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Comment by domh | Hacker News Reader

This is going to be made legal in the UK on the 27th August. Max 800w inspired by Germany. I'll definitely get some panels and see how they go.

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To be precise (Germany): 800W inverter, 2kWp solar panels (maximum 4 panels). This allows you to get the 800W during long periods of daylight (e.g. east/west configuration). You only need to add the installation to a public database and plug in the inverter. Before it was more complex (special plug needed, only 600W, need allowance from grid operator) and still we have ~1.5 GW installed plug-in solar plants. It's almost always a no-brainer, RoI is typically 3-4 years while the lifespan is 20 years.

Edit: My state had a subsidy of 300€ when I bought mine, so the RoI was instant ;-)

They're a no brainer especially if Lidl can nock them out for around £200 in the centre aisle.

Unfortunately for me my back garden has too much shade for panels and I don't think I could get away with them in the front.

So that leaves a roof top install and I think once you have scaffold that you might as well have a traditional install.

Yeah I'm going to wait for lidl to do them, that's the plan anyway. Anything you can buy now is ~£600 (ecoflow is the brand I've seen). Hoping some others take the plunge first to provide some guidance.

Wish plugin batteries were part of it.

I think plugin batteries are coming too.

Right now (well 27th August) you can plug your inverter into a battery but you can't connect the battery to a ring main you have to connect devices directly to it.

That is under assessment though so there's a good chance they could copy the way Germany does it, just like they're doing with the panels.

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