How are you all finding this energy rising?

[Voicecoil]

Im in Spain, near Barcelona.
Just installed 10 kW nominal PV array, 3-p, and our costs dropped from 400 to 100 with a further 100 reduction to come soonish == near 0 € power costs.

The critical path is:

We could finance this aka had the money or credit.
We had plenty of roof space well orientated aka "towards the sun".
Don´t need the PV company financing at 300% of project costs over 10 years.

That sounds good. The problem is that when you live a long way North, close to a Western coast like I do, there's not a lot of sunlight for much of the time, so being able to generate enough power to run a CNC machine or cook your dinner isn't easy.

[hanermo2]

Physics.
PV just does not work out well in scandinavia, and is so-so to marginal in the UK territories.

It´s hard on You guys, and I symphatise, but theres nothing anyone can do.

At some point a high-power transmission line, probably a superconductor, will be feasible to connect northern europe with say sahara.
Just as a thought exercise, a 10 x 10 km PV plant of 100% efficiency would generate as much power as the whole of the earth currently uses.

At our current 20% efficiency rating it would need a 50x10 km area to power the whole earth --
in reality, 3 plants spread throughout the world so the sun always shines somewhere.

That sounds good. The problem is that when you live a long way North, close to a Western coast like I do, there's not a lot of sunlight for much of the time, so being able to generate enough power to run a CNC machine or cook your dinner isn't easy.

[A_Camera]

Physics.
PV just does not work out well in scandinavia, and is so-so to marginal in the UK territories.

That's nonsense. I have a similar installation and produce a bit more than half of my yearly electricity needs, which is 11 MWh using solar energy. My bill was zero during four months per year the last three years. I get paid for the unused energy, and during this year it meant a pretty good income so far. Of course, during the winter there is very little production and all is used by me plus I have to buy as well. Nevertheless solar power is very good investment in Scandinavia as well, and even though I live in the southern part of it, it is quite a bit north of the northern part of Scotland.

It´s hard on You guys, and I symphatise, but theres nothing anyone can do.

Thank you. Though I personally prefer the climate of the north than the heat in Barcelona, especially during the summer.

At some point a high-power transmission line, probably a superconductor, will be feasible to connect northern europe with say sahara.

To be honest, we don't need to make us even more dependent of shit hole countries, quite the opposite, the less we depend on them the better it is. It's enough that we have to increase the oil flow from those, because of an other shit hole country dictator, Adolf Putin, decided to start an invasion war against his neighbour causing all this crap for everyone.

Just as a thought exercise, a 10 x 10 km PV plant of 100% efficiency would generate as much power as the whole of the earth currently uses.

I think that's a severely incorrect assumption.

At our current 20% efficiency rating it would need a 50x10 km area to power the whole earth --
in reality, 3 plants spread throughout the world so the sun always shines somewhere.

Yes? Well, I am not so sure. Besides, how would you transport the power from say the Kalahari, or the Australian desert to Europe? You are a bit optimistic or naive... I don't know which, but it is better if Europe makes itself independent and starts producing enough for our own use. Solar, wind, water and nuclear energy combined is the future, not electricity produced in the Sahara region or even further away. That's just a dream, which could have a worse outcome than that idiot Putin's stopping the gas to Europe causes.

[routercnc]

We have been trying to get a solar PV quote from a company with a good reputation since February. They originally said we should be sorted by September or October but keep getting repeat orders from a commercial client so we don’t make it up the list. They have stopped quoting for new enquiries but no sign of us getting any further up the list. They also mentioned shortages of panels and other parts.

We also tried 3 other places but they are all busy and not quoting for new business currently.

We have been using the time to research all the options including storage batteries, optimisers and so on. It is a bit of a minefield and all we can hope to do is try to work out what questions we need to ask otherwise we will get a ‘nice little system that is easy to install’ but maybe not what we need. For example there are different batteries depending on if you want to buy and sell (high cycle).

It’s a bit like saying you want a CNC machine. OK, well what do you need to do and what are the specs? Hopefully we will get there in the end!

[A_Camera]

We have been trying to get a solar PV quote from a company with a good reputation since February. They originally said we should be sorted by September or October but keep getting repeat orders from a commercial client so we don’t make it up the list. They have stopped quoting for new enquiries but no sign of us getting any further up the list. They also mentioned shortages of panels and other parts.

We also tried 3 other places but they are all busy and not quoting for new business currently.

We have been using the time to research all the options including storage batteries, optimisers and so on. It is a bit of a minefield and all we can hope to do is try to work out what questions we need to ask otherwise we will get a ‘nice little system that is easy to install’ but maybe not what we need. For example there are different batteries depending on if you want to buy and sell (high cycle).

It’s a bit like saying you want a CNC machine. OK, well what do you need to do and what are the specs? Hopefully we will get there in the end!

I am glad we installed it three years ago. It paid off well, we have passed 1/3 of the investment in savings so far, and we still have four months to the exact three year marker. I have several colleagues who have trouble getting quotes and some installers just don't give any quotes at all because they have the order books filled and have problems getting solar panels delivered. Everybody is in panic right now.

[Clive S]

We have been trying to get a solar PV quote from a company with a good reputation since February. They originally said we should be sorted by September or October but keep getting repeat orders from a commercial client so we don’t make it up the list. They have stopped quoting for new enquiries but no sign of us getting any further up the list. They also mentioned shortages of panels and other parts.

We also tried 3 other places but they are all busy and not quoting for new business currently.

We have been using the time to research all the options including storage batteries, optimisers and so on. It is a bit of a minefield and all we can hope to do is try to work out what questions we need to ask otherwise we will get a ‘nice little system that is easy to install’ but maybe not what we need. For example there are different batteries depending on if you want to buy and sell (high cycle).

It’s a bit like saying you want a CNC machine. OK, well what do you need to do and what are the specs? Hopefully we will get there in the end!

I have just ordered a Growatt AC Charger & Growatt 6.5kw Battery for my 4Kw (16 panels) PV system that I have had for 8.5 years It has generated 31.95 MWh to date.

My system has a small inverter under each panel so it outputs 230V AC so all the panels are connected in parallel (enphase) If you use a system with just one inverter they have to be wired in series and bring 450V DC ish down to the inverter..

I also don't let any power to go back to the grid as it diverts surplus energy to the immersion heater (boiler set to 30c and the panels bring up to 70c most days.
This is achieved with a box I built for the job .

The company I am using to install the battery and Charger is ([email protected])

[routercnc]

Brilliant thanks Clive.
I’ve been running spreadsheets on our East West roof and was looking at:
Panels on West only ( East or East and West combinations were not so good)
4 or 6 kWp panels (in series as no shade on roof and cheaper)
6 kWh battery
Single inverter
Eddi water heater diverter
Zappi car charger (existing)
Octopus Agile tariff as this allows buy/sell every 30 mins


Undecided on AC (grid side) or DC ( panel side) for battery but leaning towards panel side as less conversions AC to DC and I think I have more control over the battery(?). Plus many more confusing questions and options!

[Clive S]

Brilliant thanks Clive.
I’ve been running spreadsheets on our East West roof and was looking at:
Panels on West only ( East or East and West combinations were not so good)
4 or 6 kWp panels (in series as no shade on roof and cheaper)
6 kWh battery
Single inverter
Eddi water heater diverter
Zappi car charger (existing)
Octopus Agile tariff as this allows buy/sell every 30 mins


Undecided on AC (grid side) or DC ( panel side) for battery but leaning towards panel side as less conversions AC to DC and I think I have more control over the battery(?). Plus many more confusing questions and options!

My Battery & Charger is being fitted on the 12th Sept
The installation also includes solar panels clean.
Service every year for 10 years.
Guarantee on Bat. and charger 15 years.
Full monitoring with App.

We get paid for what we generate. I think that has been stopped now for new systems.

My panels are only 240w I think they have improved them to give out about 320 ish W

Also you could only have 4Kw on a domestic install at the time, this has now been changed. If I add more I lose the payment FIT.

The system has more than paid for itself by a long way.

Good luck with the install.

[Voicecoil]

That's nonsense. I have a similar installation and produce a bit more than half of my yearly electricity needs, which is 11 MWh using solar energy. My bill was zero during four months per year the last three years. I get paid for the unused energy, and during this year it meant a pretty good income so far. Of course, during the winter there is very little production and all is used by me plus I have to buy as well. Nevertheless solar power is very good investment in Scandinavia as well, and even though I live in the southern part of it, it is quite a bit north of the northern part of Scotland.

The issue here is not so much the high latitude (which gives you long sunlight hours in summer), but cloud cover due to being close to an Atlantic coast. I guess in Sweden you are shielded from that by the Norwegian mountains to some extent. The other thing that's a real b***er now in the UK is that if you put in a new installation you don't get a decent payback for energy exported to the grid anymore.

[A_Camera]

The issue here is not so much the high latitude (which gives you long sunlight hours in summer), but cloud cover due to being close to an Atlantic coast. I guess in Sweden you are shielded from that by the Norwegian mountains to some extent. The other thing that's a real b***er now in the UK is that if you put in a new installation you don't get a decent payback for energy exported to the grid anymore.

Sunlight is not an absolute necessity. I don't think we have more sunny hours than you have, well... maybe during the summer, but not on yearly basis, solar panels are fine with clouds, as long as not too compact and dark. Snow covered panels produce nothing. Norway does not have any major effect on the weather in Sweden, maybe locally along the border, but I doubt that also, since the landscape on both sides of the border is pretty similar. Also, Norway is above UK. This is true especially for the mountainous areas of Norway. The northern part of Scotland is on the same latitude as the southern part of Norway. Denmark (flat country) is between UK and Sweden, so whatever weather you have, we will get that weather a day or two later, including the winds from the North sea.

When it comes to payment for overproduction, that's not very good here either, compared to the price I have to pay for the part I must buy. Nevertheless, it is the total sum which is important for the payback, which is in my case very good.