Vertical fence pv

[Pocster]

I thought there was some regs issue on these ? I.e feeding straight into the inverter like roof pv . Am I wrong ? . Just saw this on fb and got my interest !

[Pocster]

A fence - which on your own property can be made of anything ?? . Under 6ft for building regs 😊 . Would a sparky happily wire these to grid connected inverter ? ( not mcs 😊😊 )

[ProDave]

No problem at all.  Particularly up here in the north, they can work very well taking more advantage of the low winter sun.  You only need MCS if you intend to export and get paid for it. 

[DamonHD]

I use mine for an off-grid system, and they are functioning as a privacy screen as that wall is quite low!

 

[Pocster]

22 minutes ago, ProDave said:

No problem at all.  Particularly up here in the north, they can work very well taking more advantage of the low winter sun.  You only need MCS if you intend to export and get paid for it. 

So can I get them simply added effectively to my roof pv ? . I don’t need to change inverter or anything - so do I need mcs accreditation install ? I.e my export limit hasn’t changed 

[Pocster]

1 minute ago, DamonHD said:

I use mine for an off-grid system, and they are functioning as a privacy screen as that wall is quite low!

 

They strong ? . I mean football hits it 🙄

[DamonHD]

No footballs kicked in around in my garden, but they don't feel fragile, and have been up some years now.

 

https://www.earth.org.uk/expanding-off-grid-PV-system.html#20160722

Edited October 7 by DamonHD

[DamonHD]

3 minutes ago, Pocster said:

So can I get them simply added effectively to my roof pv ? . I don’t need to change inverter or anything - so do I need mcs accreditation install ? I.e my export limit hasn’t changed 

 

If you add them to an existing system for which you are getting FiT then you should tell your administrator and they will scale down future payments from what your generation meter says to compensate, ie to only pay for the PV that went in under FiT.

 

Also, in principle, you should tell the DNO, or ask first if you would go over 16A per phase, I think.

[Nickfromwales]

34 minutes ago, Pocster said:

They strong ? . I mean football hits it 🙄

Glass-glass is the strongest panel you can get, and they take a proper beating.

[SteamyTea]

40 minutes ago, Pocster said:

They strong ? . I mean football hits it

A stone flung out the lawn mower is probably the most likely to break one.

 

As for wiring safety, some conduit on the cables is probably sensible, and probably a legal requirement. Depending on number of panels, the voltage can be up to 1000.

[JohnMo]

Not really a fence but would function as one, has been hit several times with 80mph storms. Photo was taken on very cold day.

 

5 hours ago, ProDave said:

You only need MCS if you intend to export and get paid for it

 

Now getting 15p per kWh exported, for my non MCS system.

[Pocster]

Might ‘clad’ my house in pv panels 

[Pocster]

I’m still confused why mcs would be required if adding to an existing system . Whats to stop me adding another pv panel now ?

[DamonHD]

Your existing system will have been signed off with the DNO, and possibly a FiT administrator, with a particular configuration and capacity.  That is what you have permission for.  Changes may require new permission or at least notification.

[Pocster]

3 hours ago, DamonHD said:

Your existing system will have been signed off with the DNO, and possibly a FiT administrator, with a particular configuration and capacity.  That is what you have permission for.  Changes may require new permission or at least notification.

But why ? . I can’t export anymore . I can have as many dc batteries as I want - DNO doesn’t care . So why more panels require notification? What does it affect ??? . Understand for a new system you need it - but as my exports capped ….

[-rick-]

I think you need to worry about notificatoin if you are on FIT. Non-FIT I dont think it matters unless you change the inverter.

 

Adding extra panels to an existing inverter needs careful thought though especially if they are in a different orientation. If you have a spare MPPT then its easy, if not then needs careful thought.

[sgt_woulds]

If adding to an existing sytem you will need to add them as a seperate string, due to the different orientation to your roof panels.  

 

You 'should' tell your DNO, yes.  But if it is just one or two panels on an existing inverter and the extra panels don't significantly increase your export potential, then you'll have to ask if they'd ever know?

[Big Jimbo]

14 minutes ago, Pocster said:

But why ? .

I think it's like lots of things these days my friend. I have mains drainage. One pipe that comes into my land from the lane outside. I'm responsible for all the pipework on my land going to various buildings etc. If if blocks up on my land, it is down to me to sort it out. I can do what i like with those pipes. Extend them etc, as long as i do it to building Regs. However, if i want to put a new manhole, just inside my boundary, and provide a new branch, to take the waste from a new, stand alone property, on my land, i have to apply for permission. It's just Big Brother......You are being watched. The satillites are hovering over Bristol.....

[Pocster]

Basically I can do what I want is my interpretation 😊

[Big Jimbo]

38 minutes ago, Pocster said:

Basically I can do what I want is my interpretation 😊

Ask for forgivness after. You don't go to confession to say, i want to do a murder. you go after the murder. Crack on bud.

[SteamyTea]

2 hours ago, Pocster said:

But why ? . I can’t export anymore

You are getting the power limit on the inverter and the energy exported confused.

The mean power exported will be higher, which will raise the total energy exported.

It is those kW and kWh again, those things that you don't think are important.

[Pocster]

2 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

You are getting the power limit on the inverter and the energy exported confused.

The mean power exported will be higher, which will raise the total energy exported.

It is those kW and kWh again, those things that you don't think are important.

Ah it's all bollocks. My export is 3.68THINGIES . I can add a zillion PV panels and my export will still be limited to 3.68Boobies. So I do what the (expletive deleted) I want . 

Edited October 8 by Pocster

[Dillsue]

1 hour ago, Pocster said:

Basically I can do what I want is my interpretation 😊

If your still running solaredge then you can add more panels up to the max number of optimisers....24 if it's an SE3680H you've got. You also need to keep under the max DC input which is likely double the inverter rating. 

 

DNO is only interested in the max the inverter will produce so adding panels won't increase that.

 

If you're getting FIT then you need to notify your FIT payer of the addition.

 

If youre thinking of building a fence with panels, remember that lots of fences eventually blow down and pretty much all wooden fences eventually succumb with rot. Climate change ain't gonna make future storms any less intense and likely the opposite so use battleship engineering

[SteamyTea]

Just now, Pocster said:

My epos is 3.68THINGIES . I can add a zillion PV panels and my export will still be limited to 3.68Boobies

But for more time.

There will be very few hours a year that your thingy is 3.68, more likely 2.5.

By adding a bit more juice to your thingy, it will be closer to the 3.68 than it was.

So it is important to the local grid.  If you were to export 3.68 24/7, your local wire would get too hot.

 

(I am talking cm not inches) 

[Pocster]

7 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

But for more time.

There will be very few hours a year that your thingy is 3.68, more likely 2.5.

By adding a bit more juice to your thingy, it will be closer to the 3.68 than it was.

So it is important to the local grid.  If you were to export 3.68 24/7, your local wire would get too hot.

 

(I am talking cm not inches) 

But that's not my problem. Because in theory without adding anymore PV I could export 3.68waggies all day long.