Solar Panel Guide Discussion

thenudeone

UselessMoney wrote: »

... 4.5kw roof install on quite a bright sunny day. ... generation meter ... averaging a measly 800w

My 4kW system occasionally reaches 3.7kW for short periods but the average is much lower. A very good day will produce 25kWh. It has produced 1500kWh in just under 4 months. I don't know how much it will drop over the winter but I expect the system to at least match the SAP calculation of 3090 kWh pa.

Studlea_Phatt_Katt

Studlea_Phatt_Katt wrote: »

The PV Solar set up we won is a 3.5 kwp system...SPK

After 14 days:

89.5 kWh from a 3.5kwp system.
Mostly south facing array / roof @ 30 degree pitch.
Best day 14.55kwh.
Worst day 2.2kwh.
Average per day. (4th - 17th Oct inc.) 6.4 kwh
Highest sustained 'peak' 10 am - noon @ 2.4kw on Saturday 15th.
Highest peak 2.6kw @ noon on Thursday 6th.

Over the last 2 weeks weather here (Cheshire / River Dee) has been roughly half cloudy / raining and half clear.

SPK.

John_Pierpoint

I got cold called today, in spite of being part of the telephone preference service, "number withheld" by a call centre claiming to be "Eco Homes".

Funny thing - Google cannot find an "allinurl" website with ecohomes eco.homes eco-homes eco_homes in a website Uniform Resource Locator, better known as web site address by the rest of us.

Could this be "Replacement.windows" trading as Eco homes or can someone identify the organisation for me?

We did get as far as discussing mounting panels in "landscape" rather than "portrait" any one got observations about the suitability of laying them side ways rather than up and down? [more stress on the panel should the roof "flex" across half a dozen common rafters rather than two or three? More difficult for snow to slide off? Possible problem with self cleaning?]

keith_r59

There is a company called Eco Home Services Ltd.

http://www.ecohomeservicesltd.com

Their web site is painfully slow to load.

mo786uk

Heres another question

You are visited at hoem by a salesman and he gives you figures on how much energy you might create based on your house etc - presumably he gives you a forumla - how can you trust what he says is correct? by stickign his figures into an online calculator?

seems to me, those people that are taken in by salesmen coudl end up having their figures overstated...

Cardew

WHICH have reported there has been some miselling by overstating output.

That is the easiest part to check as there are plenty of calculators that will give a pretty accurate estimate of annual output. Any installer should use those calculators.

Other tricks are to assume that all electricity generated will be used in the house e.g. 3,500kWh @ 14p = £490.

Also to assume that the current very high inflation rate will continue year on year and use that in the estimate for FIT income.

keith_r59

mo786uk wrote: »

Heres another question

You are visited at hoem by a salesman and he gives you figures on how much energy you might create based on your house etc - presumably he gives you a forumla - how can you trust what he says is correct? by stickign his figures into an online calculator?

seems to me, those people that are taken in by salesmen coudl end up having their figures overstated...

Installers are obliged under their MCS accreditation to provide you with the official SAP 2009 calculation of the potential energy generation. There are numerous web sites that you can use to verify their accuracy, just search for "SAP 2009 Calculator".

Incidentally, most posters on here who own solar panels, and have had them for over a year, are reporting that performance has actually exceeded the installer's estimates, in some cases by over 25 percent.

partist

I've just been reading some of the threads on solar panels. Dear oh dear.

Last time I saw a feeding frenzy like this on MSE was when everyone was telling everyone else what a great idea it was to put your money into Icelandic banks.

nande2000

It really annoys me those who say the FITs for PV panels are nothing but a method for the poor to subsidise the middle classes. A few facts these guys always forget to quote are as follows :

Who is it who subsidises nuclear power ? Yes thats right its us the tax payer. Lets not paint solar pv owners as bad people, subsidy is rife in the electric industry.

Secondly buying PV (remember this is not cheap and those that buy dont get given the money overnight) stimulates the economy. On my panel array I made sure I bought Sharp panels that are made in North Wales. Stopping the subsidy means less demand and therefore less jobs. Also remember the more money we can push into the solar industry will create investment in R&D, panels and technology WILL get cheaper.

keith_r59

partist wrote: »

I've just been reading some of the threads on solar panels. Dear oh dear.

Last time I saw a feeding frenzy like this on MSE was when everyone was telling everyone else what a great idea it was to put your money into Icelandic banks.

If you are risk averse then I suggest that you steer clear of putting your money into Solar PV or off-shore savings accounts which are not backed by the financial services compensation scheme.

However, didn't the people who put their money into the Icelandic banks get it all back from the UK Government?