Is it worth installing rooftop solar panels in Bangalore without government subsidy?

Yes come Jan, we would get to see some good days ahead. It may drag to Feb i think. Off grid is off the radar of government red tapism or cumbersome paperwork. Unfortunately it requires maintenance and batteries investment. So i stayed away.
 
Yes come Jan, we would get to see some good days ahead. It may drag to Feb i think. Off grid is off the radar of government red tapism or cumbersome paperwork. Unfortunately it requires maintenance and batteries investment. So i stayed away.
Yeah..easier to go off grid..just ask ur electrician to chop the meter off...fill somepaper work and its done in a week..have experience coz i surrendered one couple of months off.

yeah off grid is expensive.. at least 1.5 lacs more as you need to buy a heavy duty inverter plus at least 4-5 batteries to be sure. Not worth it.
 
Yeah..easier to go off grid..just ask ur electrician to chop the meter off...fill somepaper work and its done in a week..have experience coz i surrendered one couple of months off.

yeah off grid is expensive.. at least 1.5 lacs more as you need to buy a heavy duty inverter plus at least 4-5 batteries to be sure. Not worth it.
Cost of battery aside, off grid would require battery maintenance and once it busts, has to be replaced once every half dozen years apart from the inverter.
 
And the government sells Solar installations as being so easy...just install..take our subsidy and enjoy!!!

In my case today on 14th day of applying, got intimation to pay discom money to increase my sanctioned load from 3KW to 5KW which I prompty paid. My solar is already installed..just lying uncomissioned.

1. Next step is for me to receive official intimation of increase in load (meaning discom systems are updated)
2. Then after 10 days of that..I go to them and ask for a provisional bill which has the new 5KW mentioned.
3. I give this bill to my vendor proving I got 5KW
4. Then he will enter into a PPA with Discom
5. Then he will install the net-meter (he confirmed that he is buying the meter and its part of my total cost)
6. Bescom will commission.

It was agreed earlier and today also he confirmed that post me giving him proof of increased sanctioned load - rest of interactions with Bescom is their responsibility - just hoping that I get a shot of tasting solar power by 1st of Jan - although 1st of Feb seems more like it.

Regarding subsidy - two years back I applied online for Bescoms Solar scheme...it never took off as no vendor wanted to get empanelled given the low rates. Finally they have few vendors now but as expected..none of the famous ones like Tata/Loom/Adani are in the fray.

After our dear leader launched the new MNRE portal in June - I applied there as well...difference being that if you apply via Bescom scheme - you pay net of subsidy to the vendor. However in MNRE scheme - you pay full to Vendor and then claim subsidy.

I am sick of tired of both schemes and hence decided to go for non subsidy one. But yesterday someone from MNRE called and asked why I was not applying for subsidy!!! weird schemes and even weirder response. Waiting for increase in sanctioned load letter..post which I will call the MNRE folks to see if I can get subisidy. Only issue is whether with BEscom subsidy or MNRE subsidy..they got too many T&Cs....I doubt if my current installation meets those conditions...but no harm trying. Lets see
Sorry haven't read full thread i will my 2 cents advise on your this post only.Here we have 3 schemes on solar panels for water pumps.5kv,7.5kv and 10kv.Farmers can not take panels at home for other uses they should remain at farm.Officers from department inspects regularly and if they find panels taken else where they will hand over full bill.There is 80% subsidy in Haryana. People in past got subsidised panels installed then sold them for half the price and if someone got his application approved he sold that approval without taking panels himself.this has led to strict rules and regular inspections.If you are getting panels under subsidy go with it without a single thought but dont go if they are asking to apply for solar panels it will take lots of time then buy from market.Subsidy or not buy only Tata mono panels no adani or other panels. these mono panels will give current in rainy season or under cloud cover.There is a particular type of inverter which will get 30% more current from panels i forgot its name my cousin has it will ask him.this inverter is totally programable.you can set everything ie low cut,over load cut,full charge cut,ampere current not like others.you can set it by numbers you can set your low cut at 9.2 volt battery or any figure you want,you can set your charging ampere from 2 amp to 50 amp as you like rest of functions can also be set.You can decide how much load you want from inverter and how much from grid like you need 4kv load and you have 3kv inverter then inverter will pull 3kv from panels 1kv from grid combine them and will give you 4kv load.I dont know much about these solar panels but my cousin does he is obsessed with solar powers.if you needs any help let me know i will ask him.There are these genus solar batteries with flat 6 years warranty no pro rata or anything we have been using them for years now without any issue.there is also those schemes from electricity board also they failed don't go for that. Its good if you gets enough power from panels for your needs only don't think of giving back to grid.
regards
 
Thanks @ashoka11 . We are discussing more of an urban based Solar setup with on grid just to be safe.

As far as solar panels are concerned - large parts of it are imported from China and other places just like everything else in India. Hence as long as you stick to known brands - Mono Half PERC is the sweet spot, we should be fine. MPPT is I guess is the word/abbreviation you were looking for and yes we should buy this type of inverter.

Issue is not with purchase of components but the confusing rules and the long delays in commissioning.

Reason we should not go for Offgrid - particularly in Urban set ups where we have heavy duty gadgets and also need 24x7 power is that not only will 4-5 batteries and large capacity inverter cost around 1.5 lacs more...but every 6-7 years we may have to replace batteries which mean even more investments at regular intervals. Hence Ongrid is the best option for folks like us.
 
After finally getting to talk to the AE, he said they wont actually send anybody for inspection. They would just approve for netmetering based on the 100 Rs stamp paper agreement and that they will see feasibility and load of the DC (panel end is DC as we all know) compared to the load already in use and then they would take a video and have the bidirectional meter fixed and that I must bear some extra charges officially. No mention about any extra charges indicating a bribe was discussed. So my Rs.10540 during application plus some more hidden charges are there that will be the final expenditure. The 3.35 lakhs plus the amount that will be charged will be the total cost for the 4.45 kw on the grid in my case. Just uploading my panel installation pics. For those angles and support, wiring, DC and AC boxes and lightning arrestors and other fabrication labour came to 65k in my case. If i had not done it there at top of the headroom, it probably would have cost me less. The subsequent installations would be done at a lower altitude ie.the roof top exactly which would reduce cost.
 

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Thanks @ashoka11 . We are discussing more of an urban based Solar setup with on grid just to be safe.

As far as solar panels are concerned - large parts of it are imported from China and other places just like everything else in India. Hence as long as you stick to known brands - Mono Half PERC is the sweet spot, we should be fine. MPPT is I guess is the word/abbreviation you were looking for and yes we should buy this type of inverter.

Issue is not with purchase of components but the confusing rules and the long delays in commissioning.

Reason we should not go for Offgrid - particularly in Urban set ups where we have heavy duty gadgets and also need 24x7 power is that not only will 4-5 batteries and large capacity inverter cost around 1.5 lacs more...but every 6-7 years we may have to replace batteries which mean even more investments at regular intervals. Hence Ongrid is the best option for folks like us.
Amron and Genus solar batteries have 5 years warranty and have low price because there is only 5% gst on solar batteries.
Kindly read trough it we had discussed this earlier on TE and you will find many similar threads.
regards
 
Amron and Genus solar batteries have 5 years warranty and have low price because there is only 5% gst on solar batteries.
Kindly read trough it we had discussed this earlier on TE and you will find many similar threads.
regards
The point is whether the batteries are worth an extra investment in urban settings. In Chennai, especially in Annanagar where I live, there are less powercuts and is usually announced in the media beforehand if done for grid maintainance. Batteries added to the rig would increase uniform power connectivity and independence from the grid and not essentially for utility bill savings. It would save you money with load sharing of circuits to the offgrid but to have entire household connected through off grid is not preferred. Batteries can be cheap but will wear out. Ongrid takes government discoms approval and some transition time in going functional which sucks however saves trouble wrt batteries or the maintenance of it thereoff. If the red tapism is put to an end by government, then going on the grid would be the best choice. Offgrid would make sense in areas with more powercuts only.
 
The point is whether the batteries are worth an extra investment in urban settings. In Chennai, especially in Annanagar where I live, there are less powercuts and is usually announced in the media beforehand if done for grid maintainance. Batteries added to the rig would increase uniform power connectivity and independence from the grid and not essentially for utility bill savings. It would save you money with load sharing of circuits to the offgrid but to have entire household connected through off grid is not preferred. Batteries can be cheap but will wear out. Ongrid takes government discoms approval and some transition time in going functional which sucks however saves trouble wrt batteries or the maintenance of it thereoff. If the red tapism is put to an end by government, then going on the grid would be the best choice. Offgrid would make sense in areas with more powercuts only.
No not worth it to attach batteries in Urban areas they will increase investment. battery life depends upon cycles if there is no power cut or very
less then batteries will last over 10 years.I meant to say if someone decides to buy batteries also then go with these brand i didnt ment
they are compulsory. Best thing for you cn be install a 500 watt inverter bring down 2 12 volt solar wire and attach a 45amp suv battery if there is power cut one fan and lights will remain on. or as a inline UPS for PC. its like emergency backup at night and its cheap.
What i said earlier these power distribution companies subsidy scheme failed very badly. You will be giving power
to grid when there is no need and grid have lots of extra power at hand but there is no demand. what grid will do with so much power?
if you have extra power to give to grid then others also have extra power transferring to grid. When demand is high everyone will pull
power from grid like in evening hour and that costs money to govt it reaches 8rs per unit in peak hours for every single unit consumed
extra at that time you will also pull power from grid to run those AC. when there is demand its every where and same if power is surplus
it is surplus every where.so these solar systems are not going to effect grid so much. Now what companies did they slashed price
of power they takes from solar panels by 60%. or if not done they will do it in 2,3 months .Power companies promoting it to sell
solar panels they are earning money from all these why they don't let customer install panels of his choice? power companies have
tie-ups with these solar companies and profit is huge. Fellow member spent above 3.50 lakh for a 4.4kv solar system under subsidy it is more
expensive then non subsidy best panels by at least 20%.they are ripping common people under the disguise of subsidy. A 5kv solar plant
costs around 55k under 80% subsidy including installation and a submersible pump.so 5kv plant price is no more then 2.75 lakhs using best panels
available in India. Now is that 3.50lakh for 4.4 kv justifies? that too under subsidy. I can get you exact price from DC office tomorrow if one
needs. Ask around price of panels per watt you will know what's going on.
regards
 
The gestation period to get the "on the grid" commissioned is roughly 1.5 months from the time we have the DC and AC solar installed. Therefore one may apply first and then have it installed later also. Just my thought. That way we dont have to invest lakhs in advance on a hope for swift processing. This 3.5 lakhs on an fixed deposit interest basis for those 45-60 days of stalement amounts to 5k. They dont even come to office regularly or are not found in their seats.
 
There was a sanction approval payment notice which i cleared immediately. Now only netmetering has to be fixed.
 
HI All

While I got my solar installed in early Dec itself, due to a 220V line running next to my house, My local transmission company is creating issue.

One of the solutions in my mind was to go completely off grid but what ever little I googled, for the kind of consumption I have, it makes absolutely no sense and takes up massive amounts of space due to lots of batteries. Here are my requirements. Would any of you know what kind of inverter I need to buy and how many batteries I need to install to maintain the same kind of power?

(1) Heaving duty appliances in my house - (a) 25L geyser (b) Bosch Washing machine (c) Two induction stoves which we operate at 50% of installed power..so say 1000W each.
(2) Couple of home theater setups plus tons of lights and fans.

So we already got 5KW solar installed including solar invereter, ACDB, DCDB....etc. I guess we have installed everything except the net meter.

My approved electicity load from Bescom is 5KW.

My current power consumption is around 450 units a month - so apprx 15 units a day which I thought my 5KW solar would take care.

So for this type of consumption, my understanding is that I need around 5KVA inverter plus plenty of batteries.

Can someone give the exact details that correspond to my consumption with the assumption that batteries will get charged during the day and we produce enough to fulfill our total needs.

(3) My other question is that is it possible to have some kind of a switch where I can switch between inverter plus battery during the day and switch back to grid when batteries are discharged? I mean have on grid but without net metering. Because all of my issue right now is due to net metering which might not happen due to the 220 V line running next to my house.
 
The point is whether the batteries are worth an extra investment in urban settings.
Having installed an on-grid net-meter 3KW system a year back in an urban house, I am now thinking of using the left over available space on my roof. While the power supply is reliable and cuts are not frequent, I still need an inverter (currently have 1100v inverter with 12v battery and all my fans, TV and LED lights are on the grid+inverter circuit).

The idea is to go for a new 2KV (normal household) inverter with 2*12V batteries, get 2or3*330 or 440w panels and a solar charge controller unit. The solar charge controller will have grid AC supply as an input apart from the DC connects from the panels and to the batteries. The inverter will get AC input from the controller only. Controller will charge the batteries during the day and as long as the batteries are with full/acceptable charge, it will cut-off grid power to inverter. Till batteries carry charge during the day and most of the night, I can eliminate grid-usage for load on my inverter circuit.

This might be a good solution where one need not invest in heavy inverter/batteries for a complete off-grid system and at the same time maximize the solar usage with a reliable backup during power-cuts for light loads.

I am not clear about the math to do this, please let me know if any of you can help, I want to finalize the SCC and panels.
 
Having installed an on-grid net-meter 3KW system a year back in an urban house, I am now thinking of using the left over available space on my roof. While the power supply is reliable and cuts are not frequent, I still need an inverter (currently have 1100v inverter with 12v battery and all my fans, TV and LED lights are on the grid+inverter circuit).

The idea is to go for a new 2KV (normal household) inverter with 2*12V batteries, get 2or3*330 or 440w panels and a solar charge controller unit. The solar charge controller will have grid AC supply as an input apart from the DC connects from the panels and to the batteries. The inverter will get AC input from the controller only. Controller will charge the batteries during the day and as long as the batteries are with full/acceptable charge, it will cut-off grid power to inverter. Till batteries carry charge during the day and most of the night, I can eliminate grid-usage for load on my inverter circuit.

This might be a good solution where one need not invest in heavy inverter/batteries for a complete off-grid system and at the same time maximize the solar usage with a reliable backup during power-cuts for light loads.

I am not clear about the math to do this, please let me know if any of you can help, I want to finalize the SCC and panels.
Luminous has a converter that converts normal inverter to solar inverter. But tbh, i am not an expert. Pls consult a solar specialist. In my opinion the off grid solar converted inverter plus batteries can be fed a certain load from your household appliances to minimise what your ongrid supplies. That way you can save on bills and use for night time purpose. For 2 kw panels will cost you 80k and the converter for 8K something. Your fabrication and wiring another 15k. Your cost logistics may not save u much though. It would take u 8 years to recover the investment.
 
I totally get why you're not sure about going solar right now. It's a big investment and the payback period is a bit long. But don't worry, I installed my Renogy 400W 2 years ago and I'm very satisfied. And as for your high electricity consumption, it could be a few things. Maybe your house is "leaking" electricity, who knows! It's possible that your electrical system isn't as efficient as it could be, or maybe some of your appliances are using more energy than they need to. Either way, an electrician could probably help you figure out what's going on and suggest some ways to save on your energy bills.
 
Having installed an on-grid net-meter 3KW system a year back in an urban house, I am now thinking of using the left over available space on my roof. While the power supply is reliable and cuts are not frequent, I still need an inverter (currently have 1100v inverter with 12v battery and all my fans, TV and LED lights are on the grid+inverter circuit).

The idea is to go for a new 2KV (normal household) inverter with 2*12V batteries, get 2or3*330 or 440w panels and a solar charge controller unit. The solar charge controller will have grid AC supply as an input apart from the DC connects from the panels and to the batteries. The inverter will get AC input from the controller only. Controller will charge the batteries during the day and as long as the batteries are with full/acceptable charge, it will cut-off grid power to inverter. Till batteries carry charge during the day and most of the night, I can eliminate grid-usage for load on my inverter circuit.

This might be a good solution where one need not invest in heavy inverter/batteries for a complete off-grid system and at the same time maximize the solar usage with a reliable backup during power-cuts for light loads.

I am not clear about the math to do this, please let me know if any of you can help, I want to finalize the SCC and panels.
Having started this thread six months back and having installed my solar in Nov..still waiting for local discom to go online. As part of this frustrating experience, I too was contemplating going off grid for 5KW and now a days we have lithium based solutions which are coming with 10-15 year warranty. Not sure how durable and long lasting they are. They do cost more than normal batteries but then are less maintenance and hopefully long lasting. Not sure what your budget is...here are some videos




 
Having started this thread six months back and having installed my solar in Nov..still waiting for local discom to go online. As part of this frustrating experience, I too was contemplating going off grid for 5KW and now a days we have lithium based solutions which are coming with 10-15 year warranty. Not sure how durable and long lasting they are. They do cost more than normal batteries but then are less maintenance and hopefully long lasting. Not sure what your budget is...here are some videos




Still they haven't approved it? Are u waiting for bidirectional meter? I got it on Jan 12th and first bill reflected 16 days of consumption and from 18k (2 months billing cycle in TN) first bill came to 9k and the second bill came to just Rs.3700. Infact it is so much because of my HT rig and an AC at times that consumes about 8 units a day.(about 500 units in 2 months). Otherwise it would be less than 2200 every two months. Why such a delay in your case?
 
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