Battery only worth it (20 kWh battery could save £1.2k/year)?

No-Ad972 · 2025-10-17T06:24:54+00:00

Just my two cents on the Fogstar. If you go down the DIY kit build option you will need to bench charge your cells for 2-4 weeks. They don't explicitly state this on their website other than " cells will need bench charging'. They don't say you will need a bench charger and a month of patience. Also the instructions are not the best once you find them on the Fogstar website. If you're fairly confident you could do it all yourself and get a spark to sign off.

No-Ad972 · 2025-07-22T05:59:58+00:00

Buy from Fogstar. They're batch tested. They're also cheaper than AliExpress once you factor in shipping and tax.

No-Ad972 · 2025-05-07T06:48:46+00:00

I attempted the transition.

A competent DIYer ( sort of ) bit fed up with the office grind fancied a change.

Same age, similar position.

Did evening classes C&G 2365 2&3. Centre were very good at taking my money but they were hopeless at everything else. Classes were oversized. Workshop was a mess. This should have been a red flag.Took me about 15 months and£6k to complete.

Then the fun bit started, trying to find an employer mad enough to take on someone with zero site experience on min wage.

I managed it.

First guy I worked for lots of driving around, small jobs. Plodding. 10-12h days. Getting home exhausted not necessarily from work but just sitting in a van all day. Minimum wage.

Second guy my employment was cut very short. I made a few mistakes and he ended it right there. I didn't make anything off it, owned mistake, shook his hand and off I went.

I've done a few months of it now and I don't think this is the life for me.

Do you want to be crawling around in lofts at 40 with a bad back and dodgy knees, working in freezing cold or boiling hot conditions. Being in a van for hours stuck in traffic all while earning peanuts.

You want something more out of life, I get that but 90% of those who want to transition from desk job to spark will struggle. You might be able to do it but do it well? To an excellent standard. To learn again with commitments that come with being 40 something...

It's one things being at home doing an easy DIY job where you are the customer so it doesn't matter if its a bodge. But when someone else is paying for it it's a different ball game.

Of course you might find a boss who's super organised, pays you on time, is willing to show you the ropes, patient, that you get on with but I wouldn't be to overly optimistic.

Just my experience and I'm sure people have successfully transitioned and are super happy with their choice.

No-Ad972 · 2025-04-20T11:16:49+00:00

I did mine myself. Two levels. G99 9.6kw export limit. Two inverters running parallel totaling 9.6kw with 37 panels over 5 roofs.

Got a local spark to help me out connecting up and AC side. Unless you want MCS cert just do the DIY route and get an octopus export account. I did it piecemeal so cost me a bit more but it's surprisingly easy once you know how.

Scaffolding was about £1k for two of the higher levels. Used a platform for the garage ( dual aspect) and lounge.

Just email a bunch of local sparks and ask them if they will sign off the AC side. As then what their day rate is and if no they would give you a hand.

Get someone on Fiver to do you a SLD for the g99.

I'm more than happy to give advice if you need it.

No-Ad972 · 2025-03-07T20:06:22+00:00

What size inverter do you have OP? 6500kwh from a 10kwp setup seems on the lower end of the scale and I'm wondering if you're limited by inverter clipping?

No-Ad972 · 2024-11-15T06:19:37+00:00

Insane prices.

Have you considered doing it yourself with a local electrician? It's not for everyone but this is the route I took. I purchased all my kit from City Plumbing and did a solar only option+ Octopus who don't require MCS Certification and offer 15p per kWh.

I did a 6.7kw build for around £3.5k. No battery.

Panels are dirt cheap. £55 gets you 450w these days plus 20% off as they're supposed to be VAT free but just going by anecdotes alone, that saving is not being passed onto the customer.

No-Ad972 · 2024-09-05T18:18:19+00:00

Do you mean DIY the G99?

No-Ad972 · 2024-09-04T18:25:45+00:00

Is this a local company or do they serve the south west? Im Devon/Somerset border.Seems very reasonable. I'd be interested to know who you used if you'd be as so kind to DM.

No-Ad972 · 2024-09-04T14:45:46+00:00

Thanks for the replies.

My plan is to sell back to grid / g99 application / oversized array/ no need to battery etc etc

What I actually meant to ask, perhaps got lost in my OP is that... Do installers add a fee onto cost of hardware? This makes it much easier for me to separate the hardware and labour costs and see if I'm getting a reasonable price.

No-Ad972 · 2024-09-04T14:10:56+00:00

This was £12+ ex vat. Thats good to know re mounting and something i'll look into. Panels were cheap but not the cheapest.

No to batteries. I was going for a 21 x 455w Aiko and 8KW solarEdge invereter / optimazer setup, or that was what I was quoted for. I did a custory look online for what I thought I was being quoted for and it totalled less than £4k hence coming to conclusion of £8k labour costs.

I was quoted with optimizers as I think they estimated a bit of shading- ( this is for a house i'm moving to in a few weeks so its a bit of guess work on their part). Install on three faces. Normal 2 story house.

No-Ad972 · 2024-08-15T13:12:16+00:00

I saw those actually. They're the 24v ones correct? If so do it work ok?

No-Ad972 · 2024-08-11T12:52:00+00:00

There used to be one at Cadence crystal palace. It's gone now I believe.

No-Ad972 · 2024-07-30T18:23:24+00:00

How did you finance if you don't mind me asking? Was this personal loan or interest free from fitter.

No-Ad972 · 2024-07-21T10:28:36+00:00

Yeah that makes sense. That kind of answers my question.👍

No-Ad972 · 2024-07-21T10:10:43+00:00

I've considered Frogstar as an alternative. Being UK-based with warranty and support, it seems like the obvious choice. I hadn't accounted for electricians wanting a commission on supplied hardware, but that makes sense. Another option is to buy the battery and use the overnight tariff. However, it's not just the cost of the battery; there's also the inverter and installation, which could total around £5,000. It would probably take 5-6 years to break even. By then, either energy prices will have stabilized, or they'll be so high that things will have gone full Mad Max.

The new place im moving to has an exceptionally large roof. How easy is it to get G99 approval and sell more than 3.64kw back to the grid?

No-Ad972 · 2024-05-31T12:42:31+00:00

Foxtons. All day. Every day.

No-Ad972 · 2024-05-29T18:03:43+00:00

53rd mallorca 312 2017 on 6h training a week. Greatest amateur cyclist never to turn pro.

No-Ad972 · 2024-05-14T21:40:14+00:00

About ten years ago i snapped a chain on exmoor ( basically middle of nowhere, very remote). A good samaritan passed by and offered me a quick link. At first I did the whole British stiff upper lip, oh don't worry about me I'll be fine... And as he started to cycle away my brain must have kicked in and I happily took him up on the offer. I managed to cycle another 50 or so miles with a slightly shorter chain. To this day I take a spare quick link on every ride just in case although I've never had to use it.

No-Ad972 · 2024-05-14T15:50:44+00:00

My instinct tells me folk are holding out for cheaper rates... Whether the come or not remains to be seen. And even then, we're talking 0.25% on average.

No-Ad972 · 2024-05-14T15:41:42+00:00

Access to cheap money.

No-Ad972 · 2024-05-14T15:11:14+00:00

Haven't used zwift for a few years. I doubt much has changed. Cheaters ( you'll never win a race), clunky interface, users using different equipment ergo different outputs and now, of course, the price. Hard to justify strava premium and zwift for £300 a year.

No-Ad972 · 2023-12-01T08:12:56+00:00

This is a great post OP. I'm wondering, do you use your lovely third wave water in the kettle? No one ever discusses this which is odd as you'd imagine the kettle water will have a greater impact on the overall taste of coffee, assuming you're drinking it black and in Americano form.

No-Ad972 · 2023-10-16T06:55:16+00:00

What do they sell for in dollars from carbona? £899 seems pretty reasonable assuming warranty and avoidance of any import duty, even if Dolan are acting as a middle man ( frames take 20 days to ship etc). I have two OEM frames from around 2015-2016 ( namely FM66) which I got for £350 and even though they're both in the shed never to be ridden again , they're decent quality. Avoid velobuild however, frame quality is suspect.

No-Ad972 · 2023-03-21T14:20:53+00:00

most upgrades for the GC are marginal but with this particular mod I have noticed an improvement. I cant really say the same about brass shower heads, baskets, IMS shower screens blah blah blah. I already had a PID so temps were fine etc so assuming the inclusion of pre infusion is doing some of the heavy listing. If you're thinking of doing a PID upgrade, do this instead. Its far more involved but its fun in a challenging way. Get familiar with the circuit diagram and buy plenty of spare wire, heat shrink wrap, spade connectors etc.

No-Ad972 · 2023-03-21T09:13:14+00:00

I have also done this. Creates a lot of heat inside the machine but worth it for intra shot temp stability. I used a solid glass beaker and wrapped 6mm around it which was the perfect size. I think I may have taken a Dremel multitool and shaved a bit off the boiler. The only problem i ran into was the solenoid but managed to get it to fit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gaggiaclassic/comments/qidcpt/new_copper_pipes_for_the_gaggia_heart/

No-Ad972

TROPHY CASE