How to bypass the middlemen

rogerblack

Cardew wrote: »

There is also the problem of 'islanding'.

In essence as PV panels can act as a generator feeding power to the grid, they can be a danger to people working on electricity supply lines.

As I understand it, this is generally irrelevant.

You can't use a 'normal' inverter - it will explode the moment you connect it to the grid, and even the cheapest £40 grid-tie inverter from ebay will shut down if you remove the mains.

gerry.47

PV solar panels:
1. To get a feed in tariff (FIT) i.e. a monetary return on the investment, the system, no matter what size, must be installed by a certified MCS (microgeneration certification scheme) installer. They will provide a certificate that your FIT company will require- a copy only.

2. The inverter is not what sends electricity back to the grid, a bi- directional meter is installed to do that. The inverter converts the DC current from the panels to AC current that can be used safely in the home, and is matched to the number of panels installed.

Incidentally, payback can be as quick as 6.5 years and is dependent on number of panels, angle and direction.

Hope this helps everyone.

Ich_2

They also need notified to the DNO within 28 days by the installer otherwise they comprise an illegal connection that the DNO can legally force the disconnection of (or the disconnection of the whole supply)