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

JimLad

ajbell wrote: »

If you are going to be using most of the electricity you are generating then does it make sense to choose a tariff with the lowest daily standing charge rather than pence per unit?.

Definately something to consider. In the summer months pretty much my entire bill is made up by daily standing charges!

EricMears

ajbell wrote: »

If you are going to be using most of the electricity you are generating then does it make sense to choose a tariff with the lowest daily standing charge rather than pence per unit?.

It's one factor - but probably not the main one. Don't forget that however good your generation there are some bad days even in the summer (and an awful lot of them in the winter !).

When thinking about changing suppliers, you really need to extract from your current supplier's last bill(s) your total annual usage (individual figures for day and night usage if you're on E7) and enter them into a spreadsheet. Then use those figures to work out what your new annual bill would be if you stayed put or changed to each of several candidates. Those 'raw' comparisons may need fine tuning if some firms offer better discounts for DD payment, online management etc or even if you can get better cashback deals from online comparison sites.

And of course that's only last year's result - there may be some factors that you can reasonably expect to change this year.

michaels

I just switched (again) - one reason was the new tariff has a higher standing charge and cheaper units which makes sense for our winter usage...come April it may be time to go back the other way as our import usage goes either side of the sweet spot depending on the pv output....

ajbell

Been told by my panel installers to ask for a FIT application and an OFGEM application form.
Are these online forms or paper forms and do they both come from my energy supplier?.

silverwhistle

ajbell wrote: »

If you are going to be using most of the electricity you are generating then does it make sense to choose a tariff with the lowest daily standing charge rather than pence per unit?.

Depends on your circumstances, but for me I'm on zero standing charges for both electricity and gas. I've solar panels and an iboost feeding the immersion (no idea of location or size of heaters but it works!), but also a wood burner in my lounge which takes the main burden of heating.

To put my gas bill in perspective, the cheapest standing charge I could find is more than I pay in total for the year..

My annual electricity and gas usage are both around 1200 kWh (1119 electricity/1183 gas according to my bills). My last 2 gas bills totalled £1.76 and my next one due at the beginning of December shouldn't be too bad, although these recent dull days have meant I've had to put the water heating on a few times.

A cold winter may make a difference to these figures, or maybe I'll just have to scrounge more wood and keep the stove running longer!

eastcott5

Have had solar panels for over 4 years - old rate- absolutely brilliant things - and have an electronic gizmo that takes SPARE power to the immersion heater and then to an electric radiator in the hall when the water is hot enough. It always allows about 50W for the house for lights etc to stop the immersion turning off and on. We did need the immersion to be on a separate fuse, and it can take some time to heat up if we are doing other things - like washing machine. No gas needed in the summer. We have just come back from holiday and it seemed strange to use appliances at night when there is no sun. My life is ruled
s by my OWL monitor in the kitchen.

orrery

michaels wrote: »

I just switched (again) - one reason was the new tariff has a higher standing charge and cheaper units which makes sense for our winter usage...

Is this a fully renewable supplier?

silverwhistle

Just a sidenote on my gas usage: I've just tried out the gas central heating to make sure it works as aged parent is visiting and I haven't had the heating on since early February when I returned from a winter holiday and wanted to get the whole house back up to temperature. Just one radiator to bleed it appears and the boiler itself fired up immediately when I tweaked the thermostat.

My bill is due shortly and I think it'll be a slightly disappointing £8ish for the three months as it's been so overcast recently and I'll have the heating as well as the stove on for parental visit. The previous two bills were £zero and £1.76 and it'll be interesting to see what the 'heavy' quarter will be. If I didn't live alone I'd use more gas, but also save more as often I've exported when the tank has been up to temperature. It's nice not to dread receiving bills particularly in view of a less than average income.

podine

Hi,
I had my panels installed on 20th November.
Does anyone know why I was told that the more electricity I used the more I would save?
I am still trying to work things out. When I put my washing machine on to heat the water to 40 degrees my electricity meter was going backward. When I put it on the heat the water to 60 degrees it was racing forward.
When I put my dryer on I expected it to go backwards but it was going forward but not too fast. I presume a dryer uses more than a washing machine.
My system is 3KW.

EricMears

podine wrote: »

Hi,
I had my panels installed on 20th November.
Does anyone know why I was told that the more electricity I used the more I would save?
I am still trying to work things out. When I put my washing machine on to heat the water to 40 degrees my electricity meter was going backward. When I put it on the heat the water to 60 degrees it was racing forward.
When I put my dryer on I expected it to go backwards but it was going forward but not too fast. I presume a dryer uses more than a washing machine.
My system is 3KW.

Unless you're somewhere in Southern Spain, I'd be amazed if you've managed to generate enough power to heat water in a washing machine or run a tumble dryer this week !

As to the more you use, the more you save : I suspect they meant that the higher your bills were for last year, the more chance you've got of being able to use all the electricity you generate in May/June/July (using it all this week will be a piece of cake ).