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So now I have a solar PV system how do I make the most of it???
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Hi AllAs per the previous advice, I don't use water from the hot tap to fill the kettle. However...
You can buy small camping kettles - 500/600W which are more likely to heat from solar than a 2.2kW kettle. You'd be surprised how much easier it is to estimate the correct amount for 1 or 2 cups in a small kettle.
Alternatively, very large Thermos flasks are cheap - we keep 2 by the kettle (each being nearly a full kettle) and simply put any excess boiled water in the flasks and use that to fill the kettle.
If it is gloriously sunny, then we fill both flasks.
We do this with a small (~1kW) kettle most days .... if you really want to push the energy savings a little further you'll also find that a tea-cozy will fit over a small kettle quite snugly thus (after topping up) providing an initial temperature boost to the next cycle ....
HTH
Z"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit. " ...... Aristotle
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.... if you really want to push the energy savings a little further you'll also find that a tea-cozy will fit over a small kettle quite snugly...
I'm glad I'm not the only member of this forum that could be described as an anal retentive! ;-)4kWp, Panels: 16 Hyundai HIS250MG, Inverter: SMA Sunny Boy 4000TLLocation: Bedford, Roof: South East facing, 20 degree pitch20kWh Pylontech US5000 batteries, Lux AC inverter,Skoda Enyaq iV80, TADO Central Heating control0 -
....I'm glad I'm not the only member of this forum that could be described as an anal retentive! ;-)
.... it's really dull and murky today, so going even further ... log burner fired up and cast iron teakettle piping hot ... so we're using no energy at all for a cuppa, just 'borrowing' some house warmth from the burner, just to return it later from body heat ...
... considering that the abdomen constitutes a considerable proportion of body mass and would be the major repository of the heat in a cuppa - in energy terms I would consider it to be quite proper to describe the above as 'anally retentive' ....
HTH
Z"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit. " ...... Aristotle0 -
Dave_Fowler wrote: »But, if you're on a water meter, it may well cost you more for the 'run off' water than you're saving on the reduced boiling time. /snip/ Dave F
My anal contribution: one of course runs the water into a jug for watering the garden/pots.
My own stove earlier had a saucepan on it bringing the water in a pan up to temperature, although partly because the flue temperature was getting a little high...0 -
silverwhistle wrote: »My anal contribution: one of course runs the water into a jug for watering the garden/pots.
My own stove earlier had a saucepan on it bringing the water in a pan up to temperature, although partly because the flue temperature was getting a little high...
I'd agree making some use of the run-off water would be better than running it down the drain.
I'm perhaps lucky because I'm able to collect rainwater for watering the indoor and outdoor plants (and filling the ponds during very dry weather).
Dave FSolar PV System 1: 2.96kWp South+8 degrees. Roof 38 degrees. 'Normal' system
Solar PV System 2: 3.00kWp South-4 degrees. Roof 28 degrees. SolarEdge system
EV car, PodPoint charger
Lux LXP 3600 ACS + 6 x 2.4kWh Aoboet LFP 2400 battery storage. Installed Feb 2021
Location: Bedfordshire0 -
It isn't really an energy question. Do you have a hot water system with a cold header tank? If so then the advice has always been that, because of the danger of some form of contamination in the tank, you should always stick to the cold tap for anything you drink.
Standards are much tighter these days, but in days gone by it was quite usual to find a corroding metal tank, open to the dust, dirt and anything crawling around, with a layer of sediment on the bottom. _pale_
Chris
As long as you boil it, I expect the contaminants from the tank in the loft, would just add to the flavour already provided by the Victorian cast iron pipes ?0 -
I am due to have my solar PV panels installed in the next few days. I would appreciate any advice on getting the best out of them. I will be getting a 4 kWp system if I understand the information correctly.0
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I would appreciate any advice on getting the best out of them.
Welcome to the club. There's a 143-page thread on just that subject, happy reading!
2kWp Solar PV - 10*200W Kioto, SMA Sunny Boy 2000HF, SSE facing, some shading in winter, 37° pitch, installed Jun-2011, inverter replaced Sep-2017 AND Feb-2022.0 -
The first thing you need is an energy monitor if you haven't already arranged for one to be fitted.
Welcome btw.:)4kWp (black/black) - Sofar Inverter - SSE(141°) - 30° pitch - North LincsInstalled June 2013 - PVGIS = 3400Sofar ME3000SP Inverter & 5 x Pylontech US2000B Plus & 3 x US2000C Batteries - 19.2kWh0 -
I have a monitor that was provided free by British Gas a few years ago, do you think that will do the job?0
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