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

tunnel

Helen18 wrote: »

It's so hard getting past the sales pitch.


Hx

Your so right with that one sentence, 3 companies out so far, out of which 2 were salesmen

Both didn't know about DNO approval for bigger systems, they just looked at me with a blank face. I mean come on....they're selling something for thousands of pounds yet can't be bothered to read up on the necessities required for the installation.

Only one has not tried to spin me and my parents the big sales pitch and has come somewhere very near the price i'm hoping to achieve for them.

I really didn't realise how hard this would actually be:mad:

splodger_seedswapper

hi there - i live in a housing association property - and they have just contacted myself and neighbours - re possibility of having solar panels fitted. i think they are due for a site survey within the next week or so, to see if our properties are suitable etc.

they assure me that this will not cost us tenants anything - and that we will get to use any energy produced during the day - i am assuming that any excess goes to them / contractors via feed in tariff

just wondering if there are any H/A or L/A tenants on the boards that have had solar panels fitted - to ask if it has really made a difference to their energy bills.

i'm on E7 (night storage heaters) so the bulk of my leccy usage is at night - am i really going to save £'s by having the panels - and using as much energy as i can during the day - afterall, the panels are going to be producing most energy - on hot sunny days when i am not going to need to use much leccy

i love the idea of having some panels fitted - especially at no cost - but i am a bit sceptical

Cardew

splodger_seedswapper wrote: »

hi there - i live in a housing association property - and they have just contacted myself and neighbours - re possibility of having solar panels fitted. i think they are due for a site survey within the next week or so, to see if our properties are suitable etc.

they assure me that this will not cost us tenants anything - and that we will get to use any energy produced during the day - i am assuming that any excess goes to them / contractors via feed in tariff

just wondering if there are any H/A or L/A tenants on the boards that have had solar panels fitted - to ask if it has really made a difference to their energy bills.

i'm on E7 (night storage heaters) so the bulk of my leccy usage is at night - am i really going to save £'s by having the panels - and using as much energy as i can during the day - afterall, the panels are going to be producing most energy - on hot sunny days when i am not going to need to use much leccy

i love the idea of having some panels fitted - especially at no cost - but i am a bit sceptical

This is the same principle as the Rent-A-Roof scheme for home owners.

The housing association(HA) supply and maintain the panels. You can use as much of the generated electricity as you possibly can. The HA get a subsidy(FIT) for all electricity you generate, regardless of how much you use, and also a smaller amount for 50% of that generated power.

There are many estimates of how much money you will save off your electricity bill. It depends on your circumstances but in most cases will range between £50 and £150 a year.

To achieve the greatest savings you need to 'work' at using appliances when there is enough power being generated.

Many people use their solar generated power to supply their immersion heater. However you need to be careful as if there is not enough power generated you will 'top-up' with the expensive E7 daytime tariff rate and you could finish up paying more that using your off-peak power.

There are a number of devices marketed that will ensure only excess power will be diverted to the immersion heater.

Dave_Fowler

splodger_seedswapper wrote: »

hi there - i live in a housing association property - and they have just contacted myself and neighbours - re possibility of having solar panels fitted. i think they are due for a site survey within the next week or so, to see if our properties are suitable etc.

they assure me that this will not cost us tenants anything - and that we will get to use any energy produced during the day - i am assuming that any excess goes to them / contractors via feed in tariff

just wondering if there are any H/A or L/A tenants on the boards that have had solar panels fitted - to ask if it has really made a difference to their energy bills.

i'm on E7 (night storage heaters) so the bulk of my leccy usage is at night - am i really going to save £'s by having the panels - and using as much energy as i can during the day - afterall, the panels are going to be producing most energy - on hot sunny days when i am not going to need to use much leccy

i love the idea of having some panels fitted - especially at no cost - but i am a bit sceptical

I'm guessing, but it sounds as if you have no gas supply. If so, your hot water is likely to be heated by leccy. I've saved well over £30 during three summer months and am still saving now during the dull weather by diverting any excess power to the immersion heater using a proportional controller. This is in addition to the savings as the house base-load is also supplied. Many estimates have been given as to the savings on base-load leccy bills. Most are between £80 and £150. You can add this to the immersion savings if you have the controller fitted.

Dave F

splodger_seedswapper

thanks for replies - re heating water - i'm not sure that HA will include extras - but i'll certainly ask about having a controller fitted - but i guess i can switch on the water tank heater manually - as and when suitable energy is being produced (i do this manually anyway, as bottom element on my tank kept blowing - i got so fed up with inadequate repairs that last time it went i didn't phone the fault through - so currently use the top element to heat the water - half hour provides ample hot water for my needs )

my day time units used last year was 2389 (night 6450) so i'll need to try and convert some of my night use to day use to benefit from the panels - assuming that there will be enough juice to power the appliances

i do have aniother question

do the units or control boxes make a noise?
i have really sensitive hearing - can't bear any constant noise - ticking clocks drive me batty - couldn't cope with a constant humming / buzzing or anything like that - are they noise free please?

zeupater

splodger_seedswapper wrote: »

... do the units or control boxes make a noise?
i have really sensitive hearing - can't bear any constant noise - ticking clocks drive me batty - couldn't cope with a constant humming / buzzing or anything like that - are they noise free please?

Hi

There are effectively two inverter technologies which are likely to be used - transformer & transformerless(usually denoted by a 'TL' in the model type/number) .... transformer based inverters will have a normal 'hum'/'buzz', especially when working hard, whilst the TL units are relatively quiet, but not completely silent ... our TL unit makes a sound a little like trickling water when it's really sunny, but it's hardly noticeable.

HTH
Z

splodger_seedswapper

thanks for that - having read up on it a bit more (mostly on this board - so thanks mse) i'm starting to go off the idea - even though i am so pro-green - i just can't see that i am going to benefit anywhere as much as contractor / HA - i'm going to re-post my initial post on the "is this a scam" thread - as i'm thinking that i am in that category now - so sorry for posting in wrong place

Cardew

I am not a fan of Rent a Roof companies, or the FIT subsidy for solar.

However why do you think your proposed system is a scam?

Your HA tell you exactly what you get from the Solar system - some free electricity. Clearly they get a greater income to compensate for the cost of installing the system; and being a HA any profit is used to benefit other tenants.

A major disadvantage of the Rent a Roof system for home owners is the 25 or 20 years lease giving company rights on the house roof; which might present difficulties if the house is to be sold.

As a tenant that isn't a concern.

Helen18

Hi all,

Well we're narrowing things down a bit but still not sure how to proceed....

Most companies agree we have enough of a shading issue as well as needing to use several different orientations to make using either power optimisers or micro inverters. I'm just totally confused about which to choose. Diff companies seem adamant about one or the other, slating the one they don't offer. I don't know which is better or why. Or if either have a poor reliability record? Anyone have any info on either? Start up voltages have been mentioned - but info seems conflicting.

Thanks
Hx

John_Pierpoint

How about you post the specifications of the competing proposals on here complete with prices and we vote on them with reasons.

I am not sure we would arrive at the one and only "right" solution, because there isn't one, the technology has not yet got a 20 year history, but it would be interesting and
might help you make the decision.

Perhaps we should start with a weighting and rating system, to make it more positive and less normative.

How much effort would you put into buying a car?
[mind you that is probably only a 10 year financial decision, before you need to think about an engine replacement]