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Solar PV


Mike_scotland

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Hi Group,

I have had some topics up before about Solar PV but i cant seem to be able to find it again! , me and my partner are building our own house and we are looking for Solar PV, has anyone experiences with this and any costs? we were thinking a 5/6kw ground system as our roof is taking up by quite a few roof lights, although its not out the question.

we have some calculations and wondering if a 60% / 40% split is a good starting point 60% being used and 40% going to the grid under the tarrif scheme at about 4-5p a kwh.

We got the PVGIS from someone on here and its saying roughly be 4400kwh at our location with a 5kw system, so i worked out if we split it 60/40 we would have about £1300 saved a year based on 28p per kwh which is the forcast cost of elec come april, and £180 back from feed back based at 5.5p. but the key question is if its likely 60/40 split is a smart estimate, my wife works from home so im thinking thats in our favour and im also thinking if we got the washing,dishes, dryer, hot water etc all done at peak times then it should really help.

currently we are due to move in come March/April and were all Electric house with a ASHP.

Thanks

Mike

 

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I would read myself and @pocster 's post over here:

 

 

Got some info that pertains to your question.

 

I would give the grid nothing! In the grand scheme of things every solar panel generating electricity and adding it to the grid is a good thing, if we all gave 200W across the whole nation think how good even that would be, however, the system is a sham, the system, is designed, and this needs to be dealt with soon, that they are actively discouraging people from generating their own. 

 

My aunt in law gets 45p kWh from a historical tarriff, I would get 3p. My attitude it that why should I give them it! 

Edited by Carrerahill
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Stick with 4kWp and a 3.68kW inverter grid tied so no DNO problems and self use as much as you can.  anything else gets expensive with obstacles in your way.  You can buy all the parts and DIY install that pretty cheap or pay an electrician.

 

To claim the insulting 5p export payment requires an MCS install which we all know adds ££££ to the bill and you will never reclaim the MCS surcharge with the export payments.

 

I export about 100kWh per year that I am unable to self use for which I would get paid about £5 were I able to claim the payment.  Simply NOT worth paying the extra than an MCS contractor would charge.

 

If you want even more than 4kWp them make that off grid for battery charging to be used in the evenings for example?

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4 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Stick with 4kWp and a 3.68kW inverter grid tied so no DNO problems and self use as much as you can.  anything else gets expensive with obstacles in your way.  You can buy all the parts and DIY install that pretty cheap or pay an electrician.

 

To claim the insulting 5p export payment requires an MCS install which we all know adds ££££ to the bill and you will never reclaim the MCS surcharge with the export payments.

 

I export about 100kWh per year that I am unable to self use for which I would get paid about £5 were I able to claim the payment.  Simply NOT worth paying the extra than an MCS contractor would charge.

 

If you want even more than 4kWp them make that off grid for battery charging to be used in the evenings for example?

Hi Pro Dave

I think i remember you giving me this advice before.

Where do you get the Cheaper panels? Ebay or something?

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18 minutes ago, Mike_scotland said:

Hi Pro Dave

I think i remember you giving me this advice before.

Where do you get the Cheaper panels? Ebay or something?

https://midsummerwholesale.co.uk/

 

Try these guys, there is even a array builder tool on the home page.

 

I like these: https://midsummerwholesale.co.uk/buy/eurener/eurener-375w-mepv-zebra-ab-half-cut-mono they work out a good peak power for the ££££'s.

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My panels came from Bimble Solar.  Some they had on offer at the time, a pallet load split with another forum member.  Inverter and other bits like isolators and generation meter from ebay.  Mounting frame made of Unistrut. Cheaper than aluminium rail.

 

 

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Ignore panel efficiency.  Nobody has yet invented a PV panel much above 20% efficient.  It only affects the space they take up.  Concentrate on minimum price per kW of panel unless you are really restricted for space.

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If you want to maximise generation but stick within the 16amp DNO limit,  some/many inverters allow connection of a much higher output array than the inverters rating. As an example a solaredge SE3680H is clamped at a max 16amp AC output but can have up to 5.7kw of panels connected to it. Although therell be some wasteage of potential generation on sunny summer days,  the system will produce more when condition/season isnt so favourable.

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3 hours ago, Mike_scotland said:

i am seeing alot of panels around 20% efficiency? does that mean there losing 80% or ?

There is an upper limit that silicon panels can deliver, around 37% I seem to remember.

The 20% figure will be a standard test, they can deliver more, but not by much.

 

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5 hours ago, ProDave said:

 

 

5 hours ago, ProDave said:

If you want even more than 4kWp them make that off grid for battery charging to be used in the evenings for example?

How do you configure this Dave? Say you wanted 12kWp in total and had 4 set up in a standard DNO max configuration what do you do with the other 8? A second string I can understand but what type of battery and how do you prevent the battery becoming overcharged if this string cant export?

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1 minute ago, markharro said:

 

How do you configure this Dave? Say you wanted 12kWp in total and had 4 set up in a standard DNO max configuration what do you do with the other 8? A second string I can understand but what type of battery and how do you prevent the battery becoming overcharged if this string cant export?

Technically any such system would be off grid so really complicated and in the realms of experimenting I suspect.

 

I wish the DNO's would be more flexible.

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