deepgreen.org.uk... green power from Chris Rudge

The long wait

2012-01-30T10:43:00.000-08:00

Confirmed last week that although the Government have lost their appeal, however The Court of Appeal has not granted DECC permission for a further appeal, but DECC is seeking permission directly from the Supreme Court and has 28 days in which to do so.

If they are granted leave to appeal and the appeal was successful (and it could take up to one year before the final outcome is known) they could still legislate to apply new tariffs from the 12 December 2011 reference date.

Hence DECC is warning firms not to promote the higher tariffs in the period from 3rd March. This is clearly not quite true!

There does seem to be a lot of publicity indicating the FiT WILL be back to 43p until 3rd March!

As can be seen from the statement above from the Solar Trade Association, this 43p rate will only return long term if the Government either fail to get leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, or if they do, they lose yet again.

All of that can take time, which is obviously all the Government want to do in reality to avoid a last minute rush.

Our advice is to take advantage of the low price PV systems at 21p without the requirement of having extra insulation installed, as this is probably coming in after March 2012. If you end up getting 43p a unit instead, then this is a bonus!

A potted version of todays events

2012-01-25T06:22:00.000-08:00

The Solar Trade Association have just released the statement below, which nicely puts what the situation is right now:....

The Court of Appeal has just confirmed that they have rejected the Government appeal to overturn the High Court ruling. The basis of the Court of Appeal ruling was that under the Energy Act 2008 the Government does not have the power to change the feed-in tariff rates retrospectively, and therefore any change must come after the process of consultation and then Parliamentary Procedure taking 40 days.

This is crucial as it means Government does not have the power to reduce FIT rates retrospectively, or in the middle of a consultation in the future – and was the whole reason behind the court case in the first place.

However, while the Appeal was rejected, the Government were awarded permission, on the grounds that this Judgement was slightly different to that of the High Court. This means they can seek a further Appeal at the Supreme Court – and they have asked the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal. We will know whether they receive it in the next few days.

What does this mean for tariff rates?

This does not affect the Government's proposal to cut rates for systems installed after 3rd March 2012, because that reduction has followed the correct procedure with regulations being tabled in Parliament already, and the cut coming after the 40 day period required by law.

There is still some uncertainty about rates paid on installations fitted between 12/12/2011 and 3/3/2012 because it is not yet clear whether the Government will allowed its appeal. However, the minimum tariff that people installing in this period will get is 21p, and if Government’s Appeal is unsuccessful or should they decide to withdraw it, then they would get the 43.3p rate (for a sub 4kW system).

A comment from your Chairman.

There is speculation that Government will appeal to prolong the uncertainty in the hope it will put some consumers off - but no doubt DECC will be setting that against the political damage done to them by yet another defeat and the image of a Government refusing to accept it has got it wrong and working to make amends.

The process going forward is that Government has formally asked the Appeal Court for permission to take this matter to the Supreme Court. This however does not necessarily mean Ministers have decided it will do so - at the moment they may simply be keeping the option open. The Appeal Court judges will make a decision on whether to grant permission in the next few days - if it is granted, the case can go to the Supreme Court. If permission is refused the Government would still have the fall back option of applying to the Supreme Court itself for permission to appeal. But this would add a further step in the process - and at each step the chances of success for Ministers recede a little further.

DECC appeal overturned

2012-01-25T04:33:00.000-08:00

So much going on today!..
But the short version, at this point, is the Governments appeal was overturned leaving systems installed till 3rd March open to be getting 43p (for up to 4kWp). After that 21p (over the 25 year period)

However, DECC have announced they will try and appeal yet again, even though they have NOT been given leave to appeal.

For the Independants report of todays decision HERE

For more resource, see a copy of the whole decision on the Guardians website HERE
For Chris Huhnes response HERE

If you have not booked a PV installation by now, get it installed ASAP, or forever lose out on the old high rate that will be gone... forever!

And finally, the final version from DECC

2012-01-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, DECC have released the statement HERE which clarifies the Feed in Tariff situation not only for now, but after April 1st.
It has been backed up by a Ministerial statement by Greg Barker HERE which puts the decision into context and appears to show a support for the Renewable energy sector.

Both Solar PV industry and customers can breathe a little easier now, as we have definate decisions from the Government, though this may mean a mini rush for system installations during February, that should not affect the Governments budget too much which will leave them able to continue with a reasonable 21p rate after April.
See reproduced table below:

Band (kW Declared Net Capacity (DNC)	Current generation tariff (p/kWh)	New generation tariff from 1 April 2012 (p/kWh)
≤4kW (new build)	37.8	21.0
≤4kW (retrofit)	43.3	21.0
>4-10kW	37.8	16.8
>10-50kW	32.9	15.2
>50-100kW	19	12.9
>100-150kW	19	12.9
>150-250kW	15	12.9
>250kW-5MW	8.5	8.5
stand alone	8.5	8.5

Yet another update on the FiT situation

2012-01-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

We have been getting quite a lot of phone calls from people asking about the current situation with the Feed in Tariff while the Judicial Review appeal is in progress.

As can be sen from todays update email from RegenSW (below), if you have a system installed beween now and April you will get 21p a unit (which still works out at 9% return at the new install costs), and you MAY be in with a chance to get 43p a unit if the JR appeal does not come out in favour of the Government. If you leave it till the decision date, in early Feb, to get a system installed, you may be already too late as installers schedules will be filled by booking a system to get in before April's reductions.

News From REGENSW..The latest round of the legal battle over the FiT on Friday has led to yet more delay over the future of scheme with the judges indicating they could take weeks to come to a decision on the government's appeal (our prediction on Friday of a conclusion this week now looks rather too hopeful). So where does that leave us?

Legal battle

The legal argument is over whether the government acted lawfully in proposing a change in FiT rates from a date (12 December) before it had completed the due process needed to make changes to the regulations governing the scheme. In December a court found the government approach to be illegal, the government appealed in January and we now await the conclusions.

If the government wins it will announce the results of its consultation and lay regulations to implement its conclusions. It is almost certain that it will decide to reduce rates for any solar installations since the 12 December to those it proposed in the consultation. DECC has explicitly said the rates won't be reduced below those they have proposed without a further consultation. Other issues such as the introduction of energy efficiency requirements are also likely to be introduced.

If the government appeal is rejected the rates prior to the consultation will be reinstated (or, more accurately, will never have been reduced). The government will then lay regulations to reduce the rates as soon as possible. It seems unlikely it could achieve this reduction much prior to 1 April 2012. There would, inevitably, be a further rush of installations taking advantage of the high rates between the judgement being announced (probably early February and the regulations coming into effect to reduce rates (around 1 April). This is unlikely to be welcomed by anyone in the industry who want a stable long term market.

Longer term

The government has promised a 'phase 2' consultation on the overall shape of the Feed in Tariff across all technologies. This will look, for example, at how rates are adjusted more effectively than the current chaos. If it wins its appeal we can expect that consultation rapidly. If it loses I would expect this to delayed whilst the implications are considered, particularly the impact on the budget.

Whatever the outcome the pressure from Treasury will be for the Feed in Tariff move to 9p per kWh for solar systems of all sizes. This is the level of subsidy offered to offshore wind and the government's Renewable Energy Roadmap made clear any renewable energy subsidy above this level will be carefully scrutinised. Once solar can compete at this level it will be much less vulnerable to short term policy shifts.

DECC's appeal. Still awaiting a decision!

2012-01-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

All text below reproduced from Solar Trade Associations press release.

DECC was in the Court of Appeal today to request leave to appeal the High Court’s ruling of 21^st December which concluded that its handling of the FITs review was unlawful. The judges failed to reach a decision today so we will not know whether DECC will be granted an appeal until next week at the earliest. DECC has just published the following statement in its website:

“The Court of Appeal has not yet decided whether to give permission for an appeal or made a judgement on the FITs case. The Court will wrap up the decision on permission for an appeal and a possible judgement if an appeal is allowed in the next few weeks. Once the outcome is known we will consider our options and make an announcement on the way forward to provide clarity to consumers and industry."

There is considerable level of uncertainty since the FiT Consultation was launched. The legal case has exacerbated this situation. The outcomes, although still uncertain, may lead to very different tariff scenarios.

· If the Government is not granted leave to appeal, the Consultation would be declared unlawful and the cuts would be nullified. Sources in the Court indicate that this is unlikely.

· If the Government wins on appeal, we are where we were before legal action began, ie the Government will consider all responses to its consultation proposals, including the proposal that a domestic system (up to 4 kWh) can expect to earn 21p from 1st April 2012.

· If the Government does not win on appeal, then the 43p tariff could remain in place for all registered installations until the Parliamentary process has concluded (expected to be 1st April 2012, possibly earlier).

The Association will send a communication to members as soon as any announcement is made. For more details please click here

DECC issues assurances for PV customers

2012-01-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

While all the media attention has been focussed on the Judicial Review and the Government's ongoing appeal against the outcome, people (both installers and customers), have been in a quandry as to what the situation is for current installations taking place during this appeal period.

DECC have issued a notice on the REAL website HERE

The main body of this text reads:

If the Government wins on appeal, we are where we were before legal action began, ie the Government will consider all responses to its consultation proposals, including the proposal that a domestic system (up to 4 kWh) can expect to earn 21p from 1st April 2012.
If the Government does not win on appeal, then the 43p tariff remains in place for all registered installations until the Parliamentary process has concluded (expected to be 1st April 2012, possibly earlier).

This is indeed reassuring news, firstly that DECC obviously want the scheme to continue, and secondly that it shows anyone who is confident the Government will not win the appeal, that there is no better time than now to get a PV installation. At worst, you will still be getting 21p which on an optimum roof will provide a 9% return, and there is a possibility of a short period of reversion to 43p a unit.

www.chrisrudge.co.uk

The Ayes are on the right, But DECC swings to the other side

2012-01-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

As indicated before Christmas by Uncle Greg Barker, theGovernment have appealed against the High Court decision in December that the Government decision to drop off the FiT before the end of the consultation period had elapsed was illegal.
Anyways, the upshot is for potential owners of PV systems, and people who have installed after 12th December, that the worst that can happen is that your system will attract 21p a generated unit for the next 23 years. (We are already 2 years into the 25 year scheme), which works out on Rudge Renewable install costs a 9-10% ROI. (be aware of those 'double glazing sales' based companies)

Of course the other worst that can happen would be holding off having an installation waiting for the magic (and some (Greg) may say greedy), 43p to reappear, possibly at the end of January. By then, as we are finding, speculators are already booking installations anticipating the very short time period of 43p, which will soon revert to a lower rate.

The industry feels that if the rate is 'forced' back to 43p, the Government will deem this as Busting the Budget and will almost definitely drop the rate thereafter to a very low rate, such as 9p to compensate..

The 'Budget' is not taxpayers money, but simply a little bit of profit off the Power Companies already (as we have seen last year) obscene profits. The FiT costs pence for every bill payer every year, not pounds as indicated by a poorly misinformed Greg Barker.

Has DECC published their response before 4th Jan?

2011-12-31T01:43:00.000-08:00

With reference to the recent Judicial Review, where DECC were found to be unlawful by the High Court to cut the FiT before the end of their own consultation, a few days ago the following document was uploaded to DECC's website:

http://www.decc.gov.uk/publications/DirectoryListing.aspx?tags=24

At the top of the list is document:

Abstract:First Progress Report on the Promotion and Use of Energy from Renewable Sources for the United Kingdom Article 22 of the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/E... Date of publication: 29/12/2011

If you refer to page 22, you'll see the intention is to keep the FiT running as-is until start of April 2012.

Obviously, we will need to await an official announcement to confirm this, as it may be simply another DECC office blunder (as before), but we should hear definite news on 4th January.

The court case is won but all still in the air!

2011-12-24T14:57:00.000-08:00

As you will probably have heard, the court case brought against the Government for generally not planning the FiT reduction in a healthy manner. It seems they had their strings tugged by the power companies, and had run off a half cocked plan to drop the FiT payments for solar PV without getting the legal side checked out.

Three organisations with the fortitude to fight this plan by DECC to trash planned installations and put thousands out of work, which would have cost the Government far far more then the alleged 'budget' they have been working to, has been won over by the High Court and DECC, etc have been proved to have not carried out this process correctly.

For the current situation on 24th December, and probably all over Christmas period, see the release from the REA a couple of days ago.....

Judicial Review - Friends of Earth/HomeSun/Solarcentury win case against government on solar

The implications of the JR decision mean that the pre 12^th December tariffs cannot be changed until after the full parliamentary process – i.e. an 8 week consultation, followed by a review of the responses and then a 40 day period before the legislation takes effect. This is unless the Government wins an appeal.

Government was not given leave to appeal, but if it wants to make a case it must put that forward by 4^th January 2012.

Effectively the situation for systems going in now is one of two things.

· If Government is able to appeal, and then wins, we go back to the current situation. I.e. there is a consultation ongoing, and a domestic system can expect to earn 21p (or whatever government concludes after the consultation) from 1^st April.

· If government is not able to appeal, or if it loses on appeal, then the 43p tariff remains in place until the Parliamentary process has concluded (expected to be 1st April 2012).

REA’s position

The REA’s position is that we are deeply concerned about the implications of this JR decision. Securing the future of the UK solar industry and the wider Feed In Tariff are our top priorities. It is essential to secure more budget and for there to be some stability in the policy.

The predominant feedback from members expressed so far is that they want look forward, and to carry on their businesses focused on the new proposed tariff levels, and are concerned about the budgetary implications of a return to 43p, albeit they may be pleased that DECC has been sent a message that there must be stability for investors and careful management of changes to support mechanisms.

Additional news is the publication of two select committee reports which criticise Government’s handling of the tariff changes. Listen again to Tim Yeo on Radio 4.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9666000/9666556.stm

Other examples of coverage in the media can be found on

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/dec/21/solar-subsidy-cuts-legally-flawed Andy Atkins, Howard Johns quoted

http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/high_court_decision_over_fit_fiasco_expected_today_2356/ Gaynor Hartnell quoted

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/dec/22/feed-in-tariffs-solar-subsidy Tim Yeo, Joan Walley, Andy Atkins.

The Good Guys win the High Court Battle??

2011-12-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

As you may have heard today through the press, etc, two solar installation company's and Friends of the Earth have been taking the Government to court due to alleged illegally fixing a date for the Feed in Tariff to be slashed even before the official consultation was complete.

Today, the High Court upheld the Solar industry's case. The Government (not for the first time), have been proved to be trying to imitate a Dictatorship by simply trampling over the Law, thinking they were above all of that nonsense!!.. Thankfully it has been proved they are not.

We are all right at this moment in a Christmas limbo awaiting the outcome of this

case.. The Government will lodge an appeal in January (using our money again!), so will take until February to see the outcome ... Its weird to think that the Government are able to use our own money to defend not their own political standpoint, but the bank balances of their chums, i.e. the power company's.. The whole thing does stink of some 'back scratching' scandal. I suspect it will all come out in 5 years or so when another Government is in power, and we are stuck with EDF Nuclear!

However.. There is an indication from insiders that our loving Government will simply slash the tariff to nothing after February/ April (whenever they can get away with), if the ruling is upheld to keep up their end of the bargain with their chums..

Remember the 'budget' that Uncle Greg Barker keeps mentioning is not taxpayers money, but Power Company Profit!

More FiT changes in April 2012?

2011-12-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

As the big day signifying the end of FiT alleged consultation draws near, little hints from Uncle Greg Barker seem to make us think he is looking to try and drop the 21p FiT rate yet again from April 1st.

Coupled with the proposed excessive energy saving measures most buildings will have to endure simply to be able to receive a barely adequate FiT rate, which is incidentally timed to drop in at the end of March, will most definately mean yet another 'last minute rush' of PV installations.

As already, PV buy-in costs have been dropping, meaning we are able already to install a 4kWp system for just £9,250. For a South facing roof, this will give people a 10% return, though not so good for either East or West! PV is still proving to be a great investment, and one of the good things that the lower 21p rate will lose the market sector of dodgy charlatans overcharging for poorly designed installations.

Good luck to the re-hearing of the case brought by Solar Century, Homesun and Friends of the Earth agains the Government to quash the FiT rate and rapidity of dropping us into a financially desperate situation. see http://tinyurl.com/c3bafun

Dont try and cheat the MCS system!

2011-12-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

Couple of things have popped up today..

1) Yesterday an 'update' email was sent out by Gemserve, with the following paragraph:
Registering jobs prior to commissioning: Please be aware that if a job is not fully installed and commissioned, it is a breach of MCS Standards to create a certificate, and any installation company doing so could lose their certification. Additionally, a customer using such a certificate to apply for FITS could be convicted of fraud.

2) Today we hear that one of the associated Government agencies have realised, through Gemserve, that there have been some PV installation companies uploading far more jobs than they normally would, indicating they are stocking up a bank of work after the cutoff date. Apparently there are going to be site visits, checks and court action to enforce the above paragraph in (1)..

Luckily, we are completing our last job tomorrow already knowing that bucking the system is just too risky for any company and our customers. This proves that fact.. Look out you naughty people!

Possible further delay to the RHI.. ?

2011-12-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

An exerpt from an email release by the REA today...

Following the delay to phase 1, DECC are re-evaluating the timing for phase 2. The previous position was that there would be a consultation by the end of 2011, with implementation October 2012 alongside the Green Deal. We do not now expect a consultation before Christmas. Our view is that, if that doesn’t rule out October 2012 implementation, it certainly makes it less likely. It should be noted that DECC pre-notified the European Commission of their outline plans for the RHI in December 2010 and did not get a final response until September 2011.

DECC plan to make an announcement on their timeline early in the New Year. They are determined that this should be deliverable and credible. They also intend to publish details of various milestones along the way, so it will be easier to monitor progress.

.... So lets hope there are no more stumbling blocks along the way!

Walled Garden PV system

2011-11-25T12:47:00.000-08:00

The big switch on of a 20kWp ground mount system installed in a walled garden today. Now, there will be much harvesting of the sun to supply the house with clean and green electricity.

This system has taken some time to assemble as has been installed at the same time as ongoing building works. Though the timing ha

s been perfect to allow the owner to sign up onto the UK Feed in Tariff before the 12th December reduction date.

Our guys have been working long days and weekends to get everyones systems installed before 12/12 FiT changeover day. Its going to be tight, but looking good!

RHI announced!

2011-11-25T05:13:00.000-08:00

At last, we can start making applications for the RHI from Monday 28th November!
For all the details from DECC, see THIS LINK

Its the Phase 1 commercial and large system version, to be followed early next year by the Phase 2 Domestic version.

After the fun & games over prematurely slashing the Feed in Tariff, possibly DECC are trying a little harder to keep the Renewables industry going?

The Green Deal is announced

2011-11-24T06:57:00.000-08:00

In a strange change of direction after reducing the Solar PV Feed in Tariff a few weeks back, DECC have today announced details of the Green Deal, see press announcement here

This new incentive will enable people to to install all sorts of energy saving measures to their house at no up front cost. These hopefully will include solar PV, solar thermal and heat pumps which we can supply for you! Though these technologies may only get included in the RHI, (see below).

The Green Deal is currently going through a consultation till January, so you have an opportunity to have some input. Download the full document here. It looks like a scheme for more long term debt?

We are now eagerly awaiting the details of the long awaited RHI re-write, possibly going to be announced in the next few days. This is what people have been waiting all year for, as we will know definitely what our new Solar Thermal, Heat Pump and Biomass systems will earn, which in turn will enable to you decide the viability of having one of these technologies installed. We'll keep you informed.

Progress at the RNLI Poole.

2011-11-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

The guys have completed mounting all the 180 modules onto the roof today. All in 3 days!

We had a hold up with brackets when they got delivered to completely the wrong place, but all overcome.

Just a big sub main cable to install tomorrow, and await Saturday for the final connection .

Time is ticking away!

2011-11-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Yup!.. The 'leaked document' from last Friday, although claimed to be incorrect, was not really so far from the truth!

Though the FiT rate will be dropping from 43.3p to 21p a generated unit, the rate of return will still be good for southerly facing PV systems. Plus after 12th December installed PV costs will be dropping again.

It looks like the payback time on a typical 2kWp system will be around 11 years for a South facing system after the new installed costs come out in the next few weeks.

As the return will still be far better than the Banks can offer (around 6.5%), Solar PV still offers one of the best investments around.

Leaked FiT reduction document....

2011-10-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

Many of you will have either seen or heard about the alleged 'leaked' document onto the Energy Savings Trust (EST) website. In a nutshell, it indicated the current 43.3p FiT will be reduced to 21p on December 8th 2011.

Obviously, this is a bombshell to many people, whether installers or customers booking installations before the well documented FiT adjustment date of 31st March.

However, DECC have come back on Twitter with the short statement:
'Consultation on changes to the solar PV FIT to be published to Parlt on Mon. Doc on EST site earlier was neither final nor accurate'
Thus admitting this was an error!!

So, we will need to wait till Monday 31st Oct 2011 for the real version. Lets hope the document was wildly innaccurate on the date. However, a rate of 25p has been assumed for some time, as this will bring the payback time back to 10-12 years as was originally designed at the start of the FiT, and still far better than the Bank can offer!

To see the rogue document click here for a link

Check in with us on Tuesday 1st November to get an update on the real facts.

Learning the ropes

2011-10-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

Yet more rope access training today for the guys. This new RNLI project has proved to be a good chance to improve the guys skills.

Lets hope the rains stays off for the rest of this week!

RNLI Sea Survival School

2011-10-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

This week we are starting to install a 44kWp system on the RNLI's Sea Survival School in Poole, Dorset.

This is the culmination of putting a number of designs together to enable the RNLI to generate as much power during the day to offset importing power to run the famous Sea Survival School, as recently seen on TV channel Dave .

The plant used to regulate and operate the pool, wave machine and other hi tech bad weather simulation for Lifeboat crew training will soon be run using Green power generated from one of our Solar PV systems installed onto the roof.

As the installation progresses, updates will be posted here.

Website Offline

2011-10-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

Over the last week or so we have had an interruption to our Website at www.chrisrudge.co.uk as the server was hacked to try and redirect people to another website.

While this was very inconvenient, and caused some confusion to quite a few people, everything now appears to be back to normal following work carried out by our server provider, plus we have now moved to a new more secure server.

Thanks to everyone who called and reported the problem, as we were quite oblivious to the problem.

Look out for Solar 'Sales' only company's

2011-09-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

As heard on Radio 4 today by clicking here for iplayer (only last for 7 days), there are an ever growing number of sales based company's simply out selling 'Free Solar Systems' to customers.

While the whole concept of free solar panels also described on Radio 4, works for some who cannot afford but would like Solar panels to assist in supplementing their daytime electricity use, it does have a seedy side to it!

Most of the Free Solar companies are simply investment groups looking for a fast buck, and are quite happy to let 'sales' companies go and sell systems for them and buy the completed sale from them.

As you can imagine, this practice is bringing the free solar industry into disrepute, and the REAL assurance scheme are about to beef up the rules over this practice in the next few months to stop this practice.

Not only free solar is affected, to a lesser extent some sales only companies have been set up to simply sell the product and then sub contract the work off to a real installer to actually do the work. Obviously, some larger companies like EDF & Tesco who carry out this practice we would hope keep some control over what happens on the actual installation, but the best bet for any potential Solar PV owner is to look for an installer who has a track record and will be accountable, plus now that PV module prices are dropping, payback times are usually only 7 - 8 years.

Optimised power use with a PV system. Make more use of your Free to Use power!

2011-08-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

One of the side issues of the Feed in Tariff with Solar PV is besides the wonderful 43.3p your system will earn from for each unit generated, you are able to use as much of that generated power as you can at your premises without penalty. However, most dwellings will only use around a third of all the available power generated. Most houses are big power users during hours of darkness with lights, TV, etc, PV generated power not much benefit in this case! Even if you are at home all day and running the washing machine, lawn mower, computer, etc this will only scratch the surface of peak generated power of a standard 4kWp system in the summer.

At customer’s request, we put together a test unit a while back and it’s been running faultlessly on test in a customer’s house for some 6 months or so with great effect. They have not needed to use gas to heat their water all summer, beats getting a Solar Thermal system! It will also be of considerable benefit to people who have had 'free' PV systems, only to find minimal financial gain and will be going through a period of disapointment.

The unit is fairly straightforward, and does require you to have a hot water tank with an immersion heater installed. If you have it does the job for very little outlay. There are intelligent units on the market which do the job far more elegantly, such as the EMMA and the Power Router (which we install), but as you can imagine, the purchase cost of such units are into £1000’s rather than this little control circuit which comes in at under £100 in components, or £180 + VAT to buy complete from us.

Before going any further, I strongly insist this is only assembled and installed by qualified personnel who have the knowledge and capability of recognising safe working with electricity and protection of components and wiring.

The Circuit (click on the image above to get full size)

The live output from your inverter is diverted through a Current Sense unit, which is set for a switch point optimum this application. This Current Sense unit has a built in low current relay, which is used to switch a suitable contactor. I would suggest a 10Amp contactor at the very lowest for the sort of use we are looking at.

You will see from the description below, together with reference to the circuit diagram, the ideal location for the completed unit is adjacent to your consumer unit (fuse box). As both the inverter and your immersion heater will be connected directly to this point, it really does make sense.

You can refer to the circuit/ layout diagram for the following:

1) The mains 230v AC output from the inverter needs to have the live conductor diverted through the current sense unit, but otherwise remains connected as normal.

2) The Current Sense built in relay terminal is supplied by a spare 6A MCB in the consumer unit. This relay will switch the contactor. As well as the 6A MCB, it is advisable to provide a 1A inline fuse to protect the relay and contactor coil adequately.

3) The main relay on the contactor will switch the live output from the water / immersion heater in the Consumer unit. To do this will involve diverting the existing immersion heater wiring to route through this unit. Due to regular switching this circuit will now be cycling through an inductive load, it is recommended you change the 16A MCB to a ‘C’ type 16A MCB to avoid nuisance tripping.

At the hot water tank, you will need to disconnect the immersion heater wiring from the wall switch and fit with a 110v yellow plug. Change the immersion switch to a standard switched socket. Plug a 3kVa 110v builder’s site transformer into the socket, and the newly plugged immersion heater cable into the transformer. That’s it!

Operating:

Normally, your immersion heater runs at 3kW. To make the most of the free to use electricity available, we need to make the heater use less power. By far the easiest way to do this using standard and cheap to buy parts is by a 110v site transformer, available from screwfix, etc, at around £50 each. Once the transformer is in place, this will limit the power consumption of the immersion heater to around 700W. For a standard 200ltr water tank, we have found the immersion running for most of the day will heat the whole tank to around 50 degrees. This obviously assumes the day is bright and sunny all day of course!

On a unit supplied by us we would set the current switch to around 800W, so will only switch your immersion heater on when the inverter is generating more than 800W, ensuring immersion heater usage is powered by the PV system.

It must be mentioned, that although the Current Switch has a built in hysteresis to avoid relay chatter when passing current is marginally over or under the set point, on a day with patchy cloud you will experience the contactor clicking in and out regularly. This can’t really be avoided on a simple circuit as this, but has not proved to be an issue in the 6 months of operation in our test unit.

In essence, the controller is very basic and I will always welcome suggestions to improve the design.

4kW or not 4kW? That is the system..

2011-08-28T04:21:00.000-07:00

Many of you guys may have already encountered the newly enforced grid connected inverter G83/1 requirements recently. In simple terms, all the District Network Operators (DNO's) have finally got together and are now insisting that all installations should completely comply with G83/1 requirements. Click here for ENA guideline document

For the purposes of changes that affect us, this means you can no longer have a Grid connected renewable power system that can export more than 16Amps without special permission. In principle, this has always been the case, however when we first started installing PV some years back the DNO's were quite happy to bend the rules a little to accomodate a possible maximum of 17.4Amps. Now due to the heavier installation rates of PV, and possibly upsetting the balance of local electricity networks, the DNO's have laid out simple rules:

1) If the output of the system will never be more than 16A, install as normal with normal notification when the work is complete.
2) If the output of the system may exceed 16A, then a G83/1 Stage 2 application will need to be carried out. The DNO will carry out a network study to ensure the local network will take this extra power, possibly charging you up to £250 for costs, and will advise if you can indeed install this system. Do not install and connect the system first, or you may be issued with a disconnection notice.

This all sounds pretty harsh, but in practice its not so bad if you can adjust your thinking. One of the main problems until recently has been availability of a good range of 3.6kW inverters to match the UK G83/1 standard. These are now coming on board by all the manufacturers quite quickly. SMA (Sunny Boy) for example are simply de-rating their 4kW range and certifying for the UK.. Easy!

On the other side of the coin, in the UK for the most part a 4kWp system will hardly ever generate 4kW. There will be occasions on a south facing roof in midsummer, when the module temperature will be low enough to maintain efficiency, you will see the meter clock over the 4kW mark, otherwise it will lurk around 3.5kW, in bright sun, obviously less as brightness reduces.
Thus, carry on installing those arrays of 3.98kWp, etc and connect a 3.6kW inverter. That way, you'll still be generating just about the same annually as you would by fitting a 4kW inverter.

While I could ramble on about ideal inverter sizing for a given size of array, the above info kind of covers this in itself, plus re assuring you the new DNO requirements are really not a problem, simply adjust your thinking.

MCS approval for Wind & Thermal

2011-06-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

After much work, we have now just passed the MCS accreditation for Wind Turbine and Solar Thermal installation.

This now means that as well as our existing Solar PV systems, you will be abl

e to obtain FiT payments from Wind Turbine systems installed by ourselves. MCS approv

al for Solar Thermal installations is a must to be able to obtain the soon-to-be-here

Renewable Heat Incentive.

To go with these new technologies, we have taken on specialists to cover these installation areas, plus of course our guys are getting specialist training to cover these new disciplines.

Renewables are the way forward when new gas heating comes to an end in 2016, and we are prepared for the demand.

National Trust goes Green

2011-04-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

The National Trust have been entrusting us with Solar PV projects in the South West as they know the future of the Trust needs to be Green, avoiding use of grid power and driving their carbon footprint down.
This particular project near Dartmouth enabled us to use the steel kitchen roof for system mounting, keeping the system as low profile as possible with respect to the listed building that is nearby.
An ideal system connected directly to the kitchen means that during peak sunshine, the NT will be getting peak customers, thus using most electricity at that time.

If you have any unusual installation requirements, let us know.

Sun power for field studies centre

2011-04-15T00:53:00.001-07:00

Sun power for field studies centre, a photo by ChrisRudge on Flickr.

A recent 'Off Grid' solar system we have installed enabling this field classroom to enjoy the benefits of 'mains' electricity at any time.
Low cost systems such as this can be fitted to anywhere without power to provide lights, fridge, etc

Working in all weathers!

2011-04-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Looking through some archive photos, I found this along with a few others of the same day.
The guys were working in Dartmoor in the Winter and got caught in a snow shower that often occurs in that area over the dark winter months.

You have to admit this does show some dedication!

Illumininated Turbines

2011-04-03T08:58:00.001-07:00

Illumininated Turbines, a photo by ChrisRudge on Flickr.

Almost forgot to mention we had been invited by Good Energy to exhibit with a couple of other local suppliers at the big switch on day of the new Delabole wind turbines in Cornwall.
Good day, a few contacts, nice people, plus Chris Huhne environment secretary, was there to re iterate the Governments intention to limit investors harvesting huge amounts of Government money via field PV systems. Much of this cash just goes straight offshore to foreign investment companies.

A Free Solar PV installation sir?. No thanks!

2011-04-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

Over the last year of the Solar PV Feed in Tariff boom, an outcrop of installers set up to install a 'free' solar PV system onto your home or business have appeared.

These guys have been set up by investment companies specifically to harvest Feed in Tariff payments generated by homeowners systems, leaving the occupiers with minimal financial gain of free to use electricity during daylight hours.

Despite claims by some of these companies, the most anyone could realistically hope to get back as free to use electricity is around £150 a year, while the investing company will rake in £1500 a year FiT payments.

It makes sense to pay for your own system to be installed, avoiding issues such as ownership, and legal wrangles when you come to sell your house, etc

See http://www.which.co.uk/news/2010/09/free-solar-panels-not-such-a-great-deal-231808/ which highlights just how bad this deal is for the homeowner.

New Feed in Tariff rates

2011-04-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

From April 1st the now 1 year old Feed in Tariff (FiT) scheme has had the annual inflation review. For this coming year a 4.8% increase will be applied, taking the original 41.3p a generated unit to 43.3p!.

The annual review is based on the previous years perfomance of the Retail Price Index (RPI), and is good news for this coming year.

As an example, a 2.22kWp system could generate around 1950 units a year. Last year, that would have equated to £805. This coming year that will increase to £844... Yay!!

Devon ground mount solar PV

2011-03-30T15:36:00.001-07:00

Devon ground mount solar PV, a photo by ChrisRudge on Flickr.

Just testing the flickr interface with a repeat image.. New stuff coming soon.

Ground Mount solar

2011-03-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

So, you've not got enough space on the roof, or your house/ outbuilding roof faces the wrong way (ie not South'ish), then why not look at this option of getting a ground mount.

We installed t

his system for a customer who liked the idea of keeping the system below the level of the stone wall that can be seen in the background enabling him to have an unobstructed view from the house.

The system could have

been installed 2 modules high, but this method keeps everything nicely low profile.

Feed in Tariff April update

2011-03-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Great news for people getting the Feed in Tariff from their Renewable Power Systems, Ofgem have announced the annual inflation based review of the Feed in Tariff rates. See HERE for the full table.

For standard under 4kWp systems, the 41.3p a unit rate will be increasing on the 1st April to 43.3p for every generated unit.

See the chart for other rates.

Training at SMA Germany

2010-04-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not long back from doing a few days training at the SMA, Sunny Boy, HQ in Neistetal, Germany. The image to the left is inside the 4 storey glass mounted PV array on the Academy.
I now have certification for communications programming for products such as the Webbox, to enable your system to upload the system history and performance to your own customisable website. This webpage can be private for just the family, or seen by anyone.. Click here to take you to a demo webpage and look for the link to example plants.

The other product training was covering Island systems to enable installers to provide off grid systems to anything from a single dwelling and able to expand up to a whole village if required. This system is so adaptable, and while it is very suited to 3rd world countries and remote locations, these systems will have many applications around the UK too.
There is an animated overview film here

Grant money has dried up!

2010-02-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Late this afternoon, we have had notification from the REA that DECC has ceased the Domestic Grant of £2500 for PV systems.
Checking the Low Carbon website here it seems the money has dried up, probably due to a the massive amount of applications over the last few weeks.

A shame its all ended early, but we have a great looking Feed In Tariff scheme to look forward to.

For the full statement from DECC, go to www.chrisrudge.co.uk

Better than expected Feed In Tariff rate !

2010-02-03T05:17:00.000-08:00

Monday 1st February gave us the final announcement of April's Feed In Tariff.

Great news that the rate was raised from an expected 36.5p to 41.3p per generated kWh (unit) on systems up 4kWp in size.

This will mean an average 2.16kWp domestic system will earn you £826 tax free each year!. Plus of course the free electricity that will be available for use, instantly cutting rught back on your electricity bill.

For more information see the Chris Rudge Renewable page here

Or the DECC website here

Feed In Tariff announcement delay :(

2010-01-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

Short announcement last week from the REA:

These are now expected to be published at the end of January. Come what may, they must be published by 3^rd February in order to meet the legislative timetable for Feed In Tariffs.

Looks like the Government are hanging on right until the last minute to clarify their Feed In Tariff buy back rate. The proposed rate for a system up to 4kWp on an older house is 36.5p a unit... Lets see if they keep to it!

PV shading thoughts.

2010-01-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

If you are thinking of having a solar PV system installed in 2010 to take advantage of the last chances of getting a lump sum grant before the Feed In Tariff starts in April, the first thing to do is look for a good location to install it.

Traditionally for domestic Solar PV installations, a pitched roof is the ideal location, being up high and out of the way from most obstructions... Looking at your roof, are you able to check off that it faces somewhere between South East through South to South West?

If yes, you need to see how much open roof space there is available. Solar PV takes up much more space than Solar Thermal systems. Think about 8 square metres per kWp for system size. Once you have ascertained you've got space, look for possible problems from shading. Gabled windows and chimney stacks are probable issues and you will have to consider the array can never be shaded at any point in the day by close structures as array output could drop and cause loading on some of the shaded cells.

Looking further away from your house, are there any trees close by or right next to the house which you know will shade the array at certain times of the day? Trees further away from the PV array could have an impact, for example, a wooded area on the other side of the road may not block the sun during the summer, but may be in shade all winter due to low sun angle in these colder months.

For the PV array, shading issues at best will simply mean less production of electricity at certain times of the day/ year, or at worst will cause overheating in some of the cells as they try to carry electrical current from the other modules. If damage occurred, your warranty would be invalid.

Freestanding Array

2009-12-24T04:46:00.000-08:00

We recently commisioned this 3.96kWp array near Totnes.

As you can see, its an ideal solution for people who have some spare space outside, but limited on southerly facing roof area.

This 3.96kWp is the maximum economical size that can be installed onto a single phase mains supply, and keeping under 4kWp it should also attract the maximum pay back under the new Feed In Tariff.

Obviously, this 22 module array is possibly quite large for most gardens, but illustrates another method of installation available. Systems like this can start at just 6 modules to provide a 1kWp system.

See www.chrisrudge.co.uk for more information and a cost guide.

From Huge to Tiny!

2009-09-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today we completed a lovely little system providing power to an unusual off grid installation in the centre of a popular Dorset seaside town.

Using a 130Wp PV module and 240Ah of batteries, this system provides enough power for lights and 12v & 230v power for a weekend retreat.

As it has proved to be either expensive or difficult to bring in power and mains water for this location, the owner has opted for Off Grid living during holidays and breaks.

The main system has been running all summer, providing power and lights, and has worked beyond expectations.

Dartmoor Off Grid

2009-09-11T03:20:00.000-07:00

We have been commencing an installation of a large off grid system in Dartmoor on the high moor. With temperatures in the winter plunging to -17C on occasion and a wild variation of weather conditions that are always prevalent on the Moor, this dwelling needs as much backup and self suffiency as possible. There is no mains electricity or water available, so we are taking part in implementing a complete infrastructure for the customer.
From Solar PV through control electronics, backup generator and house wiring, we will be providing a complete self reliant system for the customer.

The picture here shows the partly completed array being installed.

More to be posted on this project as systems are installed.

Off Grid in Dorset

2009-07-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

We completed the installation of a Solar PV off gid system in Dorset last week.
Assisted by the customer, this installation was a joy to work on, being mounted on a house of cedar in such a tranquil (but remote) location.
The PV modules are capable of charging the 1500Ah battery bank at almost 30amps in bright sunlight if required.
Power usage is low, with low energy lamps and a few low wattage appliances.

The system will be upgraded soon with a larger sine inverter to run a possible larger range of appliances.

Mounting system

2009-07-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

We use almost exclusively the K2 roof mounting system for our solar PV installations. I thought I'd take a few pictures on an installation this week to let you see a close up of how it works. So many people ask how the system gets put on the roof!

You can see the horizontal rail against the Redland tiles on the left. On the right you can see the PV module being clamped down by a corrosion proof alloy bracket and stainless bolt & fitting.

This system has worked well for us, is guaranteed 10 years for corrosion and structure integrity.

On the left you'll see the complete 1.44kWp array. This system will generate over 1300kWh of power for our customer every 12 months wich under the new Feed In Tariff scheme commencing next April, will earn them at least £598, and maybe more depending on the electricity deal they have!

For the more fiscally minded, if you have a grant supported system similar to this size installed this year, financial payback time will get reduced from 16 years to 8 years.. Cool!

Feed In Tariff rates announced

2009-07-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

The proposed Feed In Tariff rates have been announced this week by the Government and I've just had more details published by the Renewable Energy Association.

Right at the moment is the best time ever to get a Renewable Energy system installed! You will benefit from both the Microgeneration grant now, then reap the rewards of anything up to 40p a unit payback from next April!

As an example. I have just completed a quote for a 3.24kWp system, which after the current grant has been taken off will cost the customer £14,500. Then every year will earn the customer £1017 in Feed In Tariff!
And of course thats before taking into account all that FREE renewable power available for use in the house.

We are now just realising why Solar Power is so popular in Germany and other European countries.

Go to www.chrisrudge.co.uk to check on more updates as they occur

Feed in Tariff

2009-07-12T01:41:00.000-07:00

Today, the media is making news of the upcoming 'Feed in' tariff which is commencing in April 2010.

Although there are areas still shrouded in mystery about the scheme, mainly the question over how much will we be paid to generate green power from our homes & businesses!

See todays story at: BBC News Sunday 12th July

It is widely considered in the renewable energy industry that once the feed in tariff commences, capital grants, such as the existing Low Carbon grant for domestic premises, currently offering £2500 per household, will cease, as subsidies will be transferred over to funding the Feed In Tariff.

I'll post any updates here..

Home installation

2009-06-20T00:23:00.000-07:00

After having various test installations at home, I have finally got around to install a permanant roof mounted system. At last!

We have installed a 1.26kWp system based around the Sharp monocrystalline modules and a Sunny Boy inverter with a wireless remote display. Although we have previously installed Fronius inverters, I was impressed with the customer interface capabilities of the 'Sunny Beam' wireless display over the Fronius digit only display.

So far, the output is right on track, far exceeding calculated output, as we are situated on the South Devon coast and using Monocrystalline modules. It is proving again that using Government SAP calculations are so underrated in this part of the UK. Like everyone else who's had a PV system installed, I'm looking forward to really low power bills!

As can be seen from the photo, left, (that includes the beehives), there is still plenty of room on the roof for later expansion for more PV and a Solar Thermal system.

A wet weather installation

2009-05-17T00:34:00.000-07:00

Completed the electrical installation of a 1.4kWp system on Friday.
Using the Sharp NU180 monocrystalline modules, made in Wales, the customer will enjoy around 1300kWh of annual power generation to offset their already reduced power consumption, after installing low energy appliances and lamps.

Shown in the photo's are installation in progress and almost complete inverter installation in the loft, just awaiting the PV cables to complete and switch on!

The weekend Show..

2009-04-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

An interesting time over Friday & Saturday at the Homes for Good Show, Exeter. We had a whole bunch of enquiries and will be quite busy over the next week or so catching up with outgoing post and calls.

Besides being impressed with our low cost PV installations, proving again that just because PV needs specialist skills and qualifications to fit, does not mean the purchase price to the end user needs to be falsely inflated... The new Governments 'double ROC' value has made possible that a standard 2kWp system will payback up to £260 per annum, increasing from £170 last year. (Good Energy rates used for calcs)

Thanks for coming by and saying hi if you came along to the show, its always good to see you.

We will be there next year too, its booked for March.. Watch this space nearer the time.

Homes for Good show

2009-04-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that we will be on Stand 72 at the Homes for Good show, Westpoint Showground, Exeter over 17th and 18th April... See you there!

www.homesforgood.info

Moving into a new premises!

2009-03-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

We have finally got around to moving into new premises in Seaton. Its a great location, being near to walk or cycle. Our previous workshop and storage is some miles away and at a difficult location to find. Now we are easy to locate.
Unit 2 Harbour Road, Seaton, Devon, EX12 2HA

Couple of pictures before we move in and rack it out for stock, benches for test and assembly, etc

Exeter Eco Fair

2009-03-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

We took a small table at The the first Exeter Eco Fair with Low Carbon Exeter.

A small fun event, that will grow as time passes.

Not so many traders at this first event, but its early days and word has to spread around Exeter ..

We had loads of questions for renewable energy...

Tested and commisioned . Its so good :)

2009-03-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

Popped back in to run some final checks, take some readings and generally see how the system has got on over the weekend. Its clocked up 75kWh over the 2 days during the weekend of mostly cloudy with a little bit of sun here and there. Very encouraging!

I spent some time on site this morning, as I had some network cabling to finish, and a whole bunch more pictures to take now the sun is out for today. .. By the time I had left at lunchtime, another 20kWh had been generated. Its such an incredible system, the customer is going to notice a major difference in their power bills, plus of course the building occupiers have taken a huge step toward reducing their carbon footprint.

Two pictures taken with a super wide angle lens to get everything in on one shot. Perspective is a little distorted though.
The modules on the roof and inverters mounted inside the electricity switch cupboard. 3 @Fronius IG inverters.

18kWp array completed!

2009-02-26T12:51:00.000-08:00

Taking advantage of the good weather, we have completed the 18kWp array this afternoon. All connections double checked and output readings verified, so working well!

Tomorrow we'll be commisioning the inverters onto the buildings 3 phase power circuit and finalising tests and certification.

The whole array went in very smoothly onto the Kalzip roof. Although there were 4 times as many brackets to install than other roof mount systems, because no structural or drillin g work was involved, together with usual waterproofing, this system has a sleek low profile design with no mess to clean up.

Modules are starting to go on!

2009-02-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

Today have got all the external and internal cables runs in place throughout the building. All has been kept concealed internally, plus the modules are now being installed and tested.
The project going according to schedule with the whole installation, and our customer will be enjoying the benefits of Solar PV generated power by the end of Friday.

close up..

2009-02-24T15:02:00.000-08:00

Close up of the bracket mounting system for a Kalzip roof . The roof must not be punctured or drilled in any way, or the waterproof integrity would be affected, plus of course any extended warranty would be lost.

These brackets make a solar PV system possible on any Kalzip archetectural system.

Roof hardware being installed

2009-02-23T12:47:00.001-08:00

We have made good time installing the roof hardware between the four of us. The Kalzip steel roof profile needed special fixings from Germany, as the fabric of the roof skin must not be pierced.
Some images of the installation progress today (day1)

circuit diagram

2009-02-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

Just finished the circuit diagram of the 18kWp system. Just to give a hint of what the size is going to be, I've included a screen shot.

The Big Big system ..

2009-02-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

We are on the run up week to starting a huge 18,000 Wp solar PV array installation in Devon.
Pictures and information to be posted next week when the construction starts. Its going to be fun, and we are hoping for good weather... Please!

More soon. C

Devon Off Grid

2009-01-25T13:54:00.001-08:00

We completed an Off Grid electricity system today. Consisting of 720 watts of Sharp PV monocrystalline modules mounted onto a custom made support frame, and a 1kW Futurenergy mini turbine on a 9 metre Altron tilt over tower.

Both these power sources have been designed to complement each other. When the weather is sunny and calm, the PV modules can push out up to 24 amps of power to charge the 540Ah battery bank, which runs a 1500 watt pure sine inverter.

Of course, there are many days in the UK, when daylight is low and bad weather rules, which is where the wind turbine comes in, keeping the batteries topped up while the PV modules struggle, and of course overnight the turbine comes into its own!

The whole system has been designed for a light load of A+ rated fridge, consuming only 150kW a year. Plus lights and TV/radio when required.

Keeping the batteries up to a decent voltage without too much loading is best for any off grid system to
ensure it will give years of low cost power.

Couple of images here.. The Concrete base with just cable duct and bolt studs poking out, and the other shot with tower base in position, with horizontal tower being painted.

Small Wind Turbine installation

2009-01-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

Early in 2008, too late to take advantage of the Spring gales, we installed a small 1kW Futurenergy wind turbine with a grid connection.

Well... when I say we, it was a collaboration between the customer who made the tilt over tower, Michael from Kaieteur, and myself to get it all connected and running.

The location was ideal, being high and open, the only turbulance to interfere with the wind flow being the adjacent single storey buildings.

Installation was straightfoward as the customer had done all the hard work of installing a tower and prepared an area for the electrical equipment.

Within a day it was assembled and running. .. However, as the weeks passed it became apparent that the turbine output was not approaching what it should have been according to the manufacturers specifications. I installed a little wind speed and direction logger on site and direct reading watt meter to try and diagnose what the issue was.. After a couple of months of trying many different options, including the customer rebuilding part of the tower to gain height, the issue was simply the pitch pins supplied in the turbine kit were incorrect for the power curve we were trying to achieve.

Manufacturers sent us some alternative 25 degree pitch pins, and all is now working well.

As you can see from the picture, the Mastervolt small G83 grid connect inverter was used again. This version is marketed as the Windmaster 500 and is ideal for the Futurenergy turbine as the voltages match to give an optimimum output.

In this installation we connected 2 in parallel, as the site so good for wind capture, the customer wanted to realise as much potential generation from the turbine.. Unless the installation site is exceptional, I would suggest installing a single inverter, as output will only get to the rated 1kW hign consistant high winds without turbulance.

Crediton Solar PV installation

2009-01-24T09:49:00.000-08:00

A domestic 1kWp system we installed in 2007. The house was ideally suited for solar PV, facing due south and having no shading from trees or other buildings to worry about.

We used Kyocera PV modules on the Alustand roof mounting system. The brackets and rails from Alustand were straightforward and conventional to install, giving a neat job with lead flashing around the brackets.
Alustand mounting system does rely on a level roof and we found after installing, even this 'straight' roof had undulations and the roof system needed adjusting to allow the PV modules to drop into their location slots.

The result was very neat looking though when all finished.

Inside the loft area the G83 grid connected inverters were installed. At that time, the most cost effective option for small inverters for 1kWp systems was the Mastervolt Soladin 600watt units. As can be seen from the picture, 2 inverters were fitted with 4 of the modules connected to each.
A kWh meter (to log how many units have been generated) was installed adjacent to the fuse box downstairs.

We did find that a lack of digital display on the Soladin a bit of a setback when trying to evaluate performance, but certainly for a small budget G83 grid connect inverter price and performance is very good.