In this month’s article, Mark Allison considers the challenges for installers wanting to get into the solar sector.
Lots of installers wanting to enter the sector often ask me what the challenges are likely to be. This is multifaceted – with angles around installation but also integration and what consumers actually want.
A big one at the moment is EV chargers and PV/battery systems from different ecosystems and brands. Unfortunately, these often will not talk to each other in delivering the best outcome for consumers and present challenges for installers.
The usual installer approach is to blind the battery storage system from the EVs existence. This prevents the household battery from discharging into the electric vehicle. It is usually achieved by placing the EV charge point into a consumer unit pre the battery storage system and outside of any gateways.
However, as we see ever lower export limits agreed by DNOs this can lead to another issue some installers are missing. That is around clipping, and EV charge points not having opportunity to see and use all solar export. While the battery storage system is blinded from the EV’s demand and thus not serving it. The EV can see solar export, great right! Well sort of, if the DNO has specified say a 5kW export limit but the customer is producing 8kW with full batteries and a 1kW house load demand satisfied (remember it cannot see the EV demand). 2kW would be clipped away before the EV had chance to use it. With such varied tariffs this can become an issue as consumers seek the very best ROI across all seasons.
Integrating brands
We always try to encourage consumers towards equipment from the same brand, but this is not always ideal for a couple of reasons at least. Firstly, many consumers already have EV charging equipment and it feels very wasteful to remove functioning and working equipment for no reason other than integration. Secondly some consumers want charging equipment that integrates directly with energy retailers’ tariffs such as Octopus intelligent.
Work arounds exist on the tech side for those with the knowledge and willingness to use home assistant and such. But this is beyond many consumers and should not be required imho. The big drive from a consumer’s point of view at the moment is around apps and control. With equipment that is easy to manage, monitor data and integrate with tariffs central to demand. Having apps for different equipment is clumsy and hard work, something that should be a thing of the past.
We deal with these challenges on our client facing installations and I even fought against swapping my own charge point at home for a longtime based on all the reasons above. However, the only reliable and long-term solution led me towards swapping into the same ecosystem at home.
It is often these integrations that can catch new entrants out. Along with matching string peak voltages to MPPT ratings, both voltage and current. These are the things which can swing a system into a great one or one which simply does not work.
We have InstallerSHOW at the end of this month with manufacturers and installers on hand to discuss things just like this if you have questions. Sam Featherstone and I will be on The Renewables Podcast stand through the show with demos on DC cable distribution, MC4 termination and equipment integration. Make sure you register and come along to see the BIGGEST and BEST tradeshow of them all!
Do not forget to let me know any topics you would like covered in the articles via the below links.
