Solar panels

[JJH]

So I got a solar panel system installed on my roof on Monday. 15 panels and associated bits and pieces. On advice I didn’t get a battery. Now when you’re discussing the installation with the sales person they always mention the highest possible power output which in my case it’s about 6kwh. It’s kind of vaguely left hanging in the air what will be produced in the winter. Like they say that there will be SOME power produced on duller days. So your mind might jump at 3 or 2 kWh. I’m getting .2 or .3 kWh or sometimes nothing in daylight. Yesterday was a brilliant bright day and I seen a peak of 1.7 kWh for a very short period of time. In the 4 days I’ve had it I’ve generated a total of 15 kWh. I’m glad I didn’t pay €4000 extra for a battery. So 30 sq meters are barely able to run a few light bulbs. Unfortunately the gable end of the house faces due south so I had to split the panels east and west so I’ll probably have to wait till summer to see exactly how much power I can generate. Any power I’m not using gets diverted to heating water and any surplus after that goes into the grid. JJH

 

[NeverRodeBefore]

I had a few sales calls a while ago and I explained my house is orientated just like yours with almost true east / west facing, but they were sure I'd be ok. The West facing has a pretty big hill behind it as well so I tried an online payback thingy with some pretty vague guesses, and it suggested I'd only just get my money back before they were due to be replaced!

 

[Hildasay]

Don't despair! It's the middle of winter, the sun is at it's very lowest and in the south. I too have solar panels split between the west and east facing side of the roof. Maximum output is 4kW, the inverter can handle 3.6kW. The graph shows my total yield throughout this year (ignore the earnings figure, it's just a random number). Given that I'm at 60° North, I would say that is not bad at all and I wasn't expecting any yield at this time of year. I have no storage at the moment but make the best use of what I'm generating by running things like the washing machine and dishwasher in the middle of the day and when it's sunny. I live in an area where a smartmeter wouldn't work so don't benefit from any feed-in tariffs or other smart tariffs.

 

[RedRick Esq.]

Depending on your tariff diverting to hot water could be a mistake and in the winter the battery option comes into play when you can charge them cheaply from the grid overnight
Load shifting saves a fortune in this way - saves me a couple of hundred quid a month in winter

As for power generation 15 panels will probably have a max capacity of 6KWH but that will be choked down immediately if your inverter is not a 6KWH inverter and then of course there is the split which I hope you have joined with Tago things so that the aspects work independently and dont drag each other down

My system is split over 3 aspects and is in theory a 6KWH system but the highest I have ever seen is 4.4KWH and even then only because I have tweeted the inverter a bit beyond what the DNO said I could do

Winter is shit even sunny days in winter dont come close to cloudy (ish) summer days but come march time you will start to see it pick up a lot and go back to the grid rather than the batteries

 

[wilbjr21]

As has been said - don't despair as we are approaching the shortest day.

I have 4.4 KW panels although they do face south and a Tesla Powerwall 2 as well as an Eddi panel for hot water when solar is in excess of demand.

I've had the system since 2019 and its generated 15 MWh, which is £3,900 worth of electricity so can't complain.

 

[er-minio]

December in the UK for solar is grim.
It'll change dramatically later on.

 

[Berin]

As has been said - don't despair as we are approaching the shortest day.

I have 4.4 KW panels although they do face south and a Tesla Powerwall 2 as well as an Eddi panel for hot water when solar is in excess of demand.

I've had the system since 2019 and its generated 15 MWh, which is £3,900 worth of electricity so can't complain.

How much did it all cost?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wilbjr21]

How much did it all cost?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

£13,000

 

[Lord Snooty]

Just checked mine and in the last week I am scraping 1Kw per day, last Tuesday was the exception when they managed 2Kwh, last Thursday and Friday a big fat zero.

My total since installation is 29711Kwh.

 

[JJH]

You know when someone says that electric cars should have solar panels on them? I now the answer. JJH

 

[Troppo]

I have 11 kW of panels on the roof and regularly get 9.8 kW

I do live in Brisbane, though…



But seriously, batts are still too expensive.

 

[Deleted account 251024001]

Winter is not good for solar panels. At work we have about 400 panels on the roof and this time of year it only produces about 3KWh. Like others have said the real benefit will come in the summer. Using it to heat your water is a good way of using the energy if you don't have a battery.

 

[Troppo]

The electricity companies screw us over here. The measly bastards expect us to pay 25c a kWhr to buy electricity from the grid, and yet only pay us 10c a kWhr for solar derived energy we feed back….

They know that the price of batts will come down, so they are making hay while the sun shines (pun intended).

 

[Bigcats]

The electricity companies screw us over here. The measly bastards expect us to pay 25c a kWhr to buy electricity from the grid, and yet only pay us 10c a kWhr for solar derived energy we feed back….

They know that the price of batts will come down, so they are making hay while the sun shines (pun intended).

This!!

Absolutely barmy they allow so little to be paid to people who help the grid. I was chatting with a CEO when my bike was in for a service and the company he looks after over produces electricity so they sell it to the grid

However if they produce to much get a fine!!! They have to PAY the electricity company.

Its not about saving the planet, its about saving the profits.

 

[RedRick Esq.]

This!!

Absolutely barmy they allow so little to be paid to people who help the grid. I was chatting with a CEO when my bike was in for a service and the company he looks after over produces electricity so they sell it to the grid

However if they produce to much get a fine!!! They have to PAY the electricity company.

Its not about saving the planet, its about saving the profits.

not entirely

I can charge my batteries and car, run the house etc between 2330 and 0530 at 7.5pence per KWH which in the winter is ok as there is no excess solar during the day
In the summer I can do the same but then sell back to the grid at 15P per KWH so from April to September I earn enough to pay for the winter

 

[Bigcats]

not entirely

I can charge my batteries and car, run the house etc between 2330 and 0530 at 7.5pence per KWH which in the winter is ok as there is no excess solar during the day
In the summer I can do the same but then sell back to the grid at 15P per KWH so from April to September I earn enough to pay for the winter

So if I were to get solar panels now would I still get that 15p??

I understand many moons ago the tariffs changed (for the worse)

 

[RedRick Esq.]

So if I were to get solar panels now would I still get that 15p??

I understand many moons ago the tariffs changed (for the worse)

it is the current octopus buy in rate so I dont see why not

 

[Bigcats]

it is the current octopus buy in rate so I dont see why not

Interesting, seeing as I live down South and obviously we get actual sun here compared to ooop t'north

 

[Buttertub]

So I got a solar panel system installed on my roof on Monday. 15 panels and associated bits and pieces. On advice I didn’t get a battery. Now when you’re discussing the installation with the sales person they always mention the highest possible power output which in my case it’s about 6kwh. It’s kind of vaguely left hanging in the air what will be produced in the winter. Like they say that there will be SOME power produced on duller days. So your mind might jump at 3 or 2 kWh. I’m getting .2 or .3 kWh or sometimes nothing in daylight. Yesterday was a brilliant bright day and I seen a peak of 1.7 kWh for a very short period of time. In the 4 days I’ve had it I’ve generated a total of 15 kWh. I’m glad I didn’t pay €4000 extra for a battery. So 30 sq meters are barely able to run a few light bulbs. Unfortunately the gable end of the house faces due south so I had to split the panels east and west so I’ll probably have to wait till summer to see exactly how much power I can generate. Any power I’m not using gets diverted to heating water and any surplus after that goes into the grid. JJH

Your set up is similar to mine except yours is bigger. i've got panels spread on 3 aspects, East, south, west, because of the roof.

As has been said this time of year is the worst 3 months of the year so give it a year and see how it performs. I've got the water diverter same as you and i'm very pleased with it but you wont get much this time of year because the peaks don't tend to last long enough to get it sufficiently hot. Once you get to spring you'll start to notice e.g. March.

i'd expect your production pattern be be something like what's in the earlier post as that's more or less how mine is. And its fairly consistent year on year.

Mines a 3.9KWH system and produces approx 3333KWH per annum, out of that i use 90% with the rest going back to the grid.

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

It’s quite sunny here today and so far we’ve generated 8.4kWh which is pretty good really. This month we’ve generated 96.15kWh but even that’s better than a smack in the face.