Solar pannels and storage heaters

HappyMJ

free_juice? wrote: »

http://shop.diykyoto.com/

I think all there are 3 phase compatible and one model is specifically for solar with appropriate software. Most other monitors cannot tell the difference between electricity used and electricity exported.

I would not spend at least £100 to tell me how much electric is being used. You need to think return on investment. i.e spend £10 and save £10 per year in electric. That's worth it. All they really do is remind you just how much is being used then you turn stuff off more often.

dane-katie wrote: »

Not all of them are, but that can be sorted out we only use 2 of the 3 phases in our house at the moment, its a simple job getting it changed well is for me i just watch OH do it haha

Please let us know what they say. You will need a much more expensive inverter and I doubt they'll provide that for a fixed cost of £500....I'd like to see what they say.

free_juice?

HappyMJ wrote: »

I would not spend at least £100 to tell me how much electric is being used. You need to think return on investment. i.e spend £10 and save £10 per year in electric. That's worth it. All they really do is remind you just how much is being used then you turn stuff off more often..

I answered your question with a straight forward answer. If that's all the thanks one gets I won't bother again.

I haven't got one either - same reason plus it takes 5 watts off the mains.

PeterZ_2

Equaliser123 wrote: »

Unfortunately, you won't get 6kw/p fitted for free due to the FIT scheme which reduces the amounts paid after 4kw/p.

I agree, if a company is offering 6kWp of 'free' panels something doesn't stack up as they will be getting the lower tariff. They wont get any cost saving installing a 6kw over a 4kw.

PeterZ_2

HappyMJ wrote: »

Please let us know what they say. You will need a much more expensive inverter and I doubt they'll provide that for a fixed cost of £500....I'd like to see what they say.

No they wont.

They will most likely split the 6kw into two strings of 3kw and use two inverters, one connected to each phase.

PeterZ_2

dane-katie wrote: »

I was wondering if i got a couple of storage heaters, if i had solar pannels fitted (for free or cheap) and had them heating up during the day when the electric is free to give out heat at night.

Would this work or am i being optimistic?

Thanks

Technically it will work, although not very effectively.

As others have said the output from the panels will be at its lowest when you need the heat the most. Controlling the system will be by far the hardest part, how will you stop the storage heaters from using expensive grid electric?

If you have the space and three phase I would ask for a 9kw system. While this would help a little in the winter, come the summer months you will have a massive surplus exporting to the grid.

grahamc2003

PeterZ wrote: »

Technically it will work, although not very effectively.

QUOTE]

Hang on, with conventional storage heaters, you'd probably have to change the household wiring in at best an illogical manner, if not a manner against wiring regualtions in order to get the pv power into a conventional storage heater. Whether MCS installers would fit a system with such wiring I don't know.

I'd say it wouldn't work technically or otherwise - i.e. it wouldn't fullfill the op's aims. Zeupater has explained partly why that is. Yes you could get some heat stored, but no, that isn't sufficient to say it 'works'. I'd say such a system would result in higher costs, not lower, even though utilising all the pv output (because so much full price electricity would be sucked in from the grid without further control equipment).

A further consideration is the value of the electricity even if it worked - which would be the value of the displaced alternative which, under the proposed method, would be night time electricity rates, which is about 5p/kwh, and not the usualy saving of 10p/kwh of electrcitity used.

Cardew

This is getting in the realms of fantasy.

It won't work!!

PeterZ_2

grahamc2003 wrote: »

I'd say it wouldn't work technically

Wrong

It will work technically.

You are confusing working technically with working effectively.

Most storage heaters are wired up on a seperate circuit because most people use cheap E7 power. All they need to do is wire a storage heater on a circuit with a high enough amp rating and everything is good to go.

The part that doesn't work is that the sun is low in the sky in the winter when its cold and you need the heat most. This means there will be very little power available to charge the storage heaters. If you then start using full rate power rather than cheap rate you are then going to be worse off in money terms.

Cardew

PeterZ wrote: »

Wrong

It will work technically.

You are confusing working technically with working effectively.

Most storage heaters are wired up on a seperate circuit because most people use cheap E7 power. All they need to do is wire a storage heater on a circuit with a high enough amp rating and everything is good to go.

The part that doesn't work is that the sun is low in the sky in the winter when its cold and you need the heat most. This means there will be very little power available to charge the storage heaters. If you then start using full rate power rather than cheap rate you are then going to be worse off in money terms.

Graham stated:

I'd say it wouldn't work technically or otherwise - i.e. it wouldn't fullfill the op's aims. Zeupater has explained partly why that is. Yes you could get some heat stored, but no, that isn't sufficient to say it 'works'.

You could wire up a single PV panel to an Electric Arc steel smelting mill if so desired.

That also would work technically, but perhaps not effectively!;)

PeterZ_2

Cardew wrote: »

You could wire up a single PV panel to an Electric Arc steel smelting mill if so desired.

That also would work technically, but perhaps not effectively!;)

Yes, exactly, I'm pleased that someone else understands the point.

Candles would work as headlights on a car, but would not exactly be effective.

That is the point that the OP needs to understand, it wil work, but will not be very effective.

No free lunch.