Landlord installed solar panels MCS issue

SBarnard

Exactly! And we may still see some benefit from the SEG fund. They're talking about improving insulation, windows/doors, installing heat pumps.

JohnM1950

Hopefully you'll save enough to compensate for the cost of the electric the inverter/controller uses!

SBarnard

It is so far. I'm seeing a small reduction in estimated monthly direct debit amounts going forward. Should be even better now we have longer, brighter days.

QrizB

SBarnard said:

It is so far. I'm seeing a small reduction in estimated monthly direct debit amounts going forward. Should be even better now we have longer, brighter days.

If you're seeing a benefit already, after Nov/Dec/Jan, you just wait until March comes around!

(Now I've jinxed it and we'll all have the dullest March on record. Sorry folk.)

Martyn1981

JohnM1950 said:

Hopefully you'll save enough to compensate for the cost of the electric the inverter/controller uses!

Can I ask what you mean by that? I'm aware that one of the downsides to a wind generator is the leccy consumed 24/7 by the inverter to be 'ready'.

But for PV, I thought the inverters operated using the leccy generation, with next to no consumption from the household? The PV inverter effectively being off, till the minimum required power is being generated, then switching off again, once generation falls back down.

SBarnard

I think it depends on the inverter and the set up.

I don't have batteries, I didn't have the option, it was just we're installing this system this way, either have it or don't.

The inverter I have relies on mains/grid power to run so there is a small draw from the grid for it to work. But the power generated by the panels is greater than that. Most days I can see, on my Octopus app a flat bit of the graph where nothing is drawn from them and I'm running everything on sunshine.

It's not perfect, and not the exact set up I would have chosen, but I didn't pay for it so I'm happy.

I do hope the landlord gets enough back in SEG payments to justify the time and cost of installation.

QrizB

Martyn1981 said:

JohnM1950 said:

Hopefully you'll save enough to compensate for the cost of the electric the inverter/controller uses!

Can I ask what you mean by that? I'm aware that one of the downsides to a wind generator is the leccy consumed 24/7 by the inverter to be 'ready'.

But for PV, I thought the inverters operated using the leccy generation, with next to no consumption from the household? The PV inverter effectively being off, till the minimum required power is being generated, then switching off again, once generation falls back down.

Agreed. My Solis for example claims to use less than 1W when it's dark.

(I'm always suspicious of motives when a brand-new poster pops up to make a controversial statement.)

Qyburn

Solaredge inverters have a claimed "night mode" consumption of 2.5W, but mine has actual measured consumption averaging around 18W. Others on the Solaredge Facebook page say the same.

Magnitio

I have Huawei hybrid inverter and batteries. I have calculated that they require an average of about 40W, which is quite a bit when the house consumption overnight (when the fridge/freezer are idling) drops to about the same. There was nothing on the specification sheets for the inverter and batteries that informs you of this usage.