3.24 Kw Solar PV East Sussex

[harrier]

Hi There
Impressed with your system ..Really looks great
One question if i may ?
Could you inform me where you got the roof tile brackets as have very simular roof too yours ?
Also did you have trouble removing tiles from each other to gain access to rafters ?
Many thanks in advance

[cirrusvfr]

Job was carried out by contractors ( all part of the MCS ), so I don't know the Tile brackets. The rail system is by Schuco .  Tiles came off very easy..... just lift the ones above and slide/ tilt and if nailed ease these out or cut off....... I remember it was easy to do when I did the Solar Thermal system I have on the house which is the same tiles.

[cirrusvfr]

Celebrating 1 year of Solar PV production tomorrow ! Will have to raise a glass or two.........probably some Summer Lightning which is my fave beer at the moment.

Generation meter reading tonight was a total since install of 3219 Kwh.

[itsnewtome]

Thats some dam good figures. Shows how way off SAP 2005 is.
You must be down south somewhere

[biff]

wow,!!
      an impressive installation with impressive results.congradulations,
                                                     biff

[JohnS]

What was your forecast output and how does it compare?

I am slowly pulling together sunshine hour and PVGIS statistics to see what the correlation is.  I note that in 2010, Eastbourne had close to its average sunshine hours, whereas Heathrow, near me, had 250 hour less than average.

My initial number crunching is showing that 1 hr of sunshine gives ~0.6 kWh per kWp of PV.

[BruceB]

Looks a nice installation.

Can someone please explain the advantages of using 2 layers of rails, ie vertical rails above horizontal rails as they have done.  The examples I have seen use just a single layer of rails.  Perhaps moves array further away from roof?
Perhaps allows lining up brackets more easily?

Regards
Bruce

[zeus]

What was your forecast output and how does it compare?

I am slowly pulling together sunshine hour and PVGIS statistics to see what the correlation is.  I note that in 2010, Eastbourne had close to its average sunshine hours, whereas Heathrow, near me, had 250 hour less than average.

My initial number crunching is showing that 1 hr of sunshine gives ~0.6 kWh per kWp of PV.

Hi JohnS

You'll probably find that unless you can average your analysis over an extended period it will not be all that accurate or not be representative of the entire country. Have a look at the sunshine data anomalies on the metoffice site http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/anomacts/ to get an idea of he short-term & geographic complexities.


Zeus

[biff]

hi bruce b,
            the 2 sets of rails in this case are not a bad idea,
 1st, the first set of rails allows the installer to get his brackets as near as possible without having to be too accurate,
  2nd, the second set can then be fixed to the first set making it much more easy to line up the fixing holes in the panels,
  3rd,,from a structural point of view,the two sets bond together and remove the heave and stress between the actual roof and the panels themselves.
   4th,because it is quite a long distance for ventilation to travel to the underside centre of the mass the extra height makes it easier and a more productive array..
    things against this installation,
      1st,, i would have thought that having the panels hung vertical as opposed to sideways would more inclined to prevent moisture seeping between the alloy and the glass,
   2nd,, the panel supports are very near the end of the panels and should have been better balanced towards a 20-60-20 fixing. this would prevent unnecessary pressure on the frames,leading to central point sagging and moisture ingress as a consequence.,, but by and large ,this is a very good installation,, neat.
                                                                                                    biff

[BruceB]

Thanks Biff, that all makes sense.  It would be interesting to know what tips the scales from the designer's point of view to go for the double layer when trying to provide competitive quotes.  I'll have to read the Schoco planning guide in more detail!

Regards
Bruce

[biff]

hi bruce b,
         it would be much quicker doing it with the 2 sets of rails, you will notice 2 sets of vertical rails ne








hi bruce b,
        its all about speed and ease of installation. you will notice double sets of verticle rails close together (too close),just imagine the hassle of trying to bring the brackets out through the roof for each set of doubles. this way they only use half the brackets and the roof does not get too many holes in it,this is also the reason why they laid the panels sideways and not vertical.
                     biff










 yo

[cirrusvfr]

Thanks for all the comments.......... I've been really pleased with the installation and has given very good results......... On the MCS certificate it has a estimated annual output of 2651 kWh.   Using PVGIS gives me an estimate of 2889 kWh so the actual output has been a pleasant surprise......... Hope it continues!