Photovoltaic System.

[Hibrandenburg]

We're getting one fitted on our south facing roof next month, has anyone else had this done and what were your experiences with it.

The size of the system we are installing promises that enough power to not only cover our electricity needs during the day but also feed excess power into the national grid that will turn a little profit and cover the price of the electricity we use at night. It sounds too good to be true.

[Peevemor]

We install them all the time in houses we're building for both hot watr & electricity production.

One of our clients, a housing association with over 7k houses on rental put them on all their newbuilds without exception, so there must be something in it. :greengrin

[danhibees1875]

I think any new build estate that was granted planning permission after a certain date (2018?) has to put them on every house.

How much is the initial outlay if you don't mind me asking?

[Hibrandenburg]

We install them all the time in houses we're building for both hot watr & electricity production.

One of our clients, a housing association with over 7k houses on rental put them on all their newbuilds without exception, so there must be something in it. :greengrin

I got talking to a neighbour in our village who had theirs installed about 2 years ago. They have no south facing roof but have it on their West facing roof and that has cut their electricity bill by around 70%. The clincher for me was the technology, they have an app on their phone that shows how much wattage is being won, how much they're using themselves, how much is being fed into the national grid and what price they're getting per kilowatt.

My concern is whether it's loud with wind whistling between the panels and the roof or if rain sounds like its falling on corrugated tin. My neighbour claims it makes no difference but I wanted to hear other opinions.

[Hibrandenburg]

I think any new build estate that was granted planning permission after a certain date (2018?) has to put them on every house.

How much is the initial outlay if you don't mind me asking?

Zero costs. The provider will fit, maintain and insure the system. They make their money by having a share of the income from electricity fed into the national grid.

[danhibees1875]

Zero costs. The provider will fit, maintain and insure the system. They make their money by having a share of the income from electricity fed into the national grid.

Well that's good!

Good point about the wind and rain noise though! I hadn't considered that.

[Peevemor]

I got talking to a neighbour in our village who had theirs installed about 2 years ago. They have no south facing roof but have it on their West facing roof and that has cut their electricity bill by around 70%. The clincher for me was the technology, they have an app on their phone that shows how much wattage is being won, how much they're using themselves, how much is being fed into the national grid and what price they're getting per kilowatt.

My concern is whether it's loud with wind whistling between the panels and the roof or if rain sounds like its falling on corrugated tin. My neighbour claims it makes no difference but I wanted to hear other opinions.

TBH, I've never heard of anyone having issues with that.

[Hibrandenburg]

Well that's good!

Good point about the wind and rain noise though! I hadn't considered that.

Probably just paranoia and me over thinking things.

[Hibrandenburg]

TBH, I've never heard of anyone having issues with that.

That's reassuring, if I remember correctly you're an architect so I'll take your words as expert advice. :greengrin

[Peevemor]

That's reassuring, if I remember correctly you're an architect so I'll take your words as expert advice. :greengrin

I'm an architectural technician and remember, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. :greengrin

[Hibrandenburg]

I'm an architectural technician and remember, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. :greengrin

Understood.

Signed former Paramedic :greengrin

[weecounty hibby]

I am about to build another extension into my house and thought about adding these. Anyone got a decent contact for it

[GlesgaeHibby]

We're getting one fitted on our south facing roof next month, has anyone else had this done and what were your experiences with it.

The size of the system we are installing promises that enough power to not only cover our electricity needs during the day but also feed excess power into the national grid that will turn a little profit and cover the price of the electricity we use at night. It sounds too good to be true.

Yeah, I've got solar panels on our south facing roof. Bought the house new, so they came with the house.

No issues at all with noise. My inverter sits in the garage, but I've never noticed much noise from it when in the garage.

Unlike retrofit, our panels don't sit on top of roof tiles. My folks retrofitted solar panels on their roof in 2010 at the height of the feed in tariff scheme (I was studying an MSc in renewables at the time and told them it was a no brainer). They've never had any issues with the system.

My only disappointment with buying new build was there wasn't an option to increase the size of the system from the builders minimum. It's about 2kWp. Ideally I'd have wanted a system twice the size, to integrate with battery storage (or an EV).

[LongJohnBanger]

Zero costs. The provider will fit, maintain and insure the system. They make their money by having a share of the income from electricity fed into the national grid.

I remember reading something about solar panels being installed, the company doing the installation going bust and the homeowners facing difficulties selling their house because of the uncertainty of ownership in the air above the house.

I know that sounds like an April Fools joke but I promise it isn't.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/money/2018/nov/25/homeowners-trapped-solar-panels

[Hibrandenburg]

Yeah, I've got solar panels on our south facing roof. Bought the house new, so they came with the house.

No issues at all with noise. My inverter sits in the garage, but I've never noticed much noise from it when in the garage.

Unlike retrofit, our panels don't sit on top of roof tiles. My folks retrofitted solar panels on their roof in 2010 at the height of the feed in tariff scheme (I was studying an MSc in renewables at the time and told them it was a no brainer). They've never had any issues with the system.

My only disappointment with buying new build was there wasn't an option to increase the size of the system from the builders minimum. It's about 2kWp. Ideally I'd have wanted a system twice the size, to integrate with battery storage (or an EV).

Yep you're right, it's a no brainer. The technology is already viable but also is getting more and more efficient year on year out. That's been part of my over thinking, wondering if waiting a year or two is worth waiting because the technology will improve even more. We've decided to just go for it and have our final information meeting with the supplier on Saturday. What's still open is whether we buy or rent. Rent is attractive because all the administration is done by the supplier and that's where we are just now, but we've still not excluded the idea of buying.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Hibrandenburg]

I remember reading something about solar panels being installed, the company doing the installation going bust and the homeowners facing difficulties selling their house because of the uncertainty of ownership in the air above the house.

I know that sounds like an April Fools joke but I promise it isn't.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/money/2018/nov/25/homeowners-trapped-solar-panels

Valid concerns, thanks. I think the legal nitty gritty is a bit different over here, but you've given me a couple of questions that I can get answered on Saturday.

[nonshinyfinish]

Our street runs almost exactly north-south, meaning that the slopes of the roof face east and west. Anyone know if solar panels are still viable when you can't point them south? In the south-east of England in case that makes a difference.

[Hibrandenburg]

Our street runs almost exactly north-south, meaning that the slopes of the roof face east and west. Anyone know if solar panels are still viable when you can't point them south? In the south-east of England in case that makes a difference.

Just had a read of the material given to us by our supplier. They say that the sweet zone is between South East and South West where they can reach 100% efficiency, photovoltaic panels facing due east or west can reach up to 90% efficiency but a lot then depends on the angle of the roof towards the sky.

[nonshinyfinish]

Just had a read of the material given to us by our supplier. They say that the sweet zone is between South East and South West where they can reach 100% efficiency, photovoltaic panels facing due east or west can reach up to 90% efficiency but a lot then depends on the angle of the roof towards the sky.

Cheers, probably worth investigating then.

[GlesgaeHibby]

Our street runs almost exactly north-south, meaning that the slopes of the roof face east and west. Anyone know if solar panels are still viable when you can't point them south? In the south-east of England in case that makes a difference.

Looked at this previously for large ground mounted solar sites as an alternative to arrays facing due south. Generation (for E-W compared to due south) per installed kWp is lower, but the attraction was that you can potentially increase installed capacity in a given area, as the arrays are installed back to back. Also gives potential to be generating more at peak demand in late afternoon/early evening to take advantage of higher grid export prices.

E-W smooths out the big midday peak you get with a south facing system.

The calculator here allows you to select your location, and input details on system size, roof slope etc. in order to estimate generation:
https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html

I had a quick look at E-W for my location. Output was about 80% of a due south system.

[GlesgaeHibby]

Yep you're right, it's a no brainer. The technology is already viable but also is getting more and more efficient year on year out. That's been part of my over thinking, wondering if waiting a year or two is worth waiting because the technology will improve even more. We've decided to just go for it and have our final information meeting with the supplier on Saturday. What's still open is whether we buy or rent. Rent is attractive because all the administration is done by the supplier and that's where we are just now, but we've still not excluded the idea of buying.

Thanks for the feedback.

No problem - hope it all goes well and you can get it installed in time to enjoy the best months of the year for generation.

[Hibrandenburg]

Just had our meeting with the supplier (Enpal) to iron out the nitty gritty.

1. We've decided to rent.

2. The system will produce around 4.002 kwh. We used about 3kwh last year.

3. The system will be installed free of charge.

4. We have the option to buy the installed system at any time for €2556 per kwh produced, that price will reduce by €156 every 12 months.

5. If technological advances mean its financially viable to upgrade, then we can renegotiate instalation of new panels.

6. Enpal will insure, register and maintain the system.

7. The system has a plug n play slot to allow it to be easily connected to a power storage unit. This might be a good option if we buy an electric car for example.

8. Installation of the system will be completed in 1 day and should be ready to go 6 weeks from today.

9. If we are happy with the system and persuade our neighbours to sign up, we will receive €500 for each new customer.

10. The system is gauranteed to be working at least to 80% efficiency after 20 years.

I'm struggling to see a down side as this seems to be a win, win and win situation. Win for us financially, win for Enpal but more importantly a win for the environment in that we can offset over 2 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

[nonshinyfinish]

Looked at this previously for large ground mounted solar sites as an alternative to arrays facing due south. Generation (for E-W compared to due south) per installed kWp is lower, but the attraction was that you can potentially increase installed capacity in a given area, as the arrays are installed back to back. Also gives potential to be generating more at peak demand in late afternoon/early evening to take advantage of higher grid export prices.

E-W smooths out the big midday peak you get with a south facing system.

The calculator here allows you to select your location, and input details on system size, roof slope etc. in order to estimate generation:
https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html

I had a quick look at E-W for my location. Output was about 80% of a due south system.

Cheers, will have a look.


Just had our meeting with the supplier (Enpal) to iron out the nitty gritty.

1. We've decided to rent.

2. The system will produce around 4.002 kwh. We used about 3kwh last year.

3. The system will be installed free of charge.

4. We have the option to buy the installed system at any time for €2556 per kwh produced, that price will reduce by €156 every 12 months.

5. If technological advances mean its financially viable to upgrade, then we can renegotiate instalation of new panels.

6. Enpal will insure, register and maintain the system.

7. The system has a plug n play slot to allow it to be easily connected to a power storage unit. This might be a good option if we buy an electric car for example.

8. Installation of the system will be completed in 1 day and should be ready to go 6 weeks from today.

9. If we are happy with the system and persuade our neighbours to sign up, we will receive €500 for each new customer.

10. The system is gauranteed to be working at least to 80% efficiency after 20 years.

I'm struggling to see a down side as this seems to be a win, win and win situation. Win for us financially, win for Enpal but more importantly a win for the environment in that we can offset over 2 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

I assume your units should be MWh throughout? If you really only use 3 kWh in a year then you could probably forget the solar panels and just power the house from a few minutes on a bike every day.

[Hibrandenburg]

Cheers, will have a look.



I assume your units should be MWh throughout? If you really only use 3 kWh in a year then you could probably forget the solar panels and just power the house from a few minutes on a bike every day.

:greengrin

My annual electricity bill summary quotes 3.326 kwh. So yes.

[nonshinyfinish]

:greengrin

My annual electricity bill summary quotes 3.326 kwh. So yes.You continentals and your bizarre notation…

[Peevemor]

I'm at 9000+ kwh/year.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210403/6148d97ca12f2c0c235fa4f79ebe350c.jpg

[Moulin Yarns]

:greengrin

My annual electricity bill summary quotes 3.326 kwh. So yes.

German efficiency!! 😉

[Hibrandenburg]

I'm at 9000+ kwh/year.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210403/6148d97ca12f2c0c235fa4f79ebe350c.jpg

**** me!!! How big is Château Peevemor and are you using DDR technology to heat it?

[Hibrandenburg]

German efficiency!! 😉

I was gonna say we use more gas than electricity. :duck:

[Peevemor]

**** me!!! How big is Château Peevemor and are you using DDR technology to heat it?We're 100% electric apart from the (bottled) gas hob & a wood burning stove.