Which panels and inverter.....

[Pavlaba]

Hi, been looking at a 4kw Pv install and got it down to two possible inverters and two possible panel types.
Ive found company that I'm happy with to do the work and have prices from them.
what would you go for taking in account price, return etc?

So the panels are either solarworld or Hyundai. Both will be the all black type.
inverter will be either power one aurora or sma sunny boy.

which would be the best combination.

looking price wise at £400 difference between the inverters and £300 difference between panels.

also are the immersun type devices worth it? Looking at £400 extra to add one. Fitted price at time of install?

cheers for your help.

 

[Worcester]

At 4kWp, yes an immersun type device is worth it so long as you have an immersion heater in your hot water teank. - There are examples of payback even for those on mains gas elsewhere on this forum.

Which inverter with which panels ?

 

[Pavlaba]

At 4kWp, yes an immersun type device is worth it so long as you have an immersion heater in your hot water teank. - There are examples of payback even for those on mains gas elsewhere on this forum.

Which inverter with which panels ?

Thanks for your reply. The panel and inverter is any combination, so could have the Hyundai panels with either the power one or SMA inverter for £400 more. Similarly I could have the solarworld panels for £300 more than the Hyundai's with power one or for another £400 the SMA inverter, meaning £700 between the cheapest and most expensive options.

 

[whinmoor]

Difficult to offer advice without seeing the job. I'd probably go for the Power One and the cheaper panels if there's no shading involved.

Didn't the installer give you some information on which to base a judgment? They are supposed to be the experts in solar so why don't they decide what's best in your situation or are they passing the buck?

 

[Pavlaba]

South east facing, 45degree pitch on roof. No shading at all. I have some info on the different options but they are kinda passing the buck. They said that they are all good products, and that they have done a very good price on the solarworld panels, so probably would recommend that with the power one, as the solarworlds are worth a lot more than £300 extra for a 16 panel 4kw array

 

[logical]

I had better first register an interest as Logical Energy has been a wholesale seller of SolarWorld since 2010. We have also sold a range of european and chinese product. I have to say that nothing I have seen so far has come close to the build standard of the SolarWorld panel. The extrruded and jointed ally frame, the use of 4mm low iron float glass, a backing sheet that exceeds the minimum standard on UV exposure by a factor of 40 are just some of the areas that make the SolarWorld panel such a compelling product. It was always too expensive for most jobs. Now however, the price is more realistic and I would say the extra £300 is worth it. But there again many others would say...''you would say that!'

 

[Ian-LS]

If you have no shading then we'd usually spec for a Steca Grid 3600 inverter. German manufactured and 7 year warranty as standard and has a euro efficiency of 98.3% so 2-3% higher than any other inverter on the market

 

[sparkybob1]

I would go for the power one invert, we install a lot of these and they are as good a quality as the sunnyboys. Don't think the panels will make a great deal of difference over the 20 years

 

[Ian-LS]

Can't streas enough if the panels are all on the same roof and there is no shading Steca grid inverters are the way to go. 2-3% better efficiency for 20+ years will make a lot of difference.

 

[logical]

Panel performance and yield will make a big difference over the 20 years. An extra 100kWh a year could mean over £1,000 of extra income in the 20 years. The Photon tests in Germany show that some panels yield more power per labelled Wp than others. Another issue to look at is performance warranties. A panel that falls to 80% after 15 years could be producing considerably less than a panel that has a linear performance warranty. A panel with 0.7%pa performance degression will still be at 90% at the 15 year mark. A 4kWp system producing at 900kwh per kWp now would be producing 2,880kwh if the panels drop to 80% performance but only to 3,240 kWh if the performance had dropped to 90%. It can add up to a lot of money. Spend a bit more money now on good panels and good inverter it will be worth it in the long run.