Solar panels - how much electricity are your panels actually generating?

apennysaved_4

Hi.
I'm thinking about installing solar panels and have seen lots of claims about how much they will generate and the pay back times. What I would like to know is the actual real life experience of people who have solar panels (with or without batteries) to see how much electricity they are actually generating.
Thanks!

Verdigris

There's already a thread.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3853851/renewables-talking-bout-my-generation#latest

If you work on 1kWh/Wp/annum in the UK, you won't be disappointed if the array has reasonable orientation.

QrizB

There are a few of us here, participating in that thread, who have had them for around ten years, and have average daily outputs of 2.5 - 3.0 O's (that's 2.5 - 3.0 watt-hours per watt of panel). Obviously the number is much bigger in the summer and much smaller in winter.

Laycity

Not sure what you’re asking? I don’t think anyone here will claim they are a great financial investment anymore unless they got them 10 years ago.

What are your reasons for installing them? 

Spies

Is the OP referring to instantaneous power?

I've calculated my payback time between 9 and 16 years depenending on what happens with unit prices and export tariffs. 

apennysaved_4

Verdigris said:

There's already a thread.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3853851/renewables-talking-bout-my-generation#latest

If you work on 1kWh/Wp/annum in the UK, you won't be disappointed if the array has reasonable orientation.

Thanks - will take a look.

apennysaved_4

Laycity said:

Not sure what you’re asking? I don’t think anyone here will claim they are a great financial investment anymore unless they got them 10 years ago.

What are your reasons for installing them? 

My motivation is not really to save huge sums of money in the short / medium term. I've reached the time of life that I have some financial security and want to invest in something like this to do my bit to reduce emissions. I expect to be in this house for the next 10 years at least. I got rid of my petrol car and now lease an EV, so the next logically step is to start generating (and storing) my own electricity. And then get an air source heat pump, but that's another story...

The question is to see if they actually generate the electricity that is claimed. I don't want to spend £000 and then not be able to light a bulb! The next question will be 'what deliver the best kwh for the buck?'

gefnew

Here is some good figures to plough through to give a good perspective.
http://solar-panels-review.321web.co.uk/index.php/yearly-comparison-of-solar-pv

Martyn1981

Try this link to PVGIS, most of us have found it very accurate. For now, don't worry too much about all the options, just click on your location, leave 1kWp in the size, pop in the roof pitch (approx) nad orientation (based on zero for due south), and see what it suggests (per kWp) for your location, and how it varies across the months.

https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/#PVP

Petriix

I'm averaging slightly over 1Wh per Wp for my South facing 3.42kWp array. We've earned/saved about half the purchase price back in 4.5 years, including FIT payments. Depending on energy prices, that looks like accelerating over the next few years. The case for batteries is also starting to stack up.

Coffeekup

Question... What is per WP?