Solar Panels Three Years On

Our solar panels have now been installed for exactly 3 years.

Over that time they've now generated 9588kWh of electricity - this would have been nearer 9800 kWh due to an inverter fault in 2012 that lost around 200kWh of generation being produced.

You can see how this generation is broken down by month and year here

Solar Panels Three Years On

Solar PV kWh generation each month

You can find out the amount of Solar PV electricity we have generated as kwh generation each month on our Solar PV website

http://solar-panels-review.321web.co.uk/monthly-pv-solar-panel-generation.php





Solar PV kWh generation each month

The kWh amount of solar PV electricity generated each month varies massively across the year with summer running at around 4 times the amount in winter. The amount during each day varies as well with the peak around midday.



kWh amount of solar PV electricity generated each day

October 2014 Sunny Boy Data Loaded

The data from our Sunny Boy inverter for October 2014 has now been uploaded to the website. As of next month we will start to have 4 years worth of data to compare as our solar panels were installed in November 2011.

View Annual Solar PV panel output in Kent UK

2014 has been very mild so far, I wonder how the winter will compare to last year when we didn't have more than one night of frost over the whole winter period.

October 2014 Sunny Boy Data Loaded

How Are Solar Panels Fitted to a Roof?

How are solar panels fitted to the roof of your house?

Metal bracket/clips are screwed to the rafters under the tile and then the mounting system is attached to them. The tiles should then sit flat against the brackets so there is no damage or change to the tiles on the roof.

Are Solar panels still a good investment despite Feed In Tariff drop?

Do Solar panels still give a good investment return?

The Feed In Tariff (FIT) rates have plummeted since 2011 but are solar panels still a good investment? When FITs were announced in 2010 the cost of solar panels were around £16,000 for a 3-4 kWp system and FIT payments were around 45p per kWh generated.



Do Solar panels still give a good investment return?

Since then FIT rates have dropped substantially but solar panel installation prices have done so too meaning that the relationship between solar PV panels and FIT has stayed roughly the same. The main difference between the returns now and in 2011 is that the current Feed in Tariff is only guaranteed for 20 years rather than the 25 years for the pre-2011 FIT rates.

So £16,000 for a system paying 45p FIT is much the same return as a £5000 system being paid out at 15p FIT rates. The solar electricity generated will be the same for a system regardless of the FIT rate paid so the returns should be comparable.

Do you agree or do you think that solar is no longer a good investment?

Do Solar Panels Generate Power in the winter if it is sunny?

Do solar panels generate power in the winter if it is sunny?

On sunny winter days solar panels will still generate electricity and can do so at fairly high rates. Solar panels are affected by temperature and on hot summer days the peak electricity output will be reduced as the temperature increases so winter with cooler days will help raise that peak.


Do solar panel generate power in the winter if it is sunny?

Against the improvement from temperature the length of day is reduced and the sun is much lower in the sky which will reduce the amount of solar panel electricity generated. Obviously on snowy days the electricity generated will be zero when the panels are covered in snow and when the panels are frosty as in the photo of our panels above they won't produce any power until the sun comes up and melts the frost off them.

The power generated from solar panels in the UK in winter is much lower than during summer months as you can see from the tables in the links below. December average from our panels is around 100kWh for the month but summer months such as June can generate well over 400kWh. So in summer the solar panels generated four times as much electricity as in winter - or in winter the electricity produced by solar panels is one quarter of the amount in summer.

Solar Panel electricity produced in winter

Solar power generated in January
Solar power produced in June

Monthly summary of solar electricity produced

Fitting Electric Oven - How to Connect New World NW601F Built In Electric Oven

The built in electric oven in the house had broken so I bought a new one from the fantastic AO.com. Ordered on a Sunday and the new oven was delivered the next day - an amazingly good service!

The New World Newworld NW601F Built In Electric Single Oven was shown as requiring professional installation by an electrician but on delivery it appeared that the connection to the power supply was identical to the existing oven so could be connected very easily.

Replacing Electric Oven - How to Connect New World NW601F Built In Electric Oven

How to Access the Terminals on New World NW601F Built In Electric Oven?

The rear of the oven has a black plastic cover that conceals the electrical terminals, you may need to use a small screwdriver to unclip the tabs that clip into place preventing the cover opening accidentally. Once the cover is open the terminals are visible so you can connect the N, L and Earth cables to the oven with the blue, brown and green cables. Once done, refit the oven in the kitchen and screw the sides to the units.



Fitting an electric oven to existing socket

Fitting an electric oven to existing power supply

How to open electrical terminal cover on New World oven

How to open electrical terminal cover on New World oven

How to fit New World NW601F Built In Electric Oven to power supply

August 2014 Poor Solar Generation

August 2014 was a very poor month for electricity generated from our solar panels with the lowest August generation since we had the panels and worse than June or July too.

During the month our solar panels produced 319kWh of electricity compared to 405kWh in August 2013.

Hopefully August solar panel output will be surpassed in September with sunny weather forecast for at least the first week or two.



August 2014 Poor Solar Generation

2014 Best Year Ever for Solar PV Installations in UK

Latest press release from Solar Essence shows that 2014 is UK solar PV's most popular year so far

2013's solar record is eclipsed as PV capacity installed in the first 6 months of 2014 is higher than the whole of last year

2013 was a record year for solar power installations, with an estimated 1.2GW installed across the UK. This figure has been bettered in just 6 months of 2014, however, with 1.47GW capacity installed already according to analysts NPD Solarbuzz.

Solar PV has benefited from stable government incentives, leading to low prices and strong returns.

Search Renewable Installations FIT Register - View Solar Installations by Region

The government keep a record of all solar and renewable energy installations in the UK that are eligible for FIT - Feed In Tariff payments. These details are published several times a year as an Excel spreadsheet but due to the volume of data it isn't very easy to see so I looked at loading the entire data set into a database to view instead.

The first view to search the data in the UK Renewable Installations FIT Register is here

This shows the number of FIT installations per UK regional area but other searches and views can be available.

If you would like to see the data in another way or to search for your own or nearby installations then please leave a comment with suggestions



Search Renewable Installations FIT Register

June 2014 Solar Panel Output Generation

Now that the sun has set I've checked the numbers for June 2014 and it has been our second best month for our solar panels. We generated a total of 420kWh of electricity this month which is some way of the best month ever which was 484kWh in 2013.

As seems to be usual at the moment predicted rain never materialised and June was a pretty dry month which many sunny spells which helped give a good generation total for the month. Although June is the month with the longest day, it is also at a disadvantage with warmer days which reduce solar electricity generation and one less day than July or May.

June 2014 Solar Panel Output Generation

Our total since we had our panels installed in November 2011 is now 8191kWh which I think must be pretty good as British Gas didn't believe our last FIT generation reading submitted and insisted that we provide a photo of the generation meter to verify it.

Solar Panel Shading - What is the Impact on Generated Output?

How does shading affect Solar Panel Electricity Output?

The simple answer is a lot. The more detailed answer is that it depends on your inverter setup. If you had separate strings on the inverter or micro inverters then the impact of shading on panels can be mitigated and generation from the unshaded panels maintained.

For shading such as below with a telegraph pole casting a shadow over the panels in winter this would be a suitable option to optimise the output of the unshaded panels.

Solar Panel Shading - What is the Impact on Generated Output?

However with the panels in the location in the photos below I doubt there is anything that can be done to optimise output when all the panels are covered in shade. These photos were taken in mid winter when there were no leaves on the trees. In spring and summer I'd expect those panels to be shaded virtually the whole day.

New FIT Feed in Tariff Rate from April 2014

The FIT Rate (Feed in Tariff) changes in April each year and increases by the RPI inflation rate for December the previous year. So the April 2014 FIT rate is based on the 2.7% RPI inflation for December 2013.

The new FIT rate for 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 is:

48.07p per kWh plus export tariff of 3.39p per kWh with 50% deemed export

In total that means you will be paid 48.07 + (3.39/2) = 49.8p per kWh

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/85846/010214rpiadjustedtariffspv1.pdf

FIT Rate April 2014

January 2014 Solar Panel Output

Despite the terrible wet and windy weather we seem to have endured over the last few months the electricity generated by the solar panels in January 2014 was the best January so far.

You can see the comparison between Jan 2012, 2013 and 2014 here

http://solar-panels-review.321web.co.uk/solar-panel-electricity-generated-january.php

Unlike 2013 we didn't have any snow so the panels were generating every day in January 2014

January 2014 Solar Panel Output

Solar Powered iPhone 6 - Solar PV Panel iPhone Charging

Apple has filed eight solar patents over the last few years and also hired a thin films engineer with experience in the solar industry.

So will the Apple iPhone 6 include solar power or a solar panel for the back of the phone? We'll have to wait for the announcement from Apple but we can guarantee that the solar panels for a iPhone 6 will have to be a lot smaller than the ones in the photo below!



Solar Powered iPhone 6

Sprayable Solar Panels?

The University of Sheffield and University of Cambridge have also created solar cells that you can spray onto surfaces including windows, car roofs, and buildings. The aim is to provide low-cost solar technology for developing countries and could drive more innovative applications.

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/10-ways-alternative-energy-is-about-to-change-the-way-tech-gets-powered/#.

Month and Year Solar Output Compared - Variation Between Same Months of Different Years

I've now setup pages to show the comparison for each month year by year so you can see the difference in solar electricity produced for the same month in different years.

You can see the difference between electricity produced each year and how much solar electricity was generated compared to previous years. Each month is available individually

January February March April May June July August September October November December

You can also see a comparison of solar PV output generated year by year



Month and Year Solar Output Compared - Variation Between Same Months of Different Years

What is Best Direction for Solar Panels to face in the UK to get maximum output?

It is commonly thought that the best direction for solar panels to point in the UK is due South. However some recent research has apparently shown that the best direction for generating electricity from your solar panels is actually west as it captures more the afternoon sunlight.

I'm not sure how valid this research is and whether it will be backed up by further studies but it certainly ties in with our PV solar panels producing well above estimated amounts of electricity over the last 3 years. With the natural variation of sunlight you would need 2 sets of solar panels in the same location with identical setups to be able to compare outputs.

Our solar panels face SSW and 3kWp of solar PV Panels have generated over 3000kWh of electricity each year compared to the estimates of around 2400kWh per year.



Best Direction for Solar Panels to face in the UK to get maximum output

Sunny Boy inverter has no display visible or bluetooth connection?

If your Sunny Boy inverter has no display visible or bluetooth connection then the inverter may have locked up or frozen. It may be a very simple fix which is worth trying before calling a solar panel installation engineer to repair it   Sunny Boy inverter has no display visible or bluetooth connection? For some reason our Sunny Boy 3000HF inverter had frozen and was not generating any electricity. Quickly turning off and on again didn't resolve the problem. In the end the solution to the problem we had was to turn the inverter off for a longer time - around 20 minutes so that the inverter was completely powered down. Once this had happened the Sunny Boy inverter was switched back on and came back to life producing electricity as normal.

Solar Panel Output 2013 Annual Review - Summary of Solar Electricity Production

We have now had our solar panels operating for two full calendar years and some interesting details are emerging. Despite 2013 starting much worse than 2012, with very dull and cold weather at the beginning of the year, the overall electricity produced was higher than in 2012 with some new records set.

Best month solar electricity production: 479kWh (July 2013)
Best day solar electricity production: 21.6kWh (April 2013)

With the colder April and May than is usual the effect of temperature on solar panel electricity production became very apparent which with the lengthening days gave the impressive daily totals for April 2013.

Overall for 2013 the solar panels generated a total of 3095kWh of electricity and were operating for 3972 hours in total. This compares to 2996 kWh and 3635 hours for 2012.

View the full yearly and monthly solar panel electricity production stats here