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The coal mine application is being reviewed before final decision.
Hopefully just a paper exercise to avoid a judicial review and remove any liability on the council for it. If you want an example of that, look up the Wressle Oil well in North Lincolnshire. Planning was refused, company won out in the end as there were no reasonable grounds for refusal so the council ended up with a £750k legal bill. I don't understand why people think it's greener to ship coking coal from Russia or the United States, but then if you think Drax produces green electricity, then NIMBY or out of site, out of mind springs to mind. Whilst the requirement is still there, and it is, unless we want to close down our steel mills, then why not take the greenest option until new tech comes online. And even if we did close down our steel mills, I don't think the UK is anywhere near weaning itself of that habit, so it will just be produced elsewhere, and I seem to think the atmosphere is a global thing and not unique to the UK.
I never actually thought of that, but I assume you're talking about the GPU's required for the processing?
It costs more in electrical energy to create a bit coin than the actual value of the coin. The more coins that are created, the more complex the algorithm for creating them becomes and the more power is needed to "mine" them!
Most coins are mined illegally via viruses installed on unwitting computers. Whats nice with the system is you can part mine a coin on one computer and mine some more on another computer and so on. So if you set up a big network of compromised computers, then you can steal part of their processing power (just enough that the user doesn't notice) and together you can mine lots of coins with someone else footing the electricity bill!
The only way you can mine a coin legally for profit is to run the computers more efficiently and with cheap electricity. There are a few bit-coin server farms set up in Iceland where they have cheap geothermal generated electricity and then the server center is cooled by nearby glacier water and the air temperature is also near freezing year round so they can save on the air conditioning that would otherwise be required. Quite a neat idea for running an efficient server farm, shame its wasted on bit-coins!
Incidentally, Microsoft has been experimenting with putting server farms in containers submerged in the sea. I think they were filled with Argon gas (or similar) for better thermal transmission and then cooled by the ocean. I think they had a test container off the coast of Scotland that they pulled out last year after several years underwater. Not sure how successful the project was or if they are planning to continue it though!
...but yeah, bit-coins are extremely bad for their energy use, so if you want to conscientiously take steps to reduce CO2 and energy consumption, you should avoid using bit-coins!
I remember my old GPU would guzzle a few hundred watts alone! PC could keep the the warm without the need for the radiator to be turned on!
I'm now on a laptop that barely pulls 20watts, and I'm freezing 🥶
The same was true with old light bulbs! Incredibly inefficient way of generating light, but the waste is dissipated in heat! When I swapped to LED lights, then my heating bill went up! All well and good when its cold in the winter, although probably not the most efficient way to heat your house, but huge waste of energy in the warmer months when people then often stick on air-con units to counter the heat produced by lighting!
On another note, I officially registered as an electrical energy supplier in Germany yesterday as the solar array on my new house is now ready to go online and start supplying to the grid! Should be fully online next week and following that, I'll be a net energy supplier to the German national grid and will now be paid for the electricity I supply rather than charged the electricity I use. All my own use will be from my own supply with additional capacity going to the grid! ...thats assuming my solar panels aren't still covered in snow
Speaking of Germany, I might be at Travemünde in summer for a sailing event. I'm guessing the ferry from Hull to Rotterdam would be the best bet if you know?
On another note, I officially registered as an electrical energy supplier in Germany yesterday as the solar array on my new house is now ready to go online and start supplying to the grid! Should be fully online next week and following that, I'll be a net energy supplier to the German national grid and will now be paid for the electricity I supply rather than charged the electricity I use. All my own use will be from my own supply with additional capacity going to the grid! ...thats assuming my solar panels aren't still covered in snow
Nice, how many kWh is your system? It sounds pretty big being able to support your energy needs.
Nice, how many kWh is your system? It sounds pretty big being able to support your energy needs.
Panels are 7kW peak. Own storage capacity is 3.9kWh with a single battery with expansion capacity for a further 3 batteries.
Heating runs off electricity with an ASHP but the house is extremely well insulated to the German passive-house standards so minimal losses. There are lots of theoretical calculations and obviously a lot depends on the weather. In the winter I will need to use electricity from the grid, although I also have a log burner, so on extremely cold days I can supplement the ASHP which will be inefficient with extreme cold temperatures. In summer I'll have a massive excess of electricity. The net calculations over the year were based on 4 person family (I'm alone) and with 5kWp (2kWp was added after the calculations) . I think they had the heating at about 3600kWh, own usage at 2500kWh (total 6100kWh) and expected yearly generation at 7500kWh (taking into account latitude, angle and direction of the roof). So 1400kWh net supply to the grid, but with the extra 2kWp of panels, that should be somewhat higher and my own usage will certainly be lower too - I currently use ~2100kWh/year and that's with an old Kitchen without all the A+++ units!
The other big plus, I'm moving 3km to work, so only 5 mins on the bike or 20 minutes walking - both quicker than the current 25 minutes drive! Got all the shops I need in the village within 2 minutes walk and the train station is 10 minutes walk! Who needs an electric car when you don't need to drive anywhere?
Speaking of Germany, I might be at Travemünde in summer for a sailing event. I'm guessing the ferry from Hull to Rotterdam would be the best bet if you know?
That's my usual route back to the UK (I say usual, but I haven't driven back since 2008 ). The Hull - Rotterdam link is a really nice crossing. Price wise was always on a par with the Chunnel with overnight crossing in a single occupancy inboard room, although I would recommend going for an outboard room as you don't feel the ship roll so much when you're trying to sleep - particularly after a few jars in the bar! Its also a nice big boat, onboard cinema, casino, piano bar, and entertainment lounge/bar. For food, there is a small cafe (good for breakfast), a big buffet restaurant which is pretty good and an excellent a-la-carte restaurant which I would highly recommend! If you use the buffet restaurant than you save a few £'s if you pre-book your meals. I'm not sure you can pre-book a table in the a-la-carte restaurant, if you want to eat there then make a b-line straight for the restaurant as soon as you get on board to reserve a table for later as it can get quite full.
Arrival in Rotterdam is usually earlier than expected, so you can generally get off the boat and away from the busy Dutch cities to the West before the morning rush-hour kicks in - particularly if you head directly East towards Arnheim and Nijmegen which is a pretty quiet road!
The same was true with old light bulbs! Incredibly inefficient way of generating light, but the waste is dissipated in heat! When I swapped to LED lights, then my heating bill went up! All well and good when its cold in the winter, although probably not the most efficient way to heat your house, but huge waste of energy in the warmer months when people then often stick on air-con units to counter the heat produced by lighting!
On another note, I officially registered as an electrical energy supplier in Germany yesterday as the solar array on my new house is now ready to go online and start supplying to the grid! Should be fully online next week and following that, I'll be a net energy supplier to the German national grid and will now be paid for the electricity I supply rather than charged the electricity I use. All my own use will be from my own supply with additional capacity going to the grid! ...thats assuming my solar panels aren't still covered in snow
Another feature about incadecent light bulbs is they get hot enough to kill insects. Particularly moths. It was no coincidence that I suffered a carpet-moth infestation after swapping all the bulbs to energy savers. The saving in electric didn't cover the cost of fumigation and replacement carpets (polyester this time, so not very eco either, nor plastic fibres being great for the lungs, but hey ho).
Solar's great, although the installation I inherited unfortunately faces West (yes I know ) but even at this of the year it can at just about cover the houses's background power usage from all those appliances that are plugged in 24/7 which does add up. Snow doesn't always stick if they are kept clean, a little tap and a mini avalanche ensues Last 12 months energy bill (for everything including heating and hot water as well) was roughly 7200Kw/hr which is about £1200 of eleccy (not including standing charge). The FIT for both generation and export netted me about £610 over the same period. So the solar basically halved my annual energy bill.
Still, the time for the return on investment (ROI) on a 16 panel array only generating £610 a year is probably not far from the expected lifespan of the system (assuming the inverter or a panel doesn't fail in the meantime). Obviously whoever fitted this system didn't have a compass or fudged the forecasted figures to get a sale from the previous homeowner.
I've got a couple of south facing sheds that I'm going to put another 8 panels on which I'll do myself, that should hopefully knock another £400 a year off that bill depending on what ouput panels I can grab hold of.
Another feature about incadecent light bulbs is they get hot enough to kill insects. Particularly moths. It was no coincidence that I suffered a carpet-moth infestation after swapping all the bulbs to energy savers. The saving in electric didn't cover the cost of fumigation and replacement carpets (polyester this time, so not very eco either, nor plastic fibres being great for the lungs, but hey ho).
Solar's great, although the installation I inherited unfortunately faces West (yes I know ) but even at this of the year it can at just about cover the houses's background power usage from all those appliances that are plugged in 24/7 which does add up. Snow doesn't always stick if they are kept clean, a little tap and a mini avalanche ensues Last 12 months energy bill (for everything including heating and hot water as well) was roughly 7200Kw/hr which is about £1200 of eleccy (not including standing charge). The FIT for both generation and export netted me about £610 over the same period. So the solar basically halved my annual energy bill.
Still, the time for the return on investment (ROI) on a 16 panel array only generating £610 a year is probably not far from the expected lifespan of the system (assuming the inverter or a panel doesn't fail in the meantime). Obviously whoever fitted this system didn't have a compass or fudged the forecasted figures to get a sale from the previous homeowner.
I've got a couple of south facing sheds that I'm going to put another 8 panels on which I'll do myself, that should hopefully knock another £400 a year off that bill depending on what ouput panels I can grab hold of.
I'm getting just shy of €20K in eco credits for building a plus-energy house on a system that cost about €25K in total, so I should recover the investment in around 6 years (calculated against the 5kWp system). Its not just about the finance though, its also about doing your bit to fight climate change.
Its no longer allowed to fit gas/oil heating here on new builds or refurbishments. You can only replace an existing boiler if it breaks down. Also if you sell a house, you have to have an energy survey done. If the heating energy consumption is too inefficient, then the new owners will be required to update the heating and possibly insulation within 5 years of the purchase. The requirement is clearly stated in the sale pack, so you can't be hit with a suprise cost after you purchase. Pretty much the only options here now are Air or Ground source heat pump, core drilling for geothermal heating (if its possible and allowed where you live), or passive-house with no active heating system.
Germany is pretty hot on efficient building these days with various building standards carrying different levels of eco-credits. The standard I've built to requires 40% energy consumption compared to the German average house and with plus-energy on the Solar (KFW40+). The minimum standard is 75% (KFW75) compared to the average and there is also KFW55 (55%). Its also possible to build KFW40 without the plus energy. They re-asses the average German house every four or five years, so the requirements continually improve as more efficient homes are built without having to change the system.
Its no longer allowed to fit gas/oil heating here on new builds or refurbishments. You can only replace an existing boiler if it breaks down. Also if you sell a house, you have to have an energy survey done. If the heating energy consumption is too inefficient, then the new owners will be required to update the heating and possibly insulation within 5 years of the purchase. The requirement is clearly stated in the sale pack, so you can't be hit with a suprise cost after you purchase. Pretty much the only options here now are Air or Ground source heat pump, core drilling for geothermal heating (if its possible and allowed where you live), or passive-house with no active heating system.
Germany is pretty hot on efficient building these days with various building standards carrying different levels of eco-credits. The standard I've built to requires 40% energy consumption compared to the German average house and with plus-energy on the Solar (KFW40+). The minimum standard is 75% (KFW75) compared to the average and there is also KFW55 (55%). Its also possible to build KFW40 without the plus energy. They re-asses the average German house every four or five years, so the requirements continually improve as more efficient homes are built without having to change the system.
Therein lies an issue in British homes. They're crap!
I'm currently in a 5 year old renovation and having to redo pretty much everything. The draughts/insulation/ventilation is a ongoing work in progress, thus far according to previous meter readings I appear to have halved the energy consumption over the previous occupiers.
Alas it appears the collector circuit has now exhausted the ground substrate, the current cold snap has seen return temperature drop below 2degrees. So either the geological survey was lacking or the collector was undersized for the anticipated heat demand. COP is still above 3 but it is dropping as the system works for longer and longer to maintain heat output. I have disabled the emergency electric backup element, as I'd rather it ping an alarm at me instead of automatically guzzling electric, which according to the data logs the heat pump had been using regularly before I took over (may explain the prior energy usage).
It's a pity many GSHPs don't have reverse modes to cool the house and heat the ground in summer. Or at least switch over to air source in milder weather to allow the ground to recover, I only know of one manufacturer that offers this. I may adapt the existing system myself, a air to fluid fan outdoor coil, a few motorised valves and some basic logic control based on temperature probes would make it possible.
I then need to look at the windows and doors, again five years old. And I still don't know why hollow frames are 'still the norm' for PVC and aluminium and solely relying on plastic thermal breaks, whereas passive house obviously fill these hollow extrusions these with insulation. I mean with the quantity of insulation material needed (not a lot) and time to install during manufacture I bet the extra cost would only be £50 a frame.
Not really fussed about the eco side; I'm really just trying to minimise the costs...but only investing what gives a sensible return in a five year period. The awkward issue is kerosene/heating oil is half the price per Kw/h to electric....oil fired absorption heatpump anyone? Not eco but a bloody cheap and efficient way to get heat!
Therein lies an issue in British homes. They're crap!
I'm currently in a 5 year old renovation and having to redo pretty much everything. The draughts/insulation/ventilation is a ongoing work in progress, thus far according to previous meter readings I appear to have halved the energy consumption over the previous occupiers.
Alas it appears the collector circuit has now exhausted the ground substrate, the current cold snap has seen return temperature drop below 2degrees. So either the geological survey was lacking or the collector was undersized for the anticipated heat demand. COP is still above 3 but it is dropping as the system works for longer and longer to maintain heat output. I have disabled the emergency electric backup element, as I'd rather it ping an alarm at me instead of automatically guzzling electric, which according to the data logs the heat pump had been using regularly before I took over (may explain the prior energy usage).
It's a pity many GSHPs don't have reverse modes to cool the house and heat the ground in summer. Or at least switch over to air source in milder weather to allow the ground to recover, I only know of one manufacturer that offers this. I may adapt the existing system myself, a air to fluid fan outdoor coil, a few motorised valves and some basic logic control based on temperature probes would make it possible.
I then need to look at the windows and doors, again five years old. And I still don't know why hollow frames are 'still the norm' for PVC and aluminium and solely relying on plastic thermal breaks, whereas passive house obviously fill these hollow extrusions these with insulation. I mean with the quantity of insulation material needed (not a lot) and time to install during manufacture I bet the extra cost would only be £50 a frame.
Not really fussed about the eco side; I'm really just trying to minimise the costs...but only investing what gives a sensible return in a five year period. The awkward issue is kerosene/heating oil is half the price per Kw/h to electric....oil fired absorption heatpump anyone? Not eco but a bloody cheap and efficient way to get heat!
My return ground temp currently is around 1C and working fine. My loop is between 1-1.5metres below surface laid out in two 100metre trenches. In summer the ground temp is around 7C.
A lot of GSHP do have reverse for cooling, they don't advertise the fact, but can be configured to do so-if you know how. The problem is going too cool and causing moisture issues dew point.. I'd rather run a few split aircon units to provide comfort cooling.
My airsource unit(newbuild) is running fine in these subzero temps. I can easily heat water to 60C and ramp temp in floor over 24C
I'm going air source in the future.
Last edited by andy97; 12 February 2021 at 08:42 AM.
My return ground temp currently is around 1C and working fine. My loop is between 1-1.5metres below surface laid out in two 100metre trenches. In summer the ground temp is around 7C.
A lot of GSHP do have reverse for cooling, they don't advertise the fact, but can be configured to do so-if you know how. The problem is going too cool and causing moisture issues dew point.. I'd rather run a few split aircon units to provide comfort cooling.
My airsource unit(newbuild) is running fine in these subzero temps. I can easily heat water to 60C and ramp temp in floor over 24C
I'm going air source in the future.
The problem when running ground source collector at freezing point is you can risk of freezing the ground; A situation that could take many months to recover from depending on ground water permeation and soil consistency, a bad summer could leave it screwed for the next winter. The system will still work but the COP won't be as good and reducing system output, so it has work longer creating a vicious cycle where the ground source is depleted more and more. This can be mitigated if one can tap into groundwater, easier said than done; I'm on the side of a hill, the ground is like a bog (when not frozen), I can dig a shallow hole to plant a shrub and have it fill with water. Yet the slinkies that are at least 4 metres deep judging by the manhole depths, seems to be missing it. I will be looking at adapting an air source coil for summer use; a bespoke fabricated fan coil should still be cheaper than another heat pump or bore hole.
Eitherway the year round average COP is not what it says on the tin when ground source manufacturers and installers claim it to better than air source, and worse people got more tax payers money from the the government to fit it! The bottom line though is that all it needs is a COP above 2.1 for it to be cheaper to run than a condensing oil boiler, on standard rate electricity...so long as energy prices don't change too much. But factoring potential future repair/lifespan costs I really want a sustained COP greater than 4 to get a good ROI to cover future maintenance/repair issues (for example if the compressor dies, which would probably write off the whole refrigeration circuit). So a COP of 3 is a bit meh!
The big brand GSHPs in the UK I've looked don't typically include true reverse cycle cooling (unless it's a bespoke order);That being a reverse valve on the refrigeration circuit. That mechanical component just simply isn't there, and difficult to retrofit without reclaim/regas equipment and brazing skills. But a lot offer a 'passive' type cooling thats just a add-on hydraulic block that couples the collector to the heating circuit, bapassing the compressor/refrigeration part of the HP and using the pumps to circulate. Problem is with these is the packaging makes a already large appliance with a mass of pipes into an even bigger one and the cost of this extra cooling unit cost more than three split wall mount air conditioners. The reverse valves in comparison take minimal space as demonstrated on the typical split air conditioner of which are standard fit even in a £350 Gree from China. GSHP manufacturers really are penny pinching by not fitting these as standard on what IMO is a already heavily overpriced unit (I worked in aircon, and the components within these units is nothing special) .
Condensation when cooling can be mitigated by a simple temperature shut off/interlock on the flow circuit set above the dew point. Had to do that on some duct installs back in the day when the 'industrial' look was trendy in shops and bars; Overworked a/c systems would result in water dripping on customers heads.
Last edited by ALi-B; 12 February 2021 at 10:38 AM.
Therein lies an issue in British homes. They're crap!
I'm currently in a 5 year old renovation and having to redo pretty much everything. The draughts/insulation/ventilation is a ongoing work in progress, thus far according to previous meter readings I appear to have halved the energy consumption over the previous occupiers.
Alas it appears the collector circuit has now exhausted the ground substrate, the current cold snap has seen return temperature drop below 2degrees. So either the geological survey was lacking or the collector was undersized for the anticipated heat demand. COP is still above 3 but it is dropping as the system works for longer and longer to maintain heat output. I have disabled the emergency electric backup element, as I'd rather it ping an alarm at me instead of automatically guzzling electric, which according to the data logs the heat pump had been using regularly before I took over (may explain the prior energy usage).
It's a pity many GSHPs don't have reverse modes to cool the house and heat the ground in summer. Or at least switch over to air source in milder weather to allow the ground to recover, I only know of one manufacturer that offers this. I may adapt the existing system myself, a air to fluid fan outdoor coil, a few motorised valves and some basic logic control based on temperature probes would make it possible.
I then need to look at the windows and doors, again five years old. And I still don't know why hollow frames are 'still the norm' for PVC and aluminium and solely relying on plastic thermal breaks, whereas passive house obviously fill these hollow extrusions these with insulation. I mean with the quantity of insulation material needed (not a lot) and time to install during manufacture I bet the extra cost would only be £50 a frame.
Not really fussed about the eco side; I'm really just trying to minimise the costs...but only investing what gives a sensible return in a five year period. The awkward issue is kerosene/heating oil is half the price per Kw/h to electric....oil fired absorption heatpump anyone? Not eco but a bloody cheap and efficient way to get heat!
The windows area big factor for heat losses. I have a pre-fabricated build (Fertighaus) where the walls were all built flat on a jig then transported to site and lifted in with a crane. The raw build only took three days on site! The interesting thing is they first lay the windows on the jig, then they build the house around the windows. This avoids having to pad out the frames to the wall and minimises the thermal bridge around the window frames. All my windows are tripple glazed passivhaus windows which are specially coated to allow the heat from the sun through from the outside, but reflects heat back into the house from inside.
The house is also built air tight. They perform a "blower-door" test where the front door is replaced by a special door with a fan which is used to create an over-pressure in the house, then they measure how long it takes for the pressure to reduce. There is a minimum requirement needed to meet the KFW40 standard where the pressure is not allowed to drop by more than a certain about over a given time. Only when the test has passed, do I get the certification and the cash back for the eco-credits! Because the house is sealed, then you also have to install a ventilation system. At full pelt, it can completely replace the air in the house in 4 1/2 hours. The outgoing air passes through a heat exchanger to warm the incoming air apparantly with 90% efficiency! Its also a great way to redistribute the heat from the log burner from the living room throughout the whole house, so you minimise the hot-spot where the fire is and the rest of the house is too cold! The fire place is also a sealed system, with fresh air sourced through a double chimney, so there is no loss of oxygen inside the house due to the fire burning and no chance of harmful gasses building up either. The ventilation system also means you get much better air quality inside the house, the incoming air is filtered and the outgoing air also extracts a certain amount of dust particles meaning that dust build-up is less of a problem.
The heat pump system I have is capable of reverse function to cool the house via the underfloor heating and the thermostats in each room are also capable of sending a cooling demand. The cooling part of the system is however not installed as standard, but I can add it at a later date. The upgrade costs about €1000. I'll see how it goes this summer and decide if it makes sense to fit it. In theory the wall insulation which keeps the house warm in the winter should also work to keep the house cold in the summer, the only problem is once the house is too warm, it's almost impossible to cool it down again! All the windows have blinds or shutters so its important to close them during the day in summer to keep the house cool!
Newbuilds in the UK have to have an air pressure test like you describe. I fitted a complete MHVR air system to my current newbuild, dirt cheap, easy fitted. Its starting to become popular in the UK. My system does 0.3 air house changes per hour. The really good thing about air ventilation systems are they provide a simple whole house cooling action, well mine does, by bypassing the heat coupling when the house becomes too hot. My vents are mounted 20ft in the air on the shadow side for afternoons. Being high helps by drawing in cooler air than lower mounted vents.
@Ali. I'd thought you might like to see my groundsource thermal images ground temp is around 1C, return to ground varied between -3 to -7C(crosshair position) . and heating pipe into underfloor 30C
Last edited by andy97; 16 February 2021 at 02:22 PM.
Rain has helped increase the ground temp. 8 degrees outside so radiator/floor temp set point only needs to be 25.3c
Over Christmas however it was holding 4degrees whilst freezing outside, at that COP was measured at 3.9, but the last cold snap saw it dip to 0.2degrees and output seemed to fall off the shelf. Where it appeared to struggle getting the flow up to 30degrees compounded by the windchill which saw the system working longer and longer to maintain room temps. In the end lit the wood burner for the week to give a rest. I've since been going round finding cold ingress issues which will reduce heat demand, still much improved over last year, but more room for improvement.
Currently pricing up some solar panels to go on the sheds; A small 2.6kw array of high output panels which should add another annual 3000Kwh of generation. What I'm not sure about however is how that will affect the existing system that's on a FIT. New setup will probably be smart export/SEG, but not sure if you can have both or even if SEG would be worth the hassle (probably will need new meters and at the mercy of suppliers unregulated rates etc). And another quandary is this will take my theoretical maximum generation over 16amps so network operator may need different permissions.
Not really; Storage vessel is a tank in tank jobby, so has no immersion nor space to fit one. Battery is the only real option without a major re-jig but that's way too expensive to get a timely return on investment (aiming for 3 to 4 years)..
I'm wondering if I can convince my DNO that I won't really go above 16amps as the current west panels are only fully online in the afternoon and even then struggle to get over 2kw , whilst the new panels would be south and so both arrays won't be generating their peak at the same time. Not sure if they'll insist on theoretical peaks or real world outputs.
I need to dig out the MCS certificate, pretty certain it said 3.6kw....as if! Wonder if the installer cheated it.
When I get around to asking solar/wind generation companies. I want micro inverter per panel and sophisticated data capture.
Im looking at Enphase currently. but will ask several others to quote systems.
I'm looking to do most of the install myself (it's two shed roofs FFS, how hard can it be? It's the red tape that's fecked me over ), so been pricing up components and things have certainly moved on; The microinverters are expensive compared to a single low end inverter, but advantageous if you have mixed shading or a varying sizes/type/location of panels where on a single inverter a shaded/underperforming panel would affect others on the same string.
Obviously depends on what inverters you are comparing with; Growatt and Solis being the cheaper end with SMA being higher end. Same goes for the panels where some manufacturers are selling 350watt+ monocrystalline panels for £100+vat. Basically around 30p per watt which is a big difference to the more acknowledged brands. The key is the time for it to recoup the outlay of installing it, which needs to be before it either degrades or becomes obsolete. I think if you can get an installation to pay for itself within 5 years you are on to a winner.
It certainly pays to do some homework here, as I reckon the last home owners here were mugged off:
My current setup comprises of 16 Perlight polycrystalline panels guessing at 250watts each (the exact model is x'd out on the MCS certificate ), these are low end panels. With a Growatt 3.6kw dual MPPT inverter (low end again, but reasonable). MCS certificate rated the system STC power at 4kw (in lala land), net rated (certified) output 3.66kw. Real world average (measured by me) output is 2kw average peak; 125watt per panel. That's a 50% system loss due to the low output poly panels and West facing roof installation (about half the average sunshine hours of South facing), in Summer that's about 12.5Kwh a day. Winter, erm 1.5Kwh a day.
If I used new panels today on the same roof, using 495 watt JR solar panels and 50% assumed system loss (it won't as its south and no shading). I could get the same output by just using 8 panels; So the Perlight panels are obsolete, and being five years old I doubt that the install has yet to fully pay for itself. If however I placed those new 8 panels south facing I'd gain more sunshine hours, reducing the system loss so it would easily outperform the existing panels.
Of course I'm moaning about free electric which I didn't invest in anyway, but if I had I wouldn't have been happy about its performance regarding its net certificate rating vs actual. Today, if I had no FIT income and not knowing what SEG offers or how future tech pans out (batteries, energy costs/consumption etc), in my opinion its critical to make sure the system pays for itself as quick as possible.
Its Jaguar, not the EV market
Evs are booming in sales despite the fact the world has/is having a pandemic.
Diesel sales are falling as fast if not faster than evs are picking up in sales.
UK as a country has been slow with the take up of EV. Norway was the first to have more EV sales than ICE last year. several othet countries are reaching that point. I reckon UK will be a few more years
11 February 2021, 03:12 PM
...thats assuming my solar panels aren't still covered in snow 
). The Hull - Rotterdam link is a really nice crossing. Price wise was always on a par with the Chunnel with overnight crossing in a single occupancy inboard room, although I would recommend going for an outboard room as you don't feel the ship roll so much when you're trying to sleep - particularly after a few jars in the bar! Its also a nice big boat, onboard cinema, casino, piano bar, and entertainment lounge/bar. For food, there is a small cafe (good for breakfast), a big buffet restaurant which is pretty good and an excellent a-la-carte restaurant which I would highly recommend! If you use the buffet restaurant than you save a few £'s if you pre-book your meals. I'm not sure you can pre-book a table in the a-la-carte restaurant, if you want to eat there then make a b-line straight for the restaurant as soon as you get on board to reserve a table for later as it can get quite full.
) but even at this of the year it can at just about cover the houses's background power usage from all those appliances that are plugged in 24/7 which does add up. Snow doesn't always stick if they are kept clean, a little tap and a mini avalanche ensues 
Last 12 months energy bill (for everything including heating and hot water as well) was roughly 7200Kw/hr which is about £1200 of eleccy (not including standing charge). The FIT for both generation and export netted me about £610 over the same period. So the solar basically halved my annual energy bill.
). Do have the export meter readings though.
), these are low end panels. With a Growatt 3.6kw dual MPPT inverter (low end again, but reasonable). MCS certificate rated the system STC power at 4kw (in lala land), net rated (certified) output 3.66kw. Real world average (measured by me) output is 2kw average peak; 125watt per panel. That's a 50% system loss due to the low output poly panels and West facing roof installation (about half the average sunshine hours of South facing), in Summer that's about 12.5Kwh a day. Winter, erm 1.5Kwh a day.
