Dillsue

Plenty of 8kw 3 phase sunsynk inverters listed on the ENA type test database but the only one listed as a hybrid isnt approved so shouldn't be connected to the grid. Probably want to ask the installer about that!! It's been mentioned on here before but if the OP has a 3 phase smart meter, or can get one fitted, then they could well have net metering so its largely irrelevant how the 3 phases are loaded as import and export are offset against each other. As I understand it PV export on any phase cancels out import on any phase to give a net consumption that you get billed for. No MCS needed to get "paid" for your export at a very lucrative equivalent rate. Hopefully someone who knows about 3 phase net metering will confirm?? Another thing for the OPs spark to look into.

One from Scottish Power. Seems the pros cant even get the units right so there's no hope for the rest of us

Googling your inverter and the spec says it can operate on 3 phase. Your quote only has a single phase generation meter so did you ask for a 3 phase PV system and the supplier has made a mistake? Plenty of info on the web but make sure your looking at UK web sites!! If youre not too confident with electrics, you might be best paying your electrician to come and explain your house wiring before you go looking at PV. PV install and wiring will likley make much more sense if you have a grasp of how your house electrics work.

I dont think its a policy decision intended to make people suffer, but more a policy decision for other reasons that some people are as a consequence suffering. As we've got a climate crisis to sort out, personally Im quite comfortable with the hike in energy prices to focus the 1st world on cutting consumption.

Good on you. Its your drop that matters but most people dont realise that

No electronics knowledge needed to install or fault find on PV systems. Maybe if youre an enthusiast wanting to build your own bits and bobs but that's far from the norm. Electrics yes but no electronics No software knowledge needed either. Configuring a PV system even with batteries and comms to energy meters is no more complicated than navigating a modern cars menus. In fact using Solaredges setapp tool is easier and more intuitive than resetting the tyre pressure monitoring on my wife's Jazz! I've no experience with anything other than Solaredge kit and that works off the shelf, in my experience. A breeze to install and straight forward to configure. I'm sure theres plenty of other systems that are equally straight forward

I'd be surprised if a PV system is beyond your ability to understand, its more likely that your interests lie elsewhere. If I remember correctly you had a thread about insulating a large car workshop where you discussed roof construction in quite an informed way so you wont have any problem with the mounting and mech installation of PV panels. PV panels produce DC power in the same way a battery provides DC power for a car which Im sure you understand. Connect batteries together as on many wagons and you increase voltage to 24volts....PV panels are the same. If you want to run 240v equipment off a battery in a car/camper/caravan youll pop an inverter in a cupboard. That's the same function as a PV inverter. Much of the functionality of a PV system uses quite simple principles well within the grasp of an awful lot of people......if they want to understand it.

Not sure that's right. It's not going to happen overnight but if it needs to happen, it will. Take the comments made about plumbers and ASHPs. I know 2 plumbers and they struggle with basic conventional heating system controls using a timer/room stat/zone valves. They've got little chance of being retrained in a field they already struggle with and theres next to no chance of the understanding the workings of a heat pump and associated control system. On top of that they have no chance of fixing a poorly specified system that needs a redesign. What we're going to have to do is wait for a generation of young trainees that cut their teeth on heat pumps and more complex controls to find their way into the market. That's years away but they will get out there in time.

If youre concerned about Perlight, what's stopping you using smaller JA panels.

Alterations are allowable and covered in OFGEMs updated FIT rules https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/feed-tariffs-fit-decision-replacement-generating-equipment

Get a couple of panels or the same size sheets of wood, prop them up one in front of the other and see where the shadows fall at different times of the day. At a guess, 1 metre will be no where near enough to give year round generation from the rear rows. Setting the panels in landscape orientation will allow them to be closer but make the rows longer. If youve got the option to raise the rear rows, that would allow the rows to be closer together PVGIS will give you hourly generation figures so you can see how much an unshaded array should be generating at different times of the day throughout the year. You can then decide when and how much you want to generate and set your panels so there is no shading when youve chase to generate. Unless youve got the rows spaced far enough that theres no shading, It's almost certain that you want the front row on its own MPPT input and the rest of the panels on a separate input(s). Alternatively you can use optimisers or micro inverters which will both help maximise generation when theres some shading.

Probably best to speak to your DNO before you comit to anything to check you can add the extra export.

If youre looking to change to a Lux hybrid inverter, youll not be able to use micro inverters as they produce AC which isnt compatible with the DC PV input of the inverter. If you want to keep the inverter youve got now and use micro inverters for your PV, youll need to speak to your DNO and likely make a G99 application as your total potential output to the grid is over 16amp(3.68kw). One thing I noticed from the photo you posted is that if the West face of your bungalow isnt shaded you can add panels the that bit of the roof as well as the south face.

I'd disagree with you on that. Whoever installed it for you is likely a professional and should have run through options with you. As you wanted an inverter/batteries, fitting PV at a later date is a blindingly obvious thing to do so they should have asked about that. They're at fault, not you.

You should be able to get it circulating by manually venting the system. An auto vent will clear circulating bubbles and stop them accumulating but manual venting will get any big slugs of air out so an auto vent wont be required to get the system running. Is there a non return valve and has it been fitted the right way? Pump is fitted the correct way round? Have you followed the pipework from the filling point and checked theres no closed valves and that flow and return pipework rises from the lowest point to the highest point?

Youre frames look easily adjustable so no plans to change inclination seasonally??

Rock solid then. If youre not used to swinging a sledge hammer, get someone who is to do it!!!

With no bracing shown on the sides Im guessing the vertical tubes get knocked well into the ground??

I genuinely don't understand why you think theres going to be a 50% loss in generation for the new 1.5kwp of panels. Inverter losses are a few % so having a second inverter is going to have negligible impact. Putting half of the new panels on a flat roof will have an impact but not much. Running 1.5kwp of panels through PVGIS gives annual generation of 1376kwh at 35 degrees and 1251kwh at 10 degrees inclination, so a loss of under 10%. OP only has 2 out of 4 panels on a flat roof so under 5% loss. How much shading there is on the OPs 2 flat roof panels we dont know, but we have 3 out of 16 of our panels shaded til lunchtime and our array still generates significantly more than the MCS forecast year on year so the shading cant be too detrimental.

If youve had the system stripped it can take a while to get the slugs of air out of the system. An auto air vent will catch any bubbles circulating and stop them accumulating. I'm not sure what you define as the solar station but you definitely want to be venting the collector on the roof

Interesting stuff. I'd have thought that there would be more than 25% difference between identical shaded and unshaded panels so not sure how Tigo deal with that?? Solaredge dont seem to have the same restriction as you can have 250w and 500w optimisers in the same string. Probably not relevant to the OP unless he's gonna migrate the lot to SE

Why would adding 40% more generation capacity, in the same location, only give a theoretical 40% increase in generation? OP is putting 2 panels on a pitched roof and 2 on a flat roof which may or may not be angled but I dont think that gonna cost him a loss of half his additional generation which youre suggesting at quoting 20%. In terms of 'getting excited" I like people to see the bigger picture, which includes the risks in doing certain things, like breaching the FIT rules, as you suggested. We had our FIT payments suspended a few years ago due wholly to an admin error by our FIT payer, Scottish Power. Despite extensive dialogue with them the payments only got reinstated after 6 months following a formal complaint to OFGEM. If youd breached the rules and had payments suspended I could see that taking a very long time to sort out, based on my experience.

I cant see electricity suppliers not wanting to buy excess renewable generation so I'd be surprised if SEG or a similar system wasnt in place for a good while. If youre making a decision to install kit based on receiving payments its probably prudent to also consider the same project without payments.

Adding 1.5kw to a 4 kw system is around a 40% hike in generation. Factor in the new panels will almost certainly be more efficient that the old 250w panels and that's a blatantly obvious hike in generation. I'm not sure if FIT payers monitor that sort of thing but it would be very easy to do. Youd almost certainly get your FIT payments suspended and possibly loose them entirely for not notifying the system extension. I'm not sure how the FIT scheme is funded but likely we all contribute through eleccy bills/tax, so taking payments youre not entitled to is money out of everyone else's pockets!!

But that's exactly what optimisers are designed to deal with. There's no difference in varying panel outputs from a mix of shaded and unshaded panels compared to a mix of panel sizes/outputs. We have 310 and 320w panels on one string and 335 and 405w panels on a second string. Being able to use differing size panels is an often overlooked feature of optimisers that allow a system to be very easily expanded over time without having to source panels to match originals that may have been obsolete for years. Like the OP our original FIT system uses 250w panels and I doubt Id be able to easily find 250w panels if I wanted to expand that system. Fortunately that system uses optimisers so I can add pretty much whatever panels I want up to the inverters DC input limit😁