Renewables: "talking 'bout my generation"

don0301

22.2 kWh today

151.6 kWh for the week

6 days from my peak roof angle whereas in March i got a 25 kWh, one day from my peak roof angle day then

wonder if the panels need cleaning? or perhaps there's less "haze" in spring than in autumn?

can't grumble too much

as an aside, after the heated exchange earlier this year, i fitted a temp. sensor in my loft to monitor ambient temp. for my inverter

my loft was only hotter than my house on 6 days this year, and then only by a maximum of 3 degrees.

So, for me, I would definetly expect longer life from my inverter being in the loft than in my house.

My loft is a small "toblerone" on top of the house, with the top 2 bedrooms partly built into the roof.

It seems the solar panels reflect/absorb light/heat to some effect.

Still 2 months & 3 odd weeks to go for full first year generation but it seems I'm very lucky to have a steep roof.

KevinG

10.93kWh on probably the last day of "summer". A slight sprinkle of rain late afternoon.

jkpaul

don0301 wrote: »

My understanding is you put in the panel size not the inverter size to the estimater

Thanks don0301

Martyn1981 wrote: »

No idea if there is an 'official rule', but I agree with Don, and would describe your system as 4kWp, since that's what you can catch, even if your inverter can't process it all, so you could increase the default losses bit if you wanted. But ......

Apologies for the boring lecture, but your system, in my opinion, ticks all the right boxes, and may be close to perfect. So slap in a 4 and chase the target with a smile on your face. :T

Thanks Martyn1981


That's good to know!

More good news - another good (not great) day today - 17.884 kWh - making the last 7 days our best ever ...

jkpaul wrote: »

19, 20, 21, 22, 22, 20

& 18 kWh today ... 142kWh for 7 days - more than 20 units per day.

That'll do!

:j

legoman62

15.37kWh yesterday.
145kWh for the 1st 9 days of Sept:D
Not so nice today tho.

jimjames

jkpaul wrote: »

Either way, I'm happy :beer: but it would be good to know which figures I should be watching [=celebrating shooting past again] next year - can anyone put me out of my misery?

I think it should be the panel capacity not the inverter as for the majority of the time the panel output will be the factor not the inverter.

So for example mornings and afternoons away from the peak of the graph the electricity generated will be from 4kWp panels not 3.6kWp which over the year could make a significant difference. On the whole the only time you'll get near the panel output is if you have a cloudy/rainy day followed by bright sunshine near the middle of the day.

John_Pierpoint

Oscargrouch wrote: »

Not too bad for 16:42 from a 2.5 kW system....:rotfl:

Hi Oscar,

You self evidently have a system very similar to mine - what sort of mains voltages are being reported by your inverter?

Martyn reports this as the maximum 0f the mains:

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Loads of pluses first:

Looking at the specs for that inverter, it's actual output limit is 3,680W (not 3,600), so that's a plus. Also it states 16A limit, which at the UK max of 253V could be over 4kW, but I suspect it is a genuine 3.68kW limit.

Mart.

My Aurora inverter has reported several mains readings of 254 & 255V ( plus some mysterious periods of suddenly generating nothing on the yellow graph)?

Martyn1981

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

My Aurora inverter has reported several mains readings of 254 & 255V ( plus some mysterious periods of suddenly generating nothing on the yellow graph)?

Hiya John, those two things could be linked. UK voltage is supposed to be 230V (yeah right!) with a tolerance of -6% to +10% or 216V to 253V. Inverters have to 'pump uphill' to get the leccy out so will run slightly higher than the incoming voltage they detect.

But (you knew there was going to be a but didn't you!) it can't go on for ever higher, so they should have a safety max of around 254 to 256V, but will depend on inverter and settings.

If you are seeing high voltage and 'dead zones' it might be that your inverter is shutting down and waiting for acceptable voltages before resuming. Mine usually runs at about 240 to 244, so I'd guess mains voltage is a few volts lower.

If your voltage is touching 253V+ without the PV, the DNO should monitor and do something to reduce it, but they may also say it's your fault. Really need to test at night or when PV is off.

Mart.

Edit: sorry, just to clarify, 253V is not a maximum, it's the maximum that DNO's are supposed to allow, but it can go even higher. M.

John_Pierpoint

I have been trying to spot a pattern in what the inverter reports as "mains voltage", but the inverter only reports anything when it is working, during the day time.
I have a nasty feeling I am on a circuit where the maximum demand on the mains is during the hours of darkness to supply street lighting etc.

[Currently 251V and 350W production]

Martyn1981

John, sounds like it is pretty high then. Do you see many missing bits? How does your generation look, are you doing ok?

You could get a plug-in mains voltage 'thingy'. Sorry to be so technical, but I've never really played with leccy stuff, so no tools, and no idea what the inside of Maplins looks like.

I'd try to get an idea before contacting DNO in case they blame your PV and things start to get nasty.

Mart.

Edit: Just checked 2 of my inverters, they are bouncing around between 239-243V. But maybe 5-6pm is not a good time for an accurate measurement. M.

green.as1953

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