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Do you clean your panels?

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  • Lastonestanding
    Lastonestanding Posts: 62 Forumite
    10 Posts
    QrizB said:
    Could you share the "past payments" screen for 2021 and 2020?
    Are those bars meant to be quarterly? Some quarters are missing. And December 2021 seems to have a very tall bar for a winter quarter!

    I am aware that I missed one deadline for meter readings, perhaps I missed more.

    2018 - £226
    2019 - £241
    2020 - £259
    2021 - £244


  • QrizB
    QrizB Posts: 18,185 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Lastonestanding said:
    QrizB said:
    Could you share the "past payments" screen for 2021 and 2020?
    Are those bars meant to be quarterly? Some quarters are missing. And December 2021 seems to have a very tall bar for a winter quarter!

    I am aware that I missed one deadline for meter readings, perhaps I missed more.
    2018 - £226
    2019 - £241
    2020 - £259
    2021 - £244
    It wasn't the ££ that I was interested in, but the kWh for each period.
    The centre column on this bit:

    N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Vodafone BB / iD mobile. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
    2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 3.6kw inverter. 34 MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.
    Not exactly back from my break, but dipping in and out of the forum.
    Ofgem cap table, Ofgem cap explainer. Economy 7 cap explainer. Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs, Best kettle!
  • Lastonestanding
    Lastonestanding Posts: 62 Forumite
    10 Posts
    2018- 1553 kWh
    2019- 1610
    2020- 1693
    2021- 1568
  • QrizB
    QrizB Posts: 18,185 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Lastonestanding said:
    2018- 1553 kWh
    2019- 1610
    2020- 1693
    2021- 1568
    OK, so if you're making about 1600kWh/yr, you should be at 800kWh for 2022 to date. But you're only at 492kWh.
    It's possible that you've got especially filthy panels but it seems more likely to me that there's some sort of fault.

    N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Vodafone BB / iD mobile. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
    2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 3.6kw inverter. 34 MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.
    Not exactly back from my break, but dipping in and out of the forum.
    Ofgem cap table, Ofgem cap explainer. Economy 7 cap explainer. Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs, Best kettle!
  • Lastonestanding
    Lastonestanding Posts: 62 Forumite
    10 Posts
    I will see if my ladders will reach to clean the panels, ideally I should have the aerial moved.
  • ispookie666
    ispookie666 Posts: 1,194 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I would not be surprised if the panels have become faulty or degraded 
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6367022/dirty-solar-panels-warm-weather-lower-power-output/p5
    “Don't raise your voice, improve your argument." - Desmond Tutu

    System 1 - 14 x 250W SunModule SW + Enphase ME215 microinverters (July 2015)
    System 2 - 9.2 KWp + Enphase IQ7+ and IQ8AC (Feb 22 & Sep 24) + Givenergy AC Coupled inverter + 2 * 8.2KWh Battery (May 2022) + Mitsubishi 7.1 KW and 2* Daikin 2.5 KW A2A Heat Pump
  • Lastonestanding
    Lastonestanding Posts: 62 Forumite
    10 Posts
    I have had them cleaned, I got my ladders out, but I didn't have the right equipment.
    He only quoted £20, he was there for more than 30 minutes. He was just going to use his pole, but after 5 years of bird poo, he got his ladders out.
  • QrizB
    QrizB Posts: 18,185 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Lastonestanding said:
    I have had them cleaned, I got my ladders out, but I didn't have the right equipment.
    He only quoted £20, he was there for more than 30 minutes. He was just going to use his pole, but after 5 years of bird poo, he got his ladders out.

    Hopefully this will help.
    I know (from experimenting on my array) that covering one cell on one panel with my hand can have a huge effect on output, more than you'd expect.
    N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Vodafone BB / iD mobile. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
    2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 3.6kw inverter. 34 MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.
    Not exactly back from my break, but dipping in and out of the forum.
    Ofgem cap table, Ofgem cap explainer. Economy 7 cap explainer. Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs, Best kettle!
  • Lastonestanding
    Lastonestanding Posts: 62 Forumite
    10 Posts
    QrizB said:
    I know (from experimenting on my array) that covering one cell on one panel with my hand can have a huge effect on output, more than you'd expect.
    Yes, reduce the voltage on one panel and it reduces the voltage on them all, because of how they are connected.
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