Hi All,
Happy New Year to all. Purchased my system from ITS and it's been sat there since Nov - local installers won't touch it - even reaching out about 50 miles, but had one quote for £800 - really GivEnergy?!?!?!?!?! What is it you are training these electricians and why are they repugnantly refusing to install sets purchased from your official distributors?
RA1 I doubt GivEnergy will even see this on here. You'd be better off contacting them directly to see what they say.
Ra Thank you - will do.
At a guess it would be a good amount of hassle for them if something was found to be wrong with it. It would be on you to speak to ITS not them so a lot of backwards and forwards. Or the installers don't like ITS? But £800 is taking the pee a bit. When my 9.5kw was added it took 2 guys 3- 40 minutes to prep the space on the wall, drill, mount, connect. So maybe £200 - £300 providing everything worked perfectly first time, no missing cables etc
Honestly I doubt most installers want to install kit they don't supply, I don't think you'd have much luck with other manufacturers in the same scenario.
Most will be too busy and also able to do jobs where they supply everything end to end, it won't be worth the hassle to install self purchased equipment as it undercuts their business models.
I suspect that's why you're either being ignored or being given high quotes.
Where abouts are you?
Ask @makse
THALL from my take on the title is that the OP has brought a full Ac coupled system with a 9.5kWh battery. Therefore there's a lot more to it then just adding a 9.5kWh battery to an existing system.
There's a lot of unknowns from you post.
Installers make some of their money from supplying the kit, which you think are trying to save a few quid by buying yourself and then grumble when you get quotes of £800 to install.
What is it you are asking to be installed, a full 3.0kw AC inverter and 9.5kWh battery ???
There are a lot of factors that need to be taken into account before anybody can say that £800 is too much or not.
Also you are asking an installer to take on the responsibility of the installation and therefore the middleman between you and GE for any issues/warranty claims down the line. This all comes at a cost.
Installers are refusing because they cant be bothered for little reward, their choice and nothing to do with GE.
How difficult is it to add a 2nd battery?
I'm going to see how things go for the next year or so, but I have a 5kw G1 hybrid inverter with the 8.2kwh battery, if it starts making financial sense to add a 2nd battery I will look into it, but is it just a case of buying the battery and plugging it in, or is there more involved?
I would probably just put it on the floor in front of the current one, the battery doesn't seem to kick out much heat.
LordHippos The warranty is compromised if not installed and commissioned by an official installer. It all depends on your view of 'plugging it in' as it's deffo not as simple as that. feel free to reach out to me mark at makse.co.uk
LordHippos
It needs commissioning into the system. Thus your installer should do it, or another approved GE installer, then GivEnergy back office can add it to your system
Thanks, I'll leave it for now as I don't want to waste your time, and I want a years worth of data really before I calculate the potential return on a 2nd one. I'll keep you in mind though!
Don't want to de-rail the OP thread too much here as well as they had a genuine question for people, although we pretty much said the same answer I think.
I just had a quote to supply and install an additional 8.2 kWh battery to my setup of £5160 inc VAT. It looks like Midsummer wholesale charge about £3600 inc VAT and Delivery, so at over £1500 inc VAT to install it right next to the existing kit it makes the £800 above seem almost reasonable!!
dcsh how much !!!!! Might be able to help depending on location
dcsh That is pretty disgusting. This was my last install in October, 9.5kw battery added to my existing ac3 and 8.2 batt. Merged a existing set of 8 panels into this inverter so all that recable work. Even done some extra cable work for my zappi and harvi's for free. Some people/companies really do take the pee with quotes.
11X PERLIGHT DELTA 400W ALL BLACK MONO SOLAR ANELS (25 YEARS WARRANTY)
1X SOLIS DUAL MPPT 8000 INVERTER (5 YEARS WARRANTY)
1X 9.5KWH GIVENERGY BATTERY (10 YEARS WARRANTY)
FASTENSOL ROOF MOUNTING SYSTEM
INSTALLATION OF NEW CONSUMER UNIT IN METER BOX
£7250
The local guy that installed my system last year supplied, fitted and configured an 8.2 for £3250 in September. I was pleased with that price.
I have been quoted £23k for the following:
22x 415w Mono Black Panels
1x 5kw Gen2 GivEnergy Inverter
2x 9.5kw Gen2 Battery
1x Eddi
x1 Tigo Cloud
22x Tigo optimiser
plus misc bits and bobs and installation
bapodra I assume that is some kind of East West split setup? I didn't bother with optimisers this time now I know more about them. Basically I don't have shading on my panels anymore. But this still feels expensive? An extra 11 panels so £200 ish per panel, 22 optimisers so another £1100? I would of said £18 - £19k for all that? Though I have no idea how much tigo cloud is.
Its south facing but I have some shading and its over 2 strings due to shape of house.
I was also thinking that £23k is a lot one company quoted me £27k!
bapodra My spec is very similar with a couple of additional panels, a Zappi V2.1 but no Tigos. Oh it also has bird mesh with the panels. £16.5k but it was ordered 10 months ago and finally installed mid December. I'm still waiting on the Eddi and the gen 2 inverter will be retrofitted at the same time. I guess I missed the mad price hike. To be fair, I'd expect well in excess of £20k now.
bapodra But thats 9kw of panels on an inverter which will top out at 6.5? If its all south facing you will hit the cap in no time, with optimisers as well. Unless there is something very unusual about the shape of the house? I don't get it 😕
THALL Agreed, ours is an even E/W split. We top out around 6.4kw according to Solcast but that's absolute peak summer conditions. We'll clip a bit but the extra is handy most of the time.
THALL yes seems expensive, even considering it does include VAT at 20% due to no solar panels beings installed at the same time.
makse I’m in Bath.
Isn’t there a case for over sizing the panels for the inverter not to maximise generation on the best summer days but to do so on the dull winter ones?? I have more generation that I can use in the summer and high priced batteries to store it aren’t really needed, but in the winter I could do with more either of generation or storage (for off peak charging). I’m wondering in more solar might make more sense?
dcsh Try ECH group, pretty sure they cover Bath. I had a second 8.2 added to my existing setup for £3300 with the VAT.
dcsh I've covered that way before. feel free to reach out if you want
mark at makse dot co.uk
Are you down in the south west area by any chance?
kram drop me an email on the address I have posted above
Getting about much more now Mr M. Good to see
kram Are you still looking ???
Any installer in Southampton area who will be able to install 2nd battery (I already purchase) to my system.
Also in one go to install EV car charger Preferably zappi as GIV don't have one.
HipHopAst I’m an installer in Portsmouth, but as a rule we won’t install products provided by a customer, especially something of this cost. Muddys the waters when it comes to warranty or any issues going forward with the system. Chances are it would be fine but most companies will be the same. Not sure why people buy online, as installers we get huge discounts, sure we put a % back on top but more often then not it ends up still cheaper then what you paid
Yeah I have send multiple emails to givenergy installers around town and all have been ignored. I do understand all installers but GIV need to look into it. Ok so what price for 5kw and 9.5kw battery and installation.
HipHopAst I don’t see it being a GivEnergy issue. All their products need to be installed by an approved installer.
HipHopAst
or you could do the giv energy training .?
positor1 It's all depends how much it cost. It's like service your air con. Few years back garages charge +£150 for R1234yf for 500g. When 5kg bottle cost £400. So my father decide and he did f-gases course for £170 and he can service aircon himself.
Is there is any individual with training who can install it? Companies don't care about customer they car only about their profit. So individual with givenergy training would be best bet. As I think individuals have training not booss in company. BTW I don't know what is so complicated to connect 2 cables, data cable and change few dipswiches. Plus press few buttons on app? Really for that simple job you need training? Even monkey con do this. Or is it making money cow?
HipHopAst I don't know what is so complicated to connect 2 cables, data cable and change few dipswiches.
There's nothing complicated in that at all but when the battery stops working after 2 years, because Givenergy have supplied a duff one (even though it passed QA), the installer has the liability of sorting it out. They would be able to get Givenergy to replace it under warranty, but only if it was installed and commissioned by one of their approved installers. The actual work is trivial but the potential for ongoing liability runs into as much as you paid for the battery. From an installer point of view, they can see your invoice from the wholesaler with the correct serial number on, but that's them trusting that you haven't been duped by some on-line scammer selling duff batteries. I can see that installers want to satisfy themselves that they aren't unnecessarily leaving themselves open to a warranty claim that they become liable for because you wanted to save a few bob.
If you want to save money, maybe offer a limited liability contract to the Givenergy approved installer that if anything goes wrong, you won't call on them to put it right at their cost. Take the risk of future work on yourself?
HipHopAst So my father decide and he did f-gases course for £170 and he can service aircon himself
I qualified f-gas 2 years back and it cost me £1k so i assume the vehicle only is a cut down course.
The qualification is one thing but its all the stuff that goes with it. I have just paid a firm to install two air source heat pumps despite being qualified as I worked out it would cost me around £4k to buy all the kit needed . plus register for controlled waste, an account with boc or similar to buy nitrogen and r123 etc and pay for return of used gasses , hire of cylinders to hold waste gasses.
I should have done the sums before doing the course.
Tim So you try to say than even after 9 years installer with smile on his face will nicely replace battery. and in the meantime you have replace inverter so he will try to shift responsibility to inverter installer as he was the last time who touch system. If im wrong than correct me. So how much it will cost me to install 5.2 Gen2 battery? Battery and installation?
positor1 Ahhh sorry to be more precise he done it in Poland and it cost him 1k PLN when UK was still in EU so all qualifications are honoured here i dont know now when UK is not part of EU as all have been f**c up.
dcsh new battery is plug and play, if i am not wrong, even you can do it yourself, just set the correct switches to mark the primary and slave and the inverter will take care of balancing it and calibrating it. I may be wrong but technically to me it seems all you have to do is just plug in the battery cable to the main battery and that's all.
deepanshus and ask GivEnergy to add the battery to your account.
Not sure a user can do that. Not sure a user should be doing any of it, given it’s electric kit, even DC!
TX200 and ask GivEnergy to add the battery to your account
without calibration it is not part of the system and will not work I believe.
positor1 will the inverter not calibrate the battery once GivEnergy adds it to the system?
deepanshus
if giv energy add it then they could start a calibration but there rules are that the system has to be installed by an approved installer.
So to become approved installer you need to do training that givenergy doing every Wednesday at 10AM for free? And you ready to go installing yourself?
HipHopAst Providing that you meet all requirements for claiming to be a "Qualified Electrcian.".
SilverArt crap I didn't see that bit. Luckily you don't need to be qualified electrician to change 54v dewalt battery in their system.
positor1 This is one bit I think is monopolistic by GiveEnergy.
I can understand that a whole new inverter and battery system has to be installed properly, there are many things that can go wrong, you need all the wiring to be done to the correct electrical standards, etc.
But adding a new battery is as has already been said no more complex then plugging it in and setting the dip switches correctly. This should be something a consumer can do themselves, to expand their existing system and at the end of the day give GE more revenue of more batteries installed. Pylontec certainly allow you to do this.
And the stuff about who is responsible for the warranty is just muddling the water . If I buy an oven from a retailer, wire it in to the existing electrical outlet (which I’m allowed to do), the warranty is with the manufacturer but the retailer remains responsible for resolving the issue as your contract is with them. Existing consumer laws.
geoffreycoan
I agree totally.
positor1 I don't mind to be not part of the system as far as it's doing its job. Charging and discharging when I need to.
HipHopAst
My understanding is that if it is not added to the portal that it wont. We are in uncharted territory here so I can not know for sure.