Free solar panel discussion

ceemark

Digital meters will not go backwards
Disk meters will in most cases

SSE will install an import export meter free.

Most other suppliers will not as it is too expensive and most cant even organise it - mine took 3 attempts - twice replacing the import meter with the same thing!

jellyhead wrote: »

stupid question I'm sure, but how do you tell if your meter will go backwards or not?

mike162

ceemark wrote: »

The business plan behind these schemes is to build a large number of installations and sell the company out asap to a large company or a fund that will minimise any service element to increase returns. They have rights of access to your property.

If you can afford to purchase your own system, you make the 10% return yourself for 25 years, tax free and index linked and keep the savings.

Don't let them help themselves to your roof for a few quid in savings

In Germany millions have invested in their own PV systems. Every year the numbers of installations multiplies as people regret not investing sooner.

I agree.

The % return depends on where you are (SW England gets the highest amount of solar energy per square meter). The direction your roof faces is important - due south is best and anything even slightly north of the east/west axis is no good.

Shading is a serious issue as a tiny bit of shade can stop the whole system from working. A system with 2 or more inverters can help here.

Perry525

digitaltoast wrote: »

If he's a solar salesman, he's doing an extremely good job of not selling solar!

============================
You are allowed a maximum of 4kw of production capacity.
Where you live, the angle the collectors will be in relation to the sun, the pollution, any shade. Several things will come into play. If you have over 4kw the price per kw goes down. If you have less, the installation cost goes down and so does the profit.
Having written that, I am not at all sure, if the 4kw is peak rating, or the watts delivered at the meter. In a perfect setting you can expect to loose about 23 to 25%.

digitaltoast

mike162 wrote: »

The sun does not have to shine to make the panels produce electricity. Energy from the sun comes through clouds, and we know how much energy falls each year in each area of the country. It varies only slightly.

1: I wasn't talking about a slight overcast midsummer's day, I was talking about 5pm in December.
2: The production of solar PV under cloud is very minimal - about 20% of kwp at best.

As for the area varying only slightly, with a 1Kwp system in July in Newport, Isle of Wight, you'd get 123 kWh over the month.
In Glasgow you'd get 107 kWh over the month.

I'd say that was more than "slightly", over 25 years....

jellyhead

Thanks everyone, our meter hasn't been changed in the 14 years I've been here, and is has a spinning disk so fingers crossed.

We'd be going for the free option I should think, because we can't borrow any more. We face South (slightly SE), on a hill, not shaded but not sure if our tiny house has a big enough roof.

I'm going to think about it for a few weeks though, but it's safe to say that we wouldn't be able to borrow enough to do it for ourselves. I'm just wondering if the panels might actually damage the roof in any way, or if the cost of removing them at the end of the 25 years will be higher than the savings we get.

Jon_Tiffany

Perry525 wrote: »

============================
You are allowed a maximum of 4kw of production capacity.
Where you live, the angle the collectors will be in relation to the sun, the pollution, any shade. Several things will come into play. If you have over 4kw the price per kw goes down. If you have less, the installation cost goes down and so does the profit.
Having written that, I am not at all sure, if the 4kw is peak rating, or the watts delivered at the meter. In a perfect setting you can expect to loose about 23 to 25%.

You are allowed up to 5MW for solar PV - that's 5,000kW.

4kW is the maximum amount for the 41.3p tariff.

The 4kW is the peak rating, normally referred to as kWp.

kW - Kilowatts - power
kWh - Kilowatt hour - energy
kWp - kilowatt peak - maximum rated output

50Twuncle

Jon_Tiffany wrote: »

You are allowed up to 5MW for solar PV - that's 5,000kW.

4kW is the maximum amount for the 41.3p tariff.

The 4kW is the peak rating, normally referred to as kWp.

kW - Kilowatts - power
kWh - Kilowatt hour - energy
kWp - kilowatt peak - maximum rated output

So - at 41.3p per Kwh - that's £1.60 per hour (in the height of summer) say 6 hours of sunshine = £10 per day !!
average throughout the year - 3 hours per day = £4.80 at 100% efficiency (they run at perhaps 20% = £1 per day) - hardly enough to "write home about"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_the_United_Kingdom#Sunshine_and_cloud

Jon_Tiffany

21Twinkle wrote: »

So - at 41.3p per Kwh - that's £1.60 per hour (in the height of summer) say 6 hours of sunshine = £10 per day !!
average throughout the year - 3 hours per day = £4.80 at 100% efficiency (they run at perhaps 20% = £1 per day) - hardly enough to "write home about"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_the_United_Kingdom#Sunshine_and_cloud

Your figures are a little off track.

4kWp system, annual generation aprox 3,000kWh
Generation tariff - £1,239
Saving on elec bill aprox - £180
Export tariff - £45

dapri

Mcfi5dhc wrote: »

Mine was very old, at least 20 years old I'd guess at. It did spin backwards, and the numbers did decrease. However they'd only decrease in the day and then go up again at night.

Only once was it raised with npower. They had the common sense to not think I was on the rob, and I had the common sense to not ask for a refund.

You will have received a lower bill due to the meter running backwards so you will have received a refund by default !

Even if the meter does run backwards during periods of peak PV generation - it will resume forwards running at night - or at least when the home's demand is greater than the available PV so net result is you will be charged for the balance of energy which you will have been seen to consume.

The backwards running meter is a small additional (often un-expected and short term) benefit

Regards Dave

digitaltoast

Jon_Tiffany wrote: »

Your figures are a little off track.

4kWp system, annual generation aprox 3,000kWh
Generation tariff - £1,239
Saving on elec bill aprox - £180
Export tariff - £45

The top figure is what the company "giving" the panels get, the middle one is what the householder MIGHT save if they were in all day waiting for the sun to shine before turning on the washing machine, but what's the bottom figure?