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

orrery

I have a solarImmersion and I have one channel for the immersion and one for radiators - two 13A sockets, so I can plug them as primary or secondary.

I face south east, but I'm not sure it would heat the house early morning. However, it is useful when we are away in the winter. I connect the rads as primary and once the rads are up to temperature (the oil filled rads, not the house) the SI switches to heat the water. Effectively, it switches 10 minutes to each whenever there is a surplus - good to act as a frost stat.

Using one channel it would drive rads up to 3kW.

Rheumatoid

Looks like I'm a bit late to the party here judging by the number of posts but am wading my way through them and learning a lot. Just signed up for a 16 panel system under the Norfolk solar together scheme which seems like a good deal and I am reassured that the installs should be of good quality. Looking forward to trying to make the best of the system once its installed.

R.

pinnks

I have not heard of this scheme so Googled it and found this http://www.norwich.gov.uk/environment/ecoissues/solartogethernorfolk/Pages/default.aspx

Looks like an interesting concept. I expect folk on here will be interested in the detail of the products actually offered and overall price.

Hope it all goes well.

Rheumatoid

pinnks wrote: »

I have not heard of this scheme so Googled it and found this http://www.norwich.gov.uk/environment/ecoissues/solartogethernorfolk/Pages/default.aspx

Looks like an interesting concept. I expect folk on here will be interested in the detail of the products actually offered and overall price.

Hope it all goes well.

Thanks, for info the quote is £4.7k for:

16 X JA SOLAR 250Wp BLACK MONOCRYSTALLINE MODULE
Solis 3.6 kW Dual MPPT Inverter
Cables and SCHLETTER MOUNTING SYSTEM
Roof survey and EPC if reqd
Installation
Scaffolding
Monitoring (Geo Solo II PV)
Warranties (parts and install 10 years, mountings 20 years, power output 10/25 years))

Martyn1981

Rheumatoid wrote: »

Thanks, for info the quote is £4.7k for:

16 X JA SOLAR 250Wp BLACK MONOCRYSTALLINE MODULE
Solis 3.6 kW Dual MPPT Inverter
Cables and SCHLETTER MOUNTING SYSTEM
Roof survey and EPC if reqd
Installation
Scaffolding
Monitoring (Geo Solo II PV)
Warranties (parts and install 10 years, mountings 20 years, power output 10/25 years))

Excellent. :T

Mart.

nikkist

We are looking at the benefits of Shade Greener and Life's Energy ie panels owned by us or not. Life's Energy have mentioned the iBoost for heating hot water but I am getting conflicting messages to what I was told now I am looking on line.

Has anyone got any real experiences that they can share?

Thanks

pinnks

I have the immerSUN, which I am really pleased with. It is similar to the iBoost, but can do more, is fully compliant with all of the regs (whatever that means) but is a bit more expensive. It also has a monitoring add-on for £100 which shows import, export, generation, diverted and total house usage in real time and charts hourly totals on a separate page. This is web-based so works on any browser. Take a look at their website which also has retail prices.

I use mine for hot water and room heating in the "in between" months. I reckon I save about £100 of gas per year on heating water and another perhaps £50 on heating the room on sunny autumn/spring days. And I just like the fact that the boiler is turned off for 6 months of the year.

Search this forum for iboost or immerSUN and you will learn a lot as there are loads of discussions about both units on here

Sterlingtimes

iboost works immaculately but provides next to no saving with immersion situated the top of the cylinder.

Annual diversion 820 kWh

Annual saving in gas (assuming 50% efficiency) 820/0.5 * .03034 = £49.75

Annual loss in electricity export income = 820 * .0485 = £39.77

Net annual saving £49.75 - £39.77 = £9.98 >>> less annual cost of battery and power for iBoost itself.

The diversion is far from sufficient in meeting summer water needs.

It is on the verge of being useless.

ChrisJD

Sterlingtimes wrote: »

iboost works immaculately but provides next to no saving with immersion situated the top of the cylinder.

Annual diversion 820 kWh

Annual saving in gas (assuming 50% efficiency) 820/0.5 * .03034 = £49.75

Annual loss in electricity export income = 820 * .0485 = £39.77

Net annual saving £49.75 - £39.77 = £9.98 >>> less annual cost of battery and power for iBoost itself.

The diversion is far from sufficient in meeting summer water needs.

It is on the verge of being useless.

Interesting to see some real figures, I guess you only get paid for actual export, not the deemed 50%. I had a hunch that the payback being claimed for various gadgets was more than a little optimistic, and also ignored any installation costs.

I have long been suggesting that this sort of device looks less attractive with smarter metering, if only actual export is paid for.

When I had a new hot water cylinder (way before domestic solar really took off) I had to choose between a fast recovery coil or a bottom immersion fitting, so I had to go with efficiency for the main function.

Chris

EricMears

ChrisJD wrote: »

I have long been suggesting that this sort of device looks less attractive with smarter metering, if only actual export is paid for.

That can vary tremendously between different properties.

If your main heating is by gas and you're getting a high rate for exported electricity then you would indeed lose more under actual exports than the 'saving' is worth.

But if you're on the 'early adopters tariff' (i.e paid only just over 3ppu exported) but heating with electricity (that would have been bought at 12ppu) then savings would be far greater than not exporting.

Under normal circumstances, it would also be beneficial for people heating by oil - although a (temporary ?) lowering of oil prices has probably nullified that.