Solar panels

jimjames

Tonks52 wrote: »

Thanks. To add to my reply to Martyn, my rough location is Ashford Kent.

Not too far from me. This gives an indication of the generation we get from 3kWp

http://solar-panels-review.321web.co.uk/monthly-pv-solar-panel-generation.php

jimjames

Tonks52 wrote: »

I don't see how tbh. Really don't know where it all goes! Not like we have a swimming pool with electric heater..

What did you mean when you've said you've changed your usage to match the generation?

Interesting with the comments about being double average consumption. Ours is much the same as yours, for a family of 4 with 2 teens.

Martyn1981

jimjames wrote: »

Interesting with the comments about being double average consumption. Ours is much the same as yours, for a family of 4 with 2 teens.

Hiya. Not scientific, just low caffeine pondering, but if the UK population is around 65m with approx 25m homes, then that gives an average of 2.6 persons per home ....

..... so perhaps ..... (not sure about this) ..... the average consumption represents smaller occupancy. This might not have made so much difference in the past, with everyone sharing one living room and one telly, but may change factors today.

But I'm not sure it would make a difference to space heating, other than having a bigger house to heat, as that would be the same regardless of occupancy, and cooking / washing represent a smaller share of gas consumption.

Don't really know!

EricMears

Martyn1981 wrote: »

But I'm not sure it would make a difference to space heating, other than having a bigger house to heat, as that would be the same regardless of occupancy, and cooking / washing represent a smaller share of gas consumption.

Suspect you might find that the average house size has dropped a bit over the last couple of decades but - & more significantly - better insulation levels should mean that energy consumption has dropped.

Tonks52

Thanks Mart, much appreciated. Have another salesman coming round this afternoon so will see what he says. After that I'm going to try more local companies I think rather than the facebook ads.

Unfortunately my estiamted annual usage is right, thought maybe it was a hangover from the previous occupants but unfortuantely not. I've insulated a number of rooms since october so have more like 100mm of celotex in the walls, and upped the loft insulation to 300mm. hoping that all helps for this winter.
only one rom has LED bulbs, i was under the impression that its cheaper to just replace when the current bulbs go rather than do a complete refit?

If there is no limit to the number of panels that I can have on my roof (in terms of the residential vs commercial story that i was given from the previous salesman) what info do you need to advise on how many panels i should get? presumably area, or could you get that from my previous info?

thanks again!

theboylard

Use MSE's Cheap Energy Club - as a guide!

But I check multiple comparison sites as not all deals are on all checkers.

Dual fuel definitely not the cheapest for me - currently with Zog for Gas, just renewed on 3rd year as no one else comes near them.
For Electric we are currently with Iresa.
Our cheapest dual deal adds nearly £170 to our bills.

Martyn1981

Tonks52 wrote: »

i was under the impression that its cheaper to just replace when the current bulbs go rather than do a complete refit?

If there is no limit to the number of panels that I can have on my roof (in terms of the residential vs commercial story that i was given from the previous salesman) what info do you need to advise on how many panels i should get? presumably area, or could you get that from my previous info?

thanks again!

Afternoon Tonkers. First off, regarding light bulbs (or lamps!), it will depend on what you have. An LED will save you lots of money v's existing incandescent lamps, and a fortune v's halogens. The payback on replacing CFL's will be harder to justify, but may well still be cheaper than waiting.

Roof wise, it'll depend on the roof size, and also if you have any other suitable rooves (even north facing is possible, though pitch is crucial, 30d might be ok, but I'll only explain if you want me too).

For your main roof you need to work out the area as a start. Due to rules, problems, safety etc, you probably want to deduct 200mm from the top, bottom and sides.

If you measure the roof from the inside, then that will probably be close to correct.

Divide the roof area by 1.6m2 (1m by 1.6m panels), and that will give you a rough idea of the number of panels you can fit. It's never quite that easy and even playing with landscape or portrait layouts you may not be able to use all of the space, or after allowing for the 20mm gap between panels you may be just over.

Each panel will be at least 250Wp now, I'd say you want to look at 285Wp as a minimum. So available roof space in m2 / 1.6m2 x 0.285kWp = system size in kWp's.

There is another issue, and that's inverter output, as the DNO's allow automatic permission for a 3.68kW output inverter, but you have to ask for permission to go bigger.

In the UK you will see very little capping from a 5kWp array run through a 3.68kW capped inverter across a year. There are also other solutions, but that's for later too, if you have the space and are interested.

Lots of knowledgeable PV'ers on here, and as we have no vested interest, we will say 'don't bother' if it doesn't work well enough for you.

jimjames

Tonks52 wrote: »

Thanks Mart, much appreciated. Have another salesman coming round this afternoon so will see what he says. After that I'm going to try more local companies I think rather than the facebook ads.

If you're looking for recommendations, we used Solar Advanced Systems for our panels back in 2011. They're based in Edenbridge but cover Kent & Sussex

Tonks52

Thanks again! Sorry for silence, been waiting for my quote to come through. Just received the below, how does this sound to you?


14 Panel 265 watt, Solar edge, solic hot water system, mains voltage optimiser = £9440

14 Panel 265 watt, Solar Edge = £8540

14 Panel 265 watt, Single string = £7000

Merlin139

Tonks52 wrote: »

Thanks again! Sorry for silence, been waiting for my quote to come through. Just received the below, how does this sound to you?


14 Panel 265 watt, Solar edge, solic hot water system, mains voltage optimiser = £9440

14 Panel 265 watt, Solar Edge = £8540

14 Panel 265 watt, Single string = £7000

The system they are quoting for is 3.71 kWh's. Is your roof not big enough for a 4kWh system?

I had a SolarEdge 3.975 kWh system (15 x 265 Watt) installed in May 2014 including an IBoost for under £6K.

No idea why they want you to buy a voltage optimiser? No one can show any proof that these do anything.

Even for a SolarEdge system I think you should be paying no more than £5.5K

I think you need to tell the company to do one!