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

Cardew

ChrisJD wrote: »

Eventually appliance manufacturers are expected to include facilities for working in conjunction with smart meters and new pricing schemes, which will reward those who can reduce non-vital loads on demand. There doesn't seem to be much known about these right now, but there are a host of possibilities which might be explored.

I believe there is currently(sorry!) a trial in UK of this system.

On my place in the USA I get a reduction on my bill for allowing high consumption items to be switched off remotely for short periods:

Details here:

http://www.fpl.com/residential/energy_saving/programs/oncall.shtml

Cardew

celerity wrote: »

Agreed, but speaking selfishly - I am based from home and virtually all of my journeys are within a 15 mile radius. In fact I haven't owned a car for my exclusive use in six years.

So, an electric car for me could well mean I'm not stranded at home during the day (we are a bit rural, so I can't cycle to anywhere useful) and the "fuel" could be virtually free during spring and summer.

I've never actually seen the internals of an electric car up close. I'm assuming the battery packs are too heavy to be easily removable? If that isn't the case, there is possibly an argument in the future that some owners with solar PV would choose to buy two battery packs and swap them every few days.

/\dam

Surely virtually everyone with an electric car would be on an Economy 7 tariff and charge overnight at cheap rate?

You will run into exactly the same issue as people have trying to heat water using an immersion heater. - only more so.

It just takes the output to drop from a cloud etc and you will be drawing expensive power from the mains.

Incidentally a Nissan Leaf battery pack weighs 440 lbs and costs about £7,000 so an expensive option to have a spare and mechanism to change packs.

john999boy

themaverick1953 wrote: »

Anyone know a leccy company that will accept a zero generation meter reading from 3 weeks ago?

I think it's industry practice that they only accept meter readings up to five days old!

themaverick1953

Yes it does seem that way _ I spoke to a nice lady at the Dept for Energy and Climate change and another at the Energy Savings Trust and that seems to be the norm now. I've come to an arrangement with my installer that will compensate me for the 2 weeks I've missed.

furndire

I don't know if anyone is interested, but when I was in TowSure today, I picked up a 900w kettle for £17.85 - took 5 mins to boil 3/4 litre water. Sun was blazing 3800. Just lately we have been using up some gas canisters that we had before we put a proper hob in sb camper

We also have electric Battri bikes - primarily for when we are travelling. You can do up to 45 miles now on a charge, as you can pedal with a low assist, or if you want to be really lazy (or are unable to pedal), they do a lot less.


They also add to the power in the battery if you back pedal - a bit of a knack that my hubby as worked out better than me - use it instead of braking.
I use mine a lot to go to the shops. We live at the bottom of a very steep hill, and it gets me up it very easily (& I'm no lightweight).
So when we are at home, they get charged in the daytime as well.

I found that the cheapest place to get one was from http://www.rasenmobility.net/ - about £100 cheaper than buying them from http://www.batribike.com/c/Home/ the importers who are based nr Lincoln.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't driven for about 2 years - my bike will get me anywhere local that I need to go. Family persuaded me to have a go at driving my daughters car - I think they thought I had forgotten how to drive - I hadn't, just didn't feel the need.

ChrisJD

furndire wrote: »

I don't know if anyone is interested, but when I was in TowSure today, I picked up a 900w kettle for £17.85 - took 5 mins to boil 3/4 litre water.

Have you worked out the payback time? If you say a normal kettle takes 2 minutes, say 5 times a day (not all will be in generating periods all year though), I make it around 9 years, which is good going for a kettle.

Would it be cheaper to put an old fashioned kettle on the hob, if electric?

furndire

Probably not, but if you need a new kettle its a thought. Probably will use a gas one in winter - only draw back, they don't switch themselves off, unlike the electric one.

themaverick1953

Has anyone managed to locate a supplier of a domestic 1 kW immersion heater?

pauldreed

themaverick1953 wrote: »

Has anyone managed to locate a supplier of a domestic 1 kW immersion heater?

Most of the 1kw immersion heaters on the internet are designed for boats, and are only 11" long, which is no good for a domestic hot water tank, as hot water rises and only the top 11" of water in the tank would be heated. Therefore I opted for one to be built by a specialist company http://www.howden-electroheating.com/ who made me a 26" long 1kw unit with thermostat for about £60 (expensive!!).

pauldreed

Did everyone get their PV Panels washed yesterday??

Mine were ready for a good wash as they were covered in muck & dust which must affect performance, so the flash downpour we experienced in Yorkshire yesterday have left them like new again :j