Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?

The idea of a heat pump, solar and a battery is appealing. It would still need power from the grid at peak times but could add extra heating overnight. Real world data from owners of heat pumps are that 80% of the time they are running at 500watts or less.
 
Ive been watching this thread since this start. I cant believe how much electricity some of you actually use.

i work from home and my partner is retired through ill health from the nhs. We cook with electric, washing machine, tumble dryer and i use laptop and two computer screens for work. 1 large fridge freezer, small chest freezer run continuous……..along with tvs running, sky q boxes, internet router and over the last twelve months average usage is 6.2kwh’s a day. My last 30 day bill was 179.8kwh.

im looking into getting solar within the next few months, but only a 3.8kw system with no battery. Heating is combi gas boiler, so no water tank to heat up for any excess solar to be moved over too.

my smart meter spreadsheet informs me that during the night time i use around 24p worth of electric and the standard charge is 54p………if i could my on grid usage down to less than 1 english poinds per day, including standard charge i would be a happy bunny.
 
Welshman said:
Ive been watching this thread since this start. I cant believe how much electricity some of you actually use.

i work from home and my partner is retired through ill health from the nhs. We cook with electric, washing machine, tumble dryer and i use laptop and two computer screens for work. 1 large fridge freezer, small chest freezer run continuous……..along with tvs running, sky q boxes, internet router and over the last twelve months average usage is 6.2kwh’s a day. My last 30 day bill was 179.8kwh.

im looking into getting solar within the next few months, but only a 3.8kw system with no battery. Heating is combi gas boiler, so no water tank to heat up for any excess solar to be moved over too.

my smart meter spreadsheet informs me that during the night time i use around 24p worth of electric and the standard charge is 54p………if i could my on grid usage down to less than 1 english poinds per day, including standard charge i would be a happy bunny.
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That usage is VERY low for your apparent use though. My home uses 3.5kWh per day just on "standby" (i.e. when I am away on holiday). That's just background usage, fridge / freezer, internet router, outdoor LED security lights etc.

Are you sure your bill was based on actual meter reads and not estimates?
 
ci_newman said:
That usage is VERY low for your apparent use though. My home uses 3.5kWh per day just on "standby" (i.e. when I am away on holiday). That's just background usage, fridge / freezer, internet router, outdoor LED security lights etc.

Are you sure your bill was based on actual meter reads and not estimates?
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Actual meter readings from my smart meter……and i monitor it everyday with a spreadsheet as the meter is on my desk…….highest days since xmas was 7kwh.

only 2 adults in the house, we only cook evening meals, breakfast is cereal, lunch is a sandwich.

That seems a lot of standby power your using tbh, maybe you need better economical white goods…..
 
ci_newman said:
That usage is VERY low for your apparent use though. My home uses 3.5kWh per day just on "standby" (i.e. when I am away on holiday). That's just background usage, fridge / freezer, internet router, outdoor LED security lights etc.

Are you sure your bill was based on actual meter reads and not estimates?
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It's nearly 21:00 and I've used only 6.99kWh (all solar generated, now on battery) all the heavy lifting has been done already due to it being sunny, laundry, dinner, and the Mrs had a shower (8kW Electric), so only low power stuff left, doubt it'll go past 8.2kWh today. Not bothered to plug the car in as it was nearly full anyhow, and it'll get charged from the solar at the weekend looking at all the sunshine due. Normal background load is 175-220w depending on what is happening.

EDIT: And I've worked from home again all day today, due to it being polling days so school was shut, so further use than normal, as the espresso machine, kettle, microwave and PC's were all used more than normal.
 
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I have high standby power as I have a GPU mining 24/7 which is 260w, I have a server running 24/7 which is 225w, various network switches, 2 x AP, two fridge freezers. I've seen daily usage peak at around 33kwh in January - before I got into Crypto the previous January peaked at 20kWh.
 
Welshman said:
Actual meter readings from my smart meter……and i monitor it everyday with a spreadsheet as the meter is on my desk…….highest days since xmas was 7kwh.

only 2 adults in the house, we only cook evening meals, breakfast is cereal, lunch is a sandwich.

That seems a lot of standby power your using tbh, maybe you need better economical white goods…..
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The house is a new-build (9 months old) so all of the white goods are very new and efficient. Besides which, buying something more efficient just to save electricity is self-defeating if it costs £1000 to replace.

Most of my background power draw will be the wifi (BT whole home x 3) and the internet router and ONT. We need the wifi for Hive and the security cameras.

No SkyQ or anything like that running constantly either, I cancelled that a few months ago.
 
Ron-ski said:
I have high standby power as I have a GPU mining 24/7 which is 260w, I have a server running 24/7 which is 225w, various network switches, 2 x AP, two fridge freezers. I've seen daily usage peak at around 33kwh in January - before I got into Crypto the previous January peaked at 20kWh.
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You beat me there then, I only have a Micro-server with 4 HDD's, a PC that is never off, two routers, an AP, one switch, a single large American style fridge freezer, some alarms, a home network hi-fi streaming device, and I think that is it. I did have a list somewhere that I made prior to deciding to install solar, but can't seem to find it.
 
ci_newman said:
The house is a new-build (9 months old) so all of the white goods are very new and efficient. Besides which, buying something more efficient just to save electricity is self-defeating if it costs £1000 to replace.

Most of my background power draw will be the wifi (BT whole home x 3) and the internet router and ONT. We need the wifi for Hive and the security cameras.

No SkyQ or anything like that running constantly either, I cancelled that a few months ago.
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I also dont use any electric in the garden, as i use a battery strimmer for the garden edges (charged from solar in the man cave) and i use a manual rotary mower to cut the 400sq/mtr garden….as i find that chills me oit after a day at the desk
 
Journey said:
I used to love a good manual rotary mower, don't have the land or grass quality to justify one anymore. So satisfying. :)
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I relayed the whole garden from scratch last year, killed old grass, scarified off, new topsoil and compost, then reseeded the whole lot with one type of seed……….i cut it too 20mm , 3 times a week now, to keep nice and fresh looking…..i wfh and finish work at 3pm, so got plenty of time in the evenings to garden and look after the greenhouse
 
Welshman said:
I relayed the whole garden from scratch last year, killed old grass, scarified off, new topsoil and compost, then reseeded the whole lot with one type of seed……….i cut it too 20mm , 3 times a week now, to keep nice and fresh looking…..i wfh and finish work at 3pm, so got plenty of time in the evenings to garden and look after the greenhouse
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Wow 20mm, that is short it must be like a good stiff brush is it?
 
Welshman said:
Lovely and soft…….not a single weed in sight
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Nice, its really worth the effort if you get to enjoy it.

Just worked out my solar stats for April, took a bit of doing as the data got messed up in the middle of the month, but I average almost 28kWh per day, or about 840kWh of generation for the month, on my 6.24kWp east/west array.
 
Journey said:
Nice, its really worth the effort if you get to enjoy it.

Just worked out my solar stats for April, took a bit of doing as the data got messed up in the middle of the month, but I average almost 28kWh per day, or about 840kWh of generation for the month, on my 6.24kWp east/west array.
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Amazing stats! Looking forward to seeing what mine can do when it eventually gets installed.
 
SoliD said:
Amazing stats! Looking forward to seeing what mine can do when it eventually gets installed.
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My friend who lives slightly further north but right on the east coast managed over 880kWh on his 6.3kWp system, doesn't sound that much really but 40kWh at today's prices is £11.20, or a tiny £3 if you use SEG to export it.
 
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