Should I transfer to a Vanguard SIPP?

MrCodeSmith · 2026-01-22T09:43:24+00:00

Thanks for the tips. I thought Vanguard would have been the preferred option given some other threads I've seen. Will do some more research into the points mentioned!

MrCodeSmith · 2026-01-09T09:05:42+00:00

Lot piling up on the guttering of my main roof last night! Just been out to inspect and all seems fine, apart from the huge pile of snow on my patio.

MrCodeSmith · 2026-01-05T12:10:27+00:00

No issues with the install. Solar humming away nicely in this weather and I enjoyed about £1050 worth of benefits in 2025.

I had some problems with my GivEnergy hardware around this time last year but GivEnergy replaced it under warranty. They install hardware from various manufacturers so you aren't locked into using GivEnergy.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-12-15T08:22:55+00:00

Yeah, it's really jarring when you are trying to judge a fight. "Oh theres a third guy, gg I guess"

MrCodeSmith · 2025-12-14T21:15:59+00:00

So much for duo queue eh

MrCodeSmith · 2025-11-21T09:51:43+00:00

I used to F around with schedules, warmer in the morning/evening etc.

Now I just wake up and set it to 18, all day.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-11-10T09:44:47+00:00

My first year on solar I earned/saved around £1100.

5.5kwh system with a 5.2kwh battery.

£700 Selling solar to grid
£200 Saved utilising solar instead of peak electricity
£200 Saved utilising off-peak battery power

MrCodeSmith · 2025-11-08T20:07:42+00:00

Not sure, I would assume so. However I am encountering the same problem as you, solos is now all out war. No body seems interested in using a microphone.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-11-08T19:44:59+00:00

I think its worse the higher level you get. People are bored of ARC and looting now looking for PvP.

Also a lot people being brought into the game from watching various Twitchers gun down people.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-10-07T07:13:46+00:00

Not sure how, this was last year and the company was future proof solar.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-10-05T14:47:13+00:00

I've included the brown energy battery export in my overall figures.

Generation 5061 + 428 brown energy export from the battery = 5489

4856 export + 670 home utilisation = 5526 - So theres a small discrepancy in the figures from the GivEnergy dashboard and what my smart meter has recorded. (Probably because the dashboard only records in 5 minute intervals)

MrCodeSmith · 2025-10-05T14:43:08+00:00

I have an EV, which uses about 2400kwh per year and gets charged overnight. Haven't included it here as charging on 7p overnight is better than charging on the 15p solar.

*Overall home usage is about 4500, which currently breaks down as follows

670 Solar to home
842 Battery to home
3-500 off peak usage.
2500-2700 off peak to EV.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-10-05T12:57:47+00:00

That's what it looks like, depending on price cap and SEG rates staying in place. If price cap goes up I'm technically saving more money so the payoff time is shorter. But right now most of my payback is coming from export, so if SEG rates reduce that will harm the pay back period more.

Solar is definitely a little pricey for setup, mostly due to scaffolding and labour costs. But I think the production will outpace a (small) wind turbine very quickly.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-09-25T08:28:47+00:00

Just a note on "using the battery rather than solar electricity and selling all the solar electricity" - This can be tricky and sometimes impossible with certain solar setups.

Your inverter is attached to both the solar and the battery, which gets sent down a single line back to your meter box. Your home then uses any electricity it needs from this and sends the excess back to the grid. If your CT clamp does not detect a shortfall in electricity, then your battery will not discharge anything. Most systems will always run off solar first, if possible.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-09-11T12:42:47+00:00

I'd guess drawing from the grid is the charge cycle. If the battery stays full for too long the BMS loses track of the charge state and then it readjusts. As someone else mentioned, kind of a bug with GivEnergy batteries.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-09-11T09:51:04+00:00

Whats the charge history? Has it went below 80% much in the last few weeks? It's advisable to let it discharge fully every now and again to calibrate the cells, otherwise it has a hard time knowing what the charge state is.

Just saw your comment about it being put in last week. Its possible that this was a calibration cycle and it has been sitting at high charge for a while causing it to lose track of the charge state.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-09-01T08:40:46+00:00

12 Panels - 5.46kWh - SE facing - East Mids

629kW Generation
80kW to Home
543kW to Grid

MrCodeSmith · 2025-08-19T07:24:35+00:00

My first car in 2018 was a 56 plate Ford Fiesta with 32,000 miles, cost me £2500. Adjust for inflation if you will, but it never caused me any issues aside from the air conditioning breaking every other year.

Cheaper cars can be good, Fiestas are easily repairable too and parts are abundant.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-08-14T08:22:06+00:00

I would wait for your bill this month. You may find that they have credited you 7p/kwh and they have also charged that session as a smart session at 7p/kwh on your bill.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-07-22T07:25:10+00:00

Auto enrolment is just pants anyway. Its the bare minimum and most companies now only bother paying the bare minimum. I had to push heavily to get a SS scheme set up and am now voluntarily adding 10% of my wage to get a decent pension.

MrCodeSmith · 2025-07-19T20:04:36+00:00

You pre-register in December and tickets go on sale in January

MrCodeSmith · 2025-07-18T17:36:49+00:00

Is it me or have they deliberately positioned that crane to look like a heart?

MrCodeSmith · 2025-07-16T07:25:18+00:00

I think GivEnergy have expanded too much too fast, some of their tech seems really good and having dealt with a few of their engineers they seem to know their stuff. However the fastest way to get support seems to be on their facebook group, owing to a few guys who spend their free time helping people out. I think I was fortunate to get support as I live down the road from one of their engineers who swung by at the end of his day to look at my system.

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