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

furndire

You're lucky bjohnson, mines adding electric on - at least you've reported it - so its their problem.

themaverick1953

pauldreed wrote: »

I generally monitor how much power is being generated by the panels, and try to match the load to the supply.
After a while of checking the Owl, you will be able to estimate the generation by looking at the sky and feeling the sun's strength.

But be warned!!!
Checking an Owl meter can become obsessive (or is it compulsive??) and can gradually take over your life, like drugs or alcohol, but with counselling (usually the wife) you will eventually overcome the need to check the readings constantly.

OK - can I just clarify I've got my head round the OWL?

If I didn't have SPV and I fitted an owl near the leccy meter I'd get a display of household leccy usage.

Since I have SPV all I'll get is a figure that could be incoming OR outgoing leccy and I' won't know which (without say switching a kettle on and seeing which way it went).

I could fit the Owl to the generation system as it comes from the inverted and instead monitor usage.

Could I fit two owl sensors (do they sell sensors seperately?) one to the invertor and one to the normal meter and feed them into one display? Does it do this?

pauldreed

themaverick1953 wrote: »

OK - can I just clarify I've got my head round the OWL?

If I didn't have SPV and I fitted an owl near the leccy meter I'd get a display of household leccy usage.

Since I have SPV all I'll get is a figure that could be incoming OR outgoing leccy and I' won't know which (without say switching a kettle on and seeing which way it went).

I could fit the Owl to the generation system as it comes from the inverted and instead monitor usage.

Could I fit two owl sensors (do they sell sensors seperately?) one to the invertor and one to the normal meter and feed them into one display? Does it do this?

Just put the sensor on the power cable coming from the Invertor to the fusebox, that way it will monitor the power flowing from your PV array, before it starts getting mixed with other power flows.
You can fit more than one Owl if you wish, but I dont think that you can display both on the same OWL display,
Some units do have 2 inputs, but you have to switch between the 2, to see the results.

ChrisJD

pauldreed wrote: »

Just put the sensor on the power cable coming from the Invertor to the fusebox, that way it will monitor the power flowing from your PV array, before it starts getting mixed with other power flows.
You can fit more than one Owl if you wish, but I dont think that you can display both on the same OWL display,
Some units do have 2 inputs, but you have to switch between the 2, to see the results.

AFAIK, the only monitoring system which actually claims to be able, with two sensors, to cope with PV systems exporting, is the Wattson. It seems to be rather more expensive than most others, and I haven't yet gone as far as buyng one.

I would be interested to hear of others' experience.

themaverick1953

ChrisJD wrote: »

AFAIK, the only monitoring system which actually claims to be able, with two sensors, to cope with PV systems exporting, is the Wattson. It seems to be rather more expensive than most others, and I haven't yet gone as far as buyng one.

I would be interested to hear of others' experience.

I was quoted £180 by my installer to fit that one.

zeupater

themaverick1953 wrote: »

OK - can I just clarify I've got my head round the OWL?

If I didn't have SPV and I fitted an owl near the leccy meter I'd get a display of household leccy usage.

Since I have SPV all I'll get is a figure that could be incoming OR outgoing leccy and I' won't know which (without say switching a kettle on and seeing which way it went).

I could fit the Owl to the generation system as it comes from the inverted and instead monitor usage.

Could I fit two owl sensors (do they sell sensors seperately?) one to the invertor and one to the normal meter and feed them into one display? Does it do this?

Hi

Check out my posts #324 & #326 on this thread ...... If you're still not sure can you post a link to a schematic or pictures of your setup between the meter and the inverter ......

Note, the cable between the inverter and the consumer unit could be twin&earth or separate tails .... clamp monitors will not work on twin&earth cables, you will need to either have separate tails, or access to the separate wires in a twin&earth cable .....

HTH
Z

neysavibau

Jon_Tiffany wrote: »

We tend to run the washing machine from around 10am and then the dishwasher from about 1pm. We have an electric oven and grill so try to leave a space at lunchtime.

Regarding appliances such as washing machines the two main points are:

1 - dont run them all at the same time, stagger them, i.e run them one after the other

Our washing machine and dishwasher come with a times, which I find really useful to achieve this. So you can leave the dishwasher full and ready and program it to run at a suitable time.

Grazia

themaverick1953

themaverick1953 wrote: »

My installer told me (in good faith) that I would receive my FIT paymets from the 0 reading on the meter. I registered wth British gas today and the form I filled in said that you could only start at 0 if you registered within 5 days of commissioning.

Since you have to pay the installer, then wait for the MCS certificate before then applying for the FIT payments, 5 days seems extremely unreasonable. Has anyone else come up against this?

I have just received this from the Energy Saving Trust on the topic:

Thank you for your enquiry. Everything on our website regarding the FITs is indeed correct. When it comes to registering, all energy suppliers may differ slightly with the date they administer payments from. Ofgem stipulate that that no payments can be administered without the necessary paperwork having been received. I checked with British Gas and within the five days they require your certificate, their completed form and a copy of the invoice. You have stated you have your certificate so I see no reason why you cannot apply within this time? Unless you experienced a delay in receiving your certificate in which case it is the installer who is at fault? British Gas also claim that they will administer the payments from the date you send in the paperwork if the five days is not feasible. One thing you didn’t mention in your email is when your system was installed, so I apologise if some of this information isn’t relevant to you. If you want to discuss the five day policy with British Gas you can do so by ringing them on 0800 107 0187. Please note that you can have your payments administered by any energy company you choose, so you may find that the terms and conditions of a different company suit you better.

Does anyone know an electricity provider that doesn't have a 5 day rule (and indeed will accept my zero generation meter reading now 3 weeks down the line)?

themaverick1953

Has anyone any idea how often betwqeen may-Sept a 3.96kW system would drop below 1kW output say between 0800-1200 (facing ESE)

zeupater

themaverick1953 wrote: »

Has anyone any idea how often betwqeen may-Sept a 3.96kW system would drop below 1kW output say between 0800-1200 (facing ESE)

Hi

No, but this could be useful ......

Expect generation from a 3.96kWp array to be .......

~25% of annual power below 800W production
~50% below 1900W
~75% below 2800W
~3% above 3500W (If not inverter limited)

HTH
Z