2020 - Worst Ever October for Solar Panels

 As an example of how nature evens out the weather in 2020 we have now had the best and worst months for solar generation since we had panels installed in 2011.

April and May 2020 beat every previous record for our system but October has now been the lowest generated for an October by a significant margin

Average for October was 205kWh with a previous minimum of 185kWh and high of 273kWh in 2018. This month was only 163kWh of electricity generated

Highest Ever Monthly Solar Generation

I've just seen on the news that May 2020 was the sunniest month on record in the UK. Having just loaded the data for our solar panels the results fully bear this out with May 2020 breaching the 500kWh generation barrier for the first time.

In May 2020 our solar panels generated a whopping 517kWh of electricity from the 3kWp set of panels. That's considerably more than the previous high of 460kWh produced in June 2018 which has the potential to be higher as the days are longer.

As we're still working from home, any additional electricity generated during the day is very welcome as we are using higher than normal amounts and can easily schedule washing machine loads at peak times.

You can see the full results here http://solar-panels-review.321web.co.uk/index.php/yearly-comparison-of-solar-pv 

Fortunately the days have been hot but with a cooling breeze which may have helped maximise the electricity produced.

Sunniest April Solar Electricity Records

According to meteorological records April 2020 was one of the sunniest ever recorded https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51799503

Sunniest April Solar Electricity Records

This was also reflected in our solar panel electricity generation, we got 432 kWh of electricity last month considerably up on the average of 360kWh and above our previous best of 415kWh.

http://solar-panels-review.321web.co.uk/index.php/solar-power-month-by-month/12-monthly-data/10-monthly-uk-solar-panel-electricity-output-for-april

2020 has been good so far for solar with both March & April beating previous records. It's a bonus as we're now working from home during the Coronavirus lockdown and using more electricity!

March 2020 Record Beating Solar

March 2020 will be known for record breaking in relation to Corona Virus Covid-19 but in the UK it was also a record breaking month for solar panel electricity generation. The month seemed somewhat dull and cold but obviously there was more sun than I imagined! The cold temperatures would have also helped the panels be more efficient to improve generation too. Since mid March we have been working from home as a result of the Covid-19 virus requirements to stay inside and only travel for essential food or medicine journeys.

The total for March 2020 was 330 kWh of solar electricity produced

This compares to an 8 year average of 270 kWh with lows of 173 kWh for March 2013. You can see the full data here

http://solar-panels-review.321web.co.uk/index.php/solar-power-month-by-month/12-monthly-data/17-monthly-uk-solar-panel-electricity-output-for-march

Do you have solar panels in the UK? How did your data compare for March 2020? Post in the comments if you have any feedback on your own generation.

March 2020 Record Beating Solar

FIT Rates April 2020 onwards

The Feed In Tariff (FIT) rates are calculated from the base 2010 figure by applying the RPI (Retail Prices Index) rate for December to the previous rate. You can see the December rates since 2011 below.

Year	Dec RPI Rate (%)
2011	4.8
2012	3.1
2013	2.7
2014	1.6
2015	1.2
2016	2.5
2017	4.1
2018	2.7
2019	2.2

In April 2019 the rate increased to  54.17p as a result of the 2.7% increase in RPI for December 2018.

FIT Rates April 2020 onwards

With the latest RPI increase of  2.2% announced for December 2019 this rate will increase again as shown by the calculations below:

Existing Generation rate (54.17p)  x RPI (2.2%)  = New Rate (55.36p)

So the new rate for Electricity generation is 55.36p per kWh

The export rate will also increase by 2.2% from 3.82p to 3.90p


There are various other FIT rates that apply depending on the date that your solar panels were commissioned. They will also increase by 2.7% as the RPI rate for December 2019.