2.8Kw PV in Cambridge

[CeeBee]

Not a great output today - snow covering most of the panels and quite cloudy.

I'm now on my 5th consecutive day of 'nothing'* from the solar PV, due to snow on them. Perhaps not strictly 'nothing' as I think I once saw the display reading 5W over the weekend, but not enough to register on my online graphs. The nature of my array is that there is an equal amount of snow over the same part of every panel.

With Wookey's system going live, that makes two of us within a few miles feeding data into http://www.bdpv.fr/ - after the site has worked it's magic of allowing for size of system, orientation etc., we came out about the same in November - well actually Wookey 'won' by an insignificant margin. At this rate, he'll 'win' again in December, as I'm either not around, or can't be ar**d to try to get the snow off even when I am.

* Last minute update: 0.001kWh has appeared while I was writing - snow must be nearly melted :-)

[Moxi]

Hi Wookey,

I'm with SSE and they fitted me with an import export meter as previously stated? maybe its something to do with the DNO - I'm MANWEB according to the sticker the United Utilities contracted SSE man poped in the cupboard after fitting aforementioned meter.

Is it me or was it so much more organised / standardised when the CEGB ran the generation/grid?

moxi

[StBarnabas]

Hi Clarke
5kWh yesterday in Sunny Northumberland - not bad for the winter solstice. I'm hopeful of getting another 5kWh today if the light dusting of snow melts. 590kWh so far since the end of August. Should really join up to    http://www.bdpv.fr/  
Sean
p.s. Added at 17:16 Got 7kWh today! Started at -6.3 degrees this morning - the cold does help with voltage!

[desperate]

Smart looking system you have there Wookey, set me wondering, is it possible to use the panels as the roof covering, IE do away with the tiles altogether? I am thinking of a possible new build with complete solar roof, sorry to hijack your thread.

Desp

[wookey]

It is, but it tends not to save you any money. If you use the sort of panels that look like slates then an installation is at least 50% more expensive than standard add-on panels. I guess there are schemes to just attach standard panels directly, but I don't know how the waterproofing is done (flashing layer?). Lots of german roofs are just panels, but I suspect they use fancy german special panels with interlocking edges for waterproofing? If you are planning something like then on a new build then making a monoplanar roof that all slopes to the south makes a lot of sense.

[desperate]

Wookey said

If you are planning something like then on a new build then making a monoplanar roof that all slopes to the south makes a lot of sense.

I did ask about that at the planning dept, but it is a non starter am still on the drwg board at the mo, but thanks for the reply

Desp

[EccentricAnomaly]

I've had similar thought but came to the conclusion that it would be more trouble than it's worth as you want cooling air to flow behind the panels and you need the joints to allow expansion while staying waterproof.

What I think you might be able to do is use the panels for the aesthetic layer and maybe for wind protection but have a pretty cheap and nasty looking and maybe not very UV resistant waterproof layer below them.

[wookey]

The meter-fitting man turned up on 4th Jan and fitted an export meter (as I had moved things around to give him plenty of space) so we are finally exporting officially. Exports somewhat reduced by snow so far, although it's all melted today (and I put aluminium foil tape over my insulation to protect it from further UV damage, as pointed out above - bloody freezing job as you can't wear gloves for tape-peeling, and it's fiddly).

[rhys]

Smart looking system you have there Wookey, set me wondering, is it possible to use the panels as the roof covering, IE do away with the tiles altogether? I am thinking of a possible new build with complete solar roof, sorry to hijack your thread.

Desp

Roof Integrated Sytems, using standard panels, make sense on new builds, have a look at the Schuco System. This can be used with a number of different manufacturers panels.
http://www.schueco.com/web/uk/architects/products/installation_systems/premium_line/in-roof_complete_roof

[wookey]

Oh and if anyone wants to check on my production you can look on BDPV
http://www.bdpv.fr/voir_fiche.php?util=6941

(shows you 2010 by default, which at time of posting, is very boring indeed), a bit of clicking lets you compare me and ceebee (about 8 km apart)