FAQ
Get in touch with us. We will arrange an online or in-person meeting to explain everything. We will prepare a non-binding offer, arrange a state subsidy or a bridging loan. We usually install and start up the power plants within a few weeks.
Simply put, a power plant should produce enough electricity to run your home or business. Of course, you can produce less and cover only part of your consumption, or more and benefit from sales.
The power output of a power plant is determined by the number and output of the photovoltaic panels. The actual output of the plant depends significantly on the orientation and inclination of the panels, the intensity of the sunlight, the air temperature, the length of the day and other technical details.
To give you an idea, the annual electricity consumption of a small passive house heated by electricity is around 7 MWh. If you use 100 % of the electricity produced to run the house (by way of instant consumption or battery draws), you need around 15 PV panels.
Determining the optimal performance for your property is a task for an experienced specialist. We will be happy to help you solve it.
Our batteries are 68x48x18 cm and weigh (depending on capacity) 60-100 kg. They can be stood up or hung and take up a minimum of space.
There is no immediate danger associated with battery operation. Nevertheless, we place them in accordance with the recommended safety guidelines. We respect the distance from combustible materials, operating temperature limits, etc. Batteries must not be installed on roofs, in inaccessible areas or where they could cause groundwater pollution. Suitable locations are utility rooms, dry cellars, warehouses, garages, etc. They will also stand up to outdoor use provided that they are perfectly protected from running and splashing water.
Spontaneous ignition of the battery is extremely unlikely. If this should occur, the fire can be extinguished with a foam fire extinguisher. We use high quality lithium iron phosphate batteries with high stability in temperature fluctuations.
Yes, the control module needs constant access to weather forecasts and current electricity prices. The connection also requires remote monitoring and communication with the mobile app. The connection is made via a local wi-fi network in the 2.4 GHz frequency band with sufficient signal quality, or via a LAN cable. We or your internet provider will make the connection.
The sunshine forecast is available several days in advance, and electricity prices on the daily market close the day before for the current date. Once the system has downloaded the data, the operation of the power plant will not be affected by an outage of several hours.
During the outage, remote system management from the mobile application (switching the working mode) and remote monitoring from our side will not be possible. As soon as the internet comes back online, the system will automatically connect to it. The mobile app reports the loss and restoration of the connection to the inverter.
The operation of SOMI smart power plants is extremely simple. You won't have to learn or set up anything. On the contrary, the power plant will learn from you and adapt its production, purchasing and sales strategy to your behaviour.
The choice of the mode in which the power plant should operate will be in your hands: profitable, when it sells the maximum amount of electricity profitably, storage, when it stores the maximum amount of electricity in batteries, or automatic, in which you are relieved of even these minimal worries.
Any faults are automatically detected and reported to our monitoring centre. The only concern is the occasional check of the cleanliness of the PV panels.
You can quickly and easily select the operating mode of the power plant in the mobile app. It's just one tap on the selected icon. If you don't even want to go into this "control", select the automatic working mode. In this mode, the power plant chooses what's best for you. It will use the machine learning results of your consumption patterns, current meteorological data and spot electricity prices to make this decision.
The behaviour of the power plant depends on the selected operating mode. In the profitable mode, it sells the maximum amount of electricity when its price on the stock exchange rises above a set value. This value is determined by artificial intelligence so that profitable sales now do not make it more expensive to buy the necessary energy later. In storage mode, it will only sell electricity when the batteries are fully charged and demand is low. Electricity prices on the daily market can be found at OTE website.
The choice of trader is yours. If you don't have one in sight, we'll share our experience.
Dust, pollen and other contaminants settle on the panels, reducing their efficiency. The rate and speed of fouling depends on air quality, season, proximity to trees or perhaps a canola field, the slope of the panels and other factors. Heavy and persistent rain is the best cleaner of panels, but even this will not completely remove sticky pollen, for example.
Use a soft brush or cloth and normal detergent to clean surfaces perfectly. Do not use abrasive cleaners or tools that may scratch the panels. Inspection is recommended 1-2 times per year depending on local conditions and experience gained.
We provide a 10-year warranty on all plant components.
The lifetime of photovoltaic panels is estimated at 25-30 years, battery storage at 10 years. Other PV components, including the inverter, have a virtually unlimited lifetime.
The return on the plant is entirely dependent on market prices for electricity. In the current circumstances, the outlook is difficult, but basically favourable. With higher electricity prices, the payback period becomes shorter. A typical domestic PV plant with a capacity of 5 kWp will pay for itself in less than 10 years at an average electricity price of CZK 5/kWh. The payback period of a SOMI plant is 7-8 years thanks to intelligent management of purchases and sales. This means that for about three quarters of its lifetime, the plant produces a net profit.
(Status in November 2022) Yes, you can draw a subsidy from the New Green Savings Programme for the construction of a SOMI photovoltaic power plant up to 50 % of the purchase price, or up to CZK 200,000 including VAT. The amount of CZK 200,000 corresponds to a PV plant with XX panels.
The subsidy is available to owners, builders, new purchasers of family houses and new holiday homes if they have been assigned a registration number and have been the owner's permanent residence for at least two years.
We will take care of the complete processing of the subsidy, all we need is your power of attorney. There is no legal entitlement to the subsidy, but we do not have a case where the applicant has not been granted the subsidy. The funds will arrive in your account within 6-9 weeks after completion of the construction. We can arrange a favourable bridging loan for the period before the grant is paid.
Yes, the system is modular. You can add PV panels and increase the capacity of the battery storage. The limiting factor is the maximum input power of the installed inverter. But even inverters can be grouped together and their output increased. Thus, the initial smaller investment in a smaller power plant will certainly not be lost in future expansions.
The revolutionary feature of SOMI power plants is the smart management of production, sales and purchasing, which brings the highest possible savings or profit. This cannot be achieved without battery storage. We refer customers who are considering a PV plant with conventional efficiency to our competitors.
The operation of the SOMI photovoltaic power plant is continuously monitored. Operational data is sent and evaluated 24/7 by our control system. If we detect an anomaly in the plant's behaviour, we intervene remotely before it becomes a real fault. This is why our photovoltaic power plants are among the most reliable on the market. Service availability is 99.8 %.
Should a failure occur that could not be predicted, or should the failure coincide with an internet outage, you can contact our office 8am-6pm weekdays telephone dispatching. The reported fault will be dealt with immediately.
We recommend insuring the power plant, as well as the building, against the elements and vandalism, possibly under the property owner's liability for damage caused to third parties.
If it is a power plant on a family or apartment house, it will be considered as an asset that increases the value of the main or secondary building (depending on the location of the photovoltaic panels on the roof of the house or garage, for example). Therefore, you should update your existing property or liability insurance policy before the installation is completed to avoid underinsurance.
If it is a business or commercial power plant, it can be insured under the business's property and liability insurance. Your insurance company will tell you the specific conditions.