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

Martyn1981

Exiled_Tyke wrote: »

2.2kW kettle is very interesting. Can you post details please?

Hiya ET, it's a Russel Hobbs model, but I think you'll find a wide choice. Other than the power rating it's bog standard, so probably holds about ~6 cups worth.

Doesn't get used much, but, if co-incidentally, when PV is generating, then it has a slightly better chance of using more PV (less import) than a 3kW would.

Also, as we bought it a year or so back, I was already in 'battery mode' so considering total power demand of less than 5kW, ideally less than 3kW in the future.

pinnks

Interestingly my bean-to-cup coffee machine can also deliver boiling or very hot water (100 degrees down to 70 degrees in 10 degree steps) in your chosen number of millilitres from 100 to 260+ - the latter being the amount needed for a large mug. So, you only heat as much water as you need and only to precisely the right temperature.

Made tea using this today for the other half and no complaints or comments, so I guess it tasted fine.

Not sure we'll use this all the time but it might squeeze a few savings out when we are not generating enough to power the 1kW kettle or are just feeling extra OCDish...

orrery

Exiled_Tyke wrote: »

2.2kW kettle is very interesting. Can you post details please?

Tesco own brand JK30. I've just paid £12 for one.

Exiled_Tyke

joefizz wrote: »

x2
Was very sceptical about air fryers then my brother got one. I bought one 3 or 4 weeks ago and the oven hasnt really been on since.
Another vote for the george foreman type grills.
And seeing as I seem to be on a roll with the gadgets (not really eco if you buy a load of gadgets, or is it, lifetime end to end maybe?), heres a couple more.
Hot water dispenser rather than kettle (one cup at a time) morphy richards one does real boiling water so as not to mess with anyones tea ;-)
Slow cooker, put it on all day, make a batch, freeze what you dont use, rinse, repeat. After the summer you have a load of frozen meals you can just heat up in the microwave (unless your freezer packs in). Downside if you work from home is that you can smell that curry cooking all day long...
Dedicated rice cooker (if you dont want to use the flask method) cooks rice under pressure, keeps it warm, lower energy than boiling a pot and watching it stick slowly to the bottom.
Induction hobs, most of you will probably use gas but induction hob is the closest Ive got to gas on electric, can play havoc with your battery on low setting (on, off times not enough for battery to catch up).
Anything chargeable on a timer, which can mean putting the timer unit on an extension lead and plugging all your rechargeables into that (taking account of load and rating on the timer of course). No point saving money as the fire brigade dowse the fire as you come home...

Some interesting suggestions - thanks. What's missing though is how much power these gadgets draw. PVer's tend to prefer lower power items to make the most of their solar. So whilst a slow cooker meets the needs wonderfully, I'm guessing the hot water dispenser works at alarmingly high power rating to provide the flow of boiling water?? Even with a battery I want to watch power ratings as anything that draws more slowly will be better for battery life. (Hence why I'm interested in 2kWish kettle - faster than my 1kW but less draining on my battery than my 3kW. (Oh the lovely arguments at home when I explain which of the kettles to use in which circumstances!)

mmmmikey

asavvybuyer / joefizz - you've got me thinking about buying an air fryer - what brand do you have and does it seem well made and likely to last? Any buying tips? Like joefizz I'm a bit of a kitchen gadget fan, preferring to buy good quality kit (such as my Dualit toaster) as I've made the mistake in the past of buying "landfill" supermarket own brand gadgets which don't last. What do you use your fryer for for other than chips?

1961Nick

Exiled_Tyke wrote: »

Some interesting suggestions - thanks. What's missing though is how much power these gadgets draw. PVer's tend to prefer lower power items to make the most of their solar. So whilst a slow cooker meets the needs wonderfully, I'm guessing the hot water dispenser works at alarmingly high power rating to provide the flow of boiling water?? Even with a battery I want to watch power ratings as anything that draws more slowly will be better for battery life. (Hence why I'm interested in 2kWish kettle - faster than my 1kW but less draining on my battery than my 3kW. (Oh the lovely arguments at home when I explain which of the kettles to use in which circumstances!)

I have an Insinkerator boiling water tap & it's rated at 1.3kWh. During the day it heats directly from solar, & during the night it heats from the batteries without taking the total load over the inverter's maximum 3.1kWh. Basically it does the same job as a 1kWh kettle but without the wait.

It's also useful because it tips the battery inverter from standby to discharge in the evening when the solar generation is ending.

ASavvyBuyer

ASavvyBuyer wrote: »

We now use an Air Fryer to do most of the cooking we used to do in the oven or under the grill.
It peaks at about 1.3kW, quite a bit lower than the 3kW elements in the oven/grill.
Therefore, if the sun is shinning, dinner can be cooked for free!
It also seems to be quicker, so uses less power for the same amount of cooking.

Exiled_Tyke wrote: »

Some interesting suggestions - thanks. What's missing though is how much power these gadgets draw.

As previously mentioned, the Air Fryer we bought peaks at about 1.3kW.
It is made by Goodmans, and endorsed by Mo Farrah. Was less than £50.

We cook most things that used to be done in the oven in it now, not just chips.
That includes cakes, omlets, fish, etc.

joefizz

Exiled_Tyke wrote: »

Some interesting suggestions - thanks. What's missing though is how much power these gadgets draw. PVer's tend to prefer lower power items to make the most of their solar. So whilst a slow cooker meets the needs wonderfully, I'm guessing the hot water dispenser works at alarmingly high power rating to provide the flow of boiling water?? Even with a battery I want to watch power ratings as anything that draws more slowly will be better for battery life. (Hence why I'm interested in 2kWish kettle - faster than my 1kW but less draining on my battery than my 3kW. (Oh the lovely arguments at home when I explain which of the kettles to use in which circumstances!)

The hot water dispenser is rated the same as my old kettle 2.5-3kw and I bought it pre solar panels as any kettle I had (apart from travel kettle) was boiling more than one cups worth. It was more to cut down on boiling and reboiling water (similar to my gaggia classic coffee machine, just enough for a cup).
I have an old pifco travel kettle that I have had in the camper for a while and have just moved into the kitchen, its rated at 215-850W! Its a bottom element version so will take a single cup worth (or aeropress fill).
Might give that a go for the sake of experimentation but have sort of got used to the almost instant hot water with the dispenser.


PS the small rice cooker I have is 200-240W - was about 20 quid on amazon

joefizz

mmmmikey wrote: »

asavvybuyer / joefizz - you've got me thinking about buying an air fryer - what brand do you have and does it seem well made and likely to last? Any buying tips? Like joefizz I'm a bit of a kitchen gadget fan, preferring to buy good quality kit (such as my Dualit toaster) as I've made the mistake in the past of buying "landfill" supermarket own brand gadgets which don't last. What do you use your fryer for for other than chips?

Brother bought one of the philips ones but they needed the larger one for full family use.


I just did an impulse buy of one of the lidl ones, was about 40 quid and pretty much the same no-name type you see rebranded a lot across the piece.


I originally used it to see what the chips were like compared to deep frying (havent used that in years), cut and soaked the spuds, dried, put in a dish with seasoned oil and coated then did a small batch. I have to say they were as close to deep fried as Ive tasted. Not quite as good but better than doing them in the oven. Trick was not to crowd the fryer as only one or two layers seemed to cook properly. I suppose thats where the cheap fryers fall down so either get used to doing it in batches or just smaller portions ;-) I did the double and triple 'frying' and they tasted well, the removal, shaking etc did make a difference.
Mine has a little button with flip top on the handle so you can separate the basket from the lower case to give it a shake. For some reason I thought that this would still remain attached to the basket or the basket would detach differently. Either way the lidl one is robust enough to drop the base from 4 feet onto a tile floor and watch it bounce. It does slide back in to the casing (of a fashion ;-))


Since then Ive done pretty much everything I used to heat up in the oven, although Id probably draw the line at attempting tempura. Ive tried oven chips, various processed fish (breaded, battered, fishcakes, fish fingers), processed chicken, I cooked pork and venison sausages from frozen all ok and either comparable or better than the oven.
Was surprisingly good with spring rolls, again not as good as deep fried but not as messy and just as likely to take the skin off the roof of your mouth ;-)


One problem with the cheap version I have is that the timer on it is clockwork, so if you find things cooked earlier than time specified then you have to disconnect the basket, leave it out and let it wind down itself. Easy to add time though, cheap price, simple controls.


Will have to try the cakes then asavvybuyer! Might just get a couple of scones in mine ;-)


Dont get me started on the ferrari g3 pizza machine... its supposed to be only 1200W, might well be, I havent put the energy monitor on it. Pizza from it is superb! Bought from amazon.it for about 2/3 the price of the UK.

Richmc

Very interesting debate about how to boil water, my two penny worth.-

it takes 1cal of energy to raise 1gm of water by 1deg. That's a physical law that cant be broken ("You canne' change the laws of physics Captain"). So whatever method you use it will result in the same amount of energy being used. So the debate should be about the efficiency of each method and the cost (per cal) of the energy source.
Here's some stuff i dug up-
Micro wave 50%
Kettle on electric ring 70%
Stand alone electric kettle 80%
Metal kettle on an induction hob 85%

Next vital point that we all should know is never boil more water than you need to fill your tea mug with water and pour that into the empty kettle, never pre run the cold tap to get "cleaner" water, all you get is colder water.

The debate over energy source and cost is never ending the cheapest way would be to get a powerful magnifying glass and focus the suns rays onto a spot on a very well insulated container.............If you have all day to spare, oh yes more effective if you can do it in a vacuum! Other than that you are going to need to work out the cheapest option for yourselves.
Thanks for reading.