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

Cardew

This thread should return to solar as it is in danger(my fault) of getting sidetracked into water consumption.

However it does put the potential savings on electricity, by use of solar, into perspective. The lesson is although you might save some or all of the 4p to 6p electricity costs, the cost of water dwarfs that saving; so don't put on a washing load unless machine is full.

alanjones1956

Planning Control!

It's worth remembering that you don't need Planning Permission to have PV panels on your roof but you will need Planning Control to have someone from the council check that everything has been done correctly - make sure you get all the certificates from your installer.

If however you have your roof re-tiled at the same time which might make sense if you consider that the panels will last 25 years ish and most roofs will need re-tiling after 30 to 50 years. This will cost about £150 to have it inspected in addition to the £150 for having the PV's inspected.

When you have your roof re-tiled the council will need to come and inspect it and not just the tiles but the 'thermal element' of the roof. This boils down to the insulation in the roof space. This rule was brought in in 2006 and I doubt the validity of having your roof re-tiled and someone from the council poking his head in your loft to inspect your layers of fibre glass! Roofers as a rule don't do loft insulation!

Even if you have an Energy Performance Certificate you will still be charged £150. A whole house EPC costs about £100 which I already have.

Of course trying to get any sense out of the councils is nigh on impossible. Rules is rules!

John_Pierpoint

Isn't that rule a case of sticking below 25% of your whole roof, so you can claim it is a repair?

I think good interlocking concrete tiles should last 100 years?

I am hoping my council would be too dozy to notice.

Mind you I had a grandmother with an Edwardian roof of red clay double lap (Traditional) tiles and every year the frost would crack one or two; not sure what I could have done if the roof slope was covered with PV panels and bits of broken tile started arriving in the gutter, or worse got jammed under the panels. I wonder how many installations have been refused by the installer because the tiles/slates don't look good for 25 years?

orrery

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

I am hoping my council would be too dozy to notice.

I'm getting solar installed now (panels are stacked in the back garden waiting to be fitted) and I called the council planning department.

They asked is the building is protected or whether we are in a conservation area (neither apply). Beyond that, provided the panels are not higher than the highest part of the roof and don't protrude over the edge by more than some small figure, they are simply not interested.

BornAtTheRightTime

alanjones1956 wrote: »

Planning Control!

It's worth remembering that you don't need Planning Permission to have PV panels on your roof but you will need Planning Control to have someone from the council check that everything has been done correctly...

I suspect the poster means Building Control rather than Planning Control.
The MCS scheme allows MCS-certified installers (which you need to qualify for FiT payments) to self-certify on the building regulations aspect meaning that Building Control are not interested in carrying out inspections.

jackieblack

BornAtTheRightTime wrote: »

I suspect the poster means Building Control rather than Planning Control.
The MCS scheme allows MCS-certified installers (which you need to qualify for FiT payments) to self-certify on the building regulations aspect meaning that Building Control are not interested in carrying out inspections.

My council also wanted the installers to confirm that the weight on the roof wasn't going to increase by more than a certain %

energysavingexp

orrery wrote: »

I'm getting solar installed now (panels are stacked in the back garden waiting to be fitted) QUOTE]

hope they are still there tomorrow round here they would have gone if you turn your back.:D

i got my jet washer out last year to wash my car on the drive and when i nipped in for a quick brew and came back out it had gone :mad::mad::mad:
theaving gets. cost me £200 for a new one

thenudeone

BornAtTheRightTime wrote: »

I suspect the poster means Building Control rather than Planning Control.
The MCS scheme allows MCS-certified installers (which you need to qualify for FiT payments) to self-certify on the building regulations aspect meaning that Building Control are not interested in carrying out inspections.

There's a lot of contradictory / confusing information about.

http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/councils_urged_to_stop_fleecing_uk_homeowners5478/

http://www.structuralreportsonline.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/Best-Practice-note-on-application-of-Building-Regulations-Retrofitting-Solar-Panels11.pdf

My take is that structural work can only be self-certified by certain scheme members (MCS isn't such a scheme) and that a Building Control Notice should be applied for and paid for in any case, making note of whether the installers are in such a scheme. Separate self-certification may apply to the electrical work if done by a competent person (Part P of building regs). Whether the council are interested in visiting to inspect it is anyone's guess, but I suppose it saves any awkward questions from purchaser's solicitors when you come to sell.

BornAtTheRightTime

thenudeone wrote: »

My take is that structural work can only be self-certified by certain scheme members (MCS isn't such a scheme) and that a Building Control Notice should be applied for and paid for in any case, making note of whether the installers are in such a scheme. Separate self-certification may apply to the electrical work if done by a competent person (Part P of building regs). Whether the council are interested in visiting to inspect it is anyone's guess, but I suppose it saves any awkward questions from purchaser's solicitors when you come to sell.

Agree on the confusion - this is what I read prior to having my panels fitted however I couldn't convince my local council that an inspection was necessary. They were convinced that MCS = Competent Person Scheme.

chris.blanchett

It is worth mentioning that if you live in an area that doesn't enjoy nice long sunny days (ie. the north) your PV system will become a load if it isn't generating electricity. Your installation team should have made note of your location and fitted bypass diodes that force shaded areas of your PV array to maintain the flow of current through the shaded cells and keep it in equilibrium with the unshaded part of the array. Without bypass diodes your array will start to develop 'hotspots' which, over time, will lead to a failure of that module, and thus the entire array, until the faulty panel is replaced.
If you have on site battery storage you will also need to ensure blocking diodes are installed which prevent a reverse flow of current from the batteries to the PV array at night when the PV array isn't generating electricity. You don't want your batteries discharging themselves completely each night as that would completely negate the point of installing them.