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Solar Panel Megathread


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Quick, and no doubt stupid question please experts. I'm at home alot of the day. If I have my pc, washing machine, freezer, aquarium, kettle etc etc and say it all adds up to say, 5kw. Does that mean a 3.6kw system won't be able to cope - will the mains automatically kick in and power from the solar panels won't kick in at all ? Or will the solar panels do the first 3.6kw and the existing main supplier tops up the rest ?

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  • 1 month later...
Or will the solar panels do the first 3.6kw and the existing main supplier tops up the rest ?

 

The home will effectively draw power from the solar first and the grid will top up the extra required. Because the solar generator is wired either into the consumer unit / fuse board or into a junction box on the ''house side'' of the main supply.

 

Hope this answers your question :)

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Quick, and no doubt stupid question please experts. I'm at home alot of the day. If I have my pc, washing machine, freezer, aquarium, kettle etc etc and say it all adds up to say, 5kw. Does that mean a 3.6kw system won't be able to cope - will the mains automatically kick in and power from the solar panels won't kick in at all ? Or will the solar panels do the first 3.6kw and the existing main supplier tops up the rest ?

 

The stated output of 3.6kw system is its peak performance. So in the right conditions i.e. sun in its optimum position on a clear day you would expect this peak performance. If you were running appliances that consumed more than this peak figure, the additional is supplied from the grid. If you imagine your cables as water pipes, then the solar pv side supplies electricity (imagine its like water), at a slightly higher pressure. This is why on installations where an old analogue electricity meter is present, it turns the meter backwards when there is little or no demand from the house appliances.

So yes, the solar PV will supply as much as it can, and the remainder will come from the grid.

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  • 2 weeks later...
i am thinking of having solar panels, on a three bed semi, are they realy worth it cost wise & heating bills compared to central heating ?

 

Had a very interesting conversation with a sparky the other day, he fitted his own panesl before they reduced the pay back tariff for energy you put back into the grid. His system cost $15000 and will pay back £75000 over the next 20 years, He gets the free lecy for his high usage appliances, and the original high tarrif payback indext linked for 25 years. Beware the schemes that put the panels on ya roof and just give you the free lecy usage and no payback.

 

Think about it your mostly out at work in the day when its sunny, at this point the scheme provider get all the payback money for elec the panels put back in the grid, plus a very strict penalty if you drop the scheme and strick rules on who pays to remove the panel if you need to rapair your roof.

 

If you are in your house for the long hall then don't buy the new car, fit and

own the panels and get all the payback and free lecy. If you move you can also keep the payback monies letting the new owner tap into the free elecy. Do your homework but don't let one of the schemes into or onto your roof they are just venture capitalist T W O T S :hihi:

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If you can't afford them in the first place then it's still a good deal.

 

The FIT has been significantly reduced as well now and the estimated pay back is normally estimated for 'optimum' conditions, rather than realistic ones.

 

If you move I seriously doubt that anyone will buy the house and let you keep receiving the FIT.

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i am thinking of having solar panels, on a three bed semi, are they realy worth it cost wise & heating bills compared to central heating ?

 

They are not worth it based on the savings you will make only, However they are worth it because of the Feed in Tariff, which rewards you for generating electricity.

 

A 4 kW solar system will generally give you the following savings / income per year.

 

Savings £200

Feed In Tariff income £750

Sell back to the grid income £50

 

The Feed In Tariff is to be cut again to 16.8p next Tuesday 31st of July. So if you were still thinking about it, I advise you to allow a few weeks for the price of the panels etc. to drop in line with the tariff cuts.

 

Unless you are quick!

 

Hope this helps

Edited by EnergyClever
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