My Solar Panels Are On The Roof
My solar panels are now on my large flat roof.
The installation was surprisingly painless, with the only work inside the house, the fitting of the control box near to my main consumer unit.
I have been monitoring all weekend on my laptop.
Power From Renewables Surges To High As Emissions Fall
This was the headline on a story in the Business section of The Times today.
Apparently nearly a quarter of the UK’s electricity was generated from renewables last year.
In 2014 it was 19.1%, but last year it was 24.7%.
It all goes to show, that we should think long and hard about building any massive power stations; nuclear, coal or whatever.
I have decided that now is the time to put solar panels on my roof.
Questions About Solar Panels
Yesterday, despite the temperature being about eight or nine outside, because the evil devil had switched the radiant heaters on, the temperature had risen to twenty-eight inside my house, due to heat coming in through my skylight and by radiation from the flat roof.
Now the flat roof has been relaid and insulated, so to make matters worse the heat once in can’t get out.
So I decided I’d had enough and have decided to do what I had already ascertained was to be the next steps.
- Put an electric shutter over the skylight.
- Fit solar panels to both generate electricity and shade my house from the sun.
Hopefully, I’d generate enough electricity to run the air-conditioner, when the sun is on.
I entered my details into a comparison site and they said they’d select six local installers.
Within half an hour, I had a call on my phone and as the guy was in his van just round the corner, he was in my house doing a survey within five minutes.
He was also very much a local supplier, as both his flat and office were within five hundred metres.
He quoted for a four kilowatt system with sixteen panels, which he said would cost £5,000 as standard including installation and VAT.
I could also have micro-inverters which would up the cost to £6,300.
He indicated that micro-inverters were more efficient and had a loner life. He also enclosed the data sheet for the Enphase microinverters.
So I asked myself what are micro-inverters and what advantages do I get.
I found this web page entitled Should I Get Micro-Inverters For My Solar PV System?
Read the page and you’ll find there are two kinds of inverters;string and micro.
With a string inverter, you have one device that converts the DC of the panels to the AC of the house. So it’s like having one charger for all your devices.
With a micro inverter, each panel has its own inverter.
So the number of electronic components probably explains the difference in cost.
But there are other differences.
- String inverters have typically a five year guarantee, whereas micro inverters have one of twenty-five. Only a madman would offer such a guarantee, if the devices failed regularly.
- String inverters gear their output to the poorest performing panel, whereas with micro-inverters each panel performs according to the sun it gets.
- If there is a chance of major shading, go for micro inverters.
- Failures do happen and surely if each panel is an complete system, if one should fail, it is a problem, which is easier to locate and remedy.
Now I’m no expert, but my electrical engineering training says that micro-inverters are a better bet.
Years ago, when I worked at ICI, some others in the office were working on automating a chemical plant. Up until 1970, traditionally each temperature, pressure and position sensor input went into a massive and extremely expensive analogue to digital converter to link to the computer. But in this development, every input had its own converter.
I ‘m not in automation these days, but I doubt they use a massive and expensive converter and each input is handled individually.
So with my panels, I’m tempted to pay the extra £1,300.
I’m still waiting for the other five installers to phone.
Big Belly Bins In Islington
I have a thing about street litter. My road isn’t particularly bad for rubbish, as we have a guy with a barrow, who patrols the area sweeping up anything that gets drops.
But it doesn’t deter people from piling waste around the litter bins in the road, as this picture shows.
Rubbish By A Bin In Hackney
I think a lot of what gets dumped is from people who have opted out of Hackney’s rcycling scheme, as bags often seem to be full of fast food packaging and disposable nappies. But some is definitely from commercial premises, as at times, I’ve seen people unloading rubbish by the bins from the back of pick-ups or vans.
I’ve passed the bin shown below at the Angel a couple of times, but today I had a good look.
An Islington Big Belly
It does appear to be in a better state than Hackney’s traditional bin. Perhaps those who think they will pile litter by bins, think that it’s got a camera inside.
The Big Belly web site, isn’t the easiest to navigate, but for a good explanation go to this page on the Islington web site. This is an extract.
The Big Belly units use solar power to compact litter so can hold up to eight times more litter than a normal bin, and email council staff when they need emptying.
Now under a pilot scheme 30 of the bins – which are also used in Times Square, New York – are being placed at busy recycling and litter hotspots in Islington, where street bins fill quickly.
I don’t know for sure, but I suspect as the bins are solar powered, they probably don’t need to be connected to any services. I did read on their web site, that they use SMS messaging to call for emptying.
I like the concept and suspect that it will get developed in the future to be even better and provide other services.
Amber Rudd Puts Onshore Wind Out Of Its Misery
I don’t like onshore wind farms so I was pleased to see this announcement by Amber Rudd on the BBC, which is titled Earlier end to subsidies for new UK onshore wind farms.
Onshore wind blights the countryside and you have to use a lot of subsidy to make a development viable.
But, I mainly don’t like the concept of wind power, because it is too mechanical, as opposed to solar, where you put up a panel and its control system and you get electricity.
Solar’s other big advantage is just emerging and that is the ability to link it to an intelligent battery such as the Tesla Powerwall to provide an independent power system for a building or something remote that needs good clean energy.
In a few years time, I predict that all new houses will have solar panels on the roof and the next generation of storage battery in the garage. Coupled with increases in insulation quality, I also think, we’ll see the likes of Barratt advertising houses with no external gas and only a stand-by electricity connection, for use on the dullest days.
The big energy companies won’t like it! But surely this is the sign of a good idea?
My energy usage isn’t high, but when the solar/battery powerplant drops in price sufficiently, I’ll fit one!
The Aussies Get Into Home Batteries
As you might imagine, Australia with its sunshine and lots of remote communities could be a big market for battery technology like Tesla’s Powerwall. But this article in the Australian Financial Review shows why the country will be a big market.
It says that for example in Queensland, a third of the houses have solar panels, which must only increase the demand for batteries.
But it also says that the way the Australians charge for electricity is different to the United States and this makes batteries much more useful. I think that in the UK, we follow the Australian model. Except for the sun of course!
The article has some interesting details on how the price of the devices will go, especially as it says that Panasonic who are one of the Big 3 battery makers will be entering the market soon.
I all think it goes to show that each market is different and I suspect that the UK market will be different again, as most of us don’t live in houses that are too friendly to solar panels.
But my house is with its flat roof, and I am watching the price of solar panels, because I reckon in the next few years, I’ll be able to fit a very affordable system, that will take me substantially off-grid, with a battery in the garage.
Solar panels, battery technology and small innovative energy companies are going to give the Big 6 energy companies, one hell of a kicking.
A Must Read Article On The Tesla Powerwall
I have a Google Alert set for Tesla Powerwall and usually it just picks up pretty boring stuff, but this article from ecomento.com is better than most. It does state this.
The Tesla Powerwall won’t really make economic sense for most US customers until the price drops – considerably. The people who buy one now will help fund the research and development that needs to take place to drive battery prices down in the future.
So as with a lot of new technology, with my engineer’s hard hat on, I think it will be best to wait until the cost of solar panels, Powerwall-like devices and all the other electronics and control systems needed, have been proven to be reliable and have dropped in price.
My house here has a flat roof, which would be ideal for solar panels, so I’m watching the technology and will buy them, when the payback is less than five years.
Why five years? It’s the length of our fixed term parliament, so hopefully the financial conditions won’t be mucked up too much by a change of governmen.
Thoughts On Solar Energy
On my trip to Wales on Wednesday, I was surprised at the number of houses and buildings in the valleys that were sporting solar panels.
I was surprised because according to the general view of the Welsh weather, there doesn’t appear to be enough sun. Although to be fair, Wednesday was a day of clear skies and a warm sun.
The cynic in me, asks whether the Welsh government is giving out a big subsidy or there are a lot of aggressive and ultimately successful salesmen about. But as to the latter, the Welsh have never struck me as particularly gullible. They also have a reputation of being rather careful with their money.
So, I have to come to the conclusion that the economics of solar panels must be getting better.
Here, in Central London, you don’t see too many solar panels, although Blackfriars station is roofed with solar panels. Wikipedia says this.
In January 2014 the Blackfriars Railway Bridge became the world’s largest solar-powered bridge having been covered with 4,400 photovoltaic panels providing up to half of the energy for the station.
Blackfriars station is a station that it is a good place to put solar panels.
1. It is an all-electric railway with no polluting smoke from diesel engines, that might damage the panels.
2. The platforms are a long low horizontal building with quite a large roof area.
3. Because of its position on a bridge, Blackfriars station is probably not a prime candidate for building offices or housing on top of the station.
4. Stations are also designed for the long term and I doubt that any major work will be done at Blackfriars for several decades.
I think we’ll be seeing several other stations being given solar roofs if the economics are right. Not all stations have magnificent Victorian train sheds like Kings Cross, Liverpool Lime Street, Paddington and St. Pancras or are candidates for serious oversite development like Euston, Liverpool Street or Marylebone.
Even Sainsburys are getting into the solar game. With supermarkets and other sheds, the adding of solar panels can help to make the stores less dependent on the grid, but I doubt many will last as long as Blackfriars station without a complete rebuild.
It would seem to me that large commercial applications, will have one major effect. They will bring the prices down.
Coupled with technological improvement like this one, we could be entering a virtuous circle for solar energy, as the shorter the payback time, the more likely a company, organisation or individual will invest.
Solar energy as a local power source has a few advantages.
1. As it produces electricity that can be fed back into the grid and the control systems can be very sophisticated, it is a very efficient way of generating and distributing electricity.
2. The drive is on for electrical equipment like lights, washing machines and cookers to use less electricity, which means people are getting used to pay to save energy, thus making the decision to cut energy bills further by installing solar panels easier.
3. Battery technology is getting better and it won’t be long before the sight of small solar powered units which can power the office-in-a garden or other remote sites become very common.
4. There is nothing mechanical to go wrong, as there is with anything to do with the wind.
The only problem that at present seems to hinder the installation of solar panels on buildings, is the attitude of some councils. Getting a better attitude is partly due to better design and sighting, but a bit of government push would help.
Does My Roof Make Me Ill?
Read this article on the BBC web site and then look at the pictures of the roof that Jerry built.
The BBC article says this.
He said there were simple measures anyone could take – whether living in a well-insulated home or not – to keep heat levels down, such as keeping windows closed during the day to trap cool air and opening them at night.
Fitting shutters to windows and painting exterior walls white – both common sights in Mediterranean countries – would also help, but were unlikely to be widely adopted in the UK due to the relative rarity of heatwaves.
Couple this advice with the actions of a friend, who lives in her house with a flat roof and gets it painted silver every few years.
My roof, is virtually matt black and is therefore a wonderful heat absorber, which it then just radiates into the house.
I will be doing two things.
In the first place, I’ll be getting the roof fixed and then painted in a reflective colour.
But the most radical thing I’ve going to do is put up a sunshade over all of the flat roofs. One roof is probably about 4 x 7 metres and the other is about 4 x 5 metres.
They will of course help to pay for their own installation, as they will be solar panels.
As the roof is flat and they will be invisible to everybody except the police helicopter or the Air Ambulance, I don’t think anyone has any grounds to object.
If the roof is making me ill, it should at least help to solve the problem.
Pay-As-You-Go Solar Electricity
This system from Eight19, got a big plug in the Sunday Times today.
I think the company has got something here, as it can provide low-cost lighting to all of those places in the world that are off-grid.
The article shows how in places like Kenya it can be used to provide lighting and mobile-phone charging at a very affordable cost, by combining good solar technology with simple systems based on scratch cards and mobile phones.
But I think it has other applications,where you need a small amount of power in a difficult to get to place. Remember that even in the UK, we have a surprising amount of sunlight most of the time. But of course not now!
The Anonymous Widower 