Renewables: "talking 'bout my generation"

EricMears

Martyn1981 wrote: »

I don't believe I'm confusing anything, power is voltage x amperage

Quite ! Any Voltage x zero current will give zero power.

Power is dependent upon there being some current and in the absence of a resistive load there can be no power.

The word "probably" was used - just once - to indicate that the assumption that power was being produced but going nowhere was wrong. I went on to explain that if you really wanted to produce some power then such a load was needed but that it probably wasn't already connected thus and really wouldn't be worth doing.

It wasn't my suggestion that it would be a good time to clean panels and check connections - although doing that occasionally (whether panels are generating or not) would not be intrinsically dangerous if operation carried out sensibly.

Markj1110

2.32 O's again yesterday! A poor start to the month and today its started foggy. :mad:

Martyn1981

EricMears wrote: »

Quite ! Any Voltage x zero current will give zero power.

Power is dependent upon there being some current and in the absence of a resistive load there can be no power.

But there will be power if there is a resistive load, such as:

EricMears wrote: »

Power is measured in watts (or kilowatts, megawatts etc) and no power will be generated until the cables are actually connected to a resistive load (though that could of course include a human body if you inadvertently touched a conductor !).

So you are arguing that there is no power, whilst admitting that there will be power if allowed, and that's what I've been saying from the start, so care is needed, as power is instantly available.

EricMears

Why do you feel the need to quibble on some minor point and keep an off-topic conversation going for days (weeks ?) ?

Oscar's assumption that there was power available but not being collected was probably wrong (unless he had already tried to make a DC connection and definitely wrong if he hadn't).

"Power" is a specific electrical energy term which you seem to be using in a very sloppy way.

I specifically warned him that it would be pointless trying to make such a connection but here we are with a barrage of ill-informed criticism based on the incorrect assumption that I was suggesting that he adopt that 'suggestion' and didn't need to worry about the normal principles of any electrical work if he did.

nobby1963

Morning All,
Just a quick question if I may .....
Our panels were installed Nov 2011.
Am I right in saying my new FIT rate is 50.67 ?
Cheers
Nobby.

EricMears

nobby1963 wrote: »

Morning All,
Just a quick question if I may .....
Our panels were installed Nov 2011.
Am I right in saying my new FIT rate is 50.67 ?
Cheers
Nobby.

These people certainly agree with that :-
http://uk-solarpanels.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/fit-rate-april-2017.html

Currently we get 49.43p per kWh that we generate as our solar PV panels were installed in November 2011. This will increase to 50.67p per kWh from April 2017.
The export rate will increase from 3.48p per kWH to 3.57p per kWh at the same time.

And, if like most of us, your exports are 'estimated' you'll effectively receive 52.455p for each kWh generated.

legoman62

Yes

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/feed-tariff-fit-tariff-table-1-april-2017

Martyn1981

EricMears wrote: »

Why do you feel the need to quibble on some minor point and keep an off-topic conversation going for days (weeks ?) ?

Oscar's assumption that there was power available but not being collected was probably wrong (unless he had already tried to make a DC connection and definitely wrong if he hadn't).

"Power" is a specific electrical energy term which you seem to be using in a very sloppy way.

I specifically warned him that it would be pointless trying to make such a connection but here we are with a barrage of ill-informed criticism based on the incorrect assumption that I was suggesting that he adopt that 'suggestion' and didn't need to worry about the normal principles of any electrical work if he did.

I simply suggested that care should be taken. You seem determined to argue on the basis that there will only be power if it's allowed to flow. That seems an incredibly pedantic argument against my saying that "the panels will still be under load with a serious amount of power".

If it upsets you that much, then I'll say that the power will not flow till you give it an opportunity, however, it's that very opportunity that I'm concerned about.

So I'll stick with my suggestion that care should be taken, you may think that's quibbling over some minor point, but I suspect that many PV'ers will not realise that instant power is available from a PV system in daylight, even if the inverter is broken or shutdown, and that the level of power is potentially fatal.

You suggest that Oscar is wrong that the panels are producing power, that may be technically correct in a pedant fashion, but I suspect most folk would give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he means power is available, instantly, with or without the inverter, so I felt that your dismissal of his statement could have been misinterpreted by others, not realising that a PV system in daylight carries a serious risk if mistakes or false assumptions are made.

So quibble away, and throw insults at me if you want, but silly arguments over the specific definition of various energy/electrical terms is of no interest to me, I simply didn't want anyone to make a mistake.

EricMears

Martyn1981 wrote: »

So quibble away, and throw insults at me if you want, but silly arguments over the specific definition of various energy/electrical terms is of no interest to me, I simply didn't want anyone to make a mistake.

Nobody reading my post carefully would have been prompted to make such a mistake !

Be very careful today - there's an infinitesimal but real chance of being struck by lightning or of a meteor landing on your property

legoman62

Nice day here today.....not quite Hawaii territory but 4.1 O's:T