Poll

Do you keep records of your solar production

No I dont have solar
31 (57.4%)
No I don't care
5 (9.3%)
I look at the GTI LCD occasionally
6 (11.1%)
I look at the GTI display often
4 (7.4%)
I look at the GTI display even after dark
4 (7.4%)
I have solar, no GTI and I keep records (like Mike)
4 (7.4%)

Total Members Voted: 51

Author Topic: UK solar doldrums  (Read 50500 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline fourtytwo42Topic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1183
  • Country: gb
  • Interested in all things green/ECO NOT political
UK solar doldrums
« on: January 11, 2018, 09:32:20 am »
We seem to be surrounded in clag, the utilities must be rubbing there hands with glee!!

My daily output here in Norfolk has been zero for several days and down to 0.2Kw/h average per Kw installed this week, anybody doing any better ?
 

Offline DenzilPenberthy

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 408
  • Country: gb
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2018, 11:20:38 am »
It's sunny clear blue sky here in Bristol..
 

Offline fourtytwo42Topic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1183
  • Country: gb
  • Interested in all things green/ECO NOT political
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2018, 04:17:04 pm »
It's sunny clear blue sky here in Bristol..
Dang just have to move house then :)
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19280
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2018, 04:22:00 pm »
According to http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ UK solar output peaked at ~2GW today. vs 4GW last Sunday.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 
The following users thanked this post: fourtytwo42

Offline stj

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2153
  • Country: gb
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2018, 05:14:44 pm »
i dont think the suppliers are too happy actually.
there is a gas shortage right now because a transfer center in Europe went up in flames over the new year.
the u.k. is now breaking it's own sanctions buying emergency gas shipments from Russia - and i bet they are not selling it cheap!!
 
The following users thanked this post: Someone

Offline metrologist

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2199
  • Country: 00
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2018, 05:39:47 pm »
why not? supply is tight so double the margins. end consumers will pay for it...
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19280
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2018, 06:42:28 pm »
why not? supply is tight so double the margins. end consumers will pay for it...

Many individuals are on fixed price contracts, and they change supplier regularly.

I would expect that businesses have similar arrangements.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline stj

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2153
  • Country: gb
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2018, 06:49:48 pm »
blame the government.
they are to blame for alienating the region's biggest fuel suppliers.

we could have cheap russian gas and cheap iranian oil,
but oh-no - that would upset the stateless shadow-scumbags  working with government to carry out petty revenge against country's that are still independent from central banking!
 

Offline fourtytwo42Topic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1183
  • Country: gb
  • Interested in all things green/ECO NOT political
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #8 on: January 11, 2018, 06:57:03 pm »
According to http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ UK solar output peaked at ~2GW today. vs 4GW last Sunday.
It's a long time since I looked there and I don't think they used to have solar seperated out, anyway I note with interest whilst solar has dipped badly in the winter Bio is takeing off and I spent a few days this week making compost from all the annual hedge cuttings etc, now theres an idea  :-+ principle must be similar to brewing beer/wine right ?
 

Offline fourtytwo42Topic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1183
  • Country: gb
  • Interested in all things green/ECO NOT political
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2018, 07:01:59 pm »
I didnt think we had a gas pipeline connection to europe BUT we have shutdown one of the feeds from the north sea due to a fracture that will take a good while to repair. Interesting that story about the russian LPG ship unloading at the thames estury, it was claimed to be a transfer shipment only and anyway I thought our bulk LPG import was tother side of country (all locations left vague deliberatly).
 

Offline Simon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17729
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2018, 07:37:26 pm »
blame the government.
they are to blame for alienating the region's biggest fuel suppliers.

we could have cheap russian gas and cheap iranian oil,
but oh-no - that would upset the stateless shadow-scumbags  working with government to carry out petty revenge against country's that are still independent from central banking!


Let's keep the politics out please.
 

Offline metrologist

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2199
  • Country: 00
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #11 on: January 11, 2018, 07:59:26 pm »
why not? supply is tight so double the margins. end consumers will pay for it...

Many individuals are on fixed price contracts, and they change supplier regularly.

I would expect that businesses have similar arrangements.

I'm not familiar with those kinds of contracts.
 

Offline Simon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17729
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2018, 08:31:15 pm »
in the UK you sign up for an energy supply contract that lasts for a certain time. The price is fixed for the durationso if there is a massive hike in price you don't pay it until you need to renew. On the one hand you get a better deal, on the other you are locked to a supplier for at least 1 year. suppliers often offer a discount on your first year to get you hooked and hope you don't move on after the first contract is up.
 

Offline fourtytwo42Topic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1183
  • Country: gb
  • Interested in all things green/ECO NOT political
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #13 on: January 11, 2018, 08:51:36 pm »
I am suprised that nobody so far has added there own figures so I added a survey (wow that was easy) as a teaser, maybe I am verging on being an ECO nut hahaha please join in the fun :)
« Last Edit: January 11, 2018, 08:53:18 pm by fourtytwo42 »
 

Offline Simon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17729
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #14 on: January 11, 2018, 09:41:50 pm »
I'm kicking out about 200W each day but my panels are a bit shaded at the moment being in the garden and with part of a tree in front of them on the ground. The panels are 1.5KW maximum output is usually 1.1KW in the height of summer.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2018, 09:47:26 pm by Simon »
 

Offline fourtytwo42Topic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1183
  • Country: gb
  • Interested in all things green/ECO NOT political
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #15 on: January 11, 2018, 09:53:50 pm »
I'm kicking out about 200W each day but my panels are a bit shaded at the moment being in the garden and with part of a tree in front of them on the ground. The panels are 1.5KW maximum output is usually 1.1KW in the height of summer.
You must be somewhere sunny like Bristol :) I am getting only 30W peak and like 9W average atm from a 1.1Kw array but hey it's really awfull weather here atm. BTW my energy logger is a bit primative (as it was written by me) and has a threshold of 100W/h before it logs anything, hence reporting zero the last few days!
Is that 200W instantanios or watt/hours or watt (pun) ?
 

Offline Simon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17729
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #16 on: January 12, 2018, 08:00:41 am »
that's 200 watts for the day I think I have seen it peak at 150W instant. Oh you have a threshold of 100W? you didn't design the powervault did you ? ;)
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19280
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #17 on: January 12, 2018, 09:45:23 am »
that's 200 watts for the day I think I have seen it peak at 150W instant. Oh you have a threshold of 100W? you didn't design the powervault did you ? ;)

What do you mean "200W for the day"? If it is for a day then the units should be kWh or Joules (i.e. energy not power).
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 
The following users thanked this post: HackedFridgeMagnet

Offline Simon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17729
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #18 on: January 12, 2018, 09:52:37 am »
What do you think ? what would my inverter say? how would I value it and how do the rest of us value it? we are talking standard energy delivery not physics, what unit does the world use to measure generation and consumption of power????
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19280
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #19 on: January 12, 2018, 10:12:33 am »
What do you think ? what would my inverter say? how would I value it and how do the rest of us value it? we are talking standard energy delivery not physics, what unit does the world use to measure generation and consumption of power????

This is O-level physics; look at any electricity meter: kWh.

Watts are by definition Joules per second, i.e. energy/time. Hence kWh is energy/time*time => energy.

In the context of power systems, energy/kWh indicates how much useful work you can do whereas power/kW indicates how fast you can do it.

If you like analogies, in the context of cars kW indicates how fast you can go, kWh indicates how far you can go.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline Simon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17729
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #20 on: January 12, 2018, 10:16:22 am »
Of course it is KWh, in this context it should be unmistakably KWh!
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19280
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #21 on: January 12, 2018, 10:21:26 am »
What do you think ? what would my inverter say? how would I value it and how do the rest of us value it? we are talking standard energy delivery not physics, what unit does the world use to measure generation and consumption of power????

This is O-level physics; look at any electricity meter: kWh.

Watts are by definition Joules per second, i.e. energy/time. Hence kWh is energy/time*time => energy.

In the context of power systems, energy/kWh indicates how much useful work you can do whereas power/kW indicates how fast you can do it.

If you like analogies, in the context of cars kW indicates how fast you can go, kWh indicates how far you can go.
Of course it is KWh, in this context it should be unmistakably KWh!

Greenwashers and publicity machines frequently get this wrong through ignorance and/or deceit. It becomes impossible to determine what their statements mean.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline Simon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17729
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #22 on: January 12, 2018, 10:23:47 am »
Yes I'm sure they do but we are talking about a standardised thing using standard off the shelf kit, I'd be very surprised if anyone inverter stated anything different for "KW" than KWh, most people don't even understand the concept of instantaneous energy at which point you end up talking joules and coulombs just for it to make sense in your head.
 

Offline metrologist

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2199
  • Country: 00
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #23 on: January 12, 2018, 03:52:11 pm »
So, you meant 200 kWh / day from your 1.5 kW panel array?  :-//

I got 70Wh out of my 100W panel yesterday, but there is no load other than an old FLA...
 

Offline ahbushnell

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 734
  • Country: us
Re: UK solar doldrums
« Reply #24 on: January 12, 2018, 04:03:31 pm »
What do you think ? what would my inverter say? how would I value it and how do the rest of us value it? we are talking standard energy delivery not physics, what unit does the world use to measure generation and consumption of power????
I don't understand your statement?
Power=watts or kW
Energy=joules or kW*hr or MW*hr ....
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf