So now I have a solar PV system how do I make the most of it???

KevinG

Might as well chip in - 2kWp, 49.6 kWh for December, north Sussex. I suffer from some shading in the winter from early afternoon, without which I'm sure it would have been significantly higher.

raider

spaine wrote: »

Hi All,

Our system was installed on 8th Dec (very close to the deadline)! and we're very much newbies .. Still fasinated with the daily generation. I have a handy spreadsheet logging the data.

We've generated 137 units so far in 34 days which is slightly above the predicted avg. I haven't really noticed a reduction in the normal electric consumption / day which I've also logged. I assume this will be more noticeable when the days start to get longer and brighter.

I'm still getting used to only putting on one appliance at a time and not using them in the evenings. Means I have to be slightly more organised than usual.

Any other hints and tips ?

You can log your data online automatically or manually at pvoutput.org , I usually do mine manually at the end of the day. You can also make comparisons to other people in the UK.

Hint: My SolarPV output usually tops out at 3kw during the summer and around 2kw during the winter on sunny days. I swapped my old 3kw kettle for a smaller 1.5kw one, so that with my house usually drawing 0.5kw background during the day, I rarely draw any electric from the grid using the new kettle (on sunny days)

HalloweenJack

88 kwh in the first month of my install - eastbourne , east sussex , 2kw (10x 200w panels) south facing

bris

I have just given BG my first reading which was for 304 units, pretty dissapointed tbh. I'm in central Scotland, 3.9kw and roof facing s, sw.
Don't know how much I was expecting at this time of the year, but seems miles away from the £1500 I was hoping for in the first year.

HalloweenJack

so you have 3 more readings - and maybe a time of year when its not dark for 14 hours at a time maybe - wait for the summer!

albyota

Just bumping this from me and 'energysavingexp'

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3480495

Quote:
Originally Posted by albyota
I too have this set up, using a light dependent diode and a relay and via a 16 Amp contactor supplying the immersion heater, (average 1kW - 1.9kW (3kWp system) from the PV, the rest from the grid,) took a bit of setting up to get the light / shade level correct. I am also using a battery charger during the day 9am to 4pm to charge / top up a 110Ah leisure battery, then feed the battery through a PSW inverter to run the house lights in the evening, oh and I also programme the air source heat pump to come on at midday for an hour to boost the hot water cylinder.

Grid.....? 'where we're going........we don't need' G..g..grids. 'Great Scott Marty' BTTF

sound like you are just like me.:rotfl:
i charge my batterys up (2x80AMP) then run my 50" tv and pvr on them
my hot water tank has 6 x 1KW heaters so i have connected one of them to the SSR

energysavingexp

digitaltoast

bris wrote: »

I have just given BG my first reading which was for 304 units, pretty dissapointed tbh. I'm in central Scotland, 3.9kw and roof facing s, sw.
Don't know how much I was expecting at this time of the year, but seems miles away from the £1500 I was hoping for in the first year.

Out of interest, who told you to expect £1500?

Take a look at this (my emphasis)

http://lowcarbonkid.blogspot.com/2010/03/does-pv-solar-electricity-work-in-uk.html

Solar panel manufacturers quote figures for the “peak power” and “installed capacity” of their products. According to industry standards these are the amounts of electrical output in watts that they would generate if one kilowatt per square metre of the sun’s energy were to fall on them. But how close is this to the amount of sunshine at your location? These figures can be found out from the same source on insolation given in the section on solar water heating. For most of the latitudes that cover England and Wales, the summer insolation is a fraction of that figure. Even Europe’s sunniest place, Limassol in Cyprus, only gets 325 W per square metre. London gets 198 and Edinburgh 172 in July. In December, the figures are 96, 22 and 13 respectively. So in the winter, it’s a lot less -- and that’s when you need more power because the lights will be on for longer.

On average, Edinburgh receives just 9% of the solar energy required by the panel to generate what it says it will on the box.

Lesson 2: Suppose you installed 30m2 of panels that were quoted by the manufacturer as having a peak power or installed capacity of 5.7kWp. Suppose they were installed in London, which has an average insolation figure over the year of 109W/m2. In that case you wouldn’t get 5.7kW averaged over the year, but 0.109 x 5.7kW = 621W. However that is the average figure.

In darkest December they were generating just 125W, or enough to power 10 low energy light bulbs. In fact it might be even less than this, because of shading, downtime and other system inefficiencies.

Was this fully explained to you by the salesperson?

albyota

And

from the Energy Saving Trust Website

PV output assumptions

Can you confirm the PV output assumptions used in your modelling? Also, what are the carbon dioxide savings for each of the technologies used in the modelling?

These parameters are all SAP2005 v9.81 default figures. The assumed output rating of the solar PV panels are 800kWh/kWp, while the carbon dioxide savings are dependant on the fuel that the technology displaces, i.e. 0.568 kg/kWh for displaced grid electricity.

albyota

FYI, bris

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Solar-panels-PV/Solar-Energy-Calculator

albyota

And for a south facing 45 degree 3kWp system fitted in the Midlands, 2281 kWh's to date 8.5 months (May 2011) £1,023 so far.....

so I would expect 'bris' 3.9kWp system to generate at least £1,500 even in central Scotland

HTH

AL