1st time solar install

[johnnie7]

hi guys

great forum!!

i am planing on fitting 4 x 100 watt solar panels on my garage roof

and i could add another 4 in total to fill the garage roof space

ive seen kits on ebay like this:
400W(4x100W)Solar Panel + 500W Grid Tie Inverter,Grid Solar System,Wholesale | eBay


am i wasting my time with these small units?
and if so can anyone point me in the right direction to buy better or more efficient units?

any help or advice is greatly accepted

best wishes
johnnie

 

[Earthstore]

I believe you are wasting your time.

There are many hoops to jump through to install PV, DNO approval for one, you can not just connect any system up to the grid, all the equipment has to be approved, the inverter will need to have G83 or G59 approval and be set up for the UK, wind calcs, weight calculations, building regs part P, part A and part C.

Also you will not be able to claim any FIT payments or export unless it is installed by an MCS accredited installer and the materials used are MCS compliant too.

To install 400w of panels and have a 500w inverter will produce next to nothing in the way of power, 400w is the maximum your panels can produce under Standard test conditions (STC), so on a day like today (cloudy) they may produce 100w linked to an over-sized inverter would probably produce nothing at all.

Why not get a good local PV company to come around and see what is possible, you may well be surprised, of course not in the same price range as your EBAY system.

I hope this helps.

 

[pvman]

Hi Johnnie

Where are you in Scotland. We are in Edinburgh and would be happy to offer advice. Either send me a PM or contact me through our website (see below).

Tom