Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

PlacidCasual said:
So let's say we build 200,000 houses a year with solar. They have 5kW each that's 1000,000 kW or 1GW that's about 1.8% of winter peak demand and about 2.5% of summer peak demand. It's all produced exactly out of phase with the seasonal and daily demand cycle. In 5 years you've got 10 GW of solar you have trebled the existing installed capacity. You have probably borked the grids ability to manage the solar generation.

I actually kind of agree with you it feels like it makes sense to put solar up on all new builds but you need to have something to do with it. Possibly the best way is large thermal stores in homes so spare electricty is turned into hot water for the house holder, difficult to retrofit to the pokey homes built in the last 20 years but could be managed in new builds if mandated. As electric cars take off solar could also be spilled into their batteries.

One of the problems with solar and wind is they lack some of the capabilities that were intrinsic in legacy generation techniques. Because their is no synchronous spinning component and all electricity goes through an inverter they offer no inertia to the grid so when you lose generator output or have a spike in demand their is no electrical momentum to ride through the problem. They also don't have large transformers at the production location so you can't play tunes with teh voltage and current to deal with a property of electrical distribution called MVAR's which is the effect of capacitnce and inductance on the gird. This is often called compensation. So you have t find other ways to back fill these essential capabilities.
Click to expand...
Ot was just my thought of every little gulps. Not to mention it might cover say 6 months of the years energy. I know what would happen though. These tiles cost x so house builders would charge 3x for the privilege.
 
I've ordered a solar panel with USB output to play with. I want to experiment with two powerbanks and using the solar panel to charge one up, while the other is being depleted as it charges my phone and other USB gadgets.

I already know it probably won't pay for itself for sometime to come. I also know there's a good chance the 3.5W solar panel might just about trickle charge my power bank. I'm hoping each powerbank can be fully charged from flat in the space of four days. But I can't help wondering if I'm being optimistic. :D
 
DXP55 said:
You keep your finger on button and it goes straight up to full power -Same to go down -- The wife taps it and beeps do my head in.
Click to expand...

I guess that's a no then. It really sucks because magnetic dials are a pretty trivial thing to implement in an electronic system, I could possibly do it myself.
 
darael said:
I've ordered a solar panel with USB output to play with. I want to experiment with two powerbanks and using the solar panel to charge one up, while the other is being depleted as it charges my phone and other USB gadgets.

I already know it probably won't pay for itself for sometime to come. I also know there's a good chance the 3.5W solar panel might just about trickle charge my power bank. I'm hoping each powerbank can be fully charged from flat in the space of four days. But I can't help wondering if I'm being optimistic. :D
Click to expand...

Depending on your expectations and powerbank capacity 3.5W solar is gonna take awhile to charge - I did similar not to save money but it was handy for me to have - but I used 2x 15 watt panels I managed to get at a good discount on a Black Friday with a pair of 15000mAh batteries - in summer the panels were totally overkill, in winter merely adequate :(.

I slowly progressed from there to building my own larger scale solar setup complete with batteries and inverter, etc. (not grid tied).
 
How can they plan that it's going to go up again in October already? Is this all Russia stuff? Or something else?

I purchased a new build the other day, like literally a new build. Why aren't they built with SOME solar panels on every one? Surely it's an ideal time for free energy.
 
Energize said:
Can you get induction without those ****** digital controls where you have to press the button 10 times to get to the maximum tempature?
Click to expand...
Have you tried pressing the - / reduce power button first?

On ours once you select the zone you want to use if your hit the down button it immediately goes to the highest setting.
 
Delvis said:
How can they plan that it's going to go up again in October already? Is this all Russia stuff? Or something else?

I purchased a new build the other day, like literally a new build. Why aren't they built with SOME solar panels on every one? Surely it's an ideal time for free energy.
Click to expand...

I built my own home over two phases, completing it last year with sign off. They seem to want high insulation as the main thing with new builds, but I completely agree I was gobsmacked that some incentive to half force renewable in the install should be a thing. It feels like a reactive society and retro-fit as and when instead of looking ahead and knowing energy targets over the horizon will only be met the faster more solar adoption takes place. The next comical slip is how on earth they are missing a trick moving into Electric Cars, surely if this is coming then new build homes and working with the Utility companies is a given and they should have thrashed out respective options by now on infrastructure, tariffs and packages.
 
My smart meter is telling me that we're on about £4.50 per day for electricity.... It'll probably be more like £5+ per day when pcs are on and working. That's at least £150 per month for electricity alone!
 
I purchased a new build recently and it comes with a 8 solar panel setup, no battery unfortunately but that would be an easy retrofit if needed. What was strange is not all houses have solar, our house was one of the lucky ones. It’s also got a fast charge EV point on the drive way. All the appliances are A+ and lighting is mostly LED. It has an induction hob which strangely I had to request to be changed from Gas, apparently new builds won’t be able to fit gas hobs in 2025. Of course being a new build its well insulated etc… the energy report is 85, no idea what more would get you A, 92+. This is my 3rd new build now and I do agree they seem very reactive to change the spec of houses.
 
darael said:
I've ordered a solar panel with USB output to play with. I want to experiment with two powerbanks and using the solar panel to charge one up, while the other is being depleted as it charges my phone and other USB gadgets.

I already know it probably won't pay for itself for sometime to come. I also know there's a good chance the 3.5W solar panel might just about trickle charge my power bank. I'm hoping each powerbank can be fully charged from flat in the space of four days. But I can't help wondering if I'm being optimistic. :D
Click to expand...
While I understand the goal and experimenting which is the type of thing I would do. In case you are not aware it might be cheaper to get a proper battery setup and solar panel installed. If you buy solar panels and battery system together its possible to pay no VAT or 5% which at 15 to 20% off means this is one of those rare times where doing it yourself costs more money then getting it done by a company. Perhaps not over your small experimenting setup.

The problem with most home built power bank setups is there is a lot of manually swapping gadgets and cables around. With a proper battery setup its all automatic including charging the battery at night when its cheaper and powering up the house in the day from the battery when it costs more. With the current VAT rules I wouldn't bother with any serious home done setup these days, just get a company to do it and get extra battery's from the money you save on not paying full VAT.
 
Mattitude said:
I purchased a new build recently and it comes with a 8 solar panel setup, no battery unfortunately but that would be an easy retrofit if needed. What was strange is not all houses have solar, our house was one of the lucky ones. It’s also got a fast charge EV point on the drive way. All the appliances are A+ and lighting is mostly LED. It has an induction hob which strangely I had to request to be changed from Gas, apparently new builds won’t be able to fit gas hobs in 2025. Of course being a new build its well insulated etc… the energy report is 85, no idea what more would get you A, 92+. This is my 3rd new build now and I do agree they seem very reactive to change the spec of houses.
Click to expand...

Our new build (Dec 2020) is all Gas.
 
Rroff said:
Depending on your expectations and powerbank capacity 3.5W solar is gonna take awhile to charge - I did similar not to save money but it was handy for me to have - but I used 2x 15 watt panels I managed to get at a good discount on a Black Friday with a pair of 15000mAh batteries - in summer the panels were totally overkill, in winter merely adequate :(.

I slowly progressed from there to building my own larger scale solar setup complete with batteries and inverter, etc. (not grid tied).
Click to expand...
Pottsey said:
While I understand the goal and experimenting which is the type of thing I would do. In case you are not aware it might be cheaper to get a proper battery setup and solar panel installed. If you buy solar panels and battery system together its possible to pay no VAT or 5% which at 15 to 20% off means this is one of those rare times where doing it yourself costs more money then getting it done by a company. Perhaps not over your small experimenting setup.

The problem with most home built power bank setups is there is a lot of manually swapping gadgets and cables around. With a proper battery setup its all automatic including charging the battery at night when its cheaper and powering up the house in the day from the battery when it costs more. With the current VAT rules I wouldn't bother with any serious home done setup these days, just get a company to do it and get extra battery's from the money you save on not paying full VAT.
Click to expand...
This is just more of an experiment to see if solar charging a powerbank is even viable in the UK. I'm starting to wish I just bought a better panel already, though. :(

I should add that the solar panel I bought only cost about £10. So it's not a great loss if it flops.
 
Induction hobs with discrete steps often have low frequency pulse width modulation on the power so it goes on and off (boils stops boiling - rinse&repeat..) manufacturers are far from transparent on this.

Installing panels on many/200,000 newhouses strawman, is that really economic versus injecting cash and subsidy into bigger farms, the california solution. ?
with the increase in cost of battery raw materials (lithium carbonate 4x) california is rethinking economics of batteries, have battery and panel prices ticked up in UK, as a consequence of Ukraine/covid too, even if the labour/installation costs are a large part of outlay.

standby appliances amplifiers - has anyone kept theirs on 24/7 despite energy cost ? I'm more concerned about reduced lifespan fom power cycling, even if that cost a few pounds a month, naim say leave their stuff on more for the potential sound improvement from being warmed up, too, not so worried about that aspect.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom