Energy Matters:Home Solar

[NewcastleFalcon]

A simple thread title, a simple thread.

Purpose to collect as much news information and experience as possible about Home Solar.

Practically....its the only established option for generating electricity at home. Tech is getting better all the time, but already good enough to seriously consider, and for those who have already plumped for it, their original back of a tab packet calculations must be looking better and better.

Plenty to fill the thread, and hopefully it will turn into a useful source of information for participants and viewers alike.

REgards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

I know Jordan, does some very good Sparky Videos, and some less than good EV Van reviews, I'll give him a hearing, lets hear what he has to say...



Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

There's videos on the Artisan Electrics Channel of the whole shebang, but this addition of the battery storage video may also be interesting. I found it interesting watching the install and what a pleasure it is to see someone who really knows his stuff doing the install. Jordan was just a bit part player this time, assisting here and there, but Sam from Oval Renewables doing the battery install was absolute class.



REgards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

I've asked a number of suppliers to quote for battery add on to my solar, they all seem a bit reluctant, only one gave a definite figure that came into the 'affordable' bracket for me but the batteries were from a name I didn't recognise, Pylontech and at over four grand installed were still more than I'm prepared to spend at the moment.
Did look them up. https://solarclarity.com/en/home-batter ... pylontech/

[NewcastleFalcon]

You probably have posted stuff on other threads Gibbo, but it I would find it interesting if you did a brief recap here of the vital statistics. In terms of use without a the benefit of a battery, the first use will be your home, but maybe you can also choose to divert to the EV Charger. Is any excess over immediate use automatically exported to the grid, and does this come back as a credit on your bill

Regards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

Here's a quick look at the set up. The panels are Italian a company called Peimar Solar and a Solax invertor. The hall meter is for the feed in tariff. The chart is for July from Solax, they send one monthly but it's two pages so I've only scanned the end summary.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Thanks Gibbo, how does that translate into your own personal usage/ compared to what your domestic power station supplies to the grid. How does that arrangement work in the price of what you take from the grid, and what they pay you for your feed-in to the grid.

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Thanks Gibbo, how does that translate into your own personal usage/ compared to what your domestic power station supplies to the grid. How does that arrangement work in the price of what you take from the grid, and what they pay you for your feed-in to the grid.

Regards Neil

Looks like the Smart Export Guarantee, replaced the former feed-in tariff scheme in 2020.
Ofgem explain it here

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/s ... generators

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) makes sure that small-scale low-carbon generators receive payment for any electricity they export to the grid. It requires licensed electricity suppliers to offer export tariffs to anaerobic digestion (AD), hydro, onshore wind, and solar photovoltaic (PV) generators with a total installed capacity up to 5MW, and micro-combined heat and power (micro-CHP) up to 50kW.

Regards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

The feed in tariff works on a bit of a guestimate basis. The measured output calculates the amount produced then the energy supplier assumes you use half of that yourself and pays you for the other half they assume goes to the grid.

The figures are set per Kwh by the scheme, in my case that typically works out at around £40 in the winter per quarter and in the summer £78 per quarter and guaranteed for twenty years,

Because I'm getting daytime supply from my panels my quarterly bill has also fallen by nearly half.

I'm not sure (need to look it up) but I think the Kwh rate has increased once since my panels were installed so maybe with the price rises at the moment it could rise again.

Shell have been excellent in the operation of the scheme paying out very promptly direct to my bank account

The reason for looking at battery storage is simply that if I store the energy for my own use it won't make any difference to the assumption of 50% generated going to the grid so my feed in tariff payments won't reduce.

[NewcastleFalcon]

So you are on the pre-2020 scheme rather than the replacement Smart Export Guarantee. You have got the benefit of being an early adopter

Looks like the SEG requires a bit more precision in the amounts determined as being exported to the grid.
as evidenced by these requirements for metering.

Ofgem:Smart Export Guarantee: Guidance For Generators December 2019

Metering
1.17. In order to be eligible to receive payments under a SEG export tariff, the renewable export from an eligible installation must be metered. That meter must be capable of taking half-hourly measurements and have an export MPAN (see paragraphs 1.21 and 1.22 below).
1.18. An export meter must be located at the point where the installation connects to the distribution network/the grid. Your existing meter may be capable of measuring exported electricity; speak to your SEG licensee about whether your existing meter can also measure exported electricity and be used to receive SEG payments.
1.19. SEG licensees are not required to accept a request for SEG payments on the exported electricity until they have access to or have received readings from the export meter.
1.20. Applicants that have a meter that can read export and be read remotely by a SEG licensee will be able receive payments without taking manual meter readings.
1.21. Applicants that have a meter that cannot be read remotely should speak to their SEG licensee to discuss how export meter readings will be taken.

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Only a couple of minutes. All new installations are now under the SEG arrangements.

So the "suppliers" can offer any tariff they want as long as it isnt zero and can compete with each other for what they are willing to pay, and if a generator doesn't like the SEG tariff from one supplier they can select the best on offer from another supplier. You can have one supplier providing your import electricity, and an entirely different one providing a SEG tariff for your exported electricity.

What are the various "under pressure" energy companies paying for these SEG tariffs, the video is a year or so old but at that time suggested 4p to 6p/kWh was a good rate and the article lists a dozen or so SEG tariffs from major suppliers at the time. Assembling and encouraging a virtual power station of many many installations would appear to be at the bargain basement end of electricity generation cost for the suppliers.

https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/green-ener ... 20Is%20the

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Just found a more up to date list of Smart Export Guarantee tariffs ie what they pay you for your exported home solar generation. Last updated July 25th 2022

https://www.solarpanelprices.co.uk/arti ... e-tariffs/

Top of the tree Tesla/Octopus in cahoots with the Tesla Energy plan at 10-12p/kWh
the rest...

https://www.solarpanelprices.co.uk/articles/solar-panels/best-smart-export-guarantee-tariffs/

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Here's a quick look at the set up. The panels are Italian a company called Peimar Solar ...

Solar panels tend to have their peak power expressed in Watts, like this listing for Peimar, the ones you have fitted Gibbo. Various panels listed, polycrystalline and monocrystalline 290W, through 325W up to 430W. Do you know the overall peak power of your array of 12 panels expressed in Watts We can see from your previous list your 12 panel array generated an actual total of 400 kWh in the month of July.

https://www.peimar.com/home/download/

Regards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

I would need to get the paperwork out to be sure Neil, the difference between poly and mono is obvious from the appearance.

Polycrystalline (blue) solar panels
The silicon used in polycrystalline solar cells is made from raw silicon that has been melted and poured into a square mould. This process doesn’t align the silicon perfectly, which results in the formation of many individual silicon crystals within the mould. The nature of the individual silicon crystals also produces the speckled, glimmering look and blue colour characteristic of polycrystalline panels.

Monocrystalline (black) solar panels
The silicon used to make monocrystalline solar cells has a high level of purity. The silicon is all oriented the same way in a monocrystalline solar cell, creating one large silicon crystal. Because of the way light interacts with a monocrystalline silicon layer, monocrystalline solar panels appear black in color. The process of aligning the silicon into one crystal, known as the Czochralski process, is energy-intensive and results in some wasted silicon. As a result, monocrystalline panels cost more than polycrystalline solar panels.

[NewcastleFalcon]

I would need to get the paperwork out to be sure Neil, the difference between poly and mono is obvious from the appearance.

Thanks Gibbo I was just interested from your first hand view what size of array translates into actual power generation. Definitely a very handy contribution coming out of your panels.

Regards Neil