Home Solar System

[Yorkshire Andy]

I don't think the bureaucracy has caught up yet. The whole intent of the changes is that you will be able to plug it in yourself. Am going to give it a few months.

I don't know how long I can resist
The EcoFlow Stream is currently discounted to <£100 on the bay.

I'll be picking up Panels if I see suitable ones online. Just missed some great deals!
CityPlumbing don't have local stock.
I'm resigned to the reality that I'll be gifting most of the free energy to the grid, though I'll keep some big batteries topped up. EcoFlow make some tempting battery offers, but I can't make them cost in.

City plumbing free delivery on orders over £75 2x panels = free delivery

[jennyjj01]

The Ecoflow Stream set up does look very interesting. I see that it is possible to set it to never export to the grid using ghe smart meter. In that mode it just cuts the amount of power you have to pay for to the minimum, using the built in battery for when solar isn't doing anything.
The only headache I can see is the actual plug in part - if it does need a spur all to itself, that would be an issue here as renters.
Roll on the law change. Maybe the current energy panic will focus some minds on this?

I think to stop it feeding the grid you need an ecoflow smartmeter, not just your suppliers one. The app all looks rather sophisticated.

[Yorkshire Andy]

The Ecoflow Stream set up does look very interesting. I see that it is possible to set it to never export to the grid using ghe smart meter. In that mode it just cuts the amount of power you have to pay for to the minimum, using the built in battery for when solar isn't doing anything.
The only headache I can see is the actual plug in part - if it does need a spur all to itself, that would be an issue here as renters.
Roll on the law change. Maybe the current energy panic will focus some minds on this?

I think to stop it feeding the grid you need an ecoflow smartmeter, not just your suppliers one. The app all looks rather sophisticated.

Or a shelly din mounted monitor in your consumer unit..

Or the ecoflow smart plugs which are about £10 each you plug onto your big users and they talk to the power stream micro inverter saying "fridge is on I'm wanting 300w " to it

[GeraldTheBonzai]

Was talking to a friend who is an electronics engineer - designs things etc. - with regards to RCDs needed for the plug-in systems. His view was that when the IET specs are released in April, they will probably mandate that the AC and DC parts of the inverter will have to be totally isolated. This would prevent any DC leakage onto the AC - for the systems to be compliant there must be no DC on the AC side. That would remove the need to switch the RCD to a type A over a type AC, which is still very prevalent in a lot of houses, especially with older wiring.

This requires the inverter to be built to a high spec. For reputable companies like Ecoflow, this is very likely not going to be an issue. The problem will be the cheap Chinese imports with badly designed and built circuits.

However just today the IET have done a press release in response to the launch of these appliances. They are saying that consumers should have their house electrics checked before plugging anything in. They specifically refer to older type AC rcds as being an issue. https://www.theiet.org/media/press-rele ... r-products

There is a second gotcha. When you register with the DNO, they will check your meter type. If it's not compliant - it's an old style non smart (mechanical) meter, or an early smart meter, this will trigger a mandatory meter swap (which should be free but will require them to change the meter). However, in older blocks of flats, whilst each property has its own meter, they tend to be of the same type. If one needs swapping then apparently the lot will need to change.

[jennyjj01]

Until last week, the Ecoflow Stream micro inverter could be had for <£100 either direct from their website or on the Bay.
Currently It's £129 on the website, supposedly £50 off.... So I guess it was £80 off before.
Oh hum. I hesitated and seem to have lost out. Currently playing chicken with their shopping cart to see if they send me a discount code.