Isn't there a member here who is a specialist home PV installer/specifier? @Doink ...should have something interesting to add re kit & outlay Vs returns
Perhaps even install conventional refrigerant-charged split system air conditioning to operate at a steady 18 deg C from dawn till dusk?
There are some great suggestions on this thread already only thing I would add is for every 1 KW of PV you get about 75% of that on average And if you grid connect you need to notify the DNO as you are installing a generator that is connected to their system and could back feed onto the grid .. you should also get a feed in tariff on top of your price per KWH for every megawatt you generate ..also if you have a EV Electric vehicle you could use it as battery storage have fun with your install and hope it saves you money long term
Thanks @Doink , that's good info, the generally accepted figure is around 750KW per year per KW of solar, so as you say 75%. I am connecting to the grid and will inform Shell Energy beforehand. I've just about finished the frame, hopefully the rail joiners and panel brackets will arrive tomorrow and I can do a trial fit of the panels, make sure it all fits square and then dismantle it ready for cleaning up, painting and reassembling on the roof. The next thing to think of is the cable run which is around 30M behind some outbuildings and into the house. Looking at the solar forums the consensus is to do it in DC, so I'm using 6mm cable to minimise any voltage drop. The big question is whether to run the cable in conduit or not, there seems to be a 50/50 split amongst the experts so I'm leaning on "not bother" side.
You jest, but that's going to be happening a lot. The utility companies don't have the manpower to send thousands of meter readers out to check. Apparently some people remove the main fuse from the incoming cut-out and install a set of tail blocks to dap the fuseboard tails in, bypassing the meter. They then keep a log of the times they reconnect normally, thus keeping the bypass realistic in terms of usage. Last thing people want is to cause a suspiciously high drop in usage..........apparently.
I don't think Shell is your DNO. You need to find out who is the distributor (the D part of DNO). There is a form you can use here to check: https://www.energynetworks.org/operating-the-networks/whos-my-network-operator
Thst bit about notification is for safety too.. A friend from Germany told me of somebody who had a big feed-in system that left a chunk of the local neighbourhood mains supply live when the electricity company isolated it for a repair..
You're right, my DNO is Western Power. I need to sent them a G98 form giving details of my inverter and it' type aproval and signed by the sparky. Whilst he's here connecting it to the consumer unit he'll do a full safety check of the house at the same time.
It's a requirement over here that the inverter shuts down in the event of an incoming mains outage, when notifying the grid about a home system theey require details of the inverter and its type aproval details.
Do you have any good links that explain how to connect solar to the house. You've got me interested and I'd like to understand (but get an electrician to do) how the DC interconnects to the house AC system. Obviously inverters are involved but is there a black box that pulls power sequentially from solar/batteries/ mains etc....thanks for posting Paul @Fruitcake
Yes they should isolate when mains disappears. If you want some leccy whilst in a blackout you need one which has 2 mains connections - one supply which comes from the consumer unit (and supplies inverted AC from the solar and/or batteries) and a second one usually labelled backup, which you can connect via new circuits to stuff you need to run during a blackout (fridge, internet router(s), CCTV, burglar alarm etc)
https://diysolarforum.com/ is a great community, covers a lot of stuff if you're interested to learn. They are worldwide so be aware there's different standards and rules, but for educating yourself it's pretty good. I am Coda on there too
