Renewables: "talking 'bout my generation"

Martyn1981

xcntalien wrote: »

Thanks for the welcomes & guidance.

I've registered at solargis dot info and trying that pvSpot jobby, but it just says "no data yet, wait 5 secs and click refresh"... it's been like that for an hour - oh well...

Hiya, this might work, rather than just refreshing, try clicking on the name of your array in the top(ish) LHS. Sometimes I've found that simply refreshing seems to do nothing!

If you've got a SE inverter, does that mean you're running power optimisers then? Are they good, do you get to look on-line at the individual output of each panel? I'd be glued to the screen all day! Do they vary much?

Sorry, loads of questions.

That is high voltage, do you know how high it is without the PV. If it's over 253V regularly (with or without the PV) then the DNO has to upgrade it. I assume the software update is to allow the SE to 'pump it out' at a higher voltage limit perhaps up to 256V.

Just noticed you must have 265 Panda's. I was only telling Shafeeq about those recently. Small world.

Mart.

xcntalien

Hi Martyn - Nope, it's still not playing the game - I'll try PVGIS later.

The system I went for has the power optimisers and the SE Monitoring Portal does give the history of the day's production, panel by panel. The installer hasn't completed the config yet (it's just a long string rather than a rectangle of 5 panels by 3 panels.

Not sure if each panel varies at the moment, I will have to check them out. I've got no shading by any object until the sun goes over the ridge tiles after 3pm (no chimney, aerials, etc), so any variation I guess will be inherent in the panel quality, batch and individual ageing I suppose.

Wrt the high voltage, I only became aware of it when I saw the inverter shutdown when I was in the utility room loading the washer and later on when the installer explained how to a see a graph of inverter power output against the grid AC via the SE Monitoring Portal - so, not sure if it is high without the PV.

...and the Panda 265s - I had decided on them a few months back and only came across Shafeeq's post in this thread via a Google hit when I was having a last minute panic before paying the deposit! My 2x main interests in them were that a 265W module would allow me to stick to my 5x3 layout and the tolerance was 0 to +5W.

Ooops! probably gone off-topic now - back to The Generation Game; the sun has come out and those lovely grey-white clouds must be reflecting the photon torpedos from the west to the east as I've just touched 21kWh and the inverter is reading 350w as I type !:T

Stuart.

shafeeq

Hi

My best figures so far 17.22 kw beating yesterday figures of 11.44.

Shafeeq

Martyn1981

xcntalien wrote: »

Not sure if each panel varies at the moment, I will have to check them out. I've got no shading by any object until the sun goes over the ridge tiles after 3pm (no chimney, aerials, etc), so any variation I guess will be inherent in the panel quality, batch and individual ageing I suppose.

Stuart.

Thanks Stuart, I was just being nosey, as someone kindly PM'd me a password recently so I could see how it worked. Fascinating to see the differences between individual panels, though admittedly quite small. I assume that you could lose a panel completely (not just to shade) and the system would still run ok proportionately.

I'm looking into a SE system for the front of my house (WNW), but the DNO will probably turn it down as the total will be miles over the 3.68kW limit. Highly unlikely they'll take split orientation into account, but worth a punt under G83/1 stage 2.

If that fails, I'll have to 'play' with my existing system, as Baldrick might say 'I have a cunning plan!'

I'm ESE too, but at 27deg (2.4 at 30deg & 1.2 at 20deg) so more summer optimised than your winter friendly roof pitch. Got a 21 today.

PVspot was spot on for me till this month, now the figures are a little out, I think this month's weather is too erratic, even after zooming in.

Mart.

Oscargrouch

xcntalien wrote: »

Ooops! probably gone off-topic now - back to The Generation Game; the sun has come out and those lovely grey-white clouds must be reflecting the photon torpedos from the west to the east as I've just touched 21kWh and the inverter is reading 350w as I type !:T Stuart.

Things are looking up:j:j did 15.2 kWh today:T:T:rotfl:.
Stuart, check your PM's.:D

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

I've averaged about 12kWh per day so far in June so today's 27kWh is a step in the right direction. That leaves me having to average 22kWh per day for the rest of the month just to reach the PVGIS estimate. :rotfl:

jackieblack

Yesterday's 14kWh has now (finally!) put me back on target for monthly prediction

Hopefully today will put us ahead as the forecast is not looking so great for the next few days

RoxyK

xcntalien wrote: »

Thanks for the welcomes & guidance.

So a couple of days have gone by since my install and I've got an annoying issue with the inverter shutting down when mains AC spikes over 252V - sometimes for 40mins; I knew our supply was ropey out here in the sticks, but it appears to prefer to spend most of its lunchtime over 249V. :mad:

I'm waiting for a firmware update on the inverter, which according to my installer, should stop the shutdowns (unless mains AC goes really high!). Does anyone else have experience of this?

Congratulations and welcome to the addiction

I monitor my Eltek inverter online and it also will shut down if it goes really high, but AC is currently 254 and running fine. I do have spikes in my reading today where its shut down for a while so that is fairly normal. Hope you get your firmware upgrade soon. Funnily enough I'm expecting a firmware upgrade too as my total for April is showing as zero on the graph

John_Pierpoint

I too have an electricity supply that often runs at 250V +.
I've not managed to catch the 3.6 kW inverter disconnecting yet; though the fins were getting as hot as a winter radiator at noon today. I opened the window to let the draft in!

So the electricity company has a way to choke off these expensive FiT payments?

Does the supplier get to charge more by supplying an non-required "over voltage"?

Not very "Green" ?!?

xcntalien

Evening all - I've had 3, maybe 4 inverter shutdowns today if I've interpreted the SE monitoring graph correctly and a new AC grid personal best of 253.3V at 1pm :mad:

That said, the installer has been in touch at 5pm and informed me that SE have tweaked some parameters and the graph shows another 253.3V peak at 4pm which didn't shutdown the inverter - so fingers crossed.

17.3kWh today before the monsoon season begins :rotfl: