Solar panels - a real money-saver? - Page 2

Could I ask what a Virtual Battery is please 

Virtual battery is where every excess kwh you create is stored in your account with the supplier. Everything you use comes out of that for example at night. So during the year in summer you "store" all of your excess for your use during the winter etc. At the end of the year they clear your stored energy and pay you for it. 

Happy new year!

Thanks. That sounds fascinating. Two more questions pop up, if you don't mind. 

1 Never heard of a virtual battery. Thought you always had to have a physical one. Perhaps you could explain a bit more on that. Don't worry. I'm not a technician either. :_)

2 Any company (contact details, names, WhatsApp for preference) you can recommend?

Thanks a million.

Alex

Hi Alex, there are a number of installers in the area and we had a couple of quotes which obviously we would recommend. We chose Ecocorp Solar who are based on Antas Trading Estate. They have just teamed up with Tesla as installers. They weren't the cheapest but they were the most professional and have continued to provide excellent support and service in the two years we have had the system. We know a lot of other customers also who are very happy with them. We can't fault them and would always recommend them. 

Virtual battery is just as it sounds. You create excess power, it's stored on your account with the supplier and you can use your own energy at night and in winter. They empty your storage once a year and pay you for the energy they take. 

Thank you.  We have them in Scotland but have to send a reading so i’m assuming you have a smart meter in Spain.  We are with Endessa but they’ve been charging me about €60 a month for two years ,the whole time we’ve not been in Spain ! They are taking their time sorting it out after me sending photos my neighbour took of our meter!  I’m glad it’s working for you.  

We don't have smart meter here we have an app for our solar production and online access to our electricity supplier. The actual meter reading is done remotely but there is not a meter in the house if you see what I mean. 

That is a lot of usage for not being here. I would change supplier. Si Compare have a system to check other suppliers. 

We have had solar panels (6) and a virtual battery connected.  We have changed from Endesa to Iberdrola as the deal proved better for us.  The whole system was roughly 4.5 K in euros.  Our bills are now are significantly reduced some have been less than a euro some have been up to 19 euro.  Iberdrola allow you to store unused energy to offset your next bill.

I saw someone saying they preferred to be grid connected?  We are grid connected so if we don't make sufficient electricity we draw from the grid.

As far as maintenance is concerned hubby hoses the panels down regularly as leaving them dirty affects the efficiency.

We get a 50% reduction on our ibi for 3years for having solar.  I think it will also make our property more attractive should we decide to sell than one without solar.  

As far as we're concerned it's a win win, so we're very happy with our decision 

Hey, this is really a feast to read! Thank you so much!

Could someone give me a rough estimate how much does the power suppliers charge to put electric into your property about 20 meters? 

Well I needed a concrete pylon as the underground feed was deemed to be inadequate. They picked up on one 20m away, then down to a new meter box as the old one wasn't to required standard when the place was built. 4,000 euro.

Obviously you want it to come a shorter distance, but the standards may have changed and they may require more up to date boxes, connections, cable runs etc etc.

You need to get a contractor out to quote for you. The contractor needs to be approved for making connections to the grid.