PV Solar & High Electric Bill

RedSpider

Hi, we had 22 solar panels installed 3 months ago and i have just had my electric bill showing that i have used 8800 units of electric in the last 3 months! The reading on my Inverter shows that we have accumalted 374 units since it was installed 3 months ago. Surely this can't be right? I rang a friend this morning who has 12 panels and his dial is going backwards and he is generating double what we are.

We apparantly have the very best position possible for the panels and i have had this confirmed. Both position and angle which should achieve maximum electricity.

Does anyone else have them installed that could advise me whether this is right or not?

HappyMJ

How many units did you use this time last year? There are only about 8 hours of sunlight at the moment so you'll be generating half what you would do in June when there are about 16 hours of sunlight per day. I would have expected a bit more for 91 days but it depends on exactly how many days you are talking about.

RedSpider

It was installed on the 9th September so that is 93 days. We used 2645 units for the same period this time last year, which is what i would have expected this time - we have 6 adults in a house and an annex - so we would use more than the average household - but i can't beleive that 8800 units is right!

RedSpider

Do you think someone could be tapping into my supply?

RedSpider

Have just checked meter reading and have used 2.7 units in one hour, whilst having the following on:

1 x strip Light
1 x 40w light
1 x computer running
1 x TV running
1 x DVD running

Does that sound about right? - i am new to all this but am starting to learn quickly

HappyMJ

Not a chance...only a heater/oven or dryer would cause use over 2 units in an hour. Are you reading the meter correctly? It's not 0.27 units is it?

RedSpider

I did forget that the boiler is on for the gas central heating, not sure whether that makes a difference?

I have asked everyone to check the meter reading for me in case i am reading it wrong but nope....it seems to be correct! - I think we have just cancelled Christmas.

Is it possible i have a faulty meter?

We had hoped that with investing in the solar panels that it would cover the cost of our electric and get some money back! ...no chance

Jon_Tiffany

My system is less than half the size of yours and has generated 256 units in the last 3 months, so your output does seem low. Is there any shading on the panels?

8800 units over 3 months is a lot, that's more than we use in a year. Have you checked to see if the immersion heater has been left on?

RedSpider

We don,t have an immersion heater and there is no shading on panels whatsoever.

Mcfi5dhc

RedSpider wrote: »

Hi, we had 22 solar panels installed 3 months ago and i have just had my electric bill showing that i have used 8800 units of electric in the last 3 months! The reading on my Inverter shows that we have accumalted 374 units since it was installed 3 months ago. Surely this can't be right? I rang a friend this morning who has 12 panels and his dial is going backwards and he is generating double what we are.

We apparantly have the very best position possible for the panels and i have had this confirmed. Both position and angle which should achieve maximum electricity.

Does anyone else have them installed that could advise me whether this is right or not?

Your meter will only go backwards if it is an old style dial meter and probably at least ten years old - does yours fit this category?

Forgetting about the solar PV for a second, this kind of query pops up lot on the normal Gas & Electricity forum. So, are your meters readings (both past and present) actuals, or estimates? Do you have one, two or more meter readings that could have been confused (e.g. economy 7)

8800 units in 3 months is roughly 100 units a day. Any building work gone on? Storage heaters?

Was the company that installed the panels MCS accredited? What was your predicted performance by month on the panels.

Also, where are you? There is a huge difference in performance between the North and South of the country

Finally, have you tried turning everything off one by one until you get to zero usage?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get a bit of background...

RedSpider

Thank you for your responses. We don't have any storage heaters, our heating is gas. No building work - in fact during the last three months since we have had the panels installed we have tried to be very carefully not to waste electricity.

I have spoken to an electrian this morning and i am monitoring the meter now on an hourly basis and will put the figures to Npower to see what they think. The electrian says they can to do a feed check to see if there is a fault.

The company that installed the Solar Panels is PV Solar Uk and they are MCS accredited - they came recommended by a friend who had them installed about 8 months ago and he is more than happy with what his panels are generating. He is actually 130 miles south of us so we know that he will be getting better readings than us. We are in Gloucestershire so i am not sure exactly what to expect but i will speak to PV Solar.