One Year Later: Annual UK Solar Panel Output

After 12 months of of having our solar panels we have now reached that landmark of one year's solar generation. The annual output from our PV Solar Panels has surpassed even our wildest expectations and despite what was estimated to be the worst summer for 100 years we still generated 3095kWh of electricity over the year.

Rain falling on our solar panels

Rain on our solar panels was a common sight this year but even with the appalling summer weather we still generated 30% more than the SAP 2009estimates given with our quotes. The generation varied from 0kWh for a snowy day in February to 20.6kWh for the sunniest summer day. You can read more details here of solar panel UK output records


One Year Later: Annual UK Solar Panel Output

Without the inverter error in August I would expect our solar panels to have generated 3250kWh over the year which would equate to 1083kWh per kWP of solar panels. This is substantially above the normal estimates for the UK of around 800-900kWh of electricity per kWp of installed solar panel capacity.



Frosty solar panels in winter

Why Are Inverter and Generation Meter Readings different?

Why is the inverter reading not the same as the generation meter?

Something we noticed early on with our solar panels was that the inverter and generation meter readings differed. In our case the generation meter reads higher than the inverter but other people have found that the generation meter reading is lower than the inverter.

Over time this can be a significant difference. Approaching the first anniversary of our solar panels being commissioned our generation meter is reading 3079kWh and the inverter reads 3043kWh. The difference is approximately 1% higher reading for the generation meter.

Why is the inverter reading different to the generation meter?

The correct reading is the one on the generation meter as this meter is calibrated and manufactured to strict tolerances. The electricity reading from the inverter should only be considered an estimate and will vary from the true reading from the generation meter.

More solar panel FAQs here

Connect to Sunny Boy Inverter via Bluetooth Using iPhone

Are you trying to connect to your SMA SunnyBoy via Bluetooth using an iPhone? Why does the Sunny Boy inverter not show using Bluetooth on an iPhone?



SMA SunnyBoy Bluetooth iPhone Connection

Unfortunately the Bluetooth on the iPhone does not allow it to connect to the Sunny Boy inverter. In fact the iPhone cannot even detect or display that the Sunny Boy inverter exists as the Bluetooth settings on the iOS software prevent this.

You can detect the SMA Sunny Boy inverter using an Android or Windows phone

Total FIT Payment for Year - Final Payment Now Received

The cheque from British Gas has just arrived, 7 days after submitting the solar panel generation reading which means we have now had our 4 FIT (Feed In Tariff) payments since our solar PV panels were installed in November 2011. It hasn't quite been a year as the final reading was requested on 5th November but we have received FIT payments for 3025 units of electricity produced

Total FIT Payment for Year was £1401.62, this would have been higher apart from the disaster in August when the inverter stopped for 14 days, losing us around 150kWh of electricity generation.



Total FIT Payment for Year - Final Payment Now Received

Despite the exceptionally poor summer months we still have generated over 25% more electricity than the SAP2009 claimed figures which is a great result!

Solar PV Generation Landmark Reached!

We've been away for a few days and on return have checked our solar panels. While we were away our Solar PV panels have passed an electricity generation landmark and reached 3000kWh of electricity produced. Due to the inverter lockup in August which lost around 150kWh of electricity generation we should have passed this milestone last month but we have now produced 3007kWh of electricity in just over 11 months of operation.



Solar PV Generation Landmark Reached!

The SAP2009 estimated annual production came in at 2479kWh and the higher PV-GIS estimate was 2905kWh so we have comfortably beaten both estimates with nearly 3 weeks remaining and despite an appallingly wet summer that would have reduced electricity generated even further.