Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

So today was the first full day, however a pretty awful day in terms of solar hours and production (12.4kwh total) as int cloudy and overcast! However what it does show is the wife needs to move her usage elsewhere... drained my full battery already :(

But at least on the bright side I didnt pay for as much of it!

Seen peaks up above 4kw (4.24kw total PV) so looks like when its sunny its working :)

04pbks.png


They also sent through my MCS certificate today, is that all I need to register for SEG?
 
Yes, expecting the wife to ever digest is like pushing a boulder uphill. :p She cracks on the industrial hoover or kitchen appliances when it suits rather than thinking about the weather..

12kwh is actually not bad. Dankest day so far I got 2.7 so expecting a few of them in December.
 
I have about 7 days of data now so some interesting stats I guess. Scaffold came down today, but weather was fairly miserable most of the day.

Best day - 31/08 - 17.02 kwh generated
Worst day - 06/09 - 9.61 kwh generated

Total - 86.52 kwh generated
Average - 12.36 kwh per day
Efficiency - 91.1% (% used)

6AsXr01.png


Total Grid demand: 29.48 kwh
Average - 4.21 kwh per day

Most of these units have been used to charge the battery overnight. I have drawn less than 1 kwh each day in regular hours.

8XsL1Co.png


Total consumption - 110.77 kwh
Generation to consumption % - 78.1%
Consumption cost based on current cap (£0.28/kwh) - £31.01
Consumption cost based on actual grid import, same cap - £8.25
Potential saving - £22.76
Average saving per day - £3.25

wywjhRk.png


Footnote - I have not included any export SEG payment data. I have also not included unit pricings where cheaper overnight tariff like Go is used, which will further enhance savings.
 
I think your post summates what I personally thought about solar before getting it. If you have average or above consumption and plan to load up or scale in the future, its a no brainer investment. Probably not what people that may move would want to hear but if your owning the property for a long time or better still likely to stay put its an easy decision.

The constant increase in energy prices make it even more important. The fact you can use approx 75% of what you generate and can pay for heating a tank or offset appliances like refrigerators and heat pumps is fantastic. The only dampener on the whole thing is having to put up with the winter period where its not going to be as helpful.
 
Yep, essentially the system works at it's best when you generate a good amount, and use a good amount of that generation as well.

I'm sure in summer I will struggle and inevitably export some extra, but it's not exactly a bad problem to have.

The biggest issue I can see is that ultimately you always want more panels. I can see this system covering current needs well (in the height of summer it should also power my AC for cooling), but if I add EV and Heat pump tech, then the winter generation would really struggle to power everything I think, even if I doubled the array size.

If I decide to get a heat pump one day I may also need to add some extra panels, which in theory could go on top of my garage, though I have to be careful because my garage is also in my next door neighbours garden effectively.
 
Agree, when I first had the install running I exported a lot on a couple of days. Now I try and use what I need around the house in them hours, the only thing that would change this for now would be if for example you got a healthy amount for your export say 30p a unit then your not bothered either way as your going to get some credit to again offset the overall bills.

From the uptake in solar maybe the infrastructure and DNO will change the rules somewhat and address the harmonisation, voltage spikes that it may cause too.
 
Siliconslave said:
G99 approved :D so now to get an install date, although i do need to pull my finger out and get the acceptance form signed and returned quickly:
Click to expand...

Plenty of time. :)

It's nice to have done and dusted, did you need to provide an SLD for your application or are your DNO less demanding?
 
Journey said:
Plenty of time. :)

It's nice to have done and dusted, did you need to provide an SLD for your application or are your DNO less demanding?
Click to expand...
The installed submitted for us and included:
  • G99 Application Form
  • Line Circuit Diagram <- guess this is basically the SLD
  • Letter of Authority
  • Location Plan
  • Inverter Type Test Certificate – G99
  • Inverter Type Test Certificate – G100
  • Data Sheet - PV Panel
  • Inverter Test Certificate
  • G99 – Solar Edge Inverter
  • PV Array Test Report
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
How long did you wait?
(Your same DNO as me so genuinely interested!)
Click to expand...
Application was put in at the end of July so about 1.5 months.
 
Siliconslave said:
The installed submitted for us and included:
  • G99 Application Form
  • Line Circuit Diagram <- guess this is basically the SLD
  • Letter of Authority
  • Location Plan
  • Inverter Type Test Certificate – G99
  • Inverter Type Test Certificate – G100
  • Data Sheet - PV Panel
  • Inverter Test Certificate
  • G99 – Solar Edge Inverter
  • PV Array Test Report

Application was put in at the end of July so about 1.5 months.
Click to expand...

Brill cheers.
My prelim install date is mid Nov but they were hoping to pull it forwards to mid Oct. Mine was submitted on 19th Aug so if your timings are similar to mine I may hopefully receive approval around end of this month, which makes mid Oct install seem viable.
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
Brill cheers.
My prelim install date is mid Nov but they were hoping to pull it forwards to mid Oct. Mine was submitted on 19th Aug so if your timings are similar to mine I may hopefully receive approval around end of this month, which makes mid Oct install seem viable.
Click to expand...
Sounds like most of the wait is on the parts supply tbh...
 
Just swapped my GO tariff over to the Go Faster tariff ready for the Winter, 5 hours available to charge the battery over 4 hours with the original GO.
+ get more use out of the 9.30pm start time.

My old GO fix was to end on the 24th September. RIP

rYTXdKO.jpg
 
Troop said:
My old GO fix was to end on the 24th September. RIP
Click to expand...

I much prefer Go Faster, I went straight to it from Agile as it made the most sense. Especially as the 20:30 (now 21:30) start time mean off peak things can be done at a sensible time with out depleting the battery if they are heavy draw.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom