Dillsue

How are you going to prove it? From conversations Ive had with our DNO the way that they expect you to prove it is make a G99/G100 application and they then come out and witness the limitation system, all chargeable!

A single 6kw install is probably undetectable but even if it was the DNO is probably not going to do anything about it. Fast forward 5-10 years when lots more people have done the same thing, some with permission and some without. Come a bright sunny summers day and the local voltage goes over the max limit due to all the PV exporting. When they look into why and find a load of unapproved installs they could send out formal disconnection notices and all those unapproved systems become useless. G99 is a straight forward process and once youve got approval youve likely got it forever. What's more it seems to be free to apply in certain areas so arguably a no brainer

Id not picked up on people being asked for a site layout so definitely worth checking

I think you maybe looking at the wrong form! It's G99 A1-1 that you want. Certainly for my application there was no site or location plan needed. To go with the form youll need a single line drawing of the house electrics and a type test certificate for the inverter which youll get from the ENA inverter database

That's sort of right but....... AFAIK its not G99 OR export limitation, it's always G99 and if you want to add in an export limition system its G99 + G100 If your panels and batteries can only produce 1kw and are hooked up to a 5kw inverter then a smaller inverter would avoid the need for a G99 application

There's been posts saying that some DNOs dont charge for a G99 so you may get lucky. SPEN, our DNO charged us £300. If you start installing a 6 kw system and your DNO says you can't have that much, youre going to be in a pickle. Speak to them before you start buying gear and they may give you an informal answer quite quickly. SPEN told us informally within a few days that we could double our output. Formal application took a couple of months to process.

If your panels are going on the front of the house, how much shading is that tree casting over your roof?

Call your DNO, the company that fixes blackouts, not your supplier

Before you go too far designing/buying kit, if youre looking at a 6kw inverter youll need permission from your DNO so probably worth speaking to them to check you can connect a 6kw system to the grid.

With batteries storing energy in a way that produces DC voltage, it's not possible to connect batteries directly to the AC grid. The energy from the battery has to go through an inverter to convert from DC to AC. It maybe that theres an inverter built into the battery pack or it maybe theres a discrete separate inverter, but there will be an inverter between batteries and the grid

So long as youve got an approved export limitation set up.......16amp for G98 OR whatever your DNO gives consent for under G99.

But only 50% of the population understand that principle

SPEN told us informally within a few days we were ok to double export from 16A to 32A. Formal G99 application was £300. Be concious that once youve got approval its unlikely to be withdrawn so youve got the "right" to export for ever. I'm sure it's been said in the past that some DNOs havent charged for a G99 application??

If discharge to the house from your 6.3kwh battery is limited by your 3kw inverter then doubling the battery capacity wont make any difference to the discharge rate of 3kw, if the second battery is connected up in the same way as the first. What's the objection to a G99 application for a bigger inverter?

You can have as much PV installed as you want. The DNO is only interested in what can potentially discharge to the grid which is limited by the inverter.

If its the one Ive just looked at its described as used and I'm fairly sure ebay expects a used item to be fully working unless any defects are stated. Andover is a long way from Preston so that would be a concern for me if I wasnt happy and wanted to return it.

If its an eBay auction, ebay will reimburse you if its not as described. The key is how is it being described?

To get export payments, I beleive you need the MCS installation cert and the installer to register the install on the MCS database. I beleive some or all SEG payers want a letter from the DNO confirming the grid connection is accepted. On top of those you want elec test cert, warranty details, operation guide. Details of any non standard settings theyve made together within any usernames and passwords. A list of component model/part numbers would be useful in the future for getting spares sorted.

Unless you specifically asked them to sort out a SEG contract for you, and I dont think thats the norm, it would be you that would sort out an export payment contract, as you are doing now with Octopus. If you'd asked for the MCS certificate when the system was installed, but they didn't supply it, then you might have an argument that the loss of export payment was their fault. If they're an MCS acreddited installer then you'd likely be able to make a complaint to MCS but not sure you'd get your lost export payments reimbursed???

What's the model number of the Emlite unit with flashing lights(probably a meter) and how many wires are connected to it? Whats the model number of the solar inverter? Might be able to guess a bit more accurately how your system is set up, but if its a single phase inverter with the 3 phase supply configured as you remember, you might not be using any of the solar generation!

Yep, winter generation is nothing like summer but a 46 panel array could be quite sizeable in kwp

I've no experience with in roof trays but would have thought it feasible to buy the trays and get your roofer to fit and flash them. Sort out the solar installer in your own time

Maybe from a current perspective, but voltage rise could be an issue for the garage inverter. From a previous post the OP already has a 6.3kw PV system on the house pushing the voltage up. The new 5kw inverter is at the end of a circa 30m cable so theres going to be a bit of a rise on top of a house voltage that may already be elevated on a sunny day. OPs spark probably needs to be looking at the install detail and design

Cant say how your inverters/batteries would interact, but Id be fairly sure you'd need to beef up your 2.5mm cable to 6 or 10mm if you want to be able to push 5kw into the house.

Without knowing the specifics of the spill youre referring to, theres a fair chance the St Agnes resident was partly right in that the surface water from the new housing is helping to inundate the the local sewers when rains heavily. What theyre likely missing is that their surface water is doing the same and would likely cause the same problem without any new housing or holidaymakers. Everyone turning the shoe on the bottom of their downspouts 90 degrees could likely keep an awful lot of s**t where it belongs.