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

KevinG

themaverick1953 wrote: »

Mine face 110 degrees and as a weather forecaster my guess has always been that March to Sep we get a high proportion of our sunshine between 5 am and 1200 before convection gets going and we get what my wife calls the 'twelve o clock shadow'. I don't know of any datasets than can prove or disprove this, though my figures April to December are well ahead of the predicted.

I believe the optimum direction is about 1 degree east of south which supports a very slight bias towards the morning sun, but my experience last year (mine are about 22 degrees east of south) was lots of misty mornings leading to bright uninterrupted evening sunshine, from which I saw no benefit whatsoever as it was coming from the north-west!

thenudeone

brizzledfw wrote: »

BTW I added my panels to my house insurance for no extra cost... everyone needs to check they would be covered if they were damaged?

There's a thread on this subject here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3334072

any new information would be welcome.

jimjames

raider wrote: »

Me too Lemoncurd. Creaks, bangs, tapping, the lot. Woke me up several times last night. Half expected to see my panels scattered down the street and through my neighbors car windscreens :eek: Several times it seemed to calm down, then all of a sudden massive gusts hit, not good for my heart

It was surprising how much creaking and general noise there was from the roof with the panels on although no apparent damage that is visible. Round here it wasn't that windy this week so it does make me wonder what would happen if we had wind like 1987 again.

Thanks for all the feedback, I'm planning on loading to pvoutput but as my panels come with the SunnyExplorer I've written all my scripts to work around loading that data which would easily extend to anyone else with an SMA inverter.

wensleydale

jimjames wrote: »

It was surprising how much creaking and general noise there was from the roof with the panels on although no apparent damage that is visible. Round here it wasn't that windy this week so it does make me wonder what would happen if we had wind like 1987 again.

Thanks for all the feedback, I'm planning on loading to pvoutput but as my panels come with the SunnyExplorer I've written all my scripts to work around loading that data which would easily extend to anyone else with an SMA inverter.

I'd be keen on using the scripts once done if you wouldnt mind- still struggling to get the SMA software to work at the moment but hopefully will get there.

themaverick1953

KevinG wrote: »

I believe the optimum direction is about 1 degree east of south which supports a very slight bias towards the morning sun, but my experience last year (mine are about 22 degrees east of south) was lots of misty mornings leading to bright uninterrupted evening sunshine, from which I saw no benefit whatsoever as it was coming from the north-west!

It depends on your location, east coast but not withing say 10 miles of the sea would I reckon be the optimum for morning summer sun - least sea fog and convection produced clouds not till late morning.

jackieblack

themaverick1953 wrote: »

It depends on your location, east coast but not withing say 10 miles of the sea would I reckon be the optimum for morning summer sun - least sea fog and convection produced clouds not till late morning.

Sounds good to me

Cardew

The new Watson solar meter.

http://www.uswitch.com/energy-saving-products/energy-monitors/wattson-solar-plus-solar-energy-monitor--2?ref=email_insight_uswitch_09jan12&utm_campaign=insight&utm_content=09jan12&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uswitch

It glows green when you are generating more than you are consuming.

Two questions!

1. How long to recover The £140 cost

2. when you are generating 1 watt more than house is consuming, how many will switch on a 3kW immersion heater!

KevinG

Cardew wrote: »

The new Watson solar meter.

http://www.uswitch.com/energy-saving-products/energy-monitors/wattson-solar-plus-solar-energy-monitor--2?ref=email_insight_uswitch_09jan12&utm_campaign=insight&utm_content=09jan12&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uswitch

It glows green when you are generating more than you are consuming.

It even tells the time!

themaverick1953

Cardew wrote: »

The new Watson solar meter.

http://www.uswitch.com/energy-saving-products/energy-monitors/wattson-solar-plus-solar-energy-monitor--2?ref=email_insight_uswitch_09jan12&utm_campaign=insight&utm_content=09jan12&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uswitch

It glows green when you are generating more than you are consuming.

Two questions!

1. How long to recover The £140 cost

2. when you are generating 1 watt more than house is consuming, how many will switch on a 3kW immersion heater!

I changed my 3kW heater to a 1 kW last summer but the opportunities to use it were few!

orrery

themaverick1953 wrote: »

I changed my 3kW heater to a 1 kW last summer but the opportunities to use it were few!

I've fitted a 125w heater in the downstairs loo and bought a 500w electric radiator. I've found that:

1. If there is constant sun, then I don't need them
2. If there isn't, then it would cost me more that using the gas heating as I'll end up importing for a small, but significant part of the time

I've concluded that anything other than using solar to power things that you would have run anyway is a waste of time (notwithstanding some intelligent control system to do it).