Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Solar PV Production  (Read 103837 times)

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #45 on: December 04, 2013, 10:45:42 pm »
The good thing about PV panels is that they work better  on day light rather than hot sun .
 I was a bit concerned that we might have been moved on to a higher rate tariff by our supplier  of we had PV panels and were using less of their electricity .
couldn't find out about it on EON's web site so we made a phone call to them ..
Yipeeee 
No change in the rate charged for night time useage or extras in the day time.

 We've been out and purchased several three year guaranteed mechanical time clocks for £4 each  so we can put the dish washer , washing machine , dryer , fridge and freezers on staggered interval day time events ,running only one appliance at a time so we can make the most of the system .
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

regen

  • Joined Jan 2013
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #46 on: December 08, 2013, 09:41:26 pm »
"The good thing about PV panels is that they work better  on day light rather than hot sun ."

PV panels produce most when the sun is shining but they will produce more when the sun is shining and there is a cooling breeze than if it is hot and muggy. Daylight in December will not produce very much at all.


"We've been out and purchased several three year guaranteed mechanical time clocks for £4 each  so we can put the dish washer , washing machine , dryer , fridge and freezers on staggered interval day time events ,running only one appliance at a time so we can make the most of the system ."

At those prices please make sure that they are rated for appliances like washers and dryers which use a lot of leccy.  You are unlkely to save much by staggering them using time closcks due to the vagaries of the welsh weather.  better to fit an immersun or similar device which will divert all your spare leccy over and above that used by the house into your water tank then use that hot water in dish washer and ashing machine.

Regen

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #47 on: December 10, 2013, 03:48:44 am »
Thanks regen ,

 For the letting me know about the best generation conditions , I tried to find information about  typical volumes of production related to the time of the year , but so far have not found much out that is less than 9 yrs. old...

Thankfully the solar PV generation technology has come on in massive bounds since then .
 
Happen I will get the full rundown for the panels they are currently fitting when the guys come and see us on Friday  to do the survey and start talking money .

 It has been a valuable timely intervention / post on your part .... thanks .

 The time clocks are 13 amp resistive or induction loading so  no problems there .
 We don't have a hot water tank  have an all singing all dancing balanced combi oil boiler instead .. the max hot water we hold in the system is about 20 litres for the taps and about 300 inthe rads of which their heater assembly & tank holds about 15 litres.
 
The dishwasher gets put one once a day just after lunch time so we have all clean stuff for making the evening meal for three of us.  It's more for me than the actual dish washing event .. I have a vicious  campylobacter problem still with me from 40 years ago so everything gets a sterilizing hot wash and heat dried instead of using things like dishcloths and tea towels. It is a Bosch cold fill as are most,  for the thermal efficiency engineers reckon that only heating the water you actually  use is far cheaper than keeping zillions of litres  in a tank & making the piping system hot.

 The washing machine is an AAA rated cold fill only washing  machine usually on a 40 oC wash & is out in the garage in it's own little enclosure so no hot water is used from the house supply.
 The dryer is also one of the higher efficiency ones that uses far less juice than the old one did.

 Now our daughter is older and not creating so much washing we  are  looking at the modern version of the fan assisted " Flatley "  low current clothes rack dryer system / device .( Our recently deceased old Aunt had one for over 50  years & swore by it ).
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

regen

  • Joined Jan 2013
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #48 on: December 11, 2013, 06:11:17 am »
Hi Clodhopper,

Last 12 months or so production figs for 3.92 ground mount in carms south facing.

dec 12- 96kwh, Jan 13-88kwh, Feb 13- 180kwh, Mar 13- 304kwh, apr13-416kwh, May 13- 488kwh, Jun13-502kwh, Jul13- 563kwh, aug13- 424kwh, sept13-307kwh,oct13 -177kwh, nov13-139kwh

I actually manage to use about 1500kwh of the 3500kwh produced annually the rest would go into the grid if I did not send it to the store.

"It is a Bosch cold fill as are most,  for the thermal efficiency engineers reckon that only heating the water you actually  use is far cheaper than keeping zillions of litres  in a tank & making the piping system hot"

True if you are using oil,gas or electricty to heat the water.  By having oil and wood feeding into a thermal store and also dumping nearly all the excess leccy (about 2000kwh pa) into the store va an immersun for which I get paid about 2p per unit anyway under the 50% deemed rule as well as the FIT and putting the dishwasher and washing mc onto hot fill I get to choose when they are switched on - typically anytime of the year when the sun is shining because i can then guarantee that I will be producing significantly more than i am using.

We have not used any oil for nearly 3 years and our leccy use from the meter is down to less than 2500 units PA. Wood cost is about £120pa to kepp the house at a minimim of 18 degs C.

Have a look at the navitron PV forum - loads of info on systems and pricing.  Some have got 4kw systems for less than £6000.

Good Luck
Regen


Big Light

  • Joined Aug 2011
    • Facebook
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #49 on: December 11, 2013, 08:24:47 pm »
Clodhopper if you read through this thread you will see Dan and my monthly figures also

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #50 on: December 11, 2013, 11:59:20 pm »
Yes BL  ..... thanks & also thanks to Regen and the rest of you guys and gals for putting the data up for my perusal

 I've pored over the posts many times to try and let things run through my head so I can sort the fly muck from the pepper.

 It's pity that at the time I couldn't have afforded a bio mass & a  1500 litre heat sink  as a linked in system when the place was renovated  four years ago but that in itself is a bit immaterial , as we don't have the space in the bungalow for either .

Trying to get such add on's in an out building would run to upsetting the spoilt witch  next door who bitches & screeches at any & everything many times a day , planning could be very fraught.    You should have heard her yelp & yorp in her bungalow when I put our caravan on my property  ..you'd have thought she was paying the mortgage and council tax.  :roflanim:

 Her live in partner gets a right ear bashing almost daily ....poor bugger.

 She can't do anything about the solar panels being installed as they are allowed under the Welsh government's green policy initiative and I am under no obligation to say anything to her .
So when they are fitted I expect that she'll go in to permanent squawk mode at warp speed plus VAT .... when that happens I bet he doesn't stay around much longer.
« Last Edit: December 12, 2013, 12:07:36 am by cloddopper »
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #51 on: December 19, 2013, 02:23:37 am »
We had the survey done last Friday . got a good price for £ 5, 200 for a 4 kWp set up held for four months unless there are drastic price increases .
 On reading the small print, I noticed that it said , " Whilst there is not normally any need for planning control or building control interference I should do my own checking or ask them to help ( for a fee? )
So I'm sending two recorded letter off tomorrow when the P.O's. open .
 
Have any of you in Carmarthenshire that have had the PV generation panels set up installed met with any problems in this area ????
« Last Edit: December 02, 2014, 03:20:13 pm by cloddopper »
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

Stereo

  • Joined Aug 2012
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #52 on: December 19, 2013, 08:53:36 am »
Hi Clodhopper,

Last 12 months or so production figs for 3.92 ground mount in carms south facing.

dec 12- 96kwh, Jan 13-88kwh, Feb 13- 180kwh, Mar 13- 304kwh, apr13-416kwh, May 13- 488kwh, Jun13-502kwh, Jul13- 563kwh, aug13- 424kwh, sept13-307kwh,oct13 -177kwh, nov13-139kwh

I actually manage to use about 1500kwh of the 3500kwh produced annually the rest would go into the grid if I did not send it to the store.

"It is a Bosch cold fill as are most,  for the thermal efficiency engineers reckon that only heating the water you actually  use is far cheaper than keeping zillions of litres  in a tank & making the piping system hot"

True if you are using oil,gas or electricty to heat the water.  By having oil and wood feeding into a thermal store and also dumping nearly all the excess leccy (about 2000kwh pa) into the store va an immersun for which I get paid about 2p per unit anyway under the 50% deemed rule as well as the FIT and putting the dishwasher and washing mc onto hot fill I get to choose when they are switched on - typically anytime of the year when the sun is shining because i can then guarantee that I will be producing significantly more than i am using.

We have not used any oil for nearly 3 years and our leccy use from the meter is down to less than 2500 units PA. Wood cost is about £120pa to kepp the house at a minimim of 18 degs C.

Have a look at the navitron PV forum - loads of info on systems and pricing.  Some have got 4kw systems for less than £6000.

Good Luck
Regen

Interesting. Do you have some way of turning on the immersion only when the panels are generating? This seems like a really good idea. We have a store too, currently heated by a wood stove and gas combi as back up. But it would make sense to put a good charge into it when the panels were generating more than we are using. 

henchard

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Carmarthenshire
    • Two Retirees Start a New Life in Wales
    • Facebook
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #53 on: December 19, 2013, 01:35:44 pm »
We had the survey done las Friday . got a good price for £ 5, 200 for a 4 kWp set up held for four months unless there are drastic price increases .
 On reading the small print, I noticed that it said , " Whilst there is not normally any need for planning control or building control interference I should do my own checking or ask them to help ( for a fee? )
So I'm sending two recorded letter off tomorrow when the P.O's. open .
 
Have any of you in Carmarthenshire that have had the PV generation panels set up installed met with any problems in this area ??? ?

No issues re planning for mine.

see

http://wales.gov.uk/docs/desh/publications/101027currentgyoeen.pdf

One of the main points for you to consider is how are the panels to be fixed? Many installers have just been drilling through tiles and slates and using rubber grommets to waterproof. This is not adequate and the roof hooks and frame need to be properly fixed and dressed with lead in the case of slate.

Here is ours being installed

http://lizburton.co.uk/wordpress/work-on-the-smallholding/the-pv-solar-panels-are-fitted-to-generate-electricity/

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #54 on: December 19, 2013, 11:28:40 pm »
Thanks for the input Henchard it is very useful ,
 Our roof is the concrete Marley tiles and they will be slid up for the anchors to fixed to the roof joists not the tile battens then slid back in place.

 I hadn't located that Welsh Government  doc , but found it as I thought would   IE.  No matter what it says , you still have to inform the planners and BCO even though in theory you are allowed to install without them .
 
Is that jobs for the boys and girls  or a serious  attempt to stop people innocently falling foul of changes in the legislation and for record keeping purposes so they can brag how green Wales is to get bigger EC grants ???

 I reckon it's the former , for any change to the legislation could be indicated on  the Welsh government websites etc. in a matter of minutes.. A simple three weeks or three months period of grace before implementation would solve any cross over problems and save a hell of a lot of money for us the tax payers . 
The information for the graphs etc, could easily be sent in by the installing companies or the power suppliers /generation companies  after the installation is commissioned.
 ( probably is in any case, as they just seem to love pointless duplication ).
 
 
« Last Edit: December 02, 2014, 03:22:00 pm by cloddopper »
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

regen

  • Joined Jan 2013
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #55 on: December 20, 2013, 01:50:29 pm »
"Interesting. Do you have some way of turning on the immersion only when the panels are generating? This seems like a really good idea. We have a store too, currently heated by a wood stove and gas combi as back up. But it would make sense to put a good charge into it when the panels were generating more than we are using."

Hi Stereo,

Use a device called the immersun which dectects how much is being generated and howmuch is being used from the grid by the house and then diverts all the balance (upto the wattage of a std immersion heater) into the tank.  The amount continually changes as generation and usage chnge.  If the amount generated is more than the house plus divert then the balance will go to grid.

In last year I generated about 3500kwh and used about 1500kwh in the house with about 2000kwh being divereted directly into the thermal store.  Whilst this 2000kwh only represents about 15% of my annual heating/hotwater requirement it does mean that I don't have to lite the fire so often in spring and autumn and never in the summer for hot water.- although I have oil turning that on is a definite no no!

Regen 

regen

  • Joined Jan 2013
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #56 on: December 20, 2013, 01:57:59 pm »
No requirement to inform Planning or Building control for PV installation upto 4kw if sited ona pitched roof and meets the guidelines re distance from edge and height above tiles. My have to if in conservation area or building is listed.

Regen

Wendelspanswick

  • Joined Nov 2013
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #57 on: December 21, 2013, 09:04:12 am »
What kind of electricity meter do you have? We have the old style spinning disc meter and on a sunny day it will run backwards reducing the units recorded as used!
We have informed the electricity supplier on numerous occasions but no change of meter and we have had the panels for 18 months.

regen

  • Joined Jan 2013
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #58 on: December 21, 2013, 08:11:15 pm »
Yes I had one of those for 18 months before they got round to changing it.  Provided you did not fill in a form after installation which specifically asked the question- "Does your meter run backwards"  then you should be allright.  Some say that the electricity co. can reclaim back for upto 1 year but I don't know how they could legally prove back usage.

However if your meter goes back further than the previous reading then they will probably twig whats happening so it makes sense to at least ensure the reading is always higher than the previous one.

Not a lot of point in fitting an immersun under these circumstances.

Regen

Stereo

  • Joined Aug 2012
Re: Solar PV Production
« Reply #59 on: December 21, 2013, 08:53:11 pm »
"Interesting. Do you have some way of turning on the immersion only when the panels are generating? This seems like a really good idea. We have a store too, currently heated by a wood stove and gas combi as back up. But it would make sense to put a good charge into it when the panels were generating more than we are using."

Hi Stereo,

Use a device called the immersun which dectects how much is being generated and howmuch is being used from the grid by the house and then diverts all the balance (upto the wattage of a std immersion heater) into the tank.  The amount continually changes as generation and usage chnge.  If the amount generated is more than the house plus divert then the balance will go to grid.

In last year I generated about 3500kwh and used about 1500kwh in the house with about 2000kwh being divereted directly into the thermal store.  Whilst this 2000kwh only represents about 15% of my annual heating/hotwater requirement it does mean that I don't have to lite the fire so often in spring and autumn and never in the summer for hot water.- although I have oil turning that on is a definite no no!

Regen

Thanks. That's really helpfull. I hate burning gas to heat the tank in the summer just so we can have domestic hot through the heat exchanger.  I plan to get a solar thermal panel plumbed in to solve that but PV would work as you say.

 

Forum sponsors

FibreHut Energy Helpline Thomson & Morgan Time for Paws Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival Ark Farm Livestock Movement Service

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS