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Solar panel + battery

Do you have solar?

  • Total voters
    59
Generated 134.4kWh so far this month.

So far this year.............
August - 276.5kWh
July - 316.6kWh
June - 363.6kWh
May - 342.3kWh
April - 321.7kWh
March - 252.6kWh
Feb - 103.7kWh
Jan - 101.5kWH

Our usage is pretty low and we pretty much run off the panels/battery, with a tiny amount of grid topping the battery in the small hours in Winter.

We are a "fair bit" in Electricity credit, just waiting for the smart gas meter to be fitted and we will be on a dual fuel smart tariff.

Based on early this year (Jan/Feb/March) the gas CH won`t be on much thanks to the log burner.

The fuel for that is free/scavenged - barring the labour to cut, shift, split and stack. :)
 
Essexyellows said:
Based on early this year (Jan/Feb/March) the gas CH won`t be on much thanks to the log burner.

The fuel for that is free/scavenged - barring the labour to cut, shift, split and stack. :)
Click to expand...

If those logs are not properly dried then you are breaking the law. Moisture content of 20% or less is the requirement. Not good for your burner or the environment.
DEFRA Ready to burn
 
Essexyellows said:
We have a moisture meter, they are stored & seasoned before use, thank you.
Click to expand...
Log burners are a scourge .
Wood should be dry stored for at least 2 years, or kiln dried .
So many people burn “wet” or inappropriate wood .
Lovely to look at and radiate lots of heat .
But step outside your front door and they stink and pollute the air.
We need a change of clothing after walking in our village in winter .
It’s ironic, but once the cooler weather arrives, the air in our major cities is generally “cleaner”..
 
LowerSouth said:
Log burners are a scourge .
Wood should be dry stored for at least 2 years, or kiln dried .
So many people burn “wet” or inappropriate wood .
Lovely to look at and radiate lots of heat .
But step outside your front door and they stink and pollute the air.
We need a change of clothing after walking in our village in winter .
It’s ironic, but once the cooler weather arrives, the air in our major cities is generally “cleaner”..
Click to expand...
I think they're great.

Particularly if you're running an all-electric household like I am. It's the perfect backup for heating, light and hot water in a power cut.

They are also good for my mental health. The smell and look of fire is hardwired into our genetic makeup. Fire has been with us for 10,000 years or more. Its part of the human experience. Great to capture that experience in the home.

If you need a change of clothes after walking outside, the problem isn't a log burner. It's an irresponsible owner or - more likely - a local bonfire.
 
Essexyellows said:
Generated 134.4kWh so far this month.

So far this year.............
August - 276.5kWh
July - 316.6kWh
June - 363.6kWh
May - 342.3kWh
April - 321.7kWh
March - 252.6kWh
Feb - 103.7kWh
Jan - 101.5kWH

Our usage is pretty low and we pretty much run off the panels/battery, with a tiny amount of grid topping the battery in the small hours in Winter.

We are a "fair bit" in Electricity credit, just waiting for the smart gas meter to be fitted and we will be on a dual fuel smart tariff.

Based on early this year (Jan/Feb/March) the gas CH won`t be on much thanks to the log burner.

The fuel for that is free/scavenged - barring the labour to cut, shift, split and stack. :)
Click to expand...
We are currently at 277kwh for Sept so far.

After the 10kwh cheap battery top up we will probably need a daily 3-4kwh from the grid outside of the cheap rate but close to when we get up.

Trying to do things like dishwasher and clothes washing around 4am when it’s cheap.

So not only is it charging the battery cheap it’s running them utilities for cheap too.
 
Basham Wonderland said:
I think they're great.

Particularly if you're running an all-electric household like I am. It's the perfect backup for heating, light and hot water in a power cut.

They are also good for my mental health. The smell and look of fire is hardwired into our genetic makeup. Fire has been with us for 10,000 years or more. Its part of the human experience. Great to capture that experience in the home.

If you need a change of clothes after walking outside, the problem isn't a log burner. It's an irresponsible owner or - more likely - a local bonfire.
Click to expand...
I did say they give off a good heat and a warm glow.
Except when refuelling, log burners should not smell inside the home .
Definitely not bonfires- we have enough of those in the summer .
It’s log burners plural .
Not always down to the wood , many owners do not have the flues cleaned by a chimney sweep .
Come autumn, you can taste the smoke filled air.
Worse when we have low cloud
 
The flues can often be lower than a normal chimney, one of my neighbours comes out of a one storey extension but meets the minimum legal height.
It stinks under certain weather conditions, he uses the right wood apparently but it still is unpleasant.
 
LowerSouth said:
I did say they give off a good heat and a warm glow.
Except when refuelling, log burners should not smell inside the home .
Definitely not bonfires- we have enough of those in the summer .
It’s log burners plural .
Not always down to the wood , many owners do not have the flues cleaned by a chimney sweep .
Come autumn, you can taste the smoke filled air.
Worse when we have low cloud
Click to expand...

Ours is done annually by a NACS or HETAS approved sweep...... otherwise it invalidates the house insurance.

Still burning wood is carbon neutral.......and if you ignore a few particulates here and there its not particularly bad for the environment.
 
Manorlounger said:
And, do they still have any trees left in your neighbourhood?
Click to expand...

Many, I have a lot of friendly farmers who have lots of lovely trees, but where there are healthy trees there are also those that need to come down. :)

Also a drop off point for a local tree surgeon, can get some really nice stuff dropped on the drive for free.

Local council felled a lot of Ash last year due to die-back.......... the copse was fenced off while they did the work, but of an evening it was like a load of wood nymphs with chainsaws... :ROFLMAO:
 
Has anyone made contact with Steve about a quote? Or any plans too?

Be good know know 😀
 
Is anyone else thinking about getting solar installed?

This winter was pretty bleak and definitely made me realise I need another battery so I can make better use of the cheap night rate. But now the sun’s back out, it’s a completely different story.

My grid import averaged around 520 kWh per month between October and January. In March, that dropped to just under 300 kWh, and it should come down even further as we head into summer.

It’s really starting to show the benefits now.
 
Its very borderline if we "need" another battery, if we look at it over 12 months then no, but over Winter it is a "maybe" so we are sticking with what we have for now.

The multi-fuel burner has taken a huge chunk off the gas bill, keeps the ground floor at a comfortable 19oC. Upstairs is slightly cooler rather than having radiators on. Can light it and keep it ticking over for ages by banking it at night with "coal".

The back up log store will get replenished over summer and we will start using our 2 year old stuff Winter 2026.

Oh, and our road had a power cut for 9 hours and we never noticed barring the Whatsapp messages. :ROFLMAO:
 
Northstandboy said:
This winter was pretty bleak and definitely made me realise I need another battery so I can make better use of the cheap night rate. But now the sun’s back out, it’s a completely different story.
Click to expand...

We had our solar system installed in January. I had the same realisation regarding needing more battery capacity during the winter. In fact, I went as far as getting a quote for an additional battery. They wanted £3k, which really didn’t work for us. I haven’t done the detailed maths, but that would take a long time to get ROI.
We’ve decided to stay with what we’ve got, and perhaps buy an additional battery when the prices drop or just wait until the existing one comes to end of life (assuming I don’t get there first!).
 
Northstandboy said:
Is anyone else thinking about getting solar installed?

This winter was pretty bleak and definitely made me realise I need another battery so I can make better use of the cheap night rate. But now the sun’s back out, it’s a completely different story.

My grid import averaged around 520 kWh per month between October and January. In March, that dropped to just under 300 kWh, and it should come down even further as we head into summer.

It’s really starting to show the benefits now.
Click to expand...
So we had a system installed in Nov 25.
10.2 KW( 20 x510w panels)
2 x 10kwh Sigenstor batteries
1x 6kw inverter
1x Sigenstor Gateway ( EPS) to overcome power cuts.
Usage before install was about 4200kwh.
Currently working great .
Had our best day (so far) on 8th April generating 54kwh and exporting 44kwh
 
Andy Stroud said:
We had our solar system installed in January. I had the same realisation regarding needing more battery capacity during the winter. In fact, I went as far as getting a quote for an additional battery. They wanted £3k, which really didn’t work for us. I haven’t done the detailed maths, but that would take a long time to get ROI.
We’ve decided to stay with what we’ve got, and perhaps buy an additional battery when the prices drop or just wait until the existing one comes to end of life (assuming I don’t get there first!).
Click to expand...
Similar position here. We have two batteries which deplete rapidly when there is little or no sun. Force charged overnight at lowest tarif (Octopus) and wait for the sunlight to return. This week has been glorious, fully charged and exporting every day. We don't expect to have a bill to pay, probably, until December at the earliest, if last year is a guide.
Installing a third battery though would be difficult to justify as the expense would just extend the period required to pay for the complete instalation. If we were counting on staying at our current address for more than ten years, then it would be a no brainer but, we are entering into that phase of life where other priorities dictate lifestyle.

(Actually still hoping for a little penthouse in a corner of the Triangle, when completed!)
 
Manorlounger said:
Similar position here. We have two batteries which deplete rapidly when there is little or no sun. Force charged overnight at lowest tarif (Octopus) and wait for the sunlight to return. This week has been glorious, fully charged and exporting every day. We don't expect to have a bill to pay, probably, until December at the earliest, if last year is a guide.
Installing a third battery though would be difficult to justify as the expense would just extend the period required to pay for the complete instalation. If we were counting on staying at our current address for more than ten years, then it would be a no brainer but, we are entering into that phase of life where other priorities dictate lifestyle.

(Actually still hoping for a little penthouse in a corner of the Triangle, when completed!)
Click to expand...
Agree on additional battery .
Another 10kw(actually 9 ) is roughly £2500.
How are the eyes ?
 
LowerSouth said:
Agree on additional battery .
Another 10kw(actually 9 ) is roughly £2500.
How are the eyes ?
Click to expand...
My left eye is still problematic. And, because it supplies a distorted image, the right eye is over compensating so I get almost a double vision image. Utterly frustrating and quite depressing in so many ways. I'm assured that it will improve but, takes time.
Didn't help that I picked up a very nasty infection that has caused loss of appetite, nausea and had me squitting, sometimes all day. I've lost weight (nearly 10kg) and, until today, was having to go back to bed most days. GP thinks they might have got some answers - load of tests have shown up some clues. Won't stop me going to the footy though, not this close to the season end. Mrs L is looking after me and keeps me in line taking eye drops and hydrating! It's her birthday today so, happy birthday my angel. I can't drink to her as I have lost my taste for vino! Catastrophic!



***Just got some more test results. Looks possible that a water borne parasite in Sri Lanka has got me! Despite all our best efforts and always using bottled water, something managed to invade my innocent intestines!
 
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Manorlounger said:
My left eye is still problematic. And, because it supplies a distorted image, the right eye is over compensating so I get almost a double vision image. Utterly frustrating and quite depressing in so many ways. I'm assured that it will improve but, takes time.
Didn't help that I picked up a very nasty infection that has caused loss of appetite, nausea and had me squitting, sometimes all day. I've lost weight (nearly 10kg) and, until today, was having to go back to bed most days. GP thinks they might have got some answers - load of tests have shown up some clues. Won't stop me going to the footy though, not this close to the season end. Mrs L is looking after me and keeps me in line taking eye drops and hydrating! It's her birthday today so, happy birthday my angel. I can't drink to her as I have lost my taste for vino! Catastrophic!



***Just got some more test results. Looks possible that a water borne parasite in Sri Lanka has got me! Despite all our best efforts and always using bottled water, something managed to invade my innocent intestines!
Click to expand...
Is this from you and Mrs L going to Sri Lanka?
 
Andy Stroud said:
We had our solar system installed in January. I had the same realisation regarding needing more battery capacity during the winter. In fact, I went as far as getting a quote for an additional battery. They wanted £3k, which really didn’t work for us. I haven’t done the detailed maths, but that would take a long time to get ROI.
We’ve decided to stay with what we’ve got, and perhaps buy an additional battery when the prices drop or just wait until the existing one comes to end of life (assuming I don’t get there first!).
Click to expand...
What spec system did you get?
 
bazzer9461 said:
Is this from you and Mrs L going to Sri Lanka?
Click to expand...
Not 100% but it looks a strong possibility. Something called 'Giardiasis'. Signs are there in one of the tests. GP will confirm treatment on Monday but, I'm feeling a little better and may be past the worst. Weekend in Bognor next year!
 
Northstandboy said:
What spec system did you get?
Click to expand...

16 x 450w panels (8 east/8 west facing)
7kw inverter
5.2 kWh battery

I have an EV and Mrs. Stroud collects hers next week. Currently on EDF’s GoElectric tariff, where the overnight rate just dropped to 5.48p per KWh (between 23:00 and 06:00). Peak is 20.84p per kWh.
I’ll check out the Octopus offerings when we get to the end of the current contract.
 
Check out Axle Virtual Power Plant (VPP).

They can pay you £1 per kWh + supplier export rate during grid events, where the grid needs your stored power. All done automatically!

They pay £25 to sign up + a minimum of £10 a month, so if you only export £4 during an event in a month they will top it up to £10.

Take a look:
vpp.axle.energy

Axle Grid Services | Get Paid to Support the Grid

Axle Energy helps UK homeowners unlock guaranteed savings by enrolling their solar and battery systems in grid services.
vpp.axle.energy
 
Northstandboy said:
Check out Axle Virtual Power Plant (VPP).

They can pay you £1 per kWh + supplier export rate during grid events, where the grid needs your stored power. All done automatically!

They pay £25 to sign up + a minimum of £10 a month, so if you only export £4 during an event in a month they will top it up to £10.

Take a look:
vpp.axle.energy

Axle Grid Services | Get Paid to Support the Grid

Axle Energy helps UK homeowners unlock guaranteed savings by enrolling their solar and battery systems in grid services.
vpp.axle.energy
Click to expand...

1775847470319.png

:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
I've had sun panels for 3 years. Paid for themselves within 18 months. Last months (March) was not the sunniest month of the year but my electric bill for the month was €0.0 plus €50 towards April already.
Best investering I've ever done!
 
Manorlounger said:
Not 100% but it looks a strong possibility. Something called 'Giardiasis'. Signs are there in one of the tests. GP will confirm treatment on Monday but, I'm feeling a little better and may be past the worst. Weekend in Bognor next year!
Click to expand...
Giardia’s nasty but readily treatable. (eg a few 000 cases per year in the uk, when I lived in Sydney the whole water system shut down for a couple of weeks because of giardia in the main reservoir). That’s a really horrible double whammy of retina and giardia. Hopefully it all settles down with a bit of rest!
 
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