Solar Panels Installed But Only £3 Cheaper Electric Bill!

Luckyone

Hello There,

I live in a rented council bungalow & in June I had a roof full of solar panels fitted for free because the council are renting out my roof space to the solar panel company who get the profits from the extra electricity that goes back to the grid

They put them up all crooked so they had to come back to re fit them.

I had my electric bill today & after the very good summer we have had this year when the sun has been on the panels before I wake in the morning until 8-9pm most days I was expecting a huge reduction on my electric bill

This morning I had a huge shock when my electric bill came which was read & is only £3 cheaper than my last electric bill.

I have read about people who have had the solar panels fitted & have had a huge amount off their bills in the same area the council comes under.

Do you think they have been connected up properly?

Thank You xxx

Estwing

Did the council not provide any guidance on how to utilise the power generated or anything? If not there is plenty of info to trail through on this board, I've found it very helpful.

Do you know the size of system you have, and expected annual generation?

Luckyone

Estwing wrote: »

Did the council not provide any guidance on how to utilise the power generated or anything? If not there is plenty of info to trail through on this board, I've found it very helpful.

Do you know the size of system you have, and expected annual generation?

Thanks for replying,

No the council & the Solar panel company have given the tenants nothing on how to best use the generated electricity, because they don't want us to use it efficiently as they won't get so much money from the grid. I did google myself & look on here & as far as I can tell I have used them to the best I could.

I use electricity like the washing machine about a hour after the panels have had sun on them, only put that on extra, then something else later & so on.

I really am disappointed as it's been wall to wall sunshine on them for three months

I don't know what size the system is there are 16 panels I have a picture:



I just expected a lot more off the bill. I have no idea how or where to check the expected annual generation

xxx

Ectophile

Luckyone wrote: »

I use electricity like the washing machine about a hour after the panels have had sun on them, only put that on extra, then something else later & so on.

The panels don't store any sunlight. They generate the most electricity when the sun is directly on them, and quite a lot less when the sun has moved round too far, or on a cloudy day.

Any electricity that you don't use goes straight into the grid, and you've lost it.

So you need to be running the most energy-hungry appliances when the sun is overhead and shining on the panels.

Estwing

Luckyone wrote: »

Thanks for replying,

No the council & the Solar panel company have given the tenants nothing on how to best use the generated electricity, because they don't want us to use it efficiently as they won't get so much money from the grid.xxx

They will get the same income regardless of how much of the PV generated power you use, they will just submit the meter readings each quarter and claim whatever's been generated.

I'm guessing from your post you have quarterly bills, moving to monthly will help you monitor consumption closely. Can you knock up a simple spreadsheet and write down your PV meter and main meter each morning, that'll help you drill down to see what your daily use is, and daily generation. That's a start.

16 panels usually mean you've got a 4kwp (16 x 250w), so you should be looking at generating approx 2800 to 3000 kwh per year

Martyn1981

Hiya L1, that doesn't sound good or right. Can you think of any reason why the bills can't be directly compared? Was last years estimated (or this years)? Has demand changed etc? Have you changed companies or tariffs?

It sounds like you are doing things correctly, run stuff when it's sunny, and try to spread items out.

If the system isn't working well, I'd have thought the company running it would have some way of knowing generation was very low.

Don't worry about the export part, that won't be monitored, the company will simply get paid on an assumed (deemed) basis. The assumption being that 50% of what is generated and recorded on a new leccy meter (a total generation meter (TGM)) will then be exported. So they won't gain, nor lose regardless of how much of it you manage to nab.

Clearly the last 3 months are 3 of the best solar months, and have been really good this year, so if you can post some more info or ideas about your bills and consumption, somebody may be able to work out what has happened.

Mart.

Luckyone

Thanks everyone,

Nothing has changed in my usage I.E no new items that run on electric. using the same amount of electric as I would of without the panels, just shifted running what I would normally run around the day when the sun was on the panels which for the last three months has been all day from very early to late evening.

Yes I get quarterly bills, I've looked back on last years bill this quarter & it's just different by £4 lower than this bill.

I'm stumped because it's been said people are getting 25-30% cheaper electric bills by my council I am with

xxx

Luckyone

16 panels usually mean you've got a 4kwp (16 x 250w), so you should be looking at generating approx 2800 to 3000 kwh per year

Thanks do you know how much money that equates to?

I have no panels to show any meter readings from the solar panels they have not given us any.

xxx

Estwing

Lucky one, it looks like you know how to upload photos so it maybe an idea to upload a few showing where the inverter is and isolator switches etc. they will either be near your main meter/supply or in your loft.

Then we should be able to get an idea of what's what.

Also it might be an idea to get in touch with your council and ask for the energy/carbon/sustainability team and ask for one of them who knows about the technology to come out and see you, and show you what everything is and does, and hopefully give you some advice.

Regarding your bills, has your tariff gone up in the last year? Can you work out what kwh you used in both quarters, rather than comparing cost? This will show us if there is an actual reduction in your consumption rather than your bill.

rogerblack

Luckyone wrote: »

16 panels usually mean you've got a 4kwp (16 x 250w), so you should be looking at generating approx 2800 to 3000 kwh per year

Thanks do you know how much money that equates to?

You misunderstand how it works.
The council gets about 3000*14p = £500 or so.
You get only the electricity saving - nothing more.
Do you have access to your meter?

Silly problems such as the panels connected to the wrong flats supply are in principle possible.

HappyMJ

Luckyone wrote: »

16 panels usually mean you've got a 4kwp (16 x 250w), so you should be looking at generating approx 2800 to 3000 kwh per year

Thanks do you know how much money that equates to?

I have no panels to show any meter readings from the solar panels they have not given us any.

xxx

It's not much if you don't manage your usage efficiently....many more figures are needed. You need to get an energy monitor to see what your base usage is. Mine is 110W (mainly chargers and fridge...not much else). 8 hours a day is 880W...over 9 months when the generation is enough that would be 240kWh. Saving at 15p/kWh would be about £36...or about £3 per month. To me that's a 10% saving. Most of my energy is used in the evening for cooking, lighting and heating which solar panels do not supply as it's dark...