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PV and Off Peak Usage
Can't get my head around this. I get some Off-Peak between 1300 and 1600 (Economy 10, so the storage rads in our electric-only house get an afternoon top-up). Assuming the sun is out all day, do I get the most benefit from the panels if I use my power-hungry devices then ? Or would I benefit more by using them outside the…
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Advice on PV + Battery config please, you wonderful PV brainiacs
I recently had two options proposed with different configurations. Sorry about the diagrams (my mind works better in pictures). I would very much welcome your collective thoughts (any advice needs to be couched in terms an idiot can understand). Option 1. - DC-coupled
Hybrid system £9,492.20 (fully installed including…
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If on Octopus Agile which Gas Tariff do you use ?
I am considering swapping over to Agile as I have Solar and Batteries and can easily time shift during peak times, but which Gas tariff do people then choose ?
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Sea-Tex Roller Blinds: Made from 50% Recovered Ocean Plastic
Greetings! In our quest for as responsible of an existence as possible, we've recently shortlisted Greenscreen Sea Tex blinds from Hunter Douglas. Made from a blend of ocean plastic polyester, these appear to have decent specifications and are fire retardant and recyclable. Seems like a sensible way to help with an issue…
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4kw solar PV system on the first feed in tariff - anyone sold theirs on ?
Hi, we have had our solar PV system for quite a few years now and may sell our house in the near future. Our generation is good but I have been approached by a company to sell our panels and feed in tariff. They will remain on our roof and would give us a cash lump sum. Has anyone been given a price to sell their similar…
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PV on flat roof
After having converted my loft and built a larger dormer, I was left with only one sloped roof, which is almost north facing. The news of massive changes to the climate that will be followed by other really unpleasant impacts, made me rethink whether I could reduce my carbon footprint a bit more. I found that PV panels can…
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Octopus vs. Bulb Fixed SEG. Thoughts?
Greetings! I've recently commissions my 4 kW rooftop solar LG bifacial panel system and have been waiting for the best SEG option. We're based in SE London (Zone 2). Apologies for the amateur nature of this post but selling leccy to the grid is a new concept to us, but one we're very excited about. Here's what I've found…
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Agile Octopus
Today is the first day of my using the Agile Octopus tariff for electricity. I signed up to this tariff very much as a matter of interest rather than from an expectation of saving a lot of money. We have got to make some effort to contain our usage from 4 PM to 7 PM. Our base load averages 330 Watts and we have solar. Does…
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Recycle Week: Re-use, Recycle and Save Money
Monday 23 September 2019 is the start of RecycleNow's #Recycleweek. We started this discussion a few years ago in tandem with Recycle Now, The Rubbish Diet and myzerowaste to help spread the message about recycling and re-use and show everyone how you can save by being just that little bit more savvy with your spending and…
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Bury plastic in landfill?
Like most people, despite my best efforts I end up with a lot of plastic that can't currently be recycled. My local council sends this to 'energy from waste'. Leaving aside the issue of pollution, my feeling is we should not burn this waste but bury it (preferably deep in old mines). Put simply, it's a product made from…
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Cost of reducing emssions
We all have seen the eye watering amounts the various political parties have committed in their manifestos to combat emissions. Sums of £100billion a year for the next 10 years are being proposed. Not far short of the entire expenditure on the NHS.…
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Storage at home for solar panels and electric car
Now that the FIT scheme is closed to new installations, electric cars are becoming more widespread, and battery storage is becoming cheaper, it makes sense to incorporate storage to match consumption with production or enabling purchase of electricity at cheaper rates. I am lucky to be able to access TOU/30 minutes pricing…
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Re-usable toilet 'paper'
Hi This is likely to have been discussed before but its years since I've been on forum, so am quite out of touch........searched and can't find anything. Am also not sure where the best place to put this enquiry is (Old style, Health, Green ?) Anyway, for a couple of reasons I'm very drawn to the idea of swapping to…
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Ashp & sahp combined system
I am refurbishing an old 4 bed detached victorian house and a one bedroom apartment (annex granny flat). It is really back to basics replastering, new damp course, totally new can-heatin. all round double glassing - extending 3 meters at the back to make big kitchen plus sun lounger for the annex. There will be 4 ensuite…
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Skipping the supermarket
I've spent the past hour reading through Ethical Consumer's Supermarket product guide (in their May/June 2019 publication, available here: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/). I've been considering this for a while but have decided to set myself a 3 month challenge in which I visit a supermarket only once a month. Everything…
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Reducing water usage
I thought I would kick off a thread to see if there is interest in discussing ways to save water. After all, every drop that comes out of the tap has to be collected, cleaned and piped to enable that to happen and that involves chemicals and electricity etc. A significant amount of what comes out of the tap has to be…
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Heat pumps, install and real life usage help please.
Hi all We are in the process of adding 3 new bedrooms to our bungalow, in total its going to be an additional 80sq Meters of floor space across three rooms. Am wondering if forum members can provide some real life of experience of using an air sourced heat pump as the heating source for similar sized space, as well as…
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Solar PV and smart meters?yes or no
Hi I have had a 4kw solar system for 5 years now without any serious issues so far. I have been offered a smart meter for my house. I just wondered whether anyone with solar PV system has had one of these fitted and whether they complement each other or should I best avoid until it becomes compulsary. Do these smart meters…
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Solar panels not generating and company gone bust
We had solar panels installed in 2015 and everything was fine until February 2018. Then we received an email saying that our system had generated no electricity in the last 24 hours. Since then we have been checking the meter daily and, indeed, there are days when it does not generate. One of then was yesterday (19th April…
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Where should I take old electric toothbrush that no longer holds charge or can I change the battery?
They make it so it is really hard to change the battery so I was advised on here some years ago when it was last due to change that I should just throw it away and buy a new one. I hate to do that but can't really see how else to do it since they really seal them up and make it difficult for a layman to change. I have seen…
