I dream of genie

[bobberjob]

So I’m looking at pv with the hope of being self sufficient with battery back-ups.

 

is this just a pipe dream?

[JohnMo]

Pipe dream.

 

Need huge array to cover winter and shoulder months, possibly producing a 10th of the nameplate production in winter.

 

Could do it in summer with enough panels and batteries.

 

Would need a generator or grid connection also.

[Pocster]

Yep . In winter you get plenty of days where pv generates zero or if you are lucky 0.5kw . I’m in the south west of the country - your mileage may vary .

Best you can do in winter is fill up a battery on off peak rate 

[SteamyTea]

Do you know how much energy you currently use, and when you use it?

If not, find out.

[Conor]

I know a guy that has. Think he has a 24pKw array and a room full of batteries. Passive House so minimal heat load. Was denied permission for a wind turbine.

[Iceverge]

It depends how far South you are and how much stuff you're willing to burn to make up the difference. 

 

Unless you have an electric car. Then you're buggered. 

 

 

 

 

 

[bobberjob]

Well that doesn’t sound very promising then.

 

most electric used in the winter for space heating 

 

if it is so bad in winter why is the Country bleating on about renewables?  Seems we have to have pv for the sunny days, wind for the windy days and try and live by the sea for the wave power.

 

thanks for the replies

[Marvin]

10 minutes ago, bobberjob said:

Well that doesn’t sound very promising then.

True @bobberjob we're all waiting for better batteries at a lower price to make the off grid practical. (Yes there are some exceptions) Our 5.12kW PV produces all the power we need in a year, just not when we need it..... However for us we have APE (ASHP, PV and EV) and are driving around for about 3p a mile  at the moment and cooling in the summer powered by the PV as well, so some benefits.

 

M

Edited March 26, 2022 by Marvin

[TW9]

10 minutes ago, bobberjob said:

Well that doesn’t sound very promising then.

 

most electric used in the winter for space heating 

 

if it is so bad in winter why is the Country bleating on about renewables?  Seems we have to have pv for the sunny days, wind for the windy days and try and live by the sea for the wave power.

 

thanks for the replies

Because renewables result in less carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere and less reliance on fossil fuels from other countries, such as Russia. There's no "one size fits all" when it comes to renewables and it is more difficult than building gas power stations but it has to happen if we're to avoid catastrophic climate change.

[SteamyTea]

2 hours ago, bobberjob said:

wind for the windy days and try and live by the sea for the wave power.

First two are almost right.

The wave power isn't. To the best of my knowledge there has been no, large scale, wave power that has been successful, globally.

Mate of mine worked in the industry and he left because he got fed up with 'hopeless projects that were going to fail'.

To quote an engineer based at WaveHub, 'it is a bit rough out there'.

[ToughButterCup]

20 hours ago, bobberjob said:

I’m looking at pv with the hope of being self sufficient with battery back-ups....

 

Join the queue.

It's a bit of a let down isn't it: you (like me) came here  hoping that you could '... do the right thing ...'  One positive you can rely on is that you will find the early adopters here. And sure as Hell, they will be talking about it.

 

Try dropping a turbine in the river Severn?

[joe90]

30 minutes ago, ToughButterCup said:

It's a bit of a let down isn't it: you (like me) came here  hoping that you could '... do the right thing ...'  One positive you can rely on is that you will find the early adopters here. And sure as Hell, they will be talking about it.

My take on it is that I have loads of insulation so dependency on “fuel” is less, having PV will reduce need at times, orientation of the house and large conservatory has dramatically reduced heating costs and my electricity supplier buys mostly green energy. Connection to the grid till batteries get better/cheaper is a necessary. How the rest of the country can manage in such bad housing is beyond me but I live in hope.

[ProDave]

45 minutes ago, joe90 said:

My take on it is that I have loads of insulation so dependency on “fuel” is less, having PV will reduce need at times, orientation of the house and large conservatory has dramatically reduced heating costs and my electricity supplier buys mostly green energy. Connection to the grid till batteries get better/cheaper is a necessary. How the rest of the country can manage in such bad housing is beyond me but I live in hope.

+101 to that.

 

Our solar PV generates more than our heating useage in a year, but not at the time we really need it most.  But still, as long as you are able to usefully use what it generates then all it means is you import a lot of your heating need in the winter then the payback is you import much less for other uses in the summer.

 

If there was a golden goose that enabled all houses to generate all their own energy needs on site all year, then the energy crisis would be over and the inventor of that technology would be rich.

 

And yes that elephant in the room, the poor state of UK housing.  I looked at (only out of curiosity) a flat for sale near us.  EPC G 7  That is 07  I struggle to see how you could get any worse short of taking the roof off, and shudder to think what it would cost to make it even half way decent. Yes some mug will buy it and then complain the bills are high.

[Pocster]

The only thing you can do is “ the best with current technology “ .

Insulation being I think the first thing ( doesn’t matter how you generate heat if you lose it all ) . An EV is a good way to have a battery without buying a battery ( if you see what I mean ) . Charge at cheap off peak rate in winter . Charge off solar in summer . Whilst that might not reduce heating / electric bill for the house you are saving on fuelling your car . Swings and roundabouts 

[Pocster]

But you do get days like this !

EV 100% full so I have to export !!

 

 

[SteamyTea]

3 minutes ago, pocster said:

But you do get days like this !

EV 100% full so I have to export

Smug.

But just think off all the poor people you are helping who have been waiting for nearly two decades for your local nuclear power station to get finished.

 

Just charging up the battery in my mother's car as it has been sitting idle for 5 months.

Sounds alright, in tickover, for a diesel.

[Pocster]

1 minute ago, SteamyTea said:

Smug.

But just think off all the poor people you are helping who have been waiting for nearly two decades for your local nuclear power station to get finished.

 

Just charging up the battery in my mother's car as it has been sitting idle for 5 months.

Sounds alright, in tickover, for a diesel.

Diesel ! . You and you alone are killing the planet ! . You’re in sunny Cornwall I should imagine even with a small pv array you could be filling your boots ! . Get her an EV and some pv ( it would be a good Mother’s Day present ) 😁

[SteamyTea]

4 minutes ago, pocster said:

Get her an EV and some pv ( it would be a good Mother’s Day present )

If I had known she would still be alive 5 months after her stroke, I would have got myself a hybrid for the weekly 600 mile journey.

Recon I could get 8 kW on this roof.

Lovely and sunny today.

 

[Pocster]

3 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

If I had known she would still be alive 5 months after her stroke, I would have got myself a hybrid for the weekly 600 mile journey.

Recon I could get 8 kW on this roof.

Lovely and sunny today.

 

Oh yes ! I’d pv that roof ! . Do that and get a battery !

[ToughButterCup]

58 minutes ago, pocster said:

...

EV 100% full so I have to export !!

 

Can't you 'do something' with that power? Our SunAmp installation is connected to a MyEnergi Eddi. So  I have to play the - how-little-can-I-boost- today   game.  If our SunAmp is full, and there's plenty of sunshine still, I'll find a job for some hot water. Admittedly it only happens on a few days in the year. But yesterday was one of them. Annoyingly, I'd boosted for an hour or so first thing ....

 

Can't you give your Powerwall a  small  job to do?

Edited March 26, 2022 by ToughButterCup

[SteamyTea]

6 minutes ago, ToughButterCup said:

Can't you 'do something' with that power

By having it go to export, everyone benefits, a little.

[Pocster]

8 minutes ago, ToughButterCup said:

 

Can't you 'do something' with that power? Our SunAmp installation is connected to a MyEnergi Eddi. So  I have to play the - how-little-can-I-boost- today   game.  If our SunAmp is full, and there's plenty of sunshine still, I'll find a job for some hot water. Admittedly it only happens on a few days in the year. But yesterday was one of them. Annoyingly, I'd boosted for an hour or so first thing ....

 

Can't you give your Powerwall a  small  job to do?

😁

Washing machine job done 

Dishwasher job done 

 

I could charge some Dewalt batteries I suppose 😂

 

Drowning in excess lecky . Hence why I’m getting more storage 

[Pocster]

3 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

By having it go to export, everyone benefits, a little.

Yes - I am helping you . A minuscule fraction of that export goes to you . Aren’t I kind !

[Marvin]

Car fully charged.

Hot water 🔥 🔥 🔥 

House warm.

Washing done

Dishwasher done 

Batteries charged.

Makita all charged. 

Phones charged.

Laptop charged.

chargeable batteries charged

Now 3.5kW going to grid....

[Radian]

19 minutes ago, Marvin said:

Car fully charged.

Hot water 🔥 🔥 🔥 

House warm.

Washing done

Dishwasher done 

Batteries charged.

Makita all charged. 

Phones charged.

Laptop charged.

chargeable batteries charged

Now 3.5kW going to grid....

 

How's the temperature of your frozen food?

Edited March 26, 2022 by Radian