Electricity- I thought that I had an innovative idea. Someone got there first

moneyweek.com/solar-panels-cost

A friend has done this and saves quite a bit, but he is already nearly 80 and unlikely to get his investment back. He would perhaps have been better investing in upgrading his EPC rating.
He has a double garage and it does take up quite a bit of space. He has been told that his house will be difficult to sell with older solar panels, but for now he is in profit overall and as electricity prices are climbing it may well turn out to be worth it.

We have solar panels that fill a battery with excess energy left over from feeding the house. When the sun goes in the battery takes over running the house. The battery can be charged up at night if one has a cheap night rate, which we dont at the moment.

OldFrill

You need to work out if your savings would cover the cost of the battery, bearing in mind that batteries have limited lifespan. Current advice is it's not cost effective.

Not all batteries have a limited lifespan. There are many types available using different characteristics dependant on the end usage with life spans from as little as a couple of years to in excess of twenty five years.

I’ve been looking on the internet to see what I can find out. The trouble is that most sites want you to sign in and give all your details and as this is only a vague idea I don’t want to get over involved.
However I did find one site that gave me to understand that it would cost about £11K for the battery and installation. Solar panels could be added at a later date if required.
The batteries hold up to 15kw (Tesla, the most expensive) . I’ve got to do a few sums now!
I’m not really expecting it to pay me back, that would be a bonus, but if the battery lasted 10-15years it might just about break even.
Anyway it’s early days yet, I’ll get the calculator out.

Beeb that’s my plan.

I have not seen how it is possible to use the stored electricity from the batteries. Does anyone know how to access the stored electricity for the house use.? The articles about the new mobile solar panels say they plug into the mans supply on a 3 pin plug. That is as far as they go with information.
I am a fan of solar panels ,having had some installed when the payment for production was at its highest. We have usually had a payment into our account in summer which covers electricity, telephone and broadband costs in one bill.

I know someone who bought a battery to store solar energy for £8000, a few years ago. It was made by Tesla.

Do check the cost of the batteries before making any decision. They don’t come cheap even for quite a small one Unless you are going to do it manually you have to set up the switch over

Babamaman I think you need to start a separate thread on this, then you might get some answers. Hope you manage to get something sorted.

Hi all
I’m going to a nephew’s wedding in Barbados in May.
My issue is the horrendously expensive cost of travel insurance!
Does anyone have any ideas please?
I am 76
I have type 2 diabetes
High blood pressure
High chlorestrrol
Under active thyroid
When declaring this the cost of travel insurance is more than the whole trip!
Help please

I don’t have any feedback but know of someone considering this. I believe they’re looking into buying batteries to store cheap overnight electricity, which will be used to support energy use during the day.

OldFrill
Have you considered it?
I’m not sure if I’m too bothered about recovering the cost. After all one doesn’t usually cover the cost of a lot of things. My car has probably lost thousands since I bought it but I put up with that because I need to get about in a reliable vehicle.
What I’m more concerned about is if we can afford to keep warm without worrying about buying oil.

You need to work out if your savings would cover the cost of the battery, bearing in mind that batteries have limited lifespan. Current advice is it's not cost effective.

Sounds interesting!

No, you can get batteries, the same type that store electricity from solar panels. If you don’t want or can’t have solar panels then you can store cheap nighttime energy to use during the day to power whatever you want to use instead of using electricity at peak time prices.

Isn’t this idea the old night storage heaters?
Or are you talking about using the power stored for cooking, lighting etc.?