Renewables: "talking 'bout my generation"

jackieblack

Sirlaughalot wrote: »

Hi Mart,

Those generation figures are very interesting WNW system. You say you may have greater Leccy savings if it was not for the ESE system. Your figures may provide hope for the home owners who will not have panels on the front of their homes at any cost, for some women it`s a big problem. But they may still be able to generate a reasonable return on a rear(unsuitable) roof while still doing their bit for the planet.

Just a thought!

SL

:huh:
Care to substantiate that?

Sirlaughalot

jackieblack wrote: »

:huh:
Care to substantiate that?

Yes my wife and her clan of friends at this weekends barbecue. The consensus was it made the house look ugly so if they had to go on had to be on the back roof!

SL

zeupater

Martyn1981 wrote: »

... Did anyone see the very small news piece on BBC yesterday morning about PV generation? They did a 2 min interview with a lady who lectures on renewables, in response to PV generating more leccy in July than wind (first time PV has beaten wind).

Question from the news team, 'people must be regretting not installing PV after this recent spell, but with the weather prediction for next week, probably not worth installing now.'

She answered very simply, and clearly, that PV is all about averages, and also said how far it had come in such a short time. She also explained that PV's success was down to weather and climate, with wind doing better at the other end of the year ....

Hi

I saw the news item and thought that for an interview with a Doctor of renewables energy from university x, the impression was pretty poor - many who contribute on this forum & others would probably have a higher awareness of the subject ...

For example, when questioned about the typical energy savings from a typical pv system it took considerable 'pushing' for the eventual answer to come back at 50% ... completely wrong - anyone in such a position should be aware that a typical household would consume ~3300kWh/year of electricity (DECC) with the pv energy savings being nowhere near 1650kWh/year. When asked if she had pv herself there was much uncomfortable shuffling on the seat, some flowery reasoning why not, involving words like 'cottage', 'off-south' & 'non-optimal' .... What really is annoying is that due to having the title 'Dr of ...' the individual is considered as being 'expert' and therefore having knowledge & viewpoints which are worthy of consideration by broadcasters & government alike .... it's therefore no real wonder why there are so many issues with both programmes & policies ...

HTH
Z

zeupater

jackieblack wrote: »

:huh:
Care to substantiate that?

Hi Jackie

Thinking around the issue of front vs back in the female mind - I'd guess that the post included a generalised view similar to .... As long as a, um ... errr, 'lady' was happy with her facial makeup then she wouldn't think about asking 'does my bum look big in this' .... :cool:

<Hard hat on, ducks under table for cover> ....

... anyway, taking the proposed viewpoint to it's conclusion in another example - if Cardew likes barbecues and not panels (s)he must be female .... after a little consideration (<1 millisecond), probably a null-hypothesis then ....

<Gender harmony restored .... Hard hat off> ... :kisses3:

HTH
Z

jackieblack

Sirlaughalot wrote: »

Yes my wife and her clan of friends at this weekends barbecue. The consensus was it made the house look ugly so if they had to go on had to be on the back roof!

SL

I only ask because the only negative comments I've ever heard about panels on the front of houses have been from men
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I guess they could be the same 'type' of woman (you know, those stereotypical ones ) that won't leave the house without make-up and buys a car based on the colour :cool:

Martyn1981

zeupater wrote: »

Hi

I saw the news item and thought that for an interview with a Doctor of renewables energy from university x, the impression was pretty poor - many who contribute on this forum & others would probably have a higher awareness of the subject ...

For example, when questioned about the typical energy savings from a typical pv system it took considerable 'pushing' for the eventual answer to come back at 50% ... completely wrong -

HTH
Z

Hiya Zeup, I don't recall this example and the others. I wonder if I caught a filler piece, as I think sometimes guests pop back on every 30 mins. The bit I saw was very short, only about 2 mins in total for the 'PV bigger than wind' and interview.

Sorry to go a little OT, but I also think it's a shame that people don't really understand PV or FITs. There was a massive boost of installs in the last week of June, and a massive slump in demand for most of July, all over a 3.5% FIT degression.

Also so many people get confused when you mention generation, asking what I do with all the hot water, or how the panels store the leccy.

Back to generation, July is going to smash all records for me, and the first week of August looks pretty decent (at the moment).

Mart.

sly_dog_jonah

EricMears wrote: »

The £35 for PP sounds a bit of a rip-off ! I simply emailed our planning dept saying that it was my understanding that SPs would be a permitted development and asking them to confirm or deny that. Answer received (also by email) almost immediately and without fee.

Also a bit surprised at a separate fee for building control inspection. Our installer arranged that himself & included it in his quotation.

http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/planning-and-building-control/do-i-need-planning-permission/householder-development-plannin
<< I wanted written confirmation that PP wasn't needed, our council charged £30+VAT for this.

Building control inspection was to ensure we had all necessary paperwork in case we needed to sell the house. Our installer didn't have the qualifications to self-certify the Building Control certificate.

Getting back on topic, we heard such a huge clap of thunder at lunchtime I thought our PV array or TV aerial had been hit. Fortunately it hadn't but the storms have impacted generation today: 8.8kWh so far.

EricMears

sly_dog_jonah wrote: »

http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/planning-and-building-control/do-i-need-planning-permission/householder-development-plannin
I wanted written confirmation that PP wasn't needed, our council charged £30+VAT for this.

Hope this little money-spinner doesn't catch on ! NE Derbys DC are still happy to answer simple email queries without a fee.

N.B. You may have got the answer in writing, but the page does make it clear that you're paying for an informal opinion. I suspect that what you really wanted was a 'Certificate of Lawful Development' - and they usually cost a lot more than that but do at least come with a guarantee.

EricMears

EricMears wrote: »

Already generated 3 kWh today so hard to think this month won't become my best ever.

No surprise that we managed more than 6 kWh today so July 2013 is now definitely my best ever month. In fact it was 17.83 kWh and might just struggle up to 17.84.

Now 27% above July pvgis forecast.

Just 7kWh short of 7000 kWh since installation (15 Aug 2011) so confident we'll pass that landmark this week

For those that like to work things out that way, total FIT payments (collected or due) are now 27.4% of installation cost and my best guess is that it might be 28% on second anniversary suggesting a crude 'payback period' of <8years.

Oscargrouch

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Hiya Zeup,
Back to generation, July is going to smash all records for me, and the first week of August looks pretty decent (at the moment).

Mart.

'Can I borrow yer crystal ball'; as you're not into the forecasts; are you ?

sly_dog_jonah wrote: »

I wanted written confirmation that PP wasn't needed, our council charged £30+VAT for this.

Building control inspection was to ensure we had all necessary paperwork in case we needed to sell the house. Our installer didn't have the qualifications to self-certify the Building Control certificate.

Think that charge may be worth a re-visit; why should your council charge for asking a question to ensure you are following their rules? Crazy World.....:mad:

5.4 O's today.......... Happy Days.......:rotfl: