Evening folks. 
 

I’m looking for any suggestions or recommendations for a Solar system forum / website that isn’t just solar companies begging for my details to send me a quote. 
I have tried some of the Facebook Solar and DIY Solar pages but the majority of groups and posts mainly seem to be from the US. 
I am looking for the Briskoda equivalent of everything on Solar, Batteries, inverter setups etc etc. 

 

Also happy to hear anyone’s experiences of Solar wether it’s DIY or paid installation. 
 

JRJG 

There's another thread that might be of interest:

 

 

 

Gaz

 

11 minutes ago, Gaz said:

There's another thread that might be of interest:

 

 

 

Gaz

 

Thanks Gaz I did have a quick flick through older posts but didn’t find anything after a few pages 

 

I’ll have a read through. 
 

cheers 

 

JRJG

Neighbour just signed up to get solar plus batteries. Not DIY.
He got 6 quotes but didn't take the cheapest. He went with a firm that has an accreditation, effectively ones of their jobs was also to check other peoples work (sorry can't recall the cert).

He was also able to access a cheap loan from his mortgage provider. Apparently it's not advertised but most lender have 0% mortgage top ups for green projects so it is worth asking if you have a mortgage.

interesting things - solar panels are very cheap now, not much more than glass panels. Batteries are expensive making up about 40% of the cost. Installation is also expensive another 40%.

You deal with the energy company matters as you actually won't use what you generate. If your deal is good you will charge the battery on cheap rate to use through the day. Your solar is sold back to the grid. There is an argument for not bothering with the solar and just having battery storage to pull down cheap rate electric.

East west solar array, 20kWh battery and solar capable accessories .

I wouldn’t bother with solar diverter if your hot water is on gas as I don’t think it’ll ever pay for itself.

Batteries are a god send, but right size it based on your usage and changes over the next 10 years.

What questions do you have in mind?

That was some set-up Guy Martin's got in his gaff.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/guy-martins-house-without-bills

On 07/02/2026 at 16:08, Monkhai said:

East west solar array, 20kWh battery and solar capable accessories .

I wouldn’t bother with solar diverter if your hot water is on gas as I don’t think it’ll ever pay for itself.

Batteries are a god send, but right size it based on your usage and changes over the next 10 years.

What questions do you have in mind?

Solar diverter for hot water can be very beneficial - but it all depends on individual circumstances.

Our solar array was installed when batteries were prohibitively expensive so we had a diverter installed (Solar iBoost). Most years we have able to turn off the gas off in early May and back on in late October; with only two or three times when we need to manually switch on the immersion for half an hour. Our ancient gas space and water heating have what appear to me as very large flames on both of the pilot lights which at current prices I have calculated to cost us about £200/yr on their own!

So, the solar diverter gives us zero gas consumption for almost 6 months of the year and near free heating of the water.

Those benefits of the solar diverter are very welcome indeed, the downside is that it now makes the ROI of a battery less inviting because we already have a significant saving. Having said that, when we change the heating system (this year) and potentially swapping Mrs Steve's CitiGo for a small EV, installing a battery may well become a more attractive proposition (unless we use the EV as the battery to power the house during peak times).

Oh for the simplicity of my childhood days with a coal fire and Baxi boiler 😉

On 18/02/2026 at 10:00, SteveTheElder said:

Solar diverter for hot water can be very beneficial - but it all depends on individual circumstances.

Our solar array was installed when batteries were prohibitively expensive so we had a diverter installed (Solar iBoost). Most years we have able to turn off the gas off in early May and back on in late October; with only two or three times when we need to manually switch on the immersion for half an hour. Our ancient gas space and water heating have what appear to me as very large flames on both of the pilot lights which at current prices I have calculated to cost us about £200/yr on their own!

So, the solar diverter gives us zero gas consumption for almost 6 months of the year and near free heating of the water.

Those benefits of the solar diverter are very welcome indeed, the downside is that it now makes the ROI of a battery less inviting because we already have a significant saving. Having said that, when we change the heating system (this year) and potentially swapping Mrs Steve's CitiGo for a small EV, installing a battery may well become a more attractive proposition (unless we use the EV as the battery to power the house during peak times).

Oh for the simplicity of my childhood days with a coal fire and Baxi boiler 😉

Yes, but any new system will come with batteries and with export at 12p, it makes far more sense to burn gas and sell the electric these days.

The cost of a diverter fitted is around £500-700. Even if you are saving 7p per kWh of gas (to allow for efficiency) it is 10000 units of gas.

If you have one already, yes I’m sure it helps, but at present there is no point doing anything but exporting. That could of course change soon, but for now I couldn’t recommend buying one.