My inverter and 9.5kWh battery are under the stairs the only noise are the extra fans I installed to circulate the air and blow it out a small vent.

 

I installed my Sofar inverter and Pylontech batteries in the airing cupboard just across the hallway from my bedroom, and I don't hear them. In summer, I may have to do something about the heat, perhaps vents, perhaps fans, but as I charge from the grid at night, and in summer I plan to charge off my weedy 2kwp panels, it shouldn't be too bad.

 

Room for two more?

 

Why within 3m?

 

No idea, that's just what they told me.

Ideally I want it installed in the garage which is next to the house but detached (still has electricity though). Not sure if that is possible as it's quite far from the fuse box and I suspect it would require a lot of cabling? Any info on how this would work would be good as I know nothing about battery installation.

 

Hi Guys

I'm considering getting a GivEnergy battery installed where I can charge it at night when it's cheap and then use it during the day. However, I spoke to a company who specialises in home battery installations and they said the battery must be within 3 metres of the fuse box. Now the problem is, my fuse box is in the house under the stair case so the battery would have to be installed on the wall in the hallway.

My question is, are GivEnergy batteries (9.5kWh capacity one) noisy when trying to cool down? Is it fan cooled or liquid cooled? If fan, I suspect it can get quite noisy in which case I wouldn't really want it in the hallway.

Can anyone who has a GivEnergy battery let me know your experience?

Cheers.

The installer is talking nonsense. My battery is in the attic, I know plenty of people who have theirs in outbuildings. I guess the installer is too lazy to install a cable more than a few ft long.

Batteries are silent. As in completely silent there is no way they can make any noise at all.

Inverters sometimes make noise and it used to be common for them to have small cooling fans. However more-efficient modern inverters don’t have cooling fans iD be very surprised if the GivEnergy inverter has one, they might make clicking or wiring or humming noises so you possibly don’t want the inverter in your bedroom, but otherwise you’ll be fine.

 

Thanks for the info. They've informed me that I don't need an inverter as I don't have solar. I'll be charging it from the grid when it's cheap so I need an AC charger instead (apparently).

 

I guess this is the INVERTER the installer was planning to fit?

GivEnergy Gen2 3.6kW Hybrid Inverter ITS Technologies - Givenergy dirstributor

New GivEnergy Gen2 Hybrid inverter. Givenergy design and manufacture their own inverters, batteries and state-of-the-art management system and monitoring platform which combine to offer an exceptional storage package.

www.itstechnologies.shop

 

Oh if no solar, then there is the AC only inverter, which only allows 3kw:

GivEnergy 3kW AC Coupled Inverter Charger suitable for economy 7 & Octopus Go – ITS Technologies

 

Christ oh mighty, it really does sound like this installation company doesn't have a clue! Think I'm going to go with a different company!

 

Possibly, or they are talking about something different to what you think they are talking about. Just seek clarification on these things, and if they are not forthcoming then you know what to do.

 

Hi Guys

I'm considering getting a GivEnergy battery installed where I can charge it at night when it's cheap and then use it during the day. However, I spoke to a company who specialises in home battery installations and they said the battery must be within 3 metres of the fuse box. Now the problem is, my fuse box is in the house under the stair case so the battery would have to be installed on the wall in the hallway.

My question is, are GivEnergy batteries (9.5kWh capacity one) noisy when trying to cool down? Is it fan cooled or liquid cooled? If fan, I suspect it can get quite noisy in which case I wouldn't really want it in the hallway.

Can anyone who has a GivEnergy battery let me know your experience?

Cheers.

Good choice on the GivEnergy.
I have mine placed outside in the carport, cable run is possibly 8m from the inverter to CU - however, distance from battery to inverter i believe is fixed cable length of 90cm (or is it 100cm, can't remember - but what's 10cm between friends )

I think their rule of 3m seems quite odd.
What size inverter are you getting?
Not noisy at all IMHO

 

Good choice on the GivEnergy.
I have mine placed outside in the carport, cable run is possibly 8m from the inverter to CU - however, distance from battery to inverter i believe is fixed cable length of 90cm (or is it 100cm, can't remember - but what's 10cm between friends )

I think their rule of 3m seems quite odd.
What size inverter are you getting?

3.6kW inverter, which should hopefully be more than enough to power the house. There's only two of us (with a baby coming along soon) but I can't imagine us having so many devices on at the same time that it would go beyond 3kW.

And if it does, it's not the end of the world if we have to draw from the grid a little bit.

 

The Gen2 Hybrids can both deliver 3.6kw from battery alone.
I can't for the life of me see the difference of if those 3.6kw comes from the arrays or from the battery, why that should have an impact of the distance to the consumer unit - the power still comes through the same cable from the inverter!

 

And we all know that 3.6kW is around 16A at mains voltage so that or more is potentially carried by lots of circuits in the property, many of which are greater than 3m.

 

Oh sorry, on the noise thing. The inverter may have some kind of cooling fan inside. The other thing is that the inverter will probably make a very high-pitched whining noise (a bit like an old CRT TV would). Mine's in the loft so it doesn't really matter as I can't hear it, but if I'd put it in the laundry as I'd originally planned I can imagine it would drive me batty.

 

Yeah that was one of my worries. My other half is quite sensitive to these kind of noises and it would drive her crazy. Hall way installation may not be best for us. I'll try to get it installed in the garages instead once I've clarified a few things with the company. It's possible that I've just misunderstood what they said and there's miscommunication.

 

I assume I can still use the hybrid inverter even if I don't have solar? I may get solar in the future so i want to future proof this, but at present I'm unable to due to restrictions from the home developer.

 

Hmm, good question if there is a caveat on that - but agree, future proof is a good thing!
Though, is it likely its going to happen within the next 5-10 years? That is the lifespan i would expect of the inverter.
Using the Hybrid inverter will allow for 600w more load to your house from the batteries

Does the home developer give any reason why they won't allow solar?
Is it a new estate?
Do you own the house, or rent it?

If you own, i'd seriously ask the council why there could be such a limitation on an estate in todays world

 

Thanks for the figures guys. Sounds like it's really cost inefficient to just get the battery due to the 20% VAT but infuriatingly the home developers won't allow residents to install solar as it "affects the aesthetics of the development" which is quite frankly absurd. We're living in a climate emergency and cost of electricity is skyrocketing but looks is more important to them. Unfortunately theres nothing we can do as it's in the clause when we bought the house. We have to wait seven years before we're allowed as by that time they will have finished building the whole development and moved on.

I'm tempted to reach out to the media to shame them, which will hopefully force their hands in allowing us.

 

My parents bought a new house in 1992 and there was a similar restriction about TV aerials and satellite dishes. Everyone ignored it. If they've finished building and sold the last house it's very unlikely they will give a damn anyway.
Similarly I bought a new house in Newark in 2006 with similar restrictions. They had years of building left but loads of satellite dishes etc appeared and nothing was ever done.

 

Satellite dishes is probably a bit more subtle but to have massive solar panels covering an entire side of the roof may be a bit more difficult to get away with. Having said that, one house does have solar so they obviously ignored the restrictions lol

 

I would fit solar..and tell them to sue you…unless it’s Leasehold

 

I have a Givenergy Solar and Battery system. All in it cost £9,500 for a 4kWh solar and 5.2kWh battery. The battery is silent. My Consumer Unit is in the Kitchen with the solar gubbins next door in the utility room. The installer was happy to stick the gubbins in the loft had I wished though he did say that it might have cost a "few quid more" as it was a much more awkward install.

 

Just on the topic of cost and for comparison's sake, we had a Tesla Powerwall 2 (13.5kWh) with gateway installed for £7,789 in 2020... prices and VAT clearly change over time, but just so you have a bit of comparison data.

From a noise perspective, the Tesla makes next to no noise other than when it occasionally needs to run the cooling fans. We have it in our utility room and don't even notice it.

 

Thanks for that. That's actually pretty cheap for a Tesla Powerwall as I believe prices have sky rocketed since. But useful comparison nonetheless

 

Indeed "battery must be within 3 metres of the fuse box" is not true as a general statement and possibly isn't true for the specific case of your house either.

My battery is silent, but my inverter makes a decent amount of noise (like similar to a fridge). It is whirring away when the load is high, it is quiet quiet when load is low.

 

But is everyone happy to have these inside the house ??? My brother just got solar n 5kw battery , they put the inverter in the attic/loft n I said did they put any smoke alarm auto extinguisher in there as I wouldn't be happy with that inside (especially in a loft that can reach 40c in summer !!)--witnessed a few fires in the electrical/computer business (almost burnt my hand off cause a spark had miswired a 3phase switch !!!) . I would insist it goes in Garage or outside cabinet were it belongs !

 

I'm looking at adding a hybrid inverter with 11kWh battery. I have discovered that I've fallen foul of the 20% VAT. So, I'd say £7500 is a fairly good price. But, that's if you can find a company who can get hold of batteries and kit to install. The one's I've contacted are either fully booked up or have a long wait for kit.

 

It really isn't as difficult as you're making out!

The below is all in stock at Renewable Energy Specialist - Solar PV & battery Storage components – ITS Technologies it'd take any electrician half a day to install...

 

We have a restricted covenant on our house preventing the installation of TV aerials. Personally I don’t like the look of them so I put mine in the loft but loads of people have put them on the chimney.

My understanding is that the covenant should be enforced by the local council in response to multiple complaints from the neighbours. So firstly, is anyone going to complain, let alone multiple people and secondly, the council would need to consider their reputation before making you take down a green energy system.

However you would need to consider the implications of breaching the covenant when you come to sell the house.

 

My MiL bought a house a few months back. There was a restrictive covenant prohibiting garden sheds and conservatories. Her house had both as do most other house on the street.

Get the panels up there and if any clipboard-wielder complains just ask them if they want to be on the news...

 

Thought I would give a quick update for those who replied and helped me with this, which I am grateful for.

So I decided against getting the batteries by themselves as it just didn't seem cost effective as I would have to pay VAT on them. Instead I decided to pursue the route of seeking approval from the home developers to install solar panels with the battery (GiveEnergy 9.5 kWh with 3.6 kW hybrid inverter). Surprisingly they approved the installation so we're going ahead with it woohoo! However, we chose a different company in the end as they seemed more knowledgeable on their product (as well as being a couple hundred quid cheaper but this wasn't a deciding factor).

So this is now all booked in with installation commencing mid-March. Can't wait to soak up some free juice! Although the contractor gave us a rough estimate of 11 years before we break even! This is without taking account of the electric car though so probably closer to 7 years I reckon, possibly sooner.

 

Sorry guys, got another question with regards to the batteries. Does anyone know what the difference is between the gen1 and gen2 Givenergy batteries, in particular the 9.5kWh one? I'm looking at the data sheets of both and unless I'm going blind, I can't see much difference. The gen2 has a slightly larger range in operating temperatures (-10C to 55C versus 0C to 50C) but that's about the only thing I can see.

 

It’s actually not the battery that is the differentiating factor here.
9.5kwh battery is with new connector and built-in relay. 8.2kwh is with old ring terminals and need the breaker relay external.

Where the big difference is, is in the inverter:
Gen1 can charge/discharge battery with 2.6kw
Gen2 can charge/discharge battery with 3.6kw and have LAN connector

 

It is just the size, isn't it? This time last year they did 3.6, 5.2 and 8.2kwh batteries; they then replaced the 8.2 with the 9.5. I see the 9.5 battery says "gen 2" on their website, but I don't think there was a gen 1 9.5kwh battery...

 

Yeah I think you're right. Oddly enough I found two data sheets from a Google search with ever so slight discrepancies.

 

8.2 was the gen 1 and 9.5 is the gen 2 👍

Other than size/weight/dimensions I think the specs are identical tbh.

The 0-50 is just being specific that operating temp charging is above 0, i would suspect thats the same with the first gen.

Someone might be able to confirm if the first gen had a USB interface.

 

On the noice front, we have a warm roof design on the house so our inverter is in the loft, we can’t hear a thing and it’s above our bedroom, outer daughter on the other hand says it makes a noise like the equivalent used to disease kids from hanging around outside shops etc

 

I wish someone would disease the kids hanging around my local Co-Op!

 

We're getting our battery installed in the garage now so noise won't be an issue for us thankfully.

Hopefully 9.5 kWh is enough. I'm just glad there's an option to expand if we want to add more batteries.