video and very informative. I agree with you completely about your reasoning behind the concept. In fact (depending upon where one is on this life journey!), when I first got into solar and invested in a 5.7Kwh system, I considered that the capital spent might or might not be recoverable. The question is what did I get for it! I could have given the cash to a grandchild and you can be sure they will know how to spend it!, or had an expensive foreign holiday. Instead, I invested in something that has become a real hobby for me these past three years. It has also saved me significant running cost in the running of the house and an EV. It has also changed my whole outlook on the environment, having spent many decades working in a very polluting industry. So like you say it's not all about pounds and pence, but also how you want to live. Keep up the good work.

[@MarkSmith-wc1ek]

I have 4kw solar givenergy 8.2 battery, eddi and zappi charger coming in a week can't wait to start seeing the savings

[@11NinjaFish11]

I'd say you were justifiably smug about it! Very well done Nigel and thank you for taking us with you on the journey. We're a few decades from retirement ourselves, but have Solar, Battery and EV all arriving next month. It's a no-brainer if you can. Hoping next year our figures look close to yours!

[@EVPuzzle]

It helps being retired. More time to analyse it all😉😂

[@bobhewitt1065]

Hi, generally I agree with your ideas. After much deliberation I took the plunge at the end of December and had a 3kWp solar PV fitted with a GivEnergy 10kWh battery and hybrid inverter for 9 k. Still playing around with it at the moment (off peak charging etc). I’m pleased that the battery runs the house for 24hrs on one charge (not heating). The biggest surprise I’ve had so far is how much the solar PV generates on a sunny day in January 7.5kWh although generation is very disappointing on foggy days 0kWh (but you know this already :-) Thanks for the videos. Good luck switching from oil.

[@RichardASlack]

Had our 4.3kWp Solar PV + 8.2kWh GivEnergy battery system installed on 10th Jan. This week, from Wednesday mid morning to 07:00 today (Sat) we consumed less than 1kWh from the grid. We are limited to 2.5kW from the battery so we only pull from the grid when demand is high. Amazing performance for January. Can’t wait for spring!!

[@KiwiShoot]

Nice ! Love our setup, with solar, battery and 2 x EV's at home, it really was a no brainer. One of the easiest ways to reduce your day to day spending. And the ROI is coming along nicely., it really is the best time in life to be doing this.

[@kevxsi16v]

Interesting stats thanks for this video. Currently got 5.2Kw of solar. Adding an extra 40KW on my barn next year. Also have a AT5-1 turbine I need to integrate in to my system.

[@Flood51]

Another great video. Our 2021 energy bill was £1967 for a 5 bed with gas CH on the Bulb Vari tariff. Our 2.4kW array paid us £1220 in FIT payments. Currently trying to get Quotes to add 4.5-5kWp, a GivEnergy 5 Hy inverter and 2 x 8.2kW batteries but solar contractors must be very busy as we have not yet received one quote after 5 RFQ’s. At this rate it will be 2023 before an install. Really appreciate your channel as it’s helping me up the learning curve. Clearly you are very precise, I think I fall on the over engineer side of the coin.

[@EVPuzzle]

So you're one of the smart people that bought solar early.. That's a healthy FIT payment taking a great chunk off your bills. Your plans will really boost your system and take you virtually off grid by the sound of it👍 Covid plus demand = lots of delays. Answer is patience and persistence imo

[@Flood51]

@@EVPuzzle I believe solar/battery systems present an excellent distributed system for the U.K. I have heard the household switch to LED light bulbs has saved at least one nuclear power plant. So why does the government still charge upto 20% VAT on some installs.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Hi Nigel , brilliant round up. My pylontec batteries ( 28kWh) have transformed my solar pv set up here in Orkney. Still crunching the numbers too , next is an earth rod and switch gear so i can have power from my batteries when we have the local power cuts ( fairly often) 😀 Great video , keep them coming 👍

[@EVPuzzle]

Cheers Jonathan, your 28kwh is a monster system compared to our more entry level battery but I'll be catching up soon. Im finding the whole experience fascinating. Life is better with your own power for sure and the cost of energy right now is quite scary. I'm hoping to have a system that'll switch me off grid too, catering for power cuts but I think we'll have to exclude a few circuits as its not easy to do whole house backup (100amp) without a big inverter or Powerwall . I think we'll be limited to 50a What's the payback time 😂😂😂😂😉😉😉😉 PS I'm just finding out the pylontech us3000c uses a different CAN cable to the older models. It's amazing the detail needed to ge these systems installed.

[@dennishaggerty463]

Another very sensible and balanced video. Thanks Nigel. One of the aspects the number crunchers commenting fail to appreciate is the benefit both financial and personal (some may even say spiritual) of not being at the mercy of Government and power company energy pricing. Surge pricing is coming and anyone like yourself with a combined solar and battery set up can avoid the price spikes and exploit low demand pricing. There is also a lot to be gained from the personal satisfaction of helping to reduce our carbon footprint and independence from the grid. For many years to come the grid will still be reliant on both nuclear and fossil fuels, both an anathema for anyone even vaguely concerned about the environment. The savings on our bills, even after factoring in the cost of the complete solar installation that will easily pay for itself in 10 years, is the icing on the cake. What price energy freedom (almost) and an environmental clear conscience (well, almost too)? With Mr Putins hand on the gas tap of Europe and other supplies of fossil fuels highly dependent on politically volatile regions of the world, the sooner we wean ourselves off the stuff, the easier it will be to sleep at night.

[@EVPuzzle]

👍👏👏👏

[@edwyncorteen1527]

My strategy was the same as yours when I retired four years ago, the previous year we installed Solar and bought a used Leaf, a bargain price at the time, five years later we have saved over £1000 a year in diesel not purchased and have now paid off the cost of the solar. Meanwhile I arranged my pension to cover what I needed without any skimping, the capital is still growing despite monthly drawdown. A year ago I added more Solar and a Powerwall, as I am now on the Tesla Energy Plan my electricity costs are now massively below current rates for the electricity we use.

[@johnhancock46]

I really impressed with your videos and have just had quote for 7kw system to add to the 4kw I had on the original fit we are a heavy user given that we also have a 3 bed barn conversion with a gshp which uses about 3750 kwh a year your approach makes a lot of sense. Given that I am also in semi retirement your taxation comments make perfect sense something that had nor occurred to me

[@davidboddy937]

Great to see you doing so well. We have a similar sized system to you, and although not as productive as you we are on target to saving at least £900 this year on household bills alone. We have had an electric car since August and fuel savings are huge, we estimate an annual saving of around £1700! These estimates are at present day costs, and fuel prices are only going one way. Keep up the really informative videos.

[@tempcadoganenright]

Great summary. Gives me the confidence to do it myself

[@MrPWalden]

My solar PV and battery is being installed on Wednesday, I’m so excited. Can’t wait to start saving. We have 1 EV already (leaf) and a second on order (ionic 5 to replace our diesel Qashqai.) I’ve been watching your videos with great interest and i am really excited to get going ourselves. May even try a couple of videos on the subject! Thank you.

[@EVPuzzle]

Well done on ditching the qashqai and going solar.. Enjoy the ride and smiles

[@eliotmansfield]

But you understand you are not saving a dime until you have covered the capex cost - solar is what, 6 odd years - batteries are closer to 10 years.

[@EVPuzzle]

It's irrelevant. I'm talking monthly savings on my Bills and you're talking financial investment. I'm this bi o I've steered clear of talking about payback as it encourages people to discuss is it a good investment. If all you want is to make money solar isn't the best investment. Hope you can see the distinction. Monthly income is key to many

[@eliotmansfield]

@@EVPuzzle I think we need to disagree - you just push back and dismiss anything that challenges your position. With that said, I find your videos interesting and I’m just trying to have a discussion rather than an argument. I’m into home automation and datalog endless data around the house to understand if something is worth doing or not based on data.

[@EVPuzzle]

That's fine Eliot, I'd suggest looking at my other videos I don't cover every aspect in one video. Payback is just annoying for me because too many people focus on it only to find after implementing its not important to them any more. Im sharing that experience. Can't help but be passionate about it😉

[@eveningstar3230]

Very interesting! I have solars 4kw, and recently tesla powerwall. Early days, but I can see massive savings ongoing, and powercut protected!! Great during storm Arwen!! Only house in the street with power!! Keep it up!!

[@edwardpickering9006]

It is a learning game and everyone will need to adapt differently. But you have shown how it can be done, well done! Doing some measurements and research is clearly the best way forward, not just buying whatever you are being offered, which for those of us who have the time, incentive and funds to do it will give great savings. And I'd finally like to state I am not in your typical viewer demographic!!! ;-)

[@EVPuzzle]

Cheers for that and great to hear my demographic of viewers is wider than I thought 😉👌😂 Totally agree of research. So many installers just offer what they know as its faster to install and common are with just the one company etc. A good installer offering lots of choice is key.

[@markcrossland7203]

Great stats and videos keep up the good work. Can you regularly include in your discussions that your heating costs have gone down dramatically because your on the GO tariff. My solar panel setup should go in in the next month or so and would love to move over to GO from eon but they won’t except new customers atm and who knows what the prices will be later. I’d love to swap out gas heating and download cheap electric over night onto our battery. I think it would be good you’d stress it more. You did also do that video stating octopus was changing the policy for GO so it’s only for electric cars. Appreciated that video.

[@AllenHart999]

Amazing video. Thanks

[@linlithgowcc]

Great video as always Nigel. Each household is different and that makes it complicated to compare. Love the comments and debates on financials, Investments, etc. shows that others value different aspects of exploring renewable energy systems. I too have oil heating. 20yr old boiler that needs replaced and a 2kw solar array and solar thermal. Tempted with more solar PV but limited space. Very tempted to ditch the solar thermal and use extra space to upgrade 235w panels with newer 350w ones and battery system. Just reading about rules on FITs if you replace or upgrade kit. A video on this would be good. One last point is that investing in the stock market/etc may well bring bigger returns than a basic bank account, but it’s unlikely to help get our planet on the pathway to lower GHG levels which is our ultimate goal or none of this matters!… keep up the good work.

[@johntisbury]

Thanks for the update Nigel, 100% agree on your push to get people to think about their costs and paying over the odds on their utilities. 6.6MW solar for the year we ended up on, that was 53% of our total house usage. Imagine having to pay for 6.6MW of electricity!

[@EVPuzzle]

I see in the comments some people are paying 30p a kwh already when forced to change tariff. Its getting crazy and solar really helps. Your 6.6mwh beats mine. This Huawei inverter is on the way out of the door, it's noticably poor. Let's just hope Octopus keeps its cheaper overnight deals. 4.5p to 7.5p is a big enough rise to look forward to

[@johntisbury]

@@EVPuzzle I'd be surprised if Octopus drops the cheap rate, they will certainly increase it. But they will also be quick to reduce it once the crazy energy blip of wholesale gas pans out. Let's hope the government invests in renewables and not take the easy route of going for more fossil fuels. However, with the current crooked bunch in power it's not looking promising. I see Cadent has investment in place for a hydrogen pipeline up in the north west! Oh my days.

[@EVPuzzle]

Hydrogen is good for free research money I guess but little else. I'll eat my hat if there's hydrogen piped to my house in my lifetime. Fingers crossed on Octopus

[@brianc5788]

Hi Nigel, Just an update, my Hyundai Kona ready for collection this Friday. 😁😷👍 Now rewatching your videos!

[@EVPuzzle]

Woohoo, gotta love a new car arrival day

[@blamsmith]

Oh man, i wish i could do this, we have a roof that is pitched on all sides and the larger sides are east and west facing. We have an electric car and will need to replace our boiler in the coming years (it was installed in the 80s) so need to sort out a solution there. Its a 1930s house with no cavity in the walls too, so i feel like it'll never be easy to heat. We paid almost £230 a month for energy over the winter. You're videos are an inspiration, but i feel the only way i can replicate them is the move to a newer house

[@EVPuzzle]

There's always scope to improve, don't let the old house win.

[@effin1233]

Thanks again Nigel just need a battery storage now

[@fredflintstone1428]

Thanks for the figures. I just cancelled my 20kW SOK batteries as they were going to cost just shy of £8000. I've already spent £6500 on panels and inverters and the capital outlay needs to be seen against battery prices that should fall as more competition comes on line. If my 8kW array in the nine non-winter months can not only support the house, but might also run a secondhand Nissan Leaf AND give some export back to the grid to offset the three winter months, then it will have done the job. I hope to be up and running by the end of the week.

[@Eb3nez3r]

Great to hear your experience. I got 4kWp in 2011 when the price of solar had dropped and you got the very high FIT coupled with an ASHP with RHI. The return gives you that off grid feeling. Sadly I had to sell that property after many many years but been in an EV for years with mostly free charging so still making savings.

[@magnusnelson6079]

Great info and really helpful. The videos have helped me decide on my configuration and startegy when the panels and battery are installed. It's been very helpful to see potentially a projection across a number of months and years to try and "real world" some of the online information

[@EVPuzzle]

It's why I do this. Great community

[@davethefab6339]

Nice one Nigel. 👍⚡️⚡️⚡️

[@robertgrafham9336]

Hi Nigel, great demonstration of what is possible and the benefits, hope it motivates some of the undasided to take the plunge and start the savings!

[@EVPuzzle]

Cheers Robert, that's exactly the idea. What's possible and yo make a start somewhere somehow. Reassuring when I hear my thoughts understood 👍👏

[@keithdaines8613]

Really interesting video as usual. I bought a small house in 2016 and had 3.6 Kw solar panels installed prior to moving in so I have no real example of the savings involved. At the same time I had an air source heat pump fitted as we have no gas supply and the solid fuel stove needed replacing as it was not safe to use. In September 2021 I had a 10.4 Kw battery system installed with a 90% depth of discharge. My electric bills from September to the End of January were £290.35 including the standing charge and VAT. I am more than happy with that for most of the winter period and am looking forward to (hopefully) paying just the standing charge in the months to come. February is on track to be about £55. This will mean less than £350 for the winter period. I am on the GEUK Tide tariff and pay just over 7p per Kw for a 7 hour period overnight which is when I fully charge my batteries and use the tumble dryer etc. if needed. I am hoping to pay less than £500 for the year and as I get the feed in tariff albeit the lower rate at about £275 per year and am being paid about £800 per year for the residential heat incentive (for about another 3.5 years) plus I get a £200 payment for being a pensioner, my electricity bill actually works out to about -£775. My next step will be an electric car (if I can persuade 'Her who must be obeyed').

[@EVPuzzle]

Many thanks. Sounds like you've go things sorted too with cheap bills, solar and a battery. Yes, EV next which of course means you need more solar 😉🤔 Time to negotiate.. All those savings in petrol could pay for.......

[@normanboyes4983]

You have a very valid strategy and that is very encouraging for everyone. You have been very transparent on the costs in terms of energy consumption but you have left out an important supply side factor. What I mean is you have made a very significant capital investment on solar generation, the battery and the solar doohickey for the water heating and it would be useful if you attributed an annual amortisation cost for those with sensible amortisation timescale say 20 years for the solar panels, 10 years for the panel inverters, battery system and the solar water heating doohickey and sum that to an annual cost. I am offering this constructively so that a better hard assessment can be taken at an apple v apple level. I have ignored the EV aspect and for this benchmarking should probably be left out.

[@EVPuzzle]

It's a very common argument but I'm suggesting spending capital to reduce your ongoing expenses. Initially it looks expensive but over time it will pay for itself but is open to guesses on future energy costs. I want the message to be about reducing energy costs not payback periods of solar and batteries. That's a different story. Do you measure them seperately or collectively , do you include car fuel costs, how must will inflation be , how much higher will energy costs rise in the next 20 years. In my position I'm spending money that's sat in the bank doing nothing. It's a much better investment buying solar than earning 0.25% I hope this clarifies the difficulty in expanding the discussion. I have produced pay back period videos for our solar config. Appreciate the comment

[@MichaelPickles]

It's a simple fact of if you don't buy solar now, you would have ended up paying for it anyway over the payback of 10 years. But then you lose out after the 10 years. When have you ever seen the electricity cost go down? With the move to electric vehicles and electric heating, the government will want to rake its money back that it loses on petroleum and gas. So I only see the cost of electricity going up there for your payback will be less. It's a simple fact of can you afford not to do it

[@adamlang7361]

@@EVPuzzle I understand your perspective around the message you want to give out about reduced costs. I too would be interested in the capital costs however. Could be framed around a few different scenarios such as around rising energy prices. I’m not sure other inflation is valid though, yes you might have left the cash/capital sitting in a bank account early nothing - many other people’s opportunity costs would be to put the money in a global equity fund which might rise by 8% per year, or even crash heavily. I’d be keen to be persuaded by the investment in solar - I’ve started playing around with a small set up just to look at the maths - 200w of panels, 100AH/12V LiFEPH4 batter, small charge controller, and inverter - I’m in for about £720. In Jan 2022 it producing about 380Wh per day, on a good day - hoping much better results in the summer will improve the economics. Currently its just a back-up really if the power goes off I can still run a few things. Anyway, please provide the costs, can’t really understand it without this information.

[@EVPuzzle]

It soon gets into a financial Advisor territory thinking about tax and capital gains, ISA allowances etc what's best financially for one isn't right for another but reducing energy costs is a clear winner for everyone. Save money early enough and you'll have funds on the markets too and retire early.

[@gregevans8939]

@@EVPuzzle Loving the concept... however... as an accountant, I can't help myself analysing this with some financial scrutiny. Without knowing what your specific costs are... I've looked at a 'typical' setup with some sensible estimates of the costs involved. It would appear that your model would take about 25 years to return the same investment as a 'typical' stock market investment fund. On that basis... whilst I'm totally into the whole energy saving/green/eco thing... at the end of the day, it needs to make financial sense. It would seem more appropriate if you published the full financial picture or stated very clearly that this is a 'hobby' for you and makes little financial sense.

[@micksoden7064]

Love your channel.informative practical and fun.

[@EVPuzzle]

Cheers, glad you enjoy it.

[@myopenmind527]

I’ll retire when I stop enjoying work some time in the next 5-7 years or so. I’ve adopted the same efficiency strategy as yourself. Have done some work on further insulating the house this winter. The world is going electric and it makes sense to generate enough for one’s personal needs via pv solar. Will be looking at a heat pump at some time in the next 2-3 years. Who knew that retirement planning could be this interesting.

[@EVPuzzle]

You're lucky to enjoy work so much.. Im finding retirement much more enjoyable. 13 years in I couldn't imagine working 9-5 again

[@peterclarke5323]

Some useful stats for total home electricity usage if you are still considering a heat pump: - Four Bed House - Norfolk - 12kW ASHP. - September 439kW - October 769kW - November 853kW - December 1202kW The ASHP was installed when the house was built so we inherited it. It never misses a beat and works fine now after some tweaking of the setup, although drop below 10DegC and mine uses noticeably more electricity. I'm collecting the hourly electricity meter data from my energy provider this year with the plan to go with some solar and possibly batteries based on the data analysis. My gut feeling is that come the winter high import is required and there is not much that can be done about it. The system needs to be designed for our unique household and fully optimised for the high solar generation months only.

[@EVPuzzle]

Curiously our 4 bed home only needs a 6kw ashp. A friend had an earlier heat pump and has upgraded to a latest model and he says the electric use is much less. With RHI, it might be worth considering?

[@peterclarke5323]

@@EVPuzzle given how frequently our ASHP cycles it wouldn't surprise me if it's oversized. I currently don't have enough comparison of how frequently our should cycle or at what frequency the compressor needs to run. Below a certain temperature the compressor frequency runs up to 80hz.

[@twistedtube1310]

Top video again with good info. I had a 8kw system that I fitted back in 2013 and a battery back up system. It has worked really well for me . Last year I fitted another 5.95kw of solar to get more off grid. I am one off the unlucky ones that my cheap electric company went under. So ofgem but me with eon. And I must say to date they have not been good to deal with they have put me up to a 33p a unit rate when I was on a 10p rate before. I requested to have a smart meter installed. When the engineer came his took one look said no you can’t have one and left. So my battle goes on. So for now I am pulling my belt in and have set my system to off grid. I have just put a turbine up . And put a video up about it lot to think about. I think my next step is to put more panels up . I would like to be in a position to be full off grid with on other draw. Thanks for your video again solar and storage just makes so much sense.

[@EVPuzzle]

Can you post a link to the wind turbine video. If energy prices go up lots I'd do that same

[@twistedtube1310]

Hope this worked never done this before.video is not the best but hope to get better.

[@ricco123tube]

Hello again. I had 3250w solar fitted 2014, so have a high rate of fit and export payment. So glad I did it. I also had installed at the same time a solar iboost for free hot water. I am now thinking about an 8 or 13 kwh home battery storage system. I'm not sure if 13kwh is worth it as we are just 2 in a medium 3 bed house with an electric car, but the extra 5kwh is not too much more. I do like the idea of charging the battery with octopus Go at 5p per kwh in winter and solar in the summer, and doing away with gas heating by installing under floor heating coupled with a couple of top up electric heaters. Not sure if I'm asking a question here or just sharing for ideas, but thanks for the video.

[@alanmuncaster7357]

Yes December was the worst month ever in 10 years of PV. That said the re-roofing of the bungalow back in March 21 and adding another 5.2 KW has paid dividends (9.2 KW on east and west arrays).. The Give Energy 8.2 KW battery has proved beneficial and in the dark times we have charged it off peak. An additional battery should be installed very soon (Give Energy system will take up to 5 batteries). By the end of March I will have a full years figures for the new west array...its looking good. The electric car has proved very cheap to run and will be upgraded soon. I'm with you invest capital to save income has been my policy since retiring and it has paid off.

[@EVPuzzle]

Very healthy system at 9.2kw. Can't wait to be able to say the same... Nearly there

[@lynnfisher4396]

Hi Nigel Your comments are fair and balanced and supported by our own experiences. We cannot do the solar diversion to a hot water tank as we don’t have one with our combi boiler. Some posts want to know what the payback period is, in our view it’s not the question, which should be how do I reduce my long term spending, how do I reduce my long term energy use costs, how do I reduce my environmental costs.

[@EVPuzzle]

Could you post another lynn. I'm talking to youtube to try to solve the comment issue

[@lynnfisher4396]

To continue. In 2019 with our original 3kw array we produced 3176 kWh and used 1601 kw of mains draw we also bought an Outlander PHEv. In 2020 we added 1.3 kw of solar and a Powerwall 2. For the full year 2021 we produced 4024 kw of solar and used 824 kw of mains of which 238 went into the Skoda Enyaq which arrived at the end of September 2021. All that import was at 5.5 p that was now available to us because of the battery ( at that time). Long term planning, research, decision meeting, even forgoing other things can provide immediate results. Due to Covid we haven’t holidayed for two years, just spent the capital we would have spent on improving our system We can all make good choices it just depends on your desire to do so.

[@lynnfisher4396]

@@EVPuzzle just done so. The first one appeared then disappeared. The one I have just down was shorter appeared. Then the second bit arrived after a delay. I will see if they remain in a few minutes.

[@EVPuzzle]

Choices.... Totally agree. Your energy use is excellent, 824kwh . Even lower than my 1.3mwh

[@EVPuzzle]

On with KZbin now but typically your message has now got through lol and I deleted the notification for the ones that failed. Grrrr

[@paulclapton7803]

All we need now is 1:1 net metering like the us 🇺🇸, thanks for the video and stats 😀

[@kolaajibade8846]

Last four years of data show production of 6100 kWh per year and a nett result of £70 per month for combined gas & electric bills. This is still with an export of 3000 kWh per year. This years trick will be to cut the export by half, by switching from petrol to electric drive.

[@AndyFletcherX31]

Last year I spent about 100 quid on public chargers and about 30 on fuel for the home generator along with burning through about 200 quid of logs this winter. Total solar usage was a bit over 4000kwh although much more was available for most of the year but couldn't be consumed.

[@johnrush3596]

Nigel, I have to agree with you. I am just about getting the figures right for ours and it looks like we use around 7 out of the 9.3 mhw of solar a year. Our heating bill is the same as it was in 2018, even with the price of gas going up three fold. Electricity wise, 60% comes from solar, however o think I can improve that if I update our 20 year water tank to something like mixegy or sunamp and put a more modern boiler in place. Yes, we are spending capital on these projects but out goings have gone down for heating and electricity and that is important when prices are generally going up.

[@minicooper1964]

We have solar panels rated at 2.8 Kw fitted in 2010 so fam tariff giving an income of about £1200/ year . The pay back on the investment was 8 years so now there only profit . However our annual electric consumption is 7500kw as we run a 3 Kw hot tub . There is not enough electricity generated to supply the house consumption and the investment cost and payback of a battery and electric car is not shown in your figures . Investment can bring 4% so what’s the cost of your battery installation. Regards Bruce

[@AEG_UK2020]

Finally, someone that thinks like me.

[@pmb9172]

This is an issue I have , the Capital outlay , include the excess purchase cost of EV over a comparable vehicle . Add in panels , batteries , inverters and the other bits and pieces , air to air or air to water and that’s without looking at windows , walls etc . So I am being Devils advocate because I find myself in the position where the house is gutted new floors , windows etc going in . It seems to me though , as Nigel emphasises , it is what you need from a system , I don’t think you are ever likely to recover your investment with the new payments systems in place .

[@EVPuzzle]

Ev wise you lose less money than buying an alternative that that doesn't need to be factored in us the fuels savings. Solar panels are paying for themselves, that was covered in Previous videos. Hot water tank, if it needed replacing just makes sense to, get a more efficient and smart one, battery Yes that will take many years to pay for itself BUT without it I wouldnt feel as comfortable using just cheap rate energy. That only leaves heating, why swap from Oil or gas? Well apart from the obvious, we need to stop using gas and oil, the aircon is a Great benefit on top of the cost savings. I can see, for me, it pays for itself but for others who doubt you'll look for ways to show it doesn't pay for itself. My energy bill this Year was £291 for everything including running 2 EVs. How much is your oil, gas, electric, petrol and diesel costs? Of course if you're happier putting £20k in a 5 year bond and earning £800 interest which will go towards paying your higher energy costs, I don't see the gain.

[@tonygoodin5099]

Great info but would be a good comparison to see the capital outlay for all the batteries, cars, inverters etc. to see what the length of payback period is.

[@EVPuzzle]

Those details are in my previous videos

[@jamesduffy8669]

Thanks for your input. I am retired no

[@dcsh78]

Import and standing charge minus exports payments came to £210 for the year, including thousands of miles in the EV. I would have spend that amount filling the Jag 3 times alone! Air source heat pump due for installation next month which should increase electricity usage and cost, but then we can cut the gas costs and standing charge too.

[@grant_HH]

I'm looking forward to seeing what my panels do in the summer. I had 4.5kw of panels with a 5kw battery installed mid September on a west facing roof. October wasn't bad but November/December was between 100w and 4kw total yield per day. Still on gas heating and cooking, somehow still using 20kw/day usually at an average of 10-11p/KW on go. Still undecided about more panels or bigger battery 1st.

[@EVPuzzle]

More panels ahead of bigger battery imo but both ideally

[@grant_HH]

@@EVPuzzle thanks. I'm waiting to see what it does in the summer. But I was thinking at least on days when the solar only produces 100w then there's 10kw of off-peak stored up. Although might look at putting some South facing panels on the wall

[@pumpkinhead456]

I think I'll have used £270 this month on gas alone to heat our house - gulp! I think I'll go down the fabric first route and get some under floor insulation; the amount of electricity I would need to heat the place puts me off electric heating for now. Very informative video though, thanks!

[@mentality-monster]

Thanks for this, I found it interesting. Though I would note the entry requirements for being able to do what you have done preclude most of the population of the UK: 1) Own a house. 2) Have money. I don't know anybody that ticks both these boxes.

[@EVPuzzle]

Having money and owning a house isn't an easy thing and hence not everyone does and adding solar and buying electric cars etc should be something we aspire to. Do we save, do went spend, how do we work, how hard do we pursue wealth and security, what are our priorities? With the right balance we can work towards a home of our own, debt free with a pension and savings for our future. There are sacrifices of course and the same opportunities don't present themselves like gifts to everyone but the opportunities are there. We make of our lives what we choose. It's human nature to be different and unique so of course we all follow different paths and all start in different positions and all encounter different obstacles. All I can say is those with houses and money to spend should make good choices otherwise they're wasting the opportunity right in front of them which must be damned annoying for those that don't have the choice. Ive worked hard and planned an incredibly long time to get to this position. It is possible but I agree not everyone is able to do these things.

[@anthonydyer3939]

So I’m not on the FIT, but my Octopus Energy direct debit is set at £1/month. December drained my credit balance from £290 to £235. That’s with an electric car! The EV only cost £11.50 to charge 230 ish kWh for the month of December. That’s good for 820 miles of driving! I just find it astonishing that I used to spend £160 per month on electricity and diesel, and now it’s just £1 per month plus roadside charging (probably £300ish for the whole year).

[@EVPuzzle]

Snap On the £1 DD. It'll go up one day no doubt but not to scary levels I'll worry about

[@keithw7777]

Impressive statistics, well done. Perhaps to put a more realistic and to some a negative view, we need to also be aware of other factors. The majority of houses in UK are older and poorly insulated , many facing anyways but south with roofs at poor incline for reasonable solar or water heat production. We tend also to move house more often so that the return on the substantial investments you have put in is not likely and the increased value of such improved houses not reflected in sale price. For many house owners, the required capital investments for better insulation (internal or external), double or triple glazing, wiring upgrades, never mind the cost of these marvellous panels, control systems and batteries is just not feasible. Government grants to assist are unworkable in reality and never mind the additional cost of electric cars. You may have included the total cost so far in your journey to zero cost utilities some where before but I bet for most people that would buy many years of oil/ coal/gas, electricity and without the disruption of tradesmen stamping all over your property, requiring other repairs! Your journey is interesting and useful research but for most UK residents just surviving these days is what's most important to them.

[@redeyesmckee3615]

I'm new to solar, only having my system from the end for September. December was very poor in N.Ireland only 73kw. Looking forward to the brighter days to see how much it can produce.

[@EVPuzzle]

It's brighter already this month. I'm almost at December levels on 9th of January!

[@airevalleyclassics]

Thanks as ever for your update and it has been great to watch your progress. I have 3.84kw of solar which is thankfully on the original FIT tariff and averages 935kw of generation per KW of panels. (I'm in Yorkshire and SSE facing). We have a 24kw Nissan Leaf which we have as our second car and is used for local trips. We plan to replace our ICE car with an longer range EV at some point, but the outlay doesn't make sense at the moment as the ICE car is hardly used and owes us nothing... I have finally taken the plunge and spending some of the FITS money we have earned to get a home battery installed, which is hopefully being installed in April. I'm also looking at adding another row of panels on our roof, which may give us another 2kw of generation. I'm also considering a Sunamp for instant hot water powered by our excess solar and off-peak electricity. (We have a modern combi boiler and no hot water tank. Fitting one would be problematic). As you say, the more you add, the more you save and like you we're nearing retirement and want to minimise our outgoings. Keep up the good work!

[@huudielbo728]

Beware adding panels if you have a FIT tariff. They may cancel your FIT contract and start anew WITHOUT the government subsidy. There were many rapid changes made to FIT, this makes it difficult to assess the rules regarding your own installation. Check carefully!

[@EVPuzzle]

Yes add seperately to not impact your FIT

[@airevalleyclassics]

@@EVPuzzle - the additional would be a separate string with a separate invertor so as to not affect my FIT.

[@EVPuzzle]

Exactly 👍

[@huudielbo728]

@@EVPuzzle This would be two separate contracts, would they smell a rat? I suspect they might take any change as an excuse to stop payment. This needs to be clarified before any installation. The origjnal contracts had a 4k limit, later this was raised to 5k. Could I add to my string, taking it to 5k? or would that change cancel my original contract?

[@Barkster2]

Great video - I am totally on-board with all your ideas. My first all-electric car on order. Another 15 solar panels also coming to add to the 8 I already have, along with 3 x 8.2kw GivEnergy batteries due next month (a days worth of consumption). Already on Octopus Go. Had you looked into having a ASHP to prime or pre-heat your central heating, a so-called "hybrid" system ? I was thinking I could have one which could preheat the central heating on the cheap rate - waiting for someone to come and look at the idea.

[@EVPuzzle]

Yes I've thought about it but ashp installers don't seem to get out of bed for less than 10k these days. I know a guy who fitted a used AC heatpump on his central heating . Works a treat for about £1000. The scale of difference is scary. Tepeo still appeals instead of heat pump

[@stephenshannon3706]

Congrats on your investment and taking the bill by the horns. Suggest it’s worth taking a look at the “Heat Geek” YT channel. Lots of really informed guidance about heat pumps. Also worth taking a look at Ripple Energy - they enable almost anyone to part share ownership of a large windmill; your share of that energy is sold to utility suppliers like Octopus, generating a credit on your bill. Even with a SCOP of 3.5, replacing gas will mean large scale increases in electricity use. The Ripple deal offers immense flexibility and sits very well with solar and battery systems. It also helps balance the issue of high electric usage when solar generation is at its lowest. Graig Fatha turbine in S Wales is already producing electricity, Kirk Hill in Ayrshire is the next project and will have 8 turbines. Well worth a look. 😊😊

[@EVPuzzle]

I've looked at Ripple and it's great if you want to support renewable energy but as an investment expecting kwh returns I've yet to see guarantees of the turbines operational efficiency. Everything presumes it'll. Keep turning but things happen and those things and delays preventing it from turning aren't very clear so unless you treat th investment more like a donation to a good cause there are risks... As with everything I guess. It's a punt. Its a great idea and it has some feel good factor for sure. Its rather have my own turbine if I'm honest

[@nickieredshaw7835]

Thanks for another great video update. After done our 2021 figures that people know from my twitter feed on our 6.2 kW solar and battery and ev it’s cost us we paid for the home use including standing charge £54 ! 😱👍 instead of £1500 + in home energy costs wow like you Nigel solar for the win ! And without buy fossil fuels and home energy bills we think we saved about £4000 in costs to driving 14000+ miles in 2021 to drive a model 3 ,even over £2500 saved even after paying solar loan and money saved to service to a ev over fossil fuels car so the cost ! Evs and solar for the win 🥇. Just listening to sky news they say every bill might go up another £400-500 in 2022 ! 😱😳So it’s even more important to get solar people in 2022 !

[@EVPuzzle]

If only everyone would see the point we make about going solar instead of saying aahhh what about the capital cost and payback. If I couldn't afford solar I'd cut expenses elsewhere so I Could afford it. I'd buy 2nd hand, it's a priority in my life now

[@yanholland315]

Pre solar and battery and EV (around 12k a year mileage) we were averaging around 13p a mile at an average price per litre of diesel of £1.20 so that was £1560 just on fuel for the car. Electric and gas bill combined was around £95 a month on much older rates and jumped to £155 a month when including the EV charging. Managed to get into Go early November finally (smart meter install, 5p and 24.14p) and my home storage battery issue was resolved shortly after. Since then we have been averaging 22kwh per day at around £2.06 per day including the standing charge. Octopus have already cut my bill to £105 per month based on those figures. Like you we are fairly frugal but there is little point not using gas for both central heating and hot water with a modern condensing boiler - our standing charge was more per month for 6 months last year than the gas used to heat hot water and that was pre Eddi fitment. Like your pie chart I'm fully expecting 9 months of the year to be very much cost neutral, throw in the SEG payment rate of 4p per unit (so only 1p under my Go rate) and I'm looking at 10p to charge the car overnight for 10kwh instead of £1 if the PV generates enough during the following day - we need the car during the day for work so it's less flexible. 1970s detached house currently with 20 year old double glazing so there is scope for improvement in thermal performance, albeit I've completed the roof insulation top up and it has cavity wall. Your videos about PV and home storage batteries compelled me to pull my PV plans forward, bills wise I'm expecting a worst case of £1200 a year to power and heat the home as well as fuel the car, compared to around £2000+ just on Go. That's before any SEG payments and assuming I am charging the home storage battery all year round overnight too (which I won't be).

[@EVPuzzle]

Like you all.my plans have come forward. So glad I did.. Wasn't supposed to be buying an EV or solar until this year with my pension

[@rich81090]

I breed large tropical fish so my bills are quite large for all the pumps I run, currently using 34kwh a day everyday or 12.5MWH a year. My wife and I both do large commutes and do around 20k miles a year. We are swapping to electric cars soon so the bull will increase further. Unfortunately the solar quotes cannot generate anywhere near enough to cover what we use so would just be a supplement. A battery would certainly work well but worried about the investment strongly being based on cheap elec at night which is no long term certainty.

[@EVPuzzle]

Presiming the tropical fish are more for pleasure than profit, adding solar to reduce your costs and avoid the ever increasing prices makes sense to me. You'd not want to feel restricted by costs of running the tanks. The more you use the more you maximise your use of solar.

[@ahmehdimokrini]

Brilliant vids Nigel - I'n in the process of putting a 5.6kW system on the roof with a 3.6kW inverter. Quick question please - you went from 3.9kW to 6.3kW system, did you need an application with the DNO given that you inverters input over the threshold of 3.68kW? Can you tell us more about the upgrade or point me in the direction of where you might've tackeld this question please?

[@drrlallen]

Very interesting. We moved into our current property in Feb last year, it's an extended 3 bed bungalow, pretty well insulated and was already all electric. It has a ASHP but unfortunately it's air to air so we have to use 2 immersions to heat our water, one for the en suite and one for the rest of the house, mind you we only heat the top tank for the rest of the house once every two days. Living in rural Norfolk we can't at present get a smart meter as the WAN coverage is abysmal and so we can't have the lower tariffs that Octopus offer, instead we have to be on their tracker tariff which at present is 30p per KwH. In Dec we had a 5.3Kw solar PV system fitted with Eddi's on both immersions which we immediately saw the benefits of even throughout full cloud cover that we had down here. Our electric bill for Nov-Dec was over £500 for the month and that's only with having the heating on for 3 hours in a morning and around 8 hours in the evening. We are now thinking of having Herschel infrared panels fitted throughout the house and stopping using the ASHP as it takes forever to get the property up to any sort of temperature. In the future we are wanting to increase our solar system and replace both immersions with Mixolgy tanks so only time will tell how much our bills will come down.

[@EVPuzzle]

Yikes 30p is 4 times my rate that's so unfair to not get smart meter coverage. Think I've said before cheap over night energy is key but I do wonder if it will always be available

[@peterclarke5323]

To efficiently run ASHP systems they need to run at the lowest flow temp you can 24/7. Most operate on a compensated flow temperature set point which is calculated on a linear relationship with the outside air temperature. When there is an HWS demand they automatically increase their output. Also turn off the immersion heaters, you should really only need them for anti legionella cycles once a week. It's taken me a while myself to figure out the most efficient way to operate the system, lots of Google searching too. It's also requires a bit of luck that the installer really knew what they were doing and everything is sized correctly to the load. For example it's currently 3DegC outside and the calculated flow temperature on mine is 30DegC. If you are spending £500 a month, the system setup is not optimal.

[@KevinLyda]

I'm really thinking I need to install wind turbines to handle winter demand.

[@alanbrad3727]

Some great information here! Unfortunately I have an East facing roof, i don't think it's cost effective for me but if prices stay high. Maybe! Have already switched both cars to ev's last September/October. But future energy prices are a worry!

[@EVPuzzle]

I'm adding some to the east. Not perfect but better than nothing. Energy costs are a concern long term

[@johnrush3596]

East works well, we have an east west setup which yields about 5% less then south panel for panel. Happy to share some data on it

[@serevinvukele8046]

The increase in standing charges is what is worrying me. I have read it could double to 40p+ a day come April which is completely unfair especially for people trying to go green. It could even encourage more off-grid solar and battery though. A Huawei one is quite difficult to say.

[@edc1569]

The problem is the grid costs a lot of money, if you are just going to call on it for a few weeks in December/January/February, well then the cost profile is totally different.

[@rhiantaylor3446]

I come from an era when investment decisions had to pass a "rate of return" test assuming 8% (!) interest on funds. In today's world it makes more sense than ever to invest savings which otherwise earn virtually nothing into plans to minimise future energy costs - especially if using oil or electricity for heating. In such a plan, energy storage is a major cost component so we need to avoid storage duplication viz. both EV batteries but also home storage batteries. I see that the Ioniq 5 can deliver 15a of 240v from its 73kwh battery, which would be a good start, together with a heat-pumped home heating system

[@EVPuzzle]

Solar and batteries aren't a financial investment they're an investment in renewable clean energy and energy independence which happens to have financial benefits imo Dont confuse vehicle to load with bi directional charging or vehicle to home systems . There's very little practical home use for the ioniq 5 v2l system again in my opinion .

[@janmortensen9314]

My solar year was in the low end production wise. But worse I was doing some new year cleaning and found that my surround amplifier was nice warm; for some reason it now uses 100 wat in standby... and it have been going on for most of 2021... not sure why. The average consumption for the whole house have dropped 33% in the 5 days since i unplugged it.

[@EVPuzzle]

Yikes that's a good find. Just shows monitoring is important to know your usage.

[@huudielbo728]

What is a surround amplifier?

[@PowerArtandFilm]

This is great - thanks for sharing

[@G6EJD]

But in Jun’22 the UK is changing EVSE regulations to require all charge points to report usage to the Smart Meter system suggesting they will then charge a different tariff for EV charging whilst determining when EV’s can be charged I.e. only during low grid demand periods. Those with an EVSE already installed are exempt from the changes. £177 for electric - are you including the grid supply fee/standing charge?

[@EVPuzzle]

Yes standing charge included avg about 22p per day for the year. Reporting the usage is more likely to be needed for grid balancing using ev charging and discharging in the future. If they hiked prices for ev charging we'd all buy commando leads. I just don't see it happening. There are easier ways to tax people

[@G6EJD]

@@EVPuzzleSo your spending 27p/day on grid import power, amazing. Taxation- yes there are other ways to tax us, but the Government’s intent seems clear to offset the revenue loss from petrol/diesel sales, plus the UK grid doesn’t have enough capacity to support large numbers of EV’s without burning gas.

[@EVPuzzle]

That's just not true. The UK grid has confirmed this and Government taxation has always been vague. Road tax doesn't go towards roads. Time will tell but don't believe news reports and general FUD it's all biased and spun with could, maybe, might, likely etc.

[@mikekenyon232]

Great video, it’s giving me food for thought. You mention electric heating - what system is that? Thanks Mike

[@EVPuzzle]

Not a system, just testing cheaper devices before committing to a system . Several videos posted so far ..

[@jasonhall7359]

Great video - its vert inspiring watching your videos, thank you. I currently have gas heating and would love to swap to electric heating once I get a solar and battery system. I can't find much info on electric heating anywhere! What do you have, or can you point me in the right direction for researching this please?

[@EVPuzzle]

Honestly, once you've watched all the KZbin videos you can find and if course bing watched my solar playlist and heating test videos... Join twitter and follow all the electric heating chaps in my posts. Loads of examples, infrared, electric boilers , sunamp heat batteries, ashp the lot ...

[@ianandrew8030]

Don't Nigel I'm still waiting for my DNO so Flexible Octopus Tarif is costing a fortune 33.73p/kwh with a 47.5p a day SC, can't waiting get onto Agile and reduce my payments 🤦‍♂🤷‍♂🤞

[@craigmills8308]

Hi, new to considering solar & really enjoying the channel. I'm learning but can't find anything on what you spent. If you had to start again now what would you buy & do? All I'm getting are salesman giving me the ard sell. Keep it up

[@EVPuzzle]

Solis 6kw inverter fill the roof

[@uktechie8013]

I am 50% there with car and solar. What is top 3 battery storage systems to investigate further?

[@scottwills4698]

Tesla, Givenergy and Growatt from what I’ve seen. But there’s plenty to go with (Enphase and Solaredge have batteries that work well if you have their optimisers).

[@Cashclever]

I have been trying to get some quotes for 6 months for a full set up plus battery no one ever even comes to quote me.. dose anyone know off people in Staffordshire who would install me a system

[@4wheelsbyDavid]

I stay in Scotland near Inverness and I'm not sure that will be sunny enough to get the cost back :/ which companny you recomended for solar panels and rest? thx

[@EVPuzzle]

Friend up in Orkney does very well with his solar Config. Look up ecocars.net

[@TrevorHa]

A lot of people seem to only consider solar or other renewable based on payback time for the system, but I believe that should only be 1 consideration. But really nice video as always. I can not recommend Solar panels enough, 3kw or bigger. I moved into my new home Feb 2021 and starting electric bill was £99 per month estimate from British Gas for electric only, the house had 2.4kw of panels on a East facing roof. I added a 4.62kw system on the West facing roof and a battery at the end of July and my monthly bill is sub £30 and should continue to fall until my EV arrives. For me I do 16k miles per year, so if I charge at 5.5p per kwh on Go overnight not even factoring in solar that will cost me just over £207 if I only charge from home. I am currently using £160 petrol per month. Factor in solar on weekends and Summer evenings I may cut another £50 from that bill? If you can afford the investment I strongly recommend it. I am so happy with solar and storage battery I will max out the last bit of roof space I have as soon as I can afford to. Plus you are helping the planet :-)

[@EVPuzzle]

Dont forget setting a better example too. Generations to follow will hopefully do even better

[@TrevorHa]

@@EVPuzzle True! I have been trying to talk my step daughter into getting solar on her new roof, but money doesn't seem to be an issue for her and her partner, or going green.... But I will keep trying! Especially while VAT is 5% for solar etc.

[@EVPuzzle]

My daughter is the same. Too busy to stop.and even find a better tariff. One day she'll realise its worth it but only after huge bills for a while longer

[@wrightwells]

Interesting figures and oddly similar range to mine with a 4.5kKw array, Produced 4.4MWh, Imported 2.4MWh and exported 2MWh. With a 2.4KWh battery that discharged 700Kwh What was you total consumption and total charging the car?

[@edc1569]

I wonder what the grid is going to be like in 10 years time, it can't just be there as supplier of last resort for a few weeks in December and January - find heat-pumps and better performing buildings a lot more sustainable as a solution, rather than just burning up a load of energy in resistive heaters when its cold and dark.

[@EVPuzzle]

It's a hard decision. Once you've reduced and saved and generated all you can generate , spending big to save small isn't easy

[@theferreira8632]

Hi great video. Whats the size of area covered by your solar panels? Hows your ROI on the full system? Do you mind sharing the costs of the system? Are you planning on adding more panels or a bigger battery? if yes, where and why? Sorry for all questions 😁

[@EVPuzzle]

For Roi have a look at my payback specific videos all the numbers are in there. Not sure on sqm size but 22 panels Yes I'm adding more panels and battery. Why? Because I love energy independence. Please, don't think of solar power as a financial investment, there's lots of better reasons. Only those who haven't got solar think about it paying for itself. Once you've got it, you soon ignore the returns and enjoy having it

[@theferreira8632]

@@EVPuzzle awesome. Will do watch all your videos. Just subscribed... Are all your panels same size?? if yes, do you know the size of each?

[@EVPuzzle]

Approx 1m X 1.6m I think but they vary. Mine are all ja solar some 280w some 300w. Same size though. Next one's I'm getting are bigger and higher output

[@theferreira8632]

@@EVPuzzle thanks. Dont forget to keep us updated on your future plans on your system and any upgrades.

[@EVPuzzle]

Will do, still fine tuning the quote / order. Any day now....

[@nicdensley4104]

We'll put

[@jonathanwarne3480]

Thanks for that. V interesting. How have you accounted for the capital costs of all your panels/inverters etc? This should be netted off against your annual savings.

[@EVPuzzle]

Only if you're an accountant 🤣

[@jonathanwarne3480]

@@EVPuzzle Ha! Not really. Depending on how much you have spent on all the kit you could well have been better putting that money in your pension and paying fuel bills whilst it grew. You can't say something is a saving or even a good idea without taking into account the actual cost of buying that something in the first place. But interesting info nonetheless!

[@Crazydiamond_1974]

@@jonathanwarne3480 it’s a very valid point, and I think a massive consideration is how long you are intending to stay at your current property… I’m right at the start of my solar and battery journey in that the solar has been operating for a week and batteries will be in at some point this year, but we intend being here for the next 30 years so my return on investment period could theoretically run for that amount of time

[@jamesduffy8669]

Hi Nigel I am getting an electric car KIA EV6 in March / April this year and a ZAPPI in January. I intend to get Solar end of this year. How is the Solar used as I do not have a battery. I have Octopus GO at between 00:30 to 04:30 at 5 p per Kilowatt hour

[@EVPuzzle]

Think of solar like a running tap of hot water. If you turn a device on it'll capture and use the running water/electricity if you don't turn anything on the water runs to the drain and goes to the grid. Having smart devices like the Zappi really help as they'll charge your car at the same rate as the electricity is flowing from your panels minimising any grid use and loss of solar energy to the grid. Batteries make it easier as they capture more and let you use it later. The more devices you can turn on while the sun is shining the more you'll save. Hope this helps and makes sense

[@jamesduffy8669]

@@EVPuzzle Thanks Nigel. Aways happy to learn

[@TheKerr1983]

Great video I'm very new to this but please educate me, I would off thought that while your on such a big array why are you still being charged from your supplier. I would off thought with the battery storage and the 6.3kw array and your yearly usage being under 4kw a year. Thank you

[@EVPuzzle]

In winter I need more energy plus I want to be connected to the grid for export

[@TheKerr1983]

@@EVPuzzle I see thank you for replying, I have an appointment for pv panels on Monday so trying to understand how it works

[@gino2465]

Hi grate videos and I have chatted to you before. Since watching you I decided to really take a note and switched off everything in the hone not being used. We rarely use our lpg we have over 8kw solar with 5 kw battery and an ev.i still cannot make your low bills and we use or do everything from washing to dishwasher and bread making all on lower rate but no way can we achieve what your s is. My home is 3 ded bungalow built 1990 fully Insulated. Even secondary glassing which has made a huge differance. So I only wish I could achieve what you quoted. My winter bills per month are £130, electric only. This is not including heating. My ev is cost affective now but when electricity rises again there will be this discussion about the pence per mile creating upto petrol and diesel cars. I never charge my ev outside my home due to the huge cost. We find that setting one of my ev chargers at 2.8 kw I winter like now we get to charge it free in this poor light. In the summer it's a differant discussion infact it's how we can store more so we don't waist it. Another huge issue is reliability of inverters battery's and solar pannels. When fitted fine. I feel strongly on this subject as I have comments like mine has 10 year warranty my battery is a good brand all the stuff that people assume is going to be fine. But in my case with hands on exsperiance you can wait upto 3 months wsiting for an replacment inverter and same with battery. Also read your small print they replace it for refurbished units. I have a good branded battery been replaced 3times now, not new so when it fails again it will be out of warranty and if I decide to spend the £2500 then I add another 4 years to recover my money. I have had issues with tranergy, goodwee, growatt. I have been waiting 4 months for goodwee to replace my off grid charger. So yes wonderful when working as long as your pay back will payback in that time scale. I lost months in the summer with failures. We really want to go fully focil free and add the heat pump but we cannot at our property due to our supply not being able to take the load on 100amp cut out.

[@EVPuzzle]

Those brands you mentioned aren't ones I'd choose and seem at the lower end of the market. My experience of replaced Solaredge equipment has been excellent. Energy cost wise look at your cost per kWh. How much are you paying fur the electricity? If you're using more than 6mwh a year you're a bigger user than me. Can you break down house, water and car etc to identify where the money goes. It's often old inefficient washers, dryers and cookers being heavily used

[@gino2465]

@@EVPuzzle of course you being in a newer home is a huge bonus. Agree on appliances as well. But if i decided to change every appliance to the newest tech and tesla battery's and new generation solar it would take 20 years to get this return. OK we live in North Wales winter is dull. What I am trying to say is that its not all that straight forward your situation is fantastic but I get on average a return of £600 per year on my system. People who conider and try to achieve what your doing should be aware of possible real life issues when even looking at what equipment they purchase as you stated my big brand equipment is not quality equipment therefore people need to look at better brands which will cost more. But buyer be aware read small print about the fantastic claims of warranty. Its a bit like talking about car insurance and often I get the statement that there car insurers are fantastic because they were cheap and the sales man was so nice. The truth really comes to light when you actually use them.

[@EVPuzzle]

Totally agree

[@gino2465]

@@EVPuzzle will you have 2 ev chargers in use at your home and will you be going the heat pump route in the near future.

[@EVPuzzle]

2 charges no I have an outside 13amp socket for 2nd ev if needed. Heat pump maybe.. It should save some kwhs for heating but huge cost. I know more when updated quote is in

[@lestaylor7767]

Another question, the front of our house is South East facing however around 2pm onwards we have uninterrupted sunlight (sunny day) at the rear of the house. Is their now a consideration to add more panels at the rear face to maximise input.

[@EVPuzzle]

Yes always a consideration

[@itsfahys]

Cant wait to find out what EV your buying. How are you managing without it. Im selling My Ioniq 28kwh bev and going for a Kona 64kwh bev if my Ioniq sells.

[@EVPuzzle]

Good luck with the sale. Hope you get a hood price. Love the Ioniq especially premium se model. Very comfy car.

[@kaugurid1608]

Hi . Grate video ,can you advise me a have 2 bed teras house , how much kw I can put in my roof and my year usage is 15000+ kw . Thanks

[@drreality1]

Thanks for sharing Nigel, but aren’t we supposed to factor in the upfront cost of solar and batteries? Thanks again

[@EVPuzzle]

Depends I guess. I don't see it as the most important factor as the money earns nothing in the bank. I see it as a choice. £1000 for a new ipad thingy of a 3kwh battery £2,000 on some new furniture of some solar panels We don't cost justify everything, we just choose to have it in our lives. I see solar and batteries in the same way. I choose to spend money on these things. They just happen to pay for themselves too

[@drreality1]

@@EVPuzzle That’s great , but as someone who doesn’t have the money in his bank account, I’ll need to save for some time before I’m able to go ahead! Based on the one year data, do you have an estimate of ROI?

[@EVPuzzle]

Scotland offers zero percent interest loans apparently but sadly we don't all Live in Scotland. You'll have to work out your own financials for payback if that's important. It depends on your usage and lifestyle. Mine will be paid for in under 7 years, 5 yrs to go and will be 50% paid for sometime this year

[@eliotmansfield]

Blimey - I do 13MW a year, no ev and gas heating. Hot tub is about 50% of that - and it’s still very marginal to replace the resistive heater with a heat pump. My average cost per unit (Go V1 rate) was 12.26p (no solar, no batts). So in theory IF i used all the solar (which you cant without batteries) I could of saved using your data 6300Kw / 12.26 = £513 a year. If the solar setup cost £5k that’s still 10 years before I save a dime. Even with the expected doubling of electricity costs that’s still a 5 year wait to cover the capex. I just cant make the figures work for me.

[@EVPuzzle]

The value is in the long term. In 5 years time you'll. Wish you had solar years ago

[@diluxe]

Hi , would you mind doing a video on the cost of your solar system , panels , battery etc and payback period ?

[@EVPuzzle]

There is one that covers payback already...

[@diluxe]

@@EVPuzzle can you add a link here ?

[@EVPuzzle]

Just scroll through my solar pv playlist....

[@markevans4832]

I have driven an EV for 2 years and would really like to get solar but am struggling if it’s worth it cost wise. My gas and electric bill combined was just on £750 last year. I, like you were on agile but moved to GO last May and only charge the car during off peak. I really need to do some detailed research as to what is available now.

[@EVPuzzle]

Nice low bills, well done. It you can afford it, go for solar, it'll pay dividends over the years plus give you a great sense of well being using your own energy.

[@tonymott3684]

I don’t understand how you can get double the capacity from your battery? Surely you charge it during the day, use it between sunset and sunrise, then start all over again? I’m very keen to understand what I’m missing as I’ve just had an 11.6kW PV system installed but didn’t go for the battery option as it was so ludicrously expensive and couldn’t see how I could ever get my money back (especially considering their longevity (or lack of)).

[@EVPuzzle]

Empty it charge it empty it.... Its continually discharging and recharging all day on a solar day

[@EVPuzzle]

Solar is the priority but batteries do help. The smaller the battery the harder it will work and better cost justification but of course larger batteries provide more functional and complete cover. If you care about not using energy in the peak grid period batteries are essential in winter as there's no daylight at all for solar. A larger battery will have a longer life due to less heat stress and fewer cycles too. A larger battery provides for faster charging speeds and better discharge rates. A larger battery could be used to trade energy and make a profit whilst supporting your load too. I only Need a small battery but I Want a bigger one for all the benefits. Yes it'll take longer to pay back.

[@lestaylor7767]

Thanks for your video's, we are considering Solar panels but will only go this route if I can have the battery to compliment the supply of energy. My question is does the Inverter hum (is it noisy), because of the limitations of where the Inverter and battery may have to be fitted it's a consideration. Also is their much heat generated from the Inverter / Battery. Would appreciate your feedback.

[@EVPuzzle]

My Huawei inverter makes some weird noises.. Previous ones were virtually silent

[@alanspain01]

How are u heating your house with electricity, I'm getting PV panels installed which will heat hot water for taps etc but not for heating so I still will need to use oil to heat home .

[@subevo35]

Sounds great. BUT HOW MUCH FOR THE TOTAL SETUP AND TIME FOR PAYBACK.

[@EVPuzzle]

Payback is covered in some of my other videos but in this instance it's irrelevant, it's an Investment that pays a return in reduced energy costs.... ongoing. If I'm saving thousands every year and that saving grows every year then my investment is sound.

[@jimgannon1917]

If you put the cost,of the panels battery ect ,how much is your kwhr.

[@EVPuzzle]

Impossible to know as we don't know the future price of electricity or which year the panels will stop working. What I do know is my energy bills are zero and I'm making more money in savings than I would if I left it in the bank. Financially it works for us reducing our monthly bills, providing a little income and helping our pension go further into the future. I suspect having incredibly low bills and an excess of energy will leave us stress free and more comfortable than many.

[@fredflintstone1428]

Did you mention what the capital cost of the electric cars were?

[@mondotv4216]

I get that you’ve adopted a multi faceted strategy to energy usage. Have you figured out if the battery actually pays for itself or would you have been better off diverting those funds to more solar? I know in Australia, you’re almost always better off putting in more solar. But it’s more expensive in the UK and you have less solar per year as well.

[@EVPuzzle]

I've learnt solar first for financial gain but battery completes the system and makes those final savings. Longer ROI

[@mondotv4216]

@@EVPuzzle With you cycling it sometimes twice a day warranty is likely to expire early? I think most are warranted for 10 years or 3560 cycles.

[@EVPuzzle]

That seems rather low, Givenergy is unlimited these days and pylontech expect 6000+ The option is to pay for a bigger battery and work is less hard. Personally, I wouldn't be concerned, extra winter use keeps it warm and improves its life 😉😂

[@ndudman8]

nice overview thanks, what is your estimated payback period ? Ignoring the obvious that the prices will go up :)

[@EVPuzzle]

I've covered it in another video. Think my solar was 6-7 years before these huge price rises. I've saved £3,500 since installing excluding diesel car savings going EV