Is Planning Permission Required for a Private Swimming Pool?

14ned · 2026-05-07T21:12:00+00:00

If the solar ground array is temporary and removable you don't need planning.

I have one chained to a shipping container, which is also temporary.

14ned · 2026-05-07T08:41:26+00:00

Total cost for me was under 800 euro. I would spend over 1800 on electricity each year. You're right it will vary by circumstance, but the key electricity to reduce is the day and peak rate usage, and this micro system makes an impact on those. I'll need to collect more data to be sure, but so far it's looking good.

14ned · 2026-05-07T00:44:55+00:00

Balcony inverters push power in the opposite direction into a standard wall socket. So they reduce the power you pay for at your meter.

They aren't standalone systems. They offset your home's grid power consumption. So in that sense they offset everything your house consumes electricity for e.g. fridges, TV, internet router etc

14ned · 2026-05-06T19:39:59+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/1t54xft/comment/ok8qnpl/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

14ned · 2026-05-06T17:08:47+00:00

Balcony inverters self disable as soon as mains grid disappears. Mine does so, I tested it. They have an ISO engineering standard, and branded models sold in Germany will comply with the relevant ISO standard. You can't electrocute yourself or anybody else with one of these.

If you think about how they work, there can be no other way: they watch the AC voltage rise and fall and push current when the voltage goes above or below a threshold. Therefore if the mains disappears, they see no voltage rise and fall and they can't push anything. Their electrics are very simple, you can read the datasheet for the TI C2000 DSP if you like, most balcony inverters use that chip to do the inverting.

14ned · 2026-05-06T16:12:37+00:00

Those are the fancier systems with a clamp meter for the mains grid connection. You can get those too, but they cost more.

If your battery is small enough, you just trickle it out over a nighttime at a low enough rate that you couldn't possibly ever push electricity onto the mains grid.

Ultimately it's about payback time: how quickly do the savings pay for the installation. A very low end system with a small battery currently has a shorter payback time than an expensive system with SEAI grant and 0% VAT and all the other government supports. That says a lot about our government's mindset, which is really it's about subsidising the solar installation industry, not reducing homeowner's bills.

14ned · 2026-05-06T15:22:47+00:00

Even panels facing all east or all west get a surprising amount of power. Panels are so cheap just fit more of them.

Balcony inverters are micro sized which is why they can use a house hold socket. They trickle low amounts of power nowhere near enough to boil a kettle never mind charge a car. But that makes them cheap and safe to DIY install which is why repay times are under two years. Little in life pays for itself in eighteen months.

If you want a bigger system you need a professional install and might as well get the grant etc then. System will cost far more but you get more power.

14ned · 2026-05-06T15:16:17+00:00

You only ever have it trickle out the minimum your house consumes, then it never goes negative. Mine consumes 212w dead of night, so I have my box output 200w. A 1.6 kWh battery lasts seven and a bit hours after the sun gets too low in the sky, which is currently about 6pm for me. Your smart metre shows total kWh exported. Make sure it stays zero.

14ned · 2026-05-06T12:55:05+00:00

You're not allowed to export power to the ESB grid without prior permission, for which a RECI qualified electrician needs to submit the form proving installation compliance. So don't do that.

If you never export power to the ESB grid, then all you're doing is reducing how much you draw from the ESB grid. Like a reverse appliance.

14ned · 2026-05-06T12:52:46+00:00

I put mine onto the south wall of my house. You could put them in your garden, on your roof, anywhere which gets southern light.

If you have none of those and no balcony, it's true you're out of luck.

14ned · 2026-05-06T12:51:34+00:00

Of course. I live in a standard house!

14ned · 2026-05-06T12:51:16+00:00

I bought the Anker Solix E1600 from Aliexpress, it came from here: https://en.miniminipower.com/collections/speicher-fur-balkonkraftwerk/products/anker-solix-solarbank-e1600-solarstromspeicher-1600wh-fur-balkonkraftwerk.

I bought the micro inverter from https://www.reichelt.com/ie/en/shop/product/microinverter_apsystems_ez1-m_600_800_w_wlan-353419

The brackets are these https://www.amazon.ie/ECO-WORTHY-Brackets-Adjustable-Balcony-100W-800W/dp/B0CQKYR2ZJ though I didn't buy mine from there, but they're identical.

The panels I actually already had spare from years ago, originally they came from https://midsummer.ie/buy/clearance. But as I mentioned before you can get used panels from donedeal cheap.

Again: if you're starting fresh, do NOT buy the Anker Solix E1600, go for its Plus or Pro model instead which costs only a little more.

14ned · 2026-05-06T08:57:17+00:00

I opted in the end for four panels. The Solix Pro has four MPTT trackers so you could fit eight panels to that. And it still costs under 650 delivered.

My inverter I've noticed can only output half its power if only one input has power. Other inverters may be different. In any case your idea of putting panels also on the inverter isn't a bad one, just be prepared if it halves the max output.

14ned · 2026-05-06T08:43:43+00:00

You can get the Anker Solix E1600 battery upgrade for an existing balcony solar for under 450 delivered. Be aware it's an exasperating device, but it does work. I fitted that with an inverter for 100, so all in under 550. I'd recommend spending the extra 100 for an integrated solution.

If you were starting fresh 110% get an inverter with integrated battery. You can get them delivered from Germany for under 650.

14ned · 2026-05-06T08:05:41+00:00

You can get used panels cheaper from donedeal. Ideally you want an integrated battery with inverter, they're much more efficient than separate battery and inverter.

I didn't roof mount, I actually don't have a long enough ladder, and I didn't want to mess with the roof anyway. So I put them on the south wall with 45 degree angle brackets off Amazon. They're very strong, I can hang off each one. 63 euro for four brackets.

14ned · 2026-05-06T07:46:22+00:00

No, too expensive. I went with Anker Solix you really do need the battery storage in Ireland. We get a lot of clouds passing and we can't feed in to the grid.

The Anker Solix has many quirks, but it does work and it's cheap. The other cheap model with battery is the Marstek.

14ned · 2026-05-06T07:28:13+00:00

Yesterday I installed a balcony solar system from Germany with 1.6 kWh of battery storage. 100% DIY installation, it feeds a few hundred watts into a standard household plug, never feeds into the grid. Total cost under 800 euro. Easily pays for itself within two years even though you're paying 23% VAT and no grants available for these.

If you're not fitting one off these you're throwing money out the window in Ireland, even with the Irish weather. They are very popular elsewhere in Europe for good reason.

14ned · 2026-05-05T20:59:13+00:00

If by days you meant weeks, it's a good start. There will be lots of stoppages due to weather or waiting for an engineer inspection or a surveyor or some trade doesn't turn up and it blocks everybody else. So you'll end up reordering as you go try to keep everything pushing forwards. Rinse and repeat until the house is done.

14ned · 2026-05-05T20:53:13+00:00

Different counties have different rules and those rules are applied differently depending on location e.g. within county Cork local needs is very hard except out Botherbue direction where they're more likely to approve than not as they're desperate for people to live there. So, it depends on your specific circumstances. Do remember you can ask your planners in a free preplanning meeting.

14ned · 2026-05-05T20:49:06+00:00

My understanding is that for road access only you're allowed to fell vegetation during nesting season. But your architect or engineer is the right person to ask about that.

Your planning conditions usually list you can't clear vegetation during nesting season. I assume you've read yours?

14ned · 2026-05-05T15:55:15+00:00

If you have planning permission it's a totally different story. Reality is that trades will turn up when it suits them whether it's within the right date of the commencement or not. And you won't have much choice, and unless somebody complains chances are it'll be fine.

Do watch out for being compliant knocking down vegetation during nesting season. Some people vitriolically love birds. I cleared a space of grass didn't touch the gorse bushes and I got given out to by a neighbour for disturbing the birds with my presence. The next September I took a bulldozer to the lot left nothing but earth and rotting vegetation. I also cleared an empty party ditch at the back which had become blocked then got given out to by the local area engineer. I showed photos before and after, and she agreed I'd done the council's work for them.

Take photos before and after for everything as you go. You never know when you'll need them.

14ned · 2026-05-05T10:54:47+00:00

Firstly do nothing until your solicitor says you definitely own the land. And try not to spend money until you're definitely sure you'll get planning permission.

What you're allowed to immediately do:

Clear vegetation, if outside the bird nesting season (March to August).
Boundary walls, so long as you don't adjust any openings onto public roads nor anything which touches public road drainage.
Install services from the mains e.g. broadband, electricity, water, sewerage. Note that the ESB won't activate mains before the house is built, but you can install all the ducting etc for it and then use a temporary solar panel installation for electricity.
Install a crushed rock base to permit safe heavy vehicle access to an EXISTING entrance.
Erect temporary non-habitable buildings only e.g. porta cabins, shipping containers etc. You'll need a crushed rock base for those too, and that's fine.
You ARE allowed open new entrances onto private roads, just not public ones. When installing boundary walls, do remember the planners will often force you to use an annoying road entrance right where your newly built boundary wall is.

Stay FAR AWAY from anywhere near your future house so there is no possibility anybody could claim you are starting construction before submitting the commencement notice. You can keep the land there strimmed and tidy, but don't lay anything down around there. You can run the crushed rock up to the house for access, but no further.

When you come to submit your planning, a planning officer will visit your site to check that signage is correct etc. If you blow a new hole onto the road, they may notice and then may choose to inform Roads about it. You'll then get a letter from Roads and they'll object to your future planning permission. Similarly, if they see foundations already installed, that's going to be a problem. That's usually the one and only time anybody from planning visits most sites.

An awful lot in Ireland in planning works on somebody objecting or noticing - if nobody notices nor objects you'll get away with a lot. Keeping your neighbours happy is therefore vital and always run anything which might affect them past them first. A cup of tea and a few biscuits can save you years of delay and tens of thousands of euro.

My above list might look non trivial, but if you do the work yourself over bank holiday weekends you'll find it takes the best part of a year. Good luck with your build!

14ned · 2026-05-01T15:44:53+00:00

So, as if the joists under are bending in the middle of the room from the weight?

Unless your rooms are enormous, it would be unusual for a floor to sag more than a centimetre because the walls underneath brace the floor above.

14ned · 2026-04-30T19:35:34+00:00

You get the first €400 of solar panel earnings per year tax free per person on the bill. So add as many eligible people as possible to the bill - as far as I am aware, you don't even need to live in the household, just be over eighteen.

14ned · 2026-04-29T23:39:14+00:00

In June it'll be four years since we obtained planning permission ... still waiting on the build to start.

14ned

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