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Glad to see you acknowledge MCS as a monopoly, I would also suggest it’s a cartel. From my experience MCS results in extortionate pricing that excludes the majority of people having solar. If we are to meet net zero renewables need to be opened up to the masses and become mainstream. It’s great to see Octopus looking at their own certification and fantastic to see the IET 18th Edition includes solar installation. I have just been through a Building Control application for solar and they are happy to accept an installation done by my electrician under IET certification. Hopefully this is how things will go. As for your insurance scare mongering, at least for the time being most insurers don’t have an issue with DIY installs, and I’m sure if this changes they will also accept IET installations. There is nothing special about solar, any electrician with a bit of training can do just as good job as the best MCS installer, and a lot better than many of them. MCS is a rip off, the sooner it is not required by energy companies like Octopus the quicker we will see roll out of solar to the masses .

MCS only goes up to 45kW

i did tigo in schools. there have been quite a few solar fires and MCS should investigate and share the findings

in 2012 lots of bad companies making lots of money- i did the heat pump and solar install before an inspection

EASY MCS helped companies

fire safety checks should be a role of mcs with fire brigade and BRE

interesting when there is a lot of solar and i can see electricity being free

immersions and iboosts

wasnt governent money- companies still lied about returns and estimated self consumption would be 70%. RECC is the assurance and insurance

FIT was governent money it is a tax on people electric bills

MCS is a waste of time, I have been in renewables since 2012, we saw poor installations in 2012 and reported them and they did nothing, they just wanted to sign up new companies. I got a company MCS accredited for heat pumps and solar. The standards are good but the policing is poor. The MCS accredition should have been based on 3 months or so of installations and then back dated if good companies

I 100% agree on smoke/heat alarms on every floor of dwelling and in loft being installed and interlinked. It should be an MCS and BS7671 mandated rule before there is loss of life due to PV or inverter or battery fire

Sigen looks great. I’ve been looking into their US brand: PointGuard Energy. It’s like the monolith from the film 2001. I like the look much more than the Frankenstein systems on the walls with a maze of connections and boxes.

Great podcast episode. Thanks for putting it together. I heard about Flexi-Orb at Solar and Storage Live this year who say they are a direct competitor to MCS. Not sure how that works with the SEG but interesting to see how having competition might change things up.

I've only heard bad things about MCS electricians, a friend had a cowboy solar job that's never worked right and the roof leaked, it was installed by an MCS electrician, still not really resolved, so I would avoid them.

When you have MCS on the podcast...... I would like them to publish an easy guide for the consumer to check what has been handed over to them. I have, belatedly, received a handover pack. When I read it I identified items which were not installed, even though the document implied they were present. Many customers would not necessarily be able to identify this. MCS should specify 'absolute' requirements, and pictures for the end user to be able to confirm this.

I was under the impression octopus energy dont require mcs installed syatem .

We have an mcs certified system year latter we still cannot get paid .

I do love the functional 100A terminal block, firmly part of the #CrannisCollection :)

Your talk of rapid shutdown is interesting. Tigo optimisers cover this, I believe, however I saw something the other day (can’t recall where) which said that Tesla issued a technical bulletin relating to optimisers not being compatible with PW3 MPPTs as they force a shutdown - was it related to surge or arc protection being wrongly detected? I must try to find it again.

18:00 is interesting. I’m currently in dispute for items such as AC and DC isolators showing on the submitted approval drawing at ‘sign off’ but simply not being installed.

Just noticed the old Cinema chairs.🪑

Has MCS ever helped a consumer when the original MCS registered installer has failed or vanished?

Thanks so much for this video, a peak at kit of the future, much appreciated. 👍

Our Gen 1 Givenergy Hybrid 3.6 kw inverter is protected by a 20a Hager MTN 120 mcb. I spoke to Hager technical department and they said point blank that the mcb is bi directional. You tell me what you think please….. There is no Line direction on the mcb terminals so my understanding is that the mcb is bi directional…. A friend of mine has just had his installation done and no rcbo protection on his gen 3 inverter either. And yet his installer has certified the installation as fully regs compliant….. Givenergy may not want rcbo protection on their inverters…. what’s your take on this please?

Really enjoyed this show. It was like i was at the venue. That Napit demo board was lacking interlinking smoke/heat alarms

Best podcast on renewables 🤔😎

In South Africa, we have to run DC fuses and SPD's on PV strings. I see in the UK you guys only use isolaters and sometimes SPD's. Why negate the use of fuses or DC breakers? Seems silly from a safety point.

Good podcast lads, to be honest I do fit them when there is no other practical route, I find the majority of my customers who have an EV tend to be in a fairly recently built house, fancy flooring and would rather sell their kidneys than have the decor disturbed. I have however in the last few months based on this and other informed media changed what I use. There is a brand that is cheap as chips, if you know you know, I don't like their switchgear and no longer touch it BUT they do a really good plastic IP65 enclosure, I'm now putting together a decent brand of control gear (RCD, SPD etc) all meant to be used together into this enclosure. Yes I know about type testing etc but what are you meant to do, but do your best to make things as safe as possible. I add a label "Don't open when wet" but would that stop anyone, probably not... New builds are meant to have the provision for an EV, but often don't (designed before the requirement, allegedly) and often inadequate if included. Looking forward to your chat with Craig O'Neil

Only thing I don’t like is that Sigenergy is yet another Chinese company. I rather support then US instead with Enphase. Better warranty (15 to 25 years) and a track record of great quality and customer support 😊

Great podcast always guys!

You're right about power feeds to garages, and the ability to make them into 'service' locations, however planning needs a major overhaul as even small cars are getting bigger such that garage space just isn't sufficient in the first place.

New rules in Ireland just this week as below ; Dear REC, On the 19th of September 2024, the Board of Directors of NSAI signed off on the 2024 Amendments to Irish Standard (I.S.) 10101. From this date, the amendments become part of the standard. One of the amendments is a change to rule 551.9.3 (see screenshot below) which deals with RCD protection for Microgeneration Systems. This change impacts small (less than 5kw) Photo Voltaic (PV) systems. It is now permissible to provide RCD protection for micro-generation systems at up 100 milliamps. For clarity, prior to this date, Safe Electric inspectors who identified that RCD protection in excess of 30 milliamps on these systems, would be obliged to issue a Non-Conformance.

A question occurs to me regarding 'external service cabinets'. For example, an 'electrified gate' security company installed a service cabinet - the green boxes you can see in many locations - which was SWA fed through a 100m duct from the main board of the site to supply a small CU in the cabinet to drive the gate. (+ data) The question is more about the lack of ventilation, hence condensation potential. It's safe for the normal site visitor as it's in a locked box, but should we be using different kit for such an insulation?

Great video and thanks for sharing. Sigenergy is kind of game changer in this solar and battery storage industry in the UK. Wish it all good luck.

Agree with most of this. Legislation of building regs is prob the best solution here. JPEL/64 + BS 7671 committee can mop up the rest.

How has this podcast only got 528 subscribers, I expected it to have way more. Stick with it, it's a great format.

Refreshing honest chat from people who know what its like and are not just QVC.

In no way would I have allowed a consumer unit on the outside of my wall. Equipotential zones, PEN faults, condensation risk, capillary action, oxidisation - let alone wet consumer hands trying to resolve something whilst leaning on the neighbour's EV. Lifting a flap does not make a switch or protective device under it safe to operate in an adverse environment. The design of protective devices may not have considered their use outside. Most of my MCBs etc are only rated down to -5ºC. This is a building regs problem that is causing electrical safety issues down the line. In many other countries the equivalent regulations require provision for the expansion of electrical circuits, including for renewables. In various European countries we see circuits in continuous conduits with spare conduits for future growth that can simply be blown and then pulled through. I prefer the gateway you installed by my meter box Sam - it was good advice as it is designed for the job at hand. 🙂

We live in an all electric house. Heat pump, hvac, cooking, septic system, 4 kids with ps5’s and two Tesla EVs. We will Soon have a third and fourth EV’s as our teens learn to drive. Where do we start with a solar system with battery storage to accommodate our electricity needs?

If you're in areas of proberble power cuts, and now our networks can be controlled in emergency by disconnecting areas, I think people should really think about a small generator . Batterys will not run your home for 3 days .

Mark question. I still see many installers fitting 30ma rcd, rcbos, yet in most cases, the manufactures recommendation is in many products is a minimum of 100ma . I have written confirmation from 3 difffrrant manufacturers giving details .

Best ‘renewable’ channel on RUclips. True experts with great hands on knowledge, a refreshing change from so many prosumer channels.

Nice, video, saved a lot time attending!!! Sigenergy looks like a really comprehensive battery solution and came across very professional too...

Thanks lads for the deep dive into this stuff. I was lisening recently and totally agree nobody knows their way around data sheets. I always figured out my string voltage by, the number of panels times Voc + (Noc times 25) so this allows for the voltage at -5 on a bright day. But Sigen tech support said just use STC. Are we being falsed into repetition?

Great video guys, spent most of Sunday afternoon looking up 2 input mppt to find nothing, then all is explained here👍🏼

Great podcast! The race to the bottom is unbelievable. It is so similar to the FiT Days

I found this incredibly interesting, and also concerning (potentially) for the less technical customers as everyone has to trust their installers! I have just had a 3-roof PowerWall3 system installed with 11 panels (435W) connected to one MPPT - the panels are all in one string (with Tigo optimisers) despite their different roof orientations. The installer said that the optimisers will counter any issues with the different orientations. I have to assume this is correct as I'm not totally au fait with the technology. I'd simplistically thought 3-faces, 3-MPPTs ~ three strings..... And that's what the sales guy had indicated over the phone when we spoke back in July: Google images etc as most seem to rely on. Today (4-oct) I generated 9.4kWh over the day. Generation started around 9:00 (even though sun-up was earlier), and stopped around 21:00. For October, I believe this is OK as the 'quote' I had indicated that 7-ish kWh is the predicted average in my region at this time of year. We have to trust you guys, although I'm not clear who 'designed' my installation as the supplier has a few contractors, and I'm not sure if it was the contractor's on-site decision. Even though I'm now up and running, I will still follow your podcasts as (being a retired engineer) I find the topic interesting, especially as everything develops.

listened this morning and another awesome episode really helpful with spec a system design! and thanks Mark for revealing my secret 😅 🙌

Regarding paralleling strings on roof then finding it may potentially exceed the possible max isolator current limit... Why not consider then running two series strings to a 4p isolator, THEN parallel the strings AFTER isolator eg 2x 14A series strings, safely isolated on a 20 or 25A isolator, THEN parallel to create 28A & fed to inverter Obviously, this requires more cabling, but ensures isolator always switches a safer lower current within its range, even on a pure sunny day Plus lot easier to work/test/diagnose issues with 2 into 1 string if parallel connection itself is near inverter than up on the roof