Solar power at home - anyone done it?
- Thread starter stephec
- Start date
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junglegusset
Veteran
- Location
- Wirral - The Insular Peninsula
As far as I understand it, and itmay not be very far, domestic solar panels don't make electricity but heat water. Nothing you can sell back. Wind generators are a different matter. Photovoltaic cells make electricity from light, they are a bit pricey I believe.
In general, selling power back from solar PV generation might have been worth something if you had £10k to install and you were able to generate electricity before the deadline.However, it's too late now to make much money out of it.
The Feed In Tariff (the amount that you get paid) was originally 43p/kwh but the government announced a reduction to 21p/kwh.
The deadline for the lower feed in tariff was set at 31st March 2012 but that was costing a lot of money, with tens of thousands of people converting in the second half of last year, so the government made a late change to the deadline and brought it forward to 12th December 2011. The industry has got a judgement against the government for the late change (effectively reducing the amount received by over 50%) with only a few weeks' notice, so there might be some wriggling.
However, even if the government loses its day in court, the original deadline to get the higher subsidy was 31st March 2012 and you're leaving it a bit late to make the cut.
The Feed In Tariff (the amount that you get paid) was originally 43p/kwh but the government announced a reduction to 21p/kwh.
The deadline for the lower feed in tariff was set at 31st March 2012 but that was costing a lot of money, with tens of thousands of people converting in the second half of last year, so the government made a late change to the deadline and brought it forward to 12th December 2011. The industry has got a judgement against the government for the late change (effectively reducing the amount received by over 50%) with only a few weeks' notice, so there might be some wriggling.
However, even if the government loses its day in court, the original deadline to get the higher subsidy was 31st March 2012 and you're leaving it a bit late to make the cut.
Night Train
Maker of Things
- Location
- Greater Manchester
You could make money out of it but it isn't that easy. The payout is on the amount generated, however and wherever it is used. That means that you don't have to feed it back to get paid, you just have to produce it.
The downside of solar PV is that it is not very efficient in the UK. It only works in direct sunlight and even a cloud or a bird flying past will cut the output.
I was involved with a university experiment with solar PV a few years ago and due to 2 months of heavy rain during the experiment there was no output except for a 2 hour spike in the graph where the sun came out. IN the 2 hour spike there were a couple of dips, one where someone went to have a look a tthe panel and cast a shadow and another where a bird landed on it for a while.
A wind turbine would be better but you will need to get the wind speed data from the Met office or the MOD and then site the turbine at the hight the wind speed record are for.
That is a common mistake in many small installations where the data says there is a high wind speed. The data is often at some height that is much too high to fit a small turbine.
Urban turbines are also less useful due to the reduction in wind speeds and the more turbulent wind caused by the buildings.
Solar hot water makes much more sense as it can give a real and usable output in the UK. The output on a slightly overcast day can actually be higher then in direct sun due to the defraction of the sun's energy by the clouds IIRC.
The downside of solar PV is that it is not very efficient in the UK. It only works in direct sunlight and even a cloud or a bird flying past will cut the output.
I was involved with a university experiment with solar PV a few years ago and due to 2 months of heavy rain during the experiment there was no output except for a 2 hour spike in the graph where the sun came out. IN the 2 hour spike there were a couple of dips, one where someone went to have a look a tthe panel and cast a shadow and another where a bird landed on it for a while.
A wind turbine would be better but you will need to get the wind speed data from the Met office or the MOD and then site the turbine at the hight the wind speed record are for.
That is a common mistake in many small installations where the data says there is a high wind speed. The data is often at some height that is much too high to fit a small turbine.
Urban turbines are also less useful due to the reduction in wind speeds and the more turbulent wind caused by the buildings.
Solar hot water makes much more sense as it can give a real and usable output in the UK. The output on a slightly overcast day can actually be higher then in direct sun due to the defraction of the sun's energy by the clouds IIRC.
summerdays
Cycling in the sun
- Location
- Bristol
We've done it both thermal and PV. We did it under the old rates, but I think I would do it again (with a suitable roof) under the new rates as the price being charged is coming down (and I'm a closet greenie). I reckon that you can only use about 5 kWh of the stuff you generate on a sunny day as normally the sun isn't shining when you are consuming the most electricity. However it is lovely to have the dishwasher or washing machine on during the day and thinking that it is almost for free (not enough solar to cover the heating phases). The amount we generate in winter is about 10% of what we generated in summer.
Solar Thermal will take longer to pay back but I still like the feeling of free hot water in the summer and a bit of help to the gas usage in the winter. However the main usage of gas is the central heating.
In terms of bills we reduced ours by about £500 (electric £300, gas £200) but that may be due to a milder winter, increased insulation and change of habits as well.
You get paid FIT (which on a system installed at the moment is likely to be 21p but not certain yet) on all the stuff you generate and get paid an extra 3p for half of it as you are assumed to have used half of it (they don't actually measure how much you use).
If you are thinking seriously about it now then I would do it before April unless you are sure that your house would meet the "C" rating for houses. My BIL is thinking about it but not sure that their older house will meet the C rating though he has done a lot to his house in terms of insulation and new boiler etc.
I can try and answer any other specific questions but I'm not that technical about it.
Solar Thermal will take longer to pay back but I still like the feeling of free hot water in the summer and a bit of help to the gas usage in the winter. However the main usage of gas is the central heating.
In terms of bills we reduced ours by about £500 (electric £300, gas £200) but that may be due to a milder winter, increased insulation and change of habits as well.
You get paid FIT (which on a system installed at the moment is likely to be 21p but not certain yet) on all the stuff you generate and get paid an extra 3p for half of it as you are assumed to have used half of it (they don't actually measure how much you use).
If you are thinking seriously about it now then I would do it before April unless you are sure that your house would meet the "C" rating for houses. My BIL is thinking about it but not sure that their older house will meet the C rating though he has done a lot to his house in terms of insulation and new boiler etc.
I can try and answer any other specific questions but I'm not that technical about it.
threebikesmcginty
Corn Fed Hick...
- Location
- ...on the slake
You're only making real money when you've paid back the installation cost and that could be say 15 years down the line so make sure it's a house you plan to live in for a long time.
If you're doing anything to your house for eco reasons rather than just money making then the first thing you should do is make sure your house is as insulated as it can be.
If you're doing anything to your house for eco reasons rather than just money making then the first thing you should do is make sure your house is as insulated as it can be.
Night Train
Maker of Things
- Location
- Greater Manchester
This is my stance on it, partly because I can't afford to install solar PV or solar hot water and insulation is considerably cheaper.
I am working on reducing energy use by reducing the need for it and reducing losses. I currently only heat two room in my part of the house as ther eis no point heating the rooms I don't need to use. I also keep doors closed if the temperature drops to reduce heat loss to the rest of the house.
I am slowly working my way round putting in internal insulation as I work on the house. Given a lump sum to spend I would have the outside insulated.
