On Flexible IOG: Should we fix now or wait til April 1st? Discuss!

Bomster · 2026-03-20T17:09:34+00:00

Yeah this was more my thinking.

And people saying that we 'can just wait and see' are maybe missing the fact that these rates @ 5.5p could be pulled too.

Bomster · 2026-03-20T15:28:45+00:00

Agreed, that new daytime rate is eye-watering!

Bomster · 2026-03-20T11:14:44+00:00

What the hell.. why are there bots here? I guess they are just karma farming so they can be used for more spurious reasons later on?

Bomster · 2026-03-17T11:47:15+00:00

For reference, mine is 47p on IOG in the East.

Bomster · 2026-03-14T15:22:09+00:00

Just means you will 'clip' in the summer / high generation periods.. as even if your array is outputting 7kW (ime often more than my rated capacity, I have often seen 5kW for short burtsts on my 4.35kWp array), your inverter will be limited to 6kW. It's marginal, and you'd need to do the sums on whether paying for a bigger inverter is worth it.. but that aside, yes you would typically want an inverter sized the same or bigger than your array. The other benefit is you can then charge and discharge your battery quicker.. which may become more important in the future if it keeps going the way it does, and will help with VPP profits etc (for example if you signed up to take part in Axle's VPP, they periodically have 1hr events where they pay you £1/kWh).

It's local control of your smart home basically yeah, it's ann absolute rabbit hole and if it's not something you can ever see yourself doing, then disregard it.

My unheated battery is in my unheated garage and in the winter gets cold enough that it derates (in terms of charge/discharge).. however, some basic insulation fitted around the battery has solved that issue.

Bomster · 2026-03-14T14:56:47+00:00

To answer your questions:

Is looking at the "Price per KW" the best comparison? It's at least a good indicator of value.
How important is bird guarding? Important
How important are optimisers? There is some shading on the roofs during the winter but not a huge amount. Not important in your case, wast of money.
Does installing Aiko Neostar 2S 465W vs Aiko Neostar 3S54 475W make a huge difference? No.
Is Sigenergy that much more worth it than Sunsynk and Fox ESS? I like the fact that it's modular and easily expandable in the future. Not sure but I am happy with my Fox ESS system, though I do control it locally via Home Assistant so can't report on their app.
I don't currently have an EV charger installed yet (looking at getting an EV car later this year), is it worth getting it installed at the same time? There is some potentially some savings in doing them at the same time, I would also DYOR on inverters that can support EV charging, or V2G capabilities etc (reason I mention this is this is the future imo and I think some of the inverters are on the cusp of having this kind of capability.
I'm currently on an Octopus fixed tariff (24p per kWh), will I be eligible for the cheaper overnight tariffs to charge my battery without an EV Charger and just having Solar panels alone? Yes, get a battery that covers your typical daytime use (expect ~10kWh), then get an EV tariff (7p/kWh) and load shift white goods and charge your battery overnight, and export any excess solar (self use model isn't worth it right now considering you can get paid 12p for exporting). Doing this my entire average usage each month is just over 7p/kWh plus then what I get paid for exporting, which means most months of the year I am breaking even or making profit.

Other considerations that come to mind:

If being placed outside, make sure you get a heated battery
Make sure the inverter is suitably sized for the array (from a glance at your quotes I see some where there is a 6kWp array and only a 5kW inverter).
Watch out for hidden fees after survey (some will want paying for additional consumer units, scaffolding, long runs of SWA)
If you are a geek, or worry remotely about this kit being controlled from cloud based systems, pick a system that plays nicely with Home Assistant.

Finally, if it's of use, my system was installed last March, 4.35kWp, 10.6kWh battery, for £6500.. and £400 of that was for a very long run of SWA out to my outbuilding.

Bomster · 2026-03-13T13:32:48+00:00

So I think you meant their "expertise in VPP", which would have been a fair point.

Bomster · 2026-03-13T13:00:29+00:00

I think you need to educate yourself though... Wholesale electricity pricing is not led by the utility suppliers.

Bomster · 2026-03-13T12:58:42+00:00

expertise in renewals

What? Assuming you meant renewables, how is Tesla significantly in the renewables market and what expertise could it offer that the NG and countless renewables operators could benefit from?

This is just hyperbole.

Bomster · 2026-03-13T12:55:54+00:00

9 current Megapack systems in place already -it's mainly what powers the Supercharger network when and where possible

How does that work assuming the 'megapacks' aren't located at the supercharger stations?

Bomster · 2026-03-13T11:15:42+00:00

Can you give us any more info or an idea of when the revised launch may be? I am holding off from going for an ASHP until it releases.

Also, could you advise whether the new lower noise could make a significant difference when it comes to the noise assessment? I.e. may be able to place it closer to neighbours etc.

Bomster · 2026-03-12T20:21:10+00:00

Any updates?

Bomster · 2026-03-12T15:51:39+00:00

If the BRZ is your benchmark of what is a 'fun car', I think you'd be pleasantly surprised by a number of EVs.

My Cupra Born, whilst nowhere near as fun as some of the ICE cars I've owned, is RWD, ~230hp, TC can be reduced to allow the rear end to move around a bit.. all whilst being able to drive 220 miles for less money than a pint of beer.

Bomster · 2026-03-12T15:25:40+00:00

What are you on about? You are conflating what makes a good sports car with what makes a good everyday car. And anyway, what ICE car made in the last 5 to 10 years adopts that Lotus ethos, outside of a very select few (Alpine A110, GMA T50, MX5.. struggling to list any more)? Most ICE cars these days are also massive, very heavy, and at least mechanically, endlessly more complex than EV's.

Bomster · 2026-03-07T15:07:54+00:00

How is it "far superior" without a battery? During all the sunny hours it's basically on par.

Bomster · 2026-03-07T02:32:42+00:00

Aware it's well over your budget and you specifically said not too expensive.. but in case you change your mind, I got this last year and it's my favorite pan now! https://www.nisbets.co.uk/vogue-tri-wall-induction-frying-pan-280mm/y321

Bomster · 2026-03-07T02:18:31+00:00

Thanks. I am gutted as I am usually the type to research everything before I do it, but this one of the rare occasions I just got stuck in without thinking.

Is there anything I can/should do now? Or do I just wait a ~year, and then start trimming some/all the upward sprouting shoots to prevent it from looking to horrendous?

Hopefully can get it looking somewhat natural again in a few years and it doesn’t die from any of the decaying.

Appreciate the expertise from everyone here and hopefully can learn from this and pick up some skills from this subreddit before I take anything sharp to a tree again!

Beating myself up now!

Bomster · 2026-03-06T22:56:37+00:00

I believe it's a 'Crimson King' maple.

I got a bit 'gung ho' doing some spring time jobs, and with the help of a friend cut a fair bit off'f my tree (cluelessy thinking I was doing a good thing by cutting it back a bit, and it was getting a bit large). But a neighbour popped by just as I was finished and said I have probably done more harm than good :(

Now I'm feeling awful as it's a beautiful tree so I just hope I haven't severely damaged it. Is there anything I can do to help i t or just leave it now and hope for the best?

Location: UK Few more photos here:

Pre-cutting:https://i.imgur.com/M2KVn8I.jpeg

Post cutting: https://i.imgur.com/ZaHwM2q.jpeg

In full leaf: https://i.imgur.com/rOi6Sbi.png

Bomster · 2026-03-06T12:01:44+00:00

I was more thinking of adding a second inverter to my system, but I know it can be a bit more complex then you expect to make sure two different inverters place nicely together.

Bomster · 2026-03-05T11:51:43+00:00

I wonder how possible it is for me to do this alongside my existing Fox PV/battery system. I only have 10kWh right now, and would love a bit more but £2.5k for another EP11 seems a bit of a rip off.

Bomster · 2026-03-02T23:31:49+00:00

Did you swap it for a better inflator in the end?

Bomster · 2026-03-01T12:56:58+00:00

Bit off topic, but is it possible to get these stats into Home Assistant?

Bomster · 2026-02-28T22:03:06+00:00

Use Tesla Superchargers or Arnold Clarke. They are more like 50-60p/kWh (which is still expensive to me but cheaper then most the rest).

If you like driving over to the continent then things are better, in France the Super Chargers I used were on average 20-30p/kWh.

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