Renewables: "talking 'bout my generation"

Sterlingtimes

My 2013 calendar usage was 26,077 kWh gas and 8,276 kWh electric.

I'm working on this on an ongoing basis. Here's the top part of my whole house survey.

The tumble dryer measurement is about 100 kWh a month. There is no economic case for replacement yet since the dryer is fairly new. This is about equal to January's total solar production.

The big gas culprit is the shower.

I am hoping that our high base load will be offset by the solar.

1961Nick

Andy_WSM wrote: »

Aha!

Yeah.....but only the top floor is ours.:rotfl:

Martyn1981

1961Nick wrote: »

Last November I installed an air source heat pump (1.3kWh) in the conservatory & binned the 5kWh (combined) fan heaters. It's working so well that it's responsible for January's 100kWh & December's 175kWh drop in consumption. I'm also pretty certain it's reduced the gas bill but I don't have any figures for a before & after comparison.

Hiya Nick, having read what you just posted, if it's not too much trouble, any chance you could have a quick read of this thread:

Discussion ... ASHP(Air/Air) with Solar pv ....

If the thread and what you've done are the same/similar, any chance you could add some info/comments/advice to that thread as I'd be interested to learn more. I've been pondering a small aircon unit (as a heat pump) for the living room when GCH is marginal, and excess PV generation is available.

Cheers.

Mart.

PS. Nice house, but those outdoor showers look a bit nippy! M.

Minrich

tunnel wrote: »

Hi Minrich and welcome to the madhouse,
In answer to your questions
1, HERE
2, See Mr Oscargrouch's signature
3, Just deduct from your generation meter(unless thats in the loft too)
4, Maybe helpfull to get an energy monitor, that way you can check when you're producing the most and give you the best time to turn on the power hungry appliances(usually when its sunny..lol)

Finally, When you get your head around it all, post your daily totals on here, you get an idea how your system is performing against like minded/similar/local installs

Thanks:beer:

But that website is as confusing as **** ! An easier one ?

Loads of energy monitors , which one ? Link me to it please .... I've an Ipad air and Iphone 6 if that makes any difference .

Also can a generation meter be placed somewhere near the Consumer Unit ? Is that an extra cost or does it come with a system ?

Andy_WSM

Minrich wrote: »

Thanks:beer:

Loads of energy monitors , which one ? Link me to it please

Also can a generation meter be placed somewhere near the Consumer Unit ? Is that an extra cost or does it come with a system ?

Wattson Anywhere would be my choice

Here's my dashboard: http://wattson.energyhive.com/dashboard/AndyW

Here's a link to buy the kit: http://www.diykyoto.com/uk/aboutus/wattson-anywhere

Your generation meter can be installed anywhere, mine is next to the inverter as there isn't a lot of room next to the main meter - also, some people might say you are not supposed to install your own kit in the DNO's meter cupboard, but not sure if that is regs or preference.

EricMears

Andy_WSM wrote: »

some people might say you are not supposed to install your own kit in the DNO's meter cupboard, but not sure if that is regs or preference.

In the days when DNOs supplied a cabinet gratis that might have been true though now that they make you buy your own they wouldn't have much chance of enforcing it.

I've actually got two cabinets - supplied gratis by East Midland Electricity - one is mainly the board's kit but with some of my own, the other has all my own stuff. so I don't think that 'rule' was ever enforced very strictly.

Always best to fit generation meter as close as possible to inverter. I doubt cable losses are ever very big but twenty years worth of them are worth avoiding.

tunnel

Minrich wrote: »

But that website is as confusing as **** ! An easier one ?

Post your rough location on here, its your original thread and i'll input and get your figures for you. Keeps this thread clear for its intended purpose.

Andy_WSM

Very pleased with my 2.83 O's today (11.1kWh) :T

John_Pierpoint

One of the advantages in having the generation meter next to the normal DINO import meter is that one can see immediately if the building is generating more than it is using. [The DINO meter will be showing as constant red light] If the panels are only supporting part of the load of the building, both meters will be flashing, Iif they are flashing at the same rate then the panels must be satisfying half the demand (or if you prefer you are running on half price 7p electricity).
Roughly speaking
Flashes per minute = Watts
..........................8 = 500
.........................17 = 1kW
..........................33 = 2kW
...........................30 = 3 kW

[But perhaps you don't have flashing electronic meters ?]

As I write this I saw the last flash of the day from the generation meter, while observing 5 flashes a minute from the importing meter.

Of course you can have all sorts of electronic displays to show more accurately what is happening - I did come back from a meeting last week only to discover that my OWL was reporting a consumption of over 2kW. I had rushed out leaving the blower in the bathroom on full power:eek:
Today
5.07 kWh = 1.4 Os a long way from a Hawaii 5 O

Andy_WSM

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

[The DINO meter will be showing as constant red light]

That only applies if your DNO meter is programmed that way. Mine isn't, so can't assume the same is true for everyone.