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

wyntersmum

hi all, well we had solar panels fitted yesterday I know bad time of year to do it lol. we only have one panel in the electric cupboard that count up what they produce. when we got in last night it was on 44 by end of today was 175 is that good. sorry if I sound thick but I have a general idea but on other forums they talk about ins and out puts monitors and going backwards ect. its a bit confusing. then the fits pack im fillin out is a bit confusing aswell

digitaltoast

Just finally skimming through this thread, so a bit of a late reply but these two posts caught my eye:

wyntersmum wrote: »

hi all, well we had solar panels fitted yesterday I know bad time of year to do it lol. we only have one panel in the electric cupboard that count up what they produce. when we got in last night it was on 44 by end of today was 175 is that good.

If it's good depends on a fair few things you haven't told us! 44 and 175 what? How big is the array - how many panels? What is the installed capacity? Roughly where in the UK are you? How much did it cost to install? What are the terms of the FiT? What rate are you getting?

You'll have all these written down somewhere from when you did the viability and cost/benefits calculations and spreadsheet - if you can let us know those, we can tell you if it's good or not

The other post was...

Dave_Fowler wrote: »

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.

I just wanted to double check something. You're saying you've SAVED over £30 just on the immersion alone? What's your electricity bill and usage like? We're electric-only for a family of 3 with a 117 litre immersion tank. It runs for 1 hour a day to provide enough hot water. £30/8p off peak unit gives 375 hours of heating. Assuming there are 90 days in three months, that means that the savings alone represent over 4 hours of heating per day, in the summer. For those savings to have been worth it (investment and interest etc), you'd have had to have been spending say 3x that much in the first place. 4*3*117 = 1404 litres of hot water per day. Are you running a swimming baths or something?!?

(I do realise of course I've made some large simplifications and assumptions, but still, to be able to SAVE 4x more than we actually spend suggests some fairly massive hot water use and not a typical scenario!)

wyntersmum

thanks for reply ive got paperwork in front of me, not really sure what im looking at but will do my best
im in Newcastle under lyme
9 x Trina TSMPC05A 250
inclination 30 o
orientation southwest 221o
flush mount
generator surface 15m2
pv generator output 2.3kwp


it had 44kwh this morning
and now it says 176kwh

digitaltoast

wyntersmum wrote: »

thanks for reply ive got paperwork in front of me, not really sure what im looking at but will do my best
im in Newcastle under lyme
9 x Trina TSMPC05A 250
inclination 30 o
orientation southwest 221o
flush mount
generator surface 15m2
pv generator output 2.3kwp
it had 44kwh this morning
and now it says 176kwh

Thanks. Hmmm... something looks amiss here. Your figures are suggesting that your system generated several times more in a UK day than it would have if sited at the equator with the sun shining every single hour for 24 hours. It also suggests that on a "mainly overcast" Newcastle Under Lyme day, you produced more than we use in a whole week.

If those figures ARE correct though... can I buy your system off you

Martyn1981

digitaltoast wrote: »

We're electric-only for a family of 3 with a 117 litre immersion tank. It runs for 1 hour a day to provide enough hot water. £30/8p off peak unit gives 375 hours of heating.

Your figures appear to based on a 1kW element, running for 1hr per day. Is that all you use?

Mart.

Martyn1981

wyntersmum wrote: »

thanks for reply ive got paperwork in front of me, not really sure what im looking at but will do my best
im in Newcastle under lyme
9 x Trina TSMPC05A 250
inclination 30 o
orientation southwest 221o
flush mount
generator surface 15m2
pv generator output 2.3kwp


it had 44kwh this morning
and now it says 176kwh

Hiya wyntersmum. Welcome to the fun world of PV.

Your figures have thrown me. Are you looking at your import meter, or your PV TGM (total generation meter)?

Either way, I can't imagine you've imported 132kWh's in a day. For comparison we've imported about 5 today and generated 3.6.

Perhaps if your weather has been quite bad, you are misreading the dial and it's gone from 0.44 to 1.76?

Do you have any more info?

Mart.

digitaltoast

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Your figures appear to based on a 1kW element, running for 1hr per day. Is that all you use?

Oh crap crappety crap crap! Well spotted - hoist by my own petard and all that.
I knew I'd stuff something up - it is, of course, a 3kW element. Even so, it still makes those other figures on the high side. I think I'll shut down for the night before I make any more gaffs!

spgsc531

digitaltoast wrote: »

Oh crap crappety crap crap! Well spotted - hoist by my own petard and all that.
I knew I'd stuff something up - it is, of course, a 3kW element. Even so, it still makes those other figures on the high side. I think I'll shut down for the night before I make any more gaffs!

digitaltoast wrote: »

Indeed! I can see a couple of members are going to have a headache in the morning.
Whatever they've been smoking/drinking this evening certainly hasn't helped them form a coherent argument, so I thought it better to leave it until they're slept it off at about mid-day and can reform their thoughts into something more cogent...

Class, made me chuckle :T

cannonballdaze

Hi,

My panels have partial shading in the winter months from my neighbour's roof and chimney.

I've read that Solaredge technology may optimise the panels' output during partial shade.

Do any readers have experience with fitting such technology to an existing installation - costs, benefits, other issues etc.

My installation is a 3.9 Kwp system consisting of 9 * 230 watt Sharp panels and a Diehl AKO Platinum Series Inverter.

Cheers - Joe

Martyn1981

Hiya Joe. Yes and no!

My WNW extension is a SE system, and I got on well with the installer, and priced up a SE conversion of my ESE systems (to become one system).

I didn't go through with it, as an easier option was to finally get on with chopping down a 50ft SilverBirch, that we fell out of love with 20ft ago, and the smaller 1.2kWp system would simply benefit from a much better inverter. The main cost issue was the scaffolding on top, and the unknown value of the two secondhand inverters. So I didn't.

Tunnel should be along soon, as he recently did this, but was able to relocate the old inverter as part of an extension, so best way to incorporate the costs.

My gut feeling is that if the shading is only an issue during the winter months (2 to 3, or 3 to 6?) then it may not be financially worthwhile. You'll also need to remember that whilst the power optimisers (PO's) are decent quality, with 25yr warranties, it will still mean 17 (did you mean 17 panels not 9?) more bits of kit on the roof, with tricky/costly access if something goes wrong.

For very rough costs, retail before VAT, assume £40 each per PO, plus about £700 for the inverter, plus scaffolding, plus labour and profits (£500?). Could be able to use the existing inverter, but will then need a SE 'magic box' to communicate with the PO's, and these are about £250 (I think?).

Any guesses at the losses currently, and able to apportion how much is due to direct shading, and how much extra is due to unshaded panels being dragged down by the shaded ones, as that is the primary SE gain.

Sorry this doesn't help much, but may give some food for thought.

Mart.