Sunny Beam installed

I have received the Sunny Beam equipment for my PV inverter. It came in two bits.

The first piece is a bluetooth transmitter which fits into the inverter. The second piece is the Sunny Beam display unit.

Although the units work perfectly well together they haven't yet got the ability to post my data to a website.

After talking to my fitter I will be able to return the display unit and see how much a more expensive unit called a Sunny Web Box which is supposed to be able to do what I want.

FIT plan accepted by E.ON

E.ON have now received the FIT paperwork for my PV system.

This means that they will now be paying me for generating power at The Swamp. This also means that I can pay the fitter the final 5% of the installation fee.

Solar generation numbers so far ......

Well I have finally returned to The Swamp to a very cold snap.

The generation meter showed 198kWh since the installation was completed. This equates to 42 days (appropriate). So far this means we have an average daily production of 4.71 kWh.

The current rate is 41.3p per unit generated, whether I use it or not. Eon have agreed that they will pay me an extra 3p/unit for 50% of what I generate as part of the FIT.

The equation is 41.3p x units generated + 3p x 50% units generated. 41.3 x 1 x units + 3 x 0.5 x units = 42.8p x units

In money terms, given 41.3p/kWh, and that 50% will get an extra 3p per unit, I have generated approximately £84.74 since connection.

If I use this average generation over a period of 365 days this equates to an annual influx of £735.80. This DOES NOT take into account the amount I save by not buying in this energy.

The weather is obviously not the best, as the days are short and the sun is low in the sky.

I have ordered a meter which should hopefully let me post my daily generation levels on the web LIVE!

FIT paperwork

Oops. Very nearly missed out on getting the Feed In Tariff from my energy supplier E.ON.

I had assumed that the solar panel installation company would have taken care of this but apparently they don't. This is due to issues of privacy etc. They don't have my supply detail to hand and E.ON shouldn't just hand them out to anyone who happens to ask.

All I had to do was go onto the E.ON website at the following URLhttp://www.eonenergy.com/At-Home/Products/Feed-in+Tariffs/How-to-apply-for-fit-payments.htm?WT.mc_id=How_to_Apply&WT.svl=8 and then download the form under 'download the application form (PDF)'.

Print that off, fill in the blanks and then send it off with a copy of the MCS certificate to the address supplied.

As there were a few questions I had about the form I simply rang the number 0845 301 4884. The person I spoke to was very helpful.

It should now be all sorted and again goes to prove you shouldn't assume stuff where money is concerned.

Full on !

I have just taken a reading from the inverter in the attic when the sun is in a clear sky and almost (but not quite) perpendicular to the solar panels.

This being Oct though, the sun is not very high in the sky.

The readings were

Time (GMT)	SolRad (W/m2)	E-total (kWh)	h-total (hours)	E-today (kWh)	PAC (watts)	VPV (VoltsDC)	Mode
1325z	439 W/m2	16.6 kWh	18 hours	6.62 kWh	1963 Watts	310 Volts	MPP

The system was commissioned in the afternoon of Tuesday 19th October 2010.

Rather than having to go up the ladder to the attic every time I want a reading I'll now have to investigate the possibilities for getting it posted to the WWW.

Scaffolding down today

The scaffolders came back this morning and dismantled the scaffolding. Didn't take too long at all. About 1 hour. Now have to reconfigure the garden deck to what it was before they came.

Day 1 for The Swamp Electricity Generation Board

Woke up early this morning (before dawn). Not exactly sure why. As I was up before the sun I decided to see what would happen on the inverter as the sky brightened up.

I was hoping to correlate the readings from the inverter with the solar radiation readings from the weather station. For some reason the station has stopped updating. Will need to check that.

The following is a series of times with readings from the inverter. It is quite dry but is mainly to act as a reminder. Will only update information if it changes from time to time.

Woke up early this morning (before dawn). Not exactly sure why. As I was up before the sun I decided to see what would happen on the inverter as the sky brightened up.

I was hoping to correlate the readings from the inverter with the solar radiation readings from the weather station. For some reason the station has stopped updating. Will need to check that.

The following is a series of times with readings from the inverter. It is quite dry but is mainly to act as a reminder. Will only update information if it changes from time to time.

0740h	All 3 LED's are lit on the inverter. No backlight or data on the LCD screen.
0741h	Back light for the LCD screen has come on. The LCD screen itself is blinking, looks like it is trying to show data.
0744h	LCD screen has settled down and is showing the following. Sunny Boy 2500 WR25 - 026
0745h	Green LED is now flashing, others have gone out. PAC 0W VPV 243V E-total 1.4kWh h-total 2h E-today 0.00 kWh mode = waiting, the system is waiting until the power from the panels is enough to start pushing power to the outside world. It needs to detect the levels and phase of the incoming power to match it.
0749h	VPV 270V
0756h	VPV 290V
0800h	VPV 297V
0801h	VPV 305V
0803h	Green LED started to flash v. quick VPV 310V mode = offset, this means the system has detected the incoming power cycles and found there is an offset between this and the on-board generator.
0804h	Green LED back to normal flash at about 2Hz. VPV 312V mode = waiting
0806h	VPV 320V
0810h	mode = grid mon, the system has enough power to start generating but needs to be sync'd to the incoming supply.
0810h	VPV 329V mode = waiting, panel output dropped below minimum
0813h	VPV 330V
0817h	VPV 331V
0824h	VPV 340V
0825h	VPV 243V PAC 35W mode = APP
0826h	VPV 238V PAC 43W

Towards the end we can see that as the voltage drops the power goes up.

After this is I left it to get on with it.

Initial reading 19th October 2010

At the end of today the meter down in the garage is reading 2.5. I think this reading is contaminated by a small amount from the factory. Also I'm not entirely sure of the units. I think it's kWh but can't confirm that until I get the manual and certificates on Thursday.

I'll assume this as the zero point for the future.

I was going to read the values from the inverter in the attic but as it's dark it has no power to work.

The Swamp Electricity Generating Board

Well that about does it. I am now generating electricity from my panels installed on the back of the house.

Just some clearing up to do and they're off. I also authorised another 25% payment today. I am holding onto the final 5% until the electricity people are happy with the installation and willing to pay me for juice.

I am very happy with the installation. Andy and his chaps from New Generation Energy http://www.newgenerationenergy.co.uk/ have done a good job so far.

Obviously I will need to monitor the situation from now on. I will attempt to get generation values on to my website and keep things updated in this blog as and when I remember.

Installation started

The long awaited solar panel installation has started.

The initial thing was to mount the metal brackets to the joists. They removed a number of tiles to get access to the joists underneath the felt. They simply screwed a metal plate to the joist from the outside. No need to go into the attic for this bit. Because the metal bracket sticks out a little bit they needed to grind down a small bit of the tile so that it sits flat when put back in place. Looks fine.

After the brackets they installed the long metal runners on which the panels would sit.

When the van turned up this morning they unloaded the panels into the garden. When they'd finished there were only 10, not the 12 I had agreed on. A quick phone call from Andy confirmed that he'd sent the wrong type out to the house. The ones delivered were 235W panels which had been on the initial quote for 10 x 235W panels, equalling 2.35kW. What we had finally agreed on though was for a system of 12 x 215W panels instead, equal to 2.85kW. We couldn't go ahead with the 235W panels as they are a different size and they wouldn't all fit on the roof.

Andy has asked for the correct delivery to be made direct to the house in the morning. Not sure when they are due to arrive. If they're from the same company as Lerigo then it could be about 1000hrs.

Towards lunch time, Andy turned up to help with the actual electrical installation. An armoured cable was lead out of the garage up the front of the house into the attic space through the soffit board. In the garage there is a new meter and a big isolator switch. In the attic space there is now a large inverter mounted on the gable wall.

During the day, I got online and authorised another deposit of 35% (running total now at 70%) into the company's bank account.

Before leaving, the guys made sure that everything was tidy, even picking up all the little wires which had been removed from the armoured cable.

Tomorrow we're expecting the 215W panels to be delivered. Once they arrive it shouldn't take too long to get them connected.

Here's hoping for clear skies.

Scaffolding up

The scaffolding has now been erected at the back of the house in preparation for the solar panel installation on Monday next.

Despite being delayed a little bit due to some weird GPS issues, the guys who did it were quick and professional. It took just over 3hours to complete.

The solar installation chap had requested a 2 lift scaffold but the scaffold guys erected a 3 lift instead as 2 would not have been enough.

Certainly getting closer.

Scaffolder not in contact

Having a bit of an issue with the scaffolder who is supposed to be erecting the framework for the solar installation which is due to start early next week.

I spent the day in today waiting for some sort of communication from the scaffolding bloke to arrange a time. Nothing.

Not a peep. Not impressed with that one bit. I have been in contact with the Solar installation fella and he assures me I'll have something by lunch time tomorrow.

I have other things to be getting on with.

First instalment for solar due on Friday

I am now getting the deposit ready for my solar installation. I have agreed to pay a deposit of 35%.

We are now waiting for the scaffolding men to agree a date. Hopefully this will be either the 18th or 21st October 2010. This is going to be quite close to the next trip at work. As it should only take two days to complete it should be sorted.

Solar system agreed

I have now agreed in principle to a solar system for the roof. I will be getting 12 x 215W panels fitted to the roof, making a capacity of 2.58kW. These will be in 3 rows of 4 in a landscape format, which is different from the normal portrait format. It is not using my first choice of 10 x 235W panels but it is slightly bigger in capacity than I had initially thought of at no extra cost.

The system will be installed by New Generation Energy Ltd.

I am trying to find a system whereby I can monitor the output remotely and store the data on a computer. I would like to be able to correlate this data with my weather station which is stored at approx every 10mins.

More updates when I get them.

Start of my solar panel installation.

Today I have had a visit from the man most likely to install my solar panel arrays. I will be attempting to log the process in this BLOG.

I had thought about photo-voltaic panels in the past but only for the green considerations. In the past it would've taken almost the full life of the panels to make it pay.

It has all come to a head recently, when I heard about the Gov't Feed-In-Tariff. Up to 4kW systems are considered as a micro-generations and are eligible for the scheme. For each kWh generated the user gets 41.3p. This is paid regardless of where the power goes. If the user exports the power they get an extra 3p per kWh. With these incentives the system could actually pay for itself in under 7 years. As the panel are guaranteed to still be 85% efficient after 20years this looks like a bargain.

This morning I visited a gentleman who had already had a system installed in June 2010. After talking with him I was much more happy about employing the person I had in mind. The installation looked very tidy. The owner was very pleased with his installation.

Andy Metcalf from New Generation Energy came around this afternoon to do some checking. He had a look in the attic space to check on where the inverter would be sited and then how we would get the power from there to my meter.

After measuring the interior roof (5.05 by 5m) Andy will go away and check the layout possibilities for using 235 Watt panels as well as 215 Watt panels.

It now looks like the project will go ahead quite quickly from this point on.

I will include numbers for cost etc as the project goes ahead.