Hey ​@Johnnykissfm 

I’ve moved your post out of the “Ideas” area of the Forum so it gets the views and hopefully some engagement from some of our other users. You can view your topic here.

I wonder if ​@BPLightlog might have any insights on the solar side of things? ​@Rocksteady I wonder if you might have any insights too on this? I’ve linked below to a topic Rocksteady wrote last year that might be of interest to you:

I’m not quite sure of the intention here .. are the solar panels going to be elsewhere (ie not on the roof)? In which case you will need to be careful with positioning as they will likely not get their full rating output without being appropriately positioned.

If you are connecting in any way to the grid (they normally look at if there’s any possibility of any export), then you will need to notify your DNO. Anything above 3.6kW will need permission before install.

If you’re going to wire ‘off-grid’ then that’s another option but it will be difficult to get things connected for an off-grid and on-grid system.

Hi Guys,

my system is totally off grid (no feedbacks) totally self designed, feeding wet NiCad batteries. I’ve since added our old lead acid batteries from our narrow boat to subsidise using a bit of nifty circuitry, they do help to cope with the thump of the freezer kicking in, which on this freezer is a particularly hard thump, but I have ideas to improve that. In summer the system feeds our immersion heater via a variable transformer to reduce the voltage and wattage to the heating element. It also feeds the fridge and freezer, we boil the kettle on it for lunch when the midday sun is strong. During the winter it feeds fridge, freezer, & oil fired boiler mainly. Just operating those things, it gives us about 33% of our anual needs.

if the sun/wind aren’t giving enough, the circuit group it feeds automatically switches back to grid, but our system cannot switch to backfeed into the grid. I’ll post the final percentage KWH savings come January. All self designed, but it works well and with only 4 x 200w panels and a home built wind turbine.

Thanks ​@BPLightlog & ​@Rocksteady for your responses! 

​@Johnnykissfm have you had the chance to read the above and what’s your thoughts? 

3 bed house 

OVO ENERGY simple plan fixed 2 years 

gas at property for hot water and cooking 

delongie oil rads 500w qty 1 

delongie oil rads 900w qty 1 

2 - 400w fan heaters from Amazon for £28 

1 off delongie 800w / 1500w /2.2kw fan heater

smart meter fitted with energy usage . 
I’ve read from u tube a few installations for better energy solar and battery install total cost £10,800 

for 5kw have had a restriction on their system 

this limits what goes into the battery to 1kw. 
think it fed back power to grid according to a smart electrician u only get pennies back plus all the firm ware has to be updated on each system to keep the communication going between the devices. 
He did fix the issue although I don’t want heavy panels fitted to our roof apparently u may need to upgrade the roof to carry the extra load . Heat pumps are only ok if the temp doesn’t drop to 0degrees c. As the coils will consume energy to heat up the system . U could use solar to run it but as I’ve seen on remote farms 

they tend to use 3kw petrol generators if the power does go off for days at a time . I’ve seen the utube videos showing u that u can run a ALL Powers power station to run your home and if ur usage is like mine 350w without heating it’s possible for ALL POWERS 400w or 600w solar panels to keep up the charge . U can however switch to a 500w charge from the grid or even 1000w 

the Eco wave 3 is slightly different being u can have extra batteries to whack out 8kw even 12kw. 
was thinking 2kw of solar charge to cover usage fairly 

it just seems you have more of a choice with portable panels and power stations . Ur not locked into grid tie 

either . Take out our already greedy energy suppliers 

and make it work for us / yes its greener energy 

but paying back into the grid doesn’t seem fair 

plus u only get pennies back . So my concern is ur locked into their system god knows what restrictions are in place on that installation if any. I prefer home garden install as its all your equipment and u can add more panels as u wish or more batteries 5kw is ok if u have central heating or heat pumps with radiators but we don’t so will use eco wave 3 heaters and air con 

for heating . Thanks for getting in touch 

im always open for discussion regarding how to off grid 

will probably put in extra sockets to choose what runs off 

solar batteries from either eco wave or All powers . 
will be purchasing this month . I’ve read the WARNING 

about batteries life 04 should be around 70 degrees 

so out building is a no for me . Will be indoor install 

with possibly a eco wave 3 air con in that room during the summer . Will probably run solar panels along a 30ft garden or patio roof , will install fox electric fence cable to protect panels and my cables to the house . That’s what I’ve learned so far . 

Off grid mainly might leave the odd appliance 

on grid or just buy a 1.5kw kettle / washing machine think it takes 2kw short time then 800w - unsure will monitor when I have it installed . You mention how u position the panels I do have a conservatory roof that is slanted might place 5 on it a garage roof that is slanted 

also another 5 and a 30ft garden so another 10/15 

either 400w or 600w. Looking for 2kw on solar charge 

will purchase the 30m extension cable into the house 

and wire along to either room - might charge it at 500w on grid just as a experiment. Will install twin earth 

into sockets up stairs landing another in the hall 

one in the kitchen and run through to the lounge area. 
Might use separate cables for each room for each outlet 

will purchase a breaker for the output and fuses for the solar panels if I need too. Looking to cover 2 tvs a computer usb chargers and eco wave 3 heater portable 

obviously will need charging at some point . We have 

9 usb cordless table lamps Yoizo from Amazon 

these light the lounge and are extremely bright for 3volt E27 bulbs they are rechargeable up to 6 hrs - but are plugged into usb chargers 2.5amp usb c . Running around 40w of standard warm white light during the day till around 8pm . NOTE - don’t run at max brightness as the bulbs get hot and go dull. They are dimmable though 

so your answer was yes if possible off grid we had little amount of sockets originally dating 1973. Just 2 bedrooms and kitchen and 2 in the lounge for mains 

so I’ve already sent power to the hall and landing and bedroom 3 . Will start ordering by October 30th after I’ve cleared the garden first £900 to clear it . Will see how things go 

Hey ​@Johnnykissfm,

It seems like you've put a lot of thought into this.

I have a couple of considerations for you, especially since it appears you'll still be using a mixture of the grid and your new setup. If your solar and battery installation is connected to the grid in any way, you will need permission from the Distribution Network Operator (DNO). You can find more information on how to register energy devices in homes or small businesses in the guidance for device owners and installation contractors.

If you plan to fully transition to off-grid living, you'll need to have your meters removed. Simply capping the supply would mean you remain liable for standing charges. You can find details about the costs associated with this process in the article linked below.

Keep us updated on your journey! 

Hi Chris 

thanks for your reply 

I was going for off grid and maybe just use grid 

if it was needed , it wouldn’t be connected directly to the grid a separate 240volt sockets would serve the house 

along with the grid sockets . Maybe see how the charge usage goes and charge by grid at 500w . If it’s required 

mainly just to save OVO billing from the £400 a month 

even if it’s just £100 a month I’d be happier with paying that . 

Thanks for your help on this ​@Rocksteady and ​@BPLightlog!

​@Johnnykissfm we really look forward to hearing about this if you go through with it! Would be a great one for a Forum blog if you had the time.

Will let you know probably by the end of October