Solar Panels - Guidance needed on installed system.

IgnoramusMSE

First post, so be gentle with me – I have no knowledge or experience with Solar Panels. I hope this might be a good place to get some advice.

I have inherited the management of my mother’s Solar Panels with the death of my father. I am not sure what I have inherited!

After reading through several online websites and posts I am confused about what I have inherited and if I should be doing more to ensure my mother gets the best benefit from what has been left for me to manage.

Firstly, there ARE Solar Panels on the roof! Box ticked!

There is a battery of some kind in the loft. I know this has Wi-Fi access but haven’t worked out how to log into it yet and don’t know what management features are offered.

I must submit a quarterly metre reading from a dedicated solar energy metre to British Gas Feed-in-tariff(?)

The house electricity metre has three readings which cycle through "Import, Export and Bill" numbers.

The house electricity metre readings (I believe) are sent to Utility Warehouse by some kind of smart metre (a new physical metre was installed within the last two years). For some reason they also send a human metre reader from Lowri Beck to the house at intervals. They never visit at a convenient time, so I end up having to telephone the metre readings in.

Initial questions from an ignoramus. Can anybody tell me:

1.       What do the Import, Export numbers on the electricity metre mean?

2.       The electricity bills seem high (higher than mine anyway) for a smaller household which is theoretically running its electricity from Solar Panels. The Solar Panels do generate electricity for the household to use?  Have I misunderstood something?

3.       Is the money received back from British Gas Feed-in-Tariff the total amount that the Solar Panels have generated or is it just the surplus that has been generated once the household have used what is needed?

4.       Should I be doing something clever with the batteries in the loft, or do they look after themselves?

5.       Why do Lowri Beck send a human to read metres which I believe are automatically read by a smart metre?

I have been left no management instructions and just want to start to understand what I must do to maximise the household’s benefit from the Solar Panels. I expect I will continue to ask stupid questions so please be nice to me!

NB: I am computer literate but not clued up on Solar Panels.

 

[Deleted User]

IgnoramusMSE said:

First post, so be gentle with me – I have no knowledge or experience with Solar Panels. I hope this might be a good place to get some advice.

I have inherited the management of my mother’s Solar Panels with the death of my father. I am not sure what I have inherited!

After reading through several online websites and posts I am confused about what I have inherited and if I should be doing more to ensure my mother gets the best benefit from what has been left for me to manage.

Firstly, there ARE Solar Panels on the roof! Box ticked!

There is a battery of some kind in the loft. I know this has Wi-Fi access but haven’t worked out how to log into it yet and don’t know what management features are offered.

I must submit a quarterly metre reading from a dedicated solar energy metre to British Gas Feed-in-tariff(?)

The house electricity metre has three readings which cycle through "Import, Export and Bill" numbers.

The house electricity metre readings (I believe) are sent to Utility Warehouse by some kind of smart metre (a new physical metre was installed within the last two years). For some reason they also send a human metre reader from Lowri Beck to the house at intervals. They never visit at a convenient time, so I end up having to telephone the metre readings in.

Initial questions from an ignoramus. Can anybody tell me:

1.       What do the Import, Export numbers on the electricity metre mean?

Import is electricity that is imported into the property from the Grid that you pay for. Export is electricity that your solar panels export to the Grid. As you are paid Feed In Tariffs, you can ignore the export reading. FIT is paid for based on the total solar generation. There will be a separate meter to record these units.

2.       The electricity bills seem high (higher than mine anyway) for a smaller household which is theoretically running its electricity from Solar Panels. The Solar Panels do generate electricity for the household to use?  Have I misunderstood something?

No two houses are the same. Your home gets first dibs on any solar. For example, if your panels are generating 1kW, and you turn on a 3kW kettle only 2kW will be imported from the Grid.

3.       Is the money received back from British Gas Feed-in-Tariff the total amount that the Solar Panels have generated or is it just the surplus that has been generated once the household have used what is needed?

You are paid for every kWh that the array generates plus a payment is made for export. Most homes use deemed export based on 50% of the generated total. The rates paid depend on when the array was installed and they are updated annually.

4.       Should I be doing something clever with the batteries in the loft, or do they look after themselves?

Without knowing more about your system, this us an impossible question to answer.

5.       Why do Lowri Beck send a human to read metres which I believe are automatically read by a smart metre?

The generation meter is unlikely to be smart. As it is public money that is being paid, suppliers like to know that you have not added a few hundred units to the generation figure.  It could also be because the smart meters are not communicating with the supplier and your mother is on the PSR.

I have been left no management instructions and just want to start to understand what I must do to maximise the household’s benefit from the Solar Panels. I expect I will continue to ask stupid questions so please be nice to me!

NB: I am computer literate but not clued up on Solar Panels.

The Golden Rule for those on FITs is use energy when the sun shines. 

 

Xxxxxxxx. To get round forum posting restrictions.

matt_drummer

Hi,

Are you sure that the battery in the loft is actually a battery?

It might be the inverter for the solar panels.

Solar panels generate DC and the house runs on AC, there has to be an inverter to convert the electricity from the solar panels into something the house can use.

Some panels have built it inverters but most people have the panels connected to one inverter and it could be that `battery' in the loft.

Krakkkers

It won't be a battery in your loft it will be an inverter.

matt_drummer

It could be a battery, I have seen batteries in lofts.

Krakkkers

Do batteries have wifi access as he stated?

matt_drummer

I don't know if the OP is an he or a she?

Yes, battery back up systems can have wifi access, mine does.

Krakkkers

Then we would need a bit more info.

User70200

How old is the system as could be on the old FiT scheme or the more recent export tariff.

[Deleted User]

User70200 said:

How old is the system as could be on the old FiT scheme or the more recent export tariff.

BG is asking for solar readings and the supply is with UW.

Reed_Richards

Arghhhh. 
Metre: a unit of length (in fact the S.I. base unit of length).
Meter: a device that measures how much electricity (or gas, or water) you have used.

At lest the OP is consistently wrong but 11 times in one post was more than I could take.

My battery is in the loft, by the way.