Heatwise or economy 7 with solar panels?

Elmaz

Hi,
Please can anyone advise me about which type of meter & tarriff I should use with solar panels contributing? We are having 14 panels (3.360kWp) fitted next Tuesday. We are currently on the E-on Heatwise plan. Would it be better to switch to just econ7 as we don't want to be fuelling storage heaters with the Heatwise power for 3 hours during the afternoon when the solar could be doing it. If we got rid of the Heatwise econ 10 part of the meter and switched soley to econ 7 we could put time switches onto each storage heater to take advantage of the 7 hours at night if we were not getting enough solar power during the day. If anyone has any advice I would be very greatful to hear from them

espresso

Elmaz wrote: »

Hi,
Please can anyone advise me about which type of meter & tarriff I should use with solar panels contributing? We are having 14 panels (3.360kWp) fitted next Tuesday. We are currently on the E-on Heatwise plan. Would it be better to switch to just econ7 as we don't want to be fuelling storage heaters with the Heatwise power for 3 hours during the afternoon when the solar could be doing it. If we got rid of the Heatwise econ 10 part of the meter and switched soley to econ 7 we could put time switches onto each storage heater to take advantage of the 7 hours at night if we were not getting enough solar power during the day. If anyone has any advice I would be very greatful to hear from them

Solar won't give you enough energy to supply storage heaters and what about when it's a dull day and they produce very little power!

macman

Your peak output would about 3kw-approx the output of 1 storage heater. And for most of the time it will be running at much less than that. Peak daily output will only be in the summer-when the heating is off.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Elmaz wrote: »

Hi,
Please can anyone advise me about which type of meter & tarriff I should use with solar panels contributing? We are having 14 panels (3.360kWp) fitted next Tuesday. We are currently on the E-on Heatwise plan. Would it be better to switch to just econ7 as we don't want to be fuelling storage heaters with the Heatwise power for 3 hours during the afternoon when the solar could be doing it. If we got rid of the Heatwise econ 10 part of the meter and switched soley to econ 7 we could put time switches onto each storage heater to take advantage of the 7 hours at night if we were not getting enough solar power during the day. If anyone has any advice I would be very greatful to hear from them

Hi Elmaz

Just a quick heads up about your current Heatwise metering set up.

It's fairly straightforward to change from Heatwise to Economy 7 but it will need an engineer to visit. We're currently charging £51.06 for this work.

Also, I always recommend an independent approved electrician checks out the set up first. This is because Heatwise meters are wired directly into the water/heating circuits at properties. Changing the meter can have an effect on this.

Hope this is of interest.

Malc

[Deleted User]

Elmaz wrote: »

Hi,
Please can anyone advise me about which type of meter & tarriff I should use with solar panels contributing? We are having 14 panels (3.360kWp) fitted next Tuesday. We are currently on the E-on Heatwise plan. Would it be better to switch to just econ7 as we don't want to be fuelling storage heaters with the Heatwise power for 3 hours during the afternoon when the solar could be doing it. If we got rid of the Heatwise econ 10 part of the meter and switched soley to econ 7 we could put time switches onto each storage heater to take advantage of the 7 hours at night if we were not getting enough solar power during the day. If anyone has any advice I would be very greatful to hear from them

TBH just treat solar for what it is. Merely a supplement to overall energy useage. Like you I'm also an electric only household and depending on weather/sunshine your meter may stop turning in the daytime or simply slow a bit reducing consumption. BUT when it comes to heating [ASHP in my case, on first thing and evenings when dark] it is unlikely to make any difference whatsoever.

Certainly looking at my bills I can't see much [if any] difference in useage, perhaps £10pm at the most.

After a while you forget it's there...

I would not waste money on electricians and switches to other plans.

chris1973

I'd wait until December / January first, when it barely gets light, and begins to go dark again at 3PM and see exactly what the panels are producing before making long term plans. I suspect you'll be a little disappointed with results in winter.

Sadly thats the most ironic thing about Solar Panels, the time when your demand is the greatest and bills the highest is also around the time they output the least for the shortest of days and become little more than a roof top ornament.

3.360kWp

That figure is the output your panels will produce under 'ideal' conditions, such as when the sun is strongest and its light for 16 hours per day. You'll get a fraction of that during the Winter months.

There is absolutely no way that solar panels will 'charge' even a single full sized storage heater continuously with the input it requires to become useful, I think you need to lower your expectations somewhat and find something more realistic (and lower powered) with which to use your solar output during winter.