DIY Solar panel (Electrical) installation.

Some indication of the cost's of DIY.

https://www.todoensolar.com/

I looked long and hard at going down that road but given my age even on a DIY basis I could not find a route to payback let alone profit.

Did you watch Guy Martin the other night retrofitting the house. I think he said it cost €250,000. It is expensive. Any good electrician should be able to fit and wire in the solar panel set up.  We had to replace our windows and doors and I went for Rationale triple glaze wood  with aluclad facing on the outside. Cost an arm and a leg :(   No grant available. A word of warning. Unfortunately I have 2 large dogs one of which opens doors himself.  My lovely expensive timber doors have big toenail scrapes down along the inside of them. A rather expensive mistake but it wasn't something I had even thought might happen. I reckon a complete retrofit  wouldn't leave you with much change out of €120,000 to €150,000 not taking the grants into account.  That's a lot of money. All very well telling people there are grants but you need a lot of cash to go with the grant.  I wouldn't be around long enough to make the payoff either. 

Bee

DIY only works if you don't need a permit and have good knowledge. The installation of a PV system and connection to the operator's power grid requires permits and is subject to a number of restrictions.

Therefore, only a small island system can officially be considered for DIY.

On the other hand, reputable suppliers will install a PV system for you, including documentation, connection and permits, from as little as 1k€/kWp. My neighbour had one built by the local utility company with a battery, which cost less than 2k€/kWp (6kWp for 11.5k€ with a 5kWh battery). This allows him to be largely self-sufficient and he even gets money for feeding surplus energy back into the grid.

Is DIY still worthwhile? I think only in special cases.

Today well actually on Monday,

Solar panels 550W at Leroy Merlin 69E each, Panel mounting 75 Each or DIY.  3KW Inverter / Charger Not Feeding Grid <300E, Batteries, S/H Pb  from 40E upwards depending on requirements. sundries, wire etc depending on location and power requirements. Payback about 2 years or less.

I certainly agree with you on those prices, They look like they are from some years ago apart from the flexible panels. However the price of the panels in LM having coming down over the last couple of years while the panel yield is now at a quite respectable 550W !

I was more interested in any problems re planning permission etc.

M

No intention of connecting to the Grid in any way, All on the consumer side of the Domestic distribution panel.

M

The mounting systems are very important. Sometimes the mountings offered are not stable enough. I recently had a case where a PV system flew off the roof of a friend's house.

Therefore, storm resistance and proper installation are very important. Insurance coverage must also be taken into account.

This is not easy with DIY.

I would advise against Pb batteries. LiFePo4 batteries are now very affordable (from 100€/kWh) and offer a significantly longer lifespan and are easy to integrate (BMS).

It must be ensured that there is no feedback. If there is a possibility of connection to the grid somewhere, an protection device (‘anti-islanding box’) must be installed to ensure safe separation. Depending on national regulations, this can be complex and expensive. Believe me, you don't want to experience an accident with personal injury.

Please do not just focus on keeping costs as low as possible, but also on safety and stability. Such a system should function reliably and inconspicuously for many years without requiring much maintenance. It is not enough to simply cobble together the cheapest components. Good tools and a lot of expertise are needed to do this safely and durably. Keywords: fuses / arc faults.

I don't have solar in Spain but do have on a property in the UK.

When I spoke to my insurers in the UK to declare the solar installation, they said they didn't care as it was covered as part of the buildings. I was surprised as the battery and inverter was installed outside and so got it confirmed in writing by them.

(In my case the insurer was LV).

I'm still contemplating whether to bother doing an installation in Spain (not DIY) - the costs are more expensive here than in the UK. The UK c6kW installation with 10kW battery was under £10k.

Survival with storm winds has to be considered, this is somewhat easier to obtain on a small flat shielded roof area where through wall mounting would be feasable. I was not aware of LiFe batteries being so cheap as all that I had seen were three times that price, certainly the useful life is at least double that of Pb although certain characteristics can easily lead to reduced performance over time.

As for the isolation / switching of the grid network depending on the chosen mode of operation, this appears from preliminary inspection of equipment specifications to cover the aspect of isolation adequately. I am sure it would need equipment with recognised CE certification.

I should add that I have 40 years experience in professional radio / power installation equipment design and installation planning through Europe the ME and Asia for many of the international communication players. 

M