Solar PV upgrades being sold by pushy sales calls

Over the last year, I have found a plethora of Companies have started hard sales campaigns to sell  products or services to existing Solar PV owners. This has not really been helped along by the availability of databases that can be purchased detailing solar owners contact data, making it so much easier for them to get in contact.

Many of you existing solar owners will have had calls or letters from organisations proposing to make your system work far better than it currently does. While most of the products are good,  in most cases here, it is the selling that is suspect, along with the highly inflated prices to go with it.

To give you a ‘heads up’ on current sales company’s promotions, I have compiled a short list below:

1    1) Solar Edge optimised systems. The technology works well to minimise shading problems on solar panels with some clever technology, and will boost generation for part shaded systems. However, the salesmen are indicating far higher gains, and a far higher price than an ‘honest’ company would charge. If your solar is in the clear and has no shading, the Solar Edge system will never pay for itself. A recent example I was told by a customer the dodgy salesman quoted £5400 for a system that should have been just £3000.

      2) Voltage Optimisers . For very few solar owners, their grid voltage is quite high, causing the inverter to shut down when it is sunny. For this 2% of people, a voltage optimizer will sort the problem, bringing the grid voltage down. Sales guys are selling them to just about anyone and at hugely inflated prices, ie £3000 instead of £500

      3)Maintenance Contracts. Many people are getting a misleading letter, telling them their solar installer is now out of business. That statement is not true for around 20% of people, so is being investigated by Trading Standards. This particular company (and I'm sure others too), are selling expensive maintenance contracts amounting to £250 a year. Your system will only need a 5 year check at best for around £100.  You can keep an eye on the panels being clean and your system is working in between times by yourself.

      3)A very naughty  company are even calling people to tell them someone is going to come and maintain the system for free as part of their warranty that is just about to expire. The maintenance will not end up free, as they will expect you to sign up for monthly payments or whatever they can get away with. In addition, as part of any solar warranty, there is never a maintenance included. Don’t be fooled!

There will be other scams and highly priced devices being sold over the phone, not only to Solar Owners, but to anyone. The best advice as always is never to buy anything from telephone sales.

If you would like some idea of pricing for Solar PV add on products, call us at rudgeenergy.co.uk 

Powering your outdoor event .. Quietly..

We’ve all been there, festivals, country shows and countryside events where the atmosphere is shattered by the buzz of generators. For trade stands, power can be essential, music events need lights and amplifiers, even the local gymkhana needs to have commentary over a public address system.

Times have moved on and portable power is becoming the domain of Hybrid generators, a combination of silent battery power with occasional generator noise. The idea is quite simple really, the batteries operate an electronic inverter to provide 230v mains power, just like a normal generator. When the batteries get low, a fuel generator runs for half hour or so and allows the battery system to run again quietly for hours. The original concept came about simply to save money on fuel, but the side effect is low noise as well.

Hybrid generators come in all sizes, from full container size to power a large business or large off grid house right down to a few boxes being tucked in a corner of a van for site use. To save fuel even further, if space permits, a solar panel or two can be bolted on keeping generator time even shorter.

Many people across the UK are using fixed hybrid systems to power their houses and businesses full time, usually because of no grid availability. The whole idea is easily transferred to a portable version.

For small events and trade stands, the ideal solution will be to have a hybrid generator fitted within a vehicle. For larger events requiring more power, a modular unit can be used, easily removed after the event by trailer or tractor. If you regularly have to have a generator running for your trade, consider going Hybrid, the fuel savings will be wonderful now fossil fuels are going up in price again. Plus think of life without endless noise and exhaust fumes.

Chris Rudge. www.rudgeenergy.co.uk 01392 368724

Getting the best out of your Solar PV system

Many of you will have a solar PV system installed on your house or barn roof and will be enjoying the annual Summer upsurge in generated power that will not only earn you Feed in Tariff payments, but save you buying power off the grid as well.

As some of the earlier systems installed are now over 5 years old, is it still operating as well as it used to? One of the things you can easily check will be dirt and moss buildup on the panels. Many areas in rural locations we find are vulnerable to a deposit of verdigris on the glass. If left there, it will cause your power generation to drop off dramatically. Getting the panels cleaned will bring the generated power back to healthy levels. The cost of a clean can be covered by a couple of weeks generation in midsummer, so well worth the effort.

Again with older systems, older technology solar inverters fitted to convert DC power into Mains 230v, will have been limited in capabilities and were suited for solar array’s with no shading. If any shading occurs from, say, a chimney or tree on one of the panels, the whole array will suffer from reduced power output. This would common on many houses.

To combat this problem, a new optimizer system was developed enabling solar PV with shading problems to get more generation simply by letting each panel generate to best of its ability, without being affected by shading on another panel. The market leader is Solar Edge, and can be retro installed on any existing solar PV installation. Older installations on a high rate of FiT could benefit from this upgrade, which though usually costs around £3000, can enable your PV system to make that cost back within 10 years if you have shading problems during the day. See our website for more information

If you have noticed a drop off in generated power over the current life of your PV system, now will be the best time to have the system serviced. Though you can anticipate a small drop in generation each year to panel efficiency drop off, other factors such as loose connections can create really large losses. Many Solar installers will carry out a standard service every 5 years, the recommended period, for around £100 and can save you much more if catching a problem early on. We offer this service to people in the South West UK

Making the most of your excess Solar PV generation

Its been a while since I have written a post, though I see I have a whole load of half completed drafts. Things have been busy over the last few months!

Just this week I have put together this editorial for a regional magazine, The Landsman, and thought it would be a good idea to reproduce here as solar storage has changed dramatically since just last year, with far better batteries available at really good prices that mean Li-Ion is now leading the way over Lead Acid on performance and cost!

If you’re an owner of solar PV panels, you will already be aware of the benefits that are brought simply by daylight. Lower power bills and free to use electricity count as main drivers of course, along with Feed in Tariff payments meaning you receive a payment simply for generating your own power.

One of the small drawbacks of this seemingly utopian system is that a proportion of this generated power will be exported straight out onto the grid without any benefit to you but add some technology and this could change. There are devices available that can be retro fitted to grab power before it gets exported allowing you to store it for later use.

The budget version is just one of the many power diversion devices on the market. A reliable unit is the Solar iBoost, costing around £400, which keeps a check on that excess PV power and sends it to the immersion heater in your hot water cylinder to store as hot water. Great if you have a hot water cylinder to use, if not, maybe look at battery storage?

Until a few years ago, Solar battery technology was still based on traditional lead/acid, like a car battery. This was mainly due to economics as compact lithium based batteries were still really expensive, but they do offer a 10-15 year lifespan and require no maintenance.

This situation has now changed, and since Tesla’s introduction of the cumbersomely large Lithium Ion battery a year or so ago, other manufacturers such as LG, Victron and SolaX are now producing more compact storage devices, ideal for installation inside your home. Based on the same concept as hot water diversion, battery storage systems divert the excess power to be exported into a set of batteries. A controller keeps that power securely stored away until your house needs to draw power off the grid, then releases if back for you to use. In an ideal situation, with a good balance between battery and solar array size, you should see a dramatic reduction in the amount of electricity you purchase.

 

Most are easy to fit, and can be easily accommodated in your house and integrated with your existing Solar PV system. Some models also provide you with a backup power socket to keep you supplied with 230v power if in the case of a power cut - handy for rurally situated people.

Though the concept of payback is not used in the battery storage world, we have recently seen what may be the first of many energy price increases, so it does spur us to consider ways of keeping electricity bills as low as possible. You’ll find that good quality systems start at around £4,000 installed and will provide you with either online or in home monitoring too. For more information speak to Chris Rudge on or visit www.rudgeenergy.co.uk

Battery Storage 1: Which battery is best?

Battery storage bolt-on options for existing renewable energy generation systems are now becoming the next 'must have' for people looking to either reduce their energy bills, which will surely be rising again soon, to providing energy security times of power cuts.

I have been providing different types of battery systems for customers over the last 10 years and have seen a huge upsurge in interest in the last 6 months. There has always' been some bafflement over the best battery technology to use with different installations, which has escalated recently now that Lithium-Ion batteries are coming down in cost.

For this first part of a two part battery storage blog, I'll simply outline the features and cost benefits of  some currently available battery types offered for renewables.

The main battery types currently offered to customers wanting a battery add on are based on either Lead Acid or Lithium-Ion technology.

Lead Acid.
These batteries have been available for a very long time and until recent years, would have been the only option available for anyone to use. Originally provided as what we refer to as 'flooded', you may be familiar with the need to keep these topped up with distilled water regularly in your car. Really big versions were made for fork lifts, submarines, commercial backup supplies, etc. Though this is still the case as flooded batteries are quite robust when scaled up to commercial size, most Lead Acid offerings' for domestic and small commercial are either Sealed AGM or Gel types.

Without going into the internal technology, which you can easily discover on Wikipedia, the practicality for non commercial users mean that Sealed batteries do not need regular maintenance such as topping up with water. Sealed AGM's will usually be able to take a far higher charge current than Flooded, thus making them ideal for the Solar PV market where potentially a lot of power is available to be stored during peak times of the day. Likewise, Gel batteries have a good storage capability, but cannot be heavily charged without decreasing lifespan.

Both types will have a lifespan of no more than 5 years and you will need to keep in mind that you'll need to replace them at this point or before. As either type contain a good amount of lead, they will attract a good price at the recycling centre. Typically around 20% of their cost as new. Lead Acid batteries are about the only battery type that can be recycled in this way. So disposal is straightforward through recycling with income!

As with anything, the less you pay for your batteries, the lower the performance. No matter what the salesman tells you, a typical lifetime of an AGM or Gel battery is around 800 - 1000 charge discharge cycles to 50% depth of discharge. This is around 2.5 years if cycled to 50% every day of the year. For many households this will not be the case, thus the batteries will last much longer

This reminds me to mention that all lead acid batteries do not fare well if deeply discharged, which will considerably reduce their storage capacity and longevity. As part of the battery management which will be installed with your add-on storage system, it will be set up to ensure the batteries will not drop below 50%, this is critical for any system, as well as carefully charging the batteries according to their individual characteristics.

Another big advantage with any Lead-Acid battery type is the lowest cost of any current storage type. You may find this aspect appealing, even though you will get much less charge/discharge cycles. You will know without heavy use you will get 5 years of life and a small payback for selling them at the end of this time. You can then ask your installer what the cost of other more efficient technologies are, which may have dropped in cost by that time. See the chart below to get an idea of cost effectiveness at the moment.


Lithium-Ion
These fairly recent storage devices have been hailed as the holy grail of battery technology and you will find it fitted in most portable devices, such as your phone, due to their far higher efficiency and space saving over all other types available to us.

Even more recently, Lithium-Ion has been offered to the renewable energy market in easy to use packages making it far safer than ever before to use. As Lithium-Ion has a really low internal resistance, allowing them to be charged really quickly if needed, they can also discharge very fast if given the opportunity and will overhead and cause a fire very quickly. The very reason for all the

Hoverboard fires recently.

All approved Lithium-Ion battery sets contain a battery management system which will shut them down with excess charge/discharge or fire, etc. So nice and safe to use in the house. With Li-Ion systems such as the LG Chem RESU, the battery management will need to also have a data connection to your inverter system to enable safety 'handshaking'.

The huge advantages over Lead Acid is the smaller space required, higher lifetime cycles and that you'll be able to discharge to 80% or more daily if you wanted with little lifetime effect.

Most Lithium Ion batteries will come with a 10 year or 6000 cycle warranty and will work across a far wider temperature range, far far better than Lead Acid. The Lithium Ion battery really is a just about a fit and forget battery.

 So, though Lithium Ion costs much more on initial purchase, the lifetime will be at least 3 times more, and easily in excess of this if you keep the discharge down to 60% or less. See the chart below for cost effectiveness against Lead Acid.

One of the drawbacks with Lithium Ion, there had to be one, will be the recyclability is practically zero. Once the battery set is depleted you'll need to find a way of safe disposal, which you need to pay for as they are listed as a pollutant. Disposal will be in at least 10 years, so as Lithium is a limited resource, the situation may have changed by then, but right now its a difficult disposal issue.


Aquion Batteries
For the real Eco warrior, the recent release of the Aquion Battery is a major leap in clean power. Being based on a harmless saline solution with other natural products such as coconut husk, the Aquion unit will never be a hazard in its own environment.

They can be deeply discharged and each 'module' will store 2kWh of power.

As you will imagine, this natural solution does come at a cost, which though is more than either of the above per kWh, is currently not excessively so, and as production ramps up the price will come down to make it a far more economic solution.

Aquion battery charge and discharge rates are far lower than either Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion, so are more suited to low capacity loads such as lighting and electronics. Though the 2kwh of storage is available in each cell, it will need around 5 hours to charge or discharge that amount. Obviously stacking more in parallel will double the power and storage at the same time.

This chart easily shows that though Lead-Acid wins on initial system outlay, for system economic longevity, Lithium-Ion wins hands down!
The Aquion, (which I have scaled to be representative of the others), is also great on long term economics, but you need to be careful the installation does not have a big current draw.

Datasheet links:
Aquion Batteries: http://www.aquionenergy.com
LG Chem: http://www.windandsun.co.uk/media/411979/LG-Chem-RESU-64-EX-Data-Sheet.pdf
Rolls batteries: http://www.rolls-battery.com

DECC confirm Solar PV tariffs to be slashed

Today DECC the Climate Change Government department have released a 'consultation' the review of Feed in Tariff rates for solar and other renewable technologies. SEE IT HERE

The lengthy document rambles on about providing better value for money to all energy payers, obviously without a thought to future climate issues. Reading through makes it quite clear that this Government are dropping renewable power technologies like a hot potato!

To take the proposed feed in tariff chart that will start on January 1st 2016 as the prime example, the typical option that any viable house in the UK is able to install, giving them much more control over their power destiny will have the FiT rate dropped from 12.67p to 1.63p for every Kw generated. Its pretty much the same across the board, including Wind and Hydro too.

Just as there will be an explosion in power storage devices that are cost effective, thus enabling businesses and homeowners to use that daytime generated power overnight and stabilising the grid, DECC announce these measures to just about stop people being able to engage in their own future.

We know for certain that the Government are 'backing' companies like EDF to build Nuclear Power Stations, which incidentally are far more expensive than ANY renewables incentive to both build and maintain, plus as we have seen again and again is dangerous when broken.
The other Government candidate for 'funding' will be fracking in the short term future as they have seen the massive success in the USA of that technology. This tiny island will obviously not stand up to the high pressure plundering of resources for all that long, with our water and other resources eventually poisoned with fracking chemicals.

Its all about money and short term futures, usually around 5 years, the term of Government.

Over the next few weeks, watch social media for everyones opinion on the UK's about turn on what most of civilised Europe have embraced .. Renewables for the future of the planet.. From 2016, it will all decline from the high ground we stood on to a cauldron of chemical gloop.

Running an AGA on Solar electricity

We have had many queries over the years asking if we can arrange a system that will use the Solar PV electricity to run an AGA cooker. As any AGA owner will know, this device is the one big consumer of electricity/gas or oil in any household. They are beautiful cooking and heating devices, but boy, they do eat the utility bills! Eco they are not!

I've recently met up with Malcolm Stickler who runs a company specifically to install electronic free electric heaters to AGA's . These are compatible with Immersun's and most other add on PV power diversion devices.

People who already have a PV power diversion device for their hot water will know the massive savings they can make simply by using that spare power that would have been exported to the grid sent to the immersion heater. This exact technology can now be safely used on an AGA.

You will need to have the conversion carried out by Malcolms crew, who cover the whole of the UK. The cost is £1950 + VAT and entails replacing the existing oil/ gas or electric heater with a complete custom new module.

However, for maximum effectiveness, you'll need a 4kwp south facing solar PV system, possibly even bigger to cope with the low winter light levels. As well as getting Government Feed in Tariff payments, you'll be running your AGA for far less cost than you could believe possible previously!

This is just one way you can use more of your generated solar PV power thus getting great value for money out your investment.

For a solar PV quote in the South West UK, call Rudge Energy on 01392 368724

For the AGA conversion, call: 01278 769802

Not much time left for the Solar Feed in Tariff?

Small commercial Solar

After new money saving measures announced by Amber Rudd on behalf of the Government over the past few days, renewables have been hit quite hard and are calculated to end solar PV funding as soon as possible. This will rid the Government of what
is now considered a funding headache. With the Green Deal, and other green funding knocked on the head, will small scale solar PV systems be next on the chopping block?...


If the Government can knock Solar FiT on the head, then most of this money will simply be flipped over to subsidise Nuclear power. More power for the National Grid needs to be found somewhere! Some years ago I noticed that in Gov press releases, Nuclear became renamed as a 'low carbon' power source. It can be seen as such, with a high health risk and a very hard to dispose of end product.. When operating correctly, in that squeakily fine balance between high efficiency and disaster, nuclear will provide a lot of power on a small geographic footprint, 24 hours a day... With a very low operational carbon footprint and extremely high operational cost. All to be funded by diverting our money from elsewhere.

Going back to Feed in Tariffs though.. When on April 1st 2016 the large scale ROC (renewable obligation certificate), scheme comes to an end, there will be a large bunch of investment funded companies kicking around with nothing to do, who have made a living from bleeding the the Government ROC scheme dry. Many of these companies are based offshore, thus UK money is going elsewhere. A scenario not considered by the Government all those years ago.

These companies on 1st April, will be determined not to be foolish enough to simply close up shop and go away.. I strongly expect that this Monday morning, after the usual moral boosting meeting,  sales guys will be moving over to finding large rooftops to populate with solar under the Feed in Tariff scheme. This will be disaster for Solar PV. Calculated by Government advisors, as if that gets played out, the smaller solar installers bread and butter will be killed off by the middle of the year when a massive degression is announced, reducing Feed in Tariff to such a small rate, it will not be worth installing... There goes the industry! Or maybe Amber Rudd will simply kill it all off before next year anyway?

Of course, people will still want solar to keep their power bills down, but realistically, the drive of the Feed in Tariff needs to keep the industry buoyant for a few more years until power bills take a few more price hikes and make people actually realise that simply making your own power is the way to go, even without FiT. By that time searching for someone to install PV properly will be difficult.

To my thinking, the easiest and best fix will be to limit FiT installations to sub 50kW systems, thus limit FiT payments and make it available for the people that actually need it .. Oh, and stop subsidising Nuclear and Fossil fuel production of course!!

Off Grid in the middle of the city?

A recent installation we have completed is possibly the most curious and exciting, an Off Grid power system in the East End of London, not far from either docklands or the Olympic site at Stratford and smack in the middle of thousands of grid connected houses.

The reason is all for the sake of art!

Chisenhale Gallery were needing an off grid system to operate a specific set of equipment as part of an art installation. This installation operates 2 projectors and a sound system for 6-7 hours a day, and is the featured exhibition until the end of August 2015, see later.

Using our standard Off Grid calculator and also being re assured that the installation will only be run during the Summer months, we were able to use standard Victron Easy Solar, 6 @ 250Wp solar modules and a 600Ah battery set. This will run the system for 6 hours even on a cloudy day in August.

To complement the installation, it has been installed into a cage to provide an industrial aspect, plus of course keeping prying fingers away from the switches too!

If you are around in the area, go and see the installation at Chisenhale Gallery Nicholas Mangan's exhibition is running till the end of August.

At the end of the August, this complete installation is being sold on. The system generates enough power to run a small economic Off Grid house with ease. We will be storing and shipping it all from Devon. If you are looking for a ready to go Solar Based Off Grid system that has the provenance of being used at an esteemed art exhibition, email me for all the details. We can install if for you too!

Another Solar PV system for the RNLI

Our recent completion in time for the April FiT drop, of a 133kWp Solar PV system on the RNLI Lifeboat Support Centre in Poole will not only massively reduce their power bills, but will provide the Nations favourite charity with healthy Feed in Tariff payments for the next 20 years, not to mention a far lower carbon footprint in line with new legislation coming soon.

Using leading edge solar technology to get maximum efficiency for the RNLI, no matter what the weather conditions! We have used the new SMA Sunny Tripower 60kW inverters for efficient power conversion, negating the need for an array of smaller inverters where inefficiencies can cumulate to result in lower performance. See SMA Website for more information on these inverters. This RNLI project is the largest rooftop system so far to use the Tripower 60's .

For the rooftop, we chose JA Solar 285 Percium Monocrystalline modules that offer a really good output for the square meterage we had available on the Support Centre roof. Getting 133kWp onto the roof AND leaving the required service boundaries around roof lights and man safe systems made the JA 285's the only choice to use for staying within budget.

The RNLI's Lifeboat Support Centre is the national hub for all engineering and service warehousing, operating a 24 hour a day service to ensure the downtime of any lifeboat malfunctions kept at a minimum. The electrical standing load of the premises is pretty much the same as any larger office premises. Due to this, the payback period of this new PV system will be within 6 years, with another 14 years of lower power bills and FiT payments coming in. It's a brilliant long term investment for the RNLI to support their lifesaving operations.

Biomass RHI degression

I've just had a notice from the MCS people alerting that the RHI may be subject to degression in January 2015.

Though a degression was anticipated, this early timing was not and will be a shame, as the RHI only goes some of the way to pay for a decent Biomass system at the moment and only if using cheaper low end biomass boilers such as MCZ or Red.

As most interested parties have now found, the RHI is not anywhere near the incentive that was promised. Once the cost of a Green Deal Assessment and loss of earnings in taking time off work for contractors is taken into account, the payout will not get anywhere near paying for a boiler change in 7 years.

The RHI promise will only work out if oil prices rapidly rise, over the last year though oil prices have fallen around 20%.. Though strangely (and predictably) this lower cost has not been passed onto the consumer… So that RHI plus oil price financial model is not working out, thus slowly killing off any domestic biomass installation and supply companies.

Transcript of the MCS notice today:

Dear MCS Biomass Installer,

We would like to make you aware of the latest announcement from DECC concerning a potential degression in the biomass Domestic RHI tariff, which, if triggered, would come into effect on 1st January 2015.

The statement from DECC in the most recent review said, “For biomass, forecast expenditure increased by £1.0m in September, and as at 30 September 2014 is £4.0m. This is £0.2m below its 31 October 2014 degression trigger of £4.2m. If this trigger is surpassed, then a 10 per cent reduction to the domestic biomass tariff will be announced in next month’s quarterly forecast (to be published by 1 December 2014), to come into effect on 1 January 2015.”  Please go to https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/domestic-rhi-mechanism-for-budget-management-estimated-commitments#history for the full degression report.

This potential degression would only apply to applications submitted from 1st January 2015 by new applicants. Those already receiving payments will not be affected, neither will legacy applicants (those who installed before  9 April 2014). We would remind those with consumers in the legacy group, that they have until 8 April 2015 in which to apply to Ofgem; after which the window for legacy applicants will close.

MCS would like to remind all installers:

·         To register all certificates within 10 working days of the commissioning date.

• That MCS certificates must only be issued once the system is fully commissioned. Installers should not be tempted to issue them in advance to help a client ‘beat’ degression.

·         The timescales around processing Extended Access requests will not change. All these requests should be received well in advance of the degression date.

·         That the applicable domestic RHI tariff rate will be based on the date that an eligible and complete application is submitted to Ofgem, not the commissioning date of the MCS installation certificate. A complete application submitted to Ofgem must include valid MCS , EPC and GDAR certificates and applicant bank details.  Please ensure your customer is aware of this and that you have provided all paperwork to them in advance of the deadline. 

·         To please advise consumers to speak with the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234 (pre application enquiries) or the domestic RHI line at Ofgem on 0300 003 0744 (post application enquiries) to discuss any concerns or queries they may have about RHI payments. MCS cannot answer these questions.

·         That MCS will likely see an increase in enquiries during this period so please be aware that you may experience longer queuing times on the phones. If your enquiry is not urgent, we would strongly recommend emailing the helpdesk (mcs@gemserv.com) for a response and we will process enquiries as soon as possible.

Solic 200 Immersion Heater divert unit

In the quest to test as many of the current Immersion Heater controllers that let you use all your excess PV generated power, I got hold of a Solic 200 Immersion controller to try out.

My first impression was that unlike most of the other Immersion Controllers that are on the market, this little unit was really basic, a box with 3 lights! No digital display or other high technology to be seen.

Opening the unit, I found a circuit board with a decent set of connection terminals, and plenty of space for manoeuvring cables. One end of the housing is used for cable entry through pre made 20mm holes, plenty big enough for up to 6mm cable.

Though the unit is supplied with blind grommets to pop into the cable access holes, you could also use 20mm compression glands, which fit nicely and would hold the cables in place.

On my test installation, the house has a 2kWp solar PV and a 150ltr hot water cylinder.

As with many other Immersion controllers, the Solic 200 needs to be installed by the main consumer unit (fuse box), and have access to the main incoming ‘tails’ from the electricity meter.

As you will see from the inside view photo, the instructions are really not needed for the wiring, as all is printed inside, so wiring was simplicity itself.

I needed to remove the Immersion heater feed cable from inside the consumer unit MCB, and extend with another piece of 2.5mm T&E cable to reach the Solic200 location. Another length of 2.5mm T&E cable was cut to connect the Solic200 incoming power back onto the MCB inside the consumer unit.

Ensure all Earth connections are insulated and connected inside the Consumer unit and Solic200.!!

That was it for wiring!.. Though this installation was a test and cable dressing was not at the top of the list, I had the installation completed  in 15 minutes. So easy!

Before switch on, the current clamp needs to be installed. The Solic200 current clamp cable is about a metre long and the clamp needs to be clipped around the live incoming cable. If there is enough space, you can do this inside the consumer unit, but outside is easier if you can get to it.

Switch on .. Checking the instructions first, I was pleased to find that I just needed to make sure the hot water tank needed heating up, thus the immersion would be heating, and switch the PV system off.

Switching on, the unit goes through a self check and makes sure you have the current clip the right way. Once a green and red LED are lit, I switched the PV system back on. After 3 minutes the third LED lit up green to show power is being fed into the Immersion heater.. That’s it!

I found the unit really easy to install. Though there are no little extras that other units such as the Immersun2 will have, the Solic200 has been designed by a seasoned MOD electronics designer to quick and easy to operate. Once in place, it will be soldier proof!

The only user interface control that will get used is a handy 30minute immersion heater Boost button.

Conclusion .. The test Solic200 has been running for over a month now during the summer 2014, and has provided a tank of hot water every day from a 2kWp PV system. There is no indication of just how much power is being sent to the immersion heater, nor any display besides the green or red lights, but this is reflected in the cost of around £225 for the DIY install. An installer should not charge more than £100 to carry out an installation, as its so easy.

For people who simply want a ‘fit and forget’ device, the Solic200 does this very well, being inexpensive in comparison to other types.

The only thing I found annoying during the installation were the tiny lid fixing screws which are inserted at the ends and easily lost. Other than this, I can see the whole unit has been thought through for minimum hassle installation and low cost.

More info  I missed out information on the alternative operating mode, as I feel this would not get used so much, but you can find all the information on the unit, with stockists at www.earthwiseproducts.co.uk

Immersun 2 in use

After the last post before Christmas, giving you an overview of the new Immersun 2 unit and comparing to the older, smaller and less expensive Immersun version 1, we thought it a far better idea to simply do a quick video of an Immersun 2 features in use.. So much more succinct than hundreds of words!.
As our guy Richard at the office was the first to get one installed at his house, despite the murky winter weather which will not provide a massive PV output, he has put together this video to run you through the main features

A first look at the Immersun 2.

After the massive success of their original Immersun unit, 4Eco have finally released the Immersun version 2 after extensive delays due to component shortages.

Many Solar PV owners will be familiar with either the Immersun or the concept of diverting excess power from your PV to heat water rather than simply export onto the grid. This new version has changed in so many ways.

From the picture on the left, you can see the comparison between the original smaller Immersun, and the brand new Immersun 2, being around twice the size!

Once peeking inside the units, (below), the comparison is quite easy to see the beefier power components which indicate early on to us that the whole power control concept has changed.

Originally, the Immersun dumped your excess power into an immersion heater by sending small bursts of 230v in proportion to the amount of excess power available. The system worked, and still does, but proved to be a compromise which could cause power fluctuations on weak grid connections. The design was built to bring a good working product into the marketplace which already had a few basic power diversion units, though it did this very well, the guys at 4Eco soon started work on the version 2 and it's now available to buy.

The new unit clearly makes no apologies for changing technology from the lower cost 'power burst' to gradual and smooth transition of power over to the immersion heater. It looks robust and made for the job. As an added bonus, the Display and control software has been extensively upgraded to provide a far clearer operation, showing you what is excess power is being sent to your immersion heater and more.

On this initial comparison after opening the box, I can see quite why the new unit attracts a higher purchase cost. I understand that for people who want a basic unit at a basic cost, the original Immersun will be available for a time to come, but for those of you looking for some 'at a glance' readability of all those functions, this will be the one to go for.

Next week.. full review of installation and functionality.

Installing a Solar PV Self Use battery system... Shall I??

We have had a few queries about the possibility of installing a 'self use' battery backup system as an add on for solar PV. The text below is a recent blog entry I put together for YouGen, and I've brought it across here to share too.

Self Use systems

To understand why you might want to install a self use system, it is first useful to remind ourselves of the principles of the feed-in tariff scheme.

Feed-in tariff benefits are based on three tiers:

1) Basic FiT payments which get paid for every unit of power generated, whether you use it or not.
2) Export payments which are are currently paid on a 'deemed' basis. Under this tier, 50% of generated power is assumed to have been exported and payouts are made on that principle.
3) Using as much PV generated power within your house without affecting your FiT payments.

Until recently, homeowners have generally seen it as a no-brainer to go for tier three and try to use as much generated power as they could for themselves. For many people, this meant investing in devices such as the ImmerSun and SolariBoost which use the excess electricity to heat water in your cylinder.

However, there is another option which only the well-heeled have been able exploit until recently: storing the excess generated power to be used after the sun has gone down.

Though there have been a number of custom built devices based on existing off grid equipment and specialist contactors, the technology to achieve this goal has only become more widely available in the last couple of years.

How does it work?

For the vast majority of self use systems, the installer will need to split off your high power circuits from your consumer unit and have them operating on grid only. Ideally if the self-use unit runs your lights, central heating boiler and some low current circuits, this will make the best use of your stored power. Simply connecting the incoming power to the consumer unit will potentially rapidly drain the batteries within minutes of sundown as soon as you put the kettle on or have an electric shower. The batteries will need replacing very soon at that rate.

How much space do they take up?

There are an ever increasing array of self-use systems coming onto the market. Some are good, a few look very doubtful! They will need to  have a control box with pure sine inverter and a set of rechargable batteries. This all takes up space. The batteries are heavy and ideally need to be accessible and in a vented location if based on lead acid technology to ensure hydrogen build up cannot occur.

Most of the systems we have installed are in the customer's garage, which is an ideal location. Battery sizing is important as the larger the battery, the more you can store. In addition larger batteries generally have a longer life. Some low-cost self-use units have cheap, low-capacity batteries which will not do the job they promise. 

Which system should I choose?

One of the first units to hit the shelves in the UK was the Nedap Power Router. Made by an established Dutch electronics company, this diversion from their usual automation trade proved successful in Europe a few years back, and is growing in popularity in the UK, especially since their unit costs have come down. The identifiable green housing is a one-box solution, with solar PV inverter, battery charging and monitoring and control circuitry all in one neat housing. On top of this, they have a built in optional internet interface which allows you to be interactive with what your power is doing. Quite apart from the fact that this is a great one for gadget geeks, it was, for some time, the only system available for installers such as ourselves to offer.

To install one of these as a retrofit onto an existing PV system you will have to replace your existing inverter with the power router. Set up is quite straightforward, and it should include web monitoring, to help you get the best out of the system.

The big let down of this unit's design is that your total generation meter, on which that all-important feed-in tariff payment is based, has to be installed on the output, after the power has been stored in the batteries. However, since powr is lost in the charge, storage and power conversion process, you will potentially lose up to 20 per cent of FiT generation payments per year. Not so good if you are relying on these payments to cover an investment. Otherwise, the Power Router can still be seen as a flagship for domestic self use.

The Victron Power Hub is an alternative to the Power Router, and our current favourite. Although it does not have the comprehensive built-in internet interface that allows you to manage and view your usage, the cost is far less and it has real advantages on a retro-fit on an existing PV system.
1) You keep your existing PV inverter.
2) The total generation meter is fitted to record all the solar output ensuring you get paid for all the you've generated.

The Power Hub is simply retrofitted into existing PV systems. You just need space for the unit and a set of batteries. 

Victron only released its official Power Hub early in the summer, and we are getting lots of interest in this lower cost device that offers the same storage options as the Power Router, but without the price tag. As with any battery system, the battery set included will affect both short term and long term performance of your system. Victron systems have a recommended battery set for inverter/ Power Hub size combinations.

Harking back to their off-grid and marine roots, the Power Hub also works well as a backup system, which will switch in within 20ms (milliseconds) during a power cut. This application, which ensures your battery system only runs essential services such as lights and the boiler, is ideal as it will keep your house alight for hours when everyone else is in darkness. If your house is in a remote rural location with a weak grid connection, this unit really is the one for you as it will provide energy security with the self use option as well.

There are also a few other emerging self use devices coming onto the market. I've not actually seen any yet, but having heard from customers who tell us that their device's batteries are low capacity or, in one case, the subject of misleading national newspaper advertising, it becomes apparent that it really is crucial to do your research before

committing. We were approached recently to see if we wanted to attend product training on one device, but after some probing we found the training was simply how to sell it rather than technical specifying. Already it seems that the rogue traders whom we thought had gone from renewables have come back with a new angle.

If you are interested in getting a self-use system installed, and indeed there are a few good reasons why you should, make sure you make contact with an established local installer. Just as with any other product, going with the first cold call offer or with a company who approaches you while you're out shopping will never get you the best system, or indeed the best price. Make sure you get a few quotes before committing.

Currently, due to battery costs, the installations are not cheap and the financial payback will be long. However, we do have one customer who pays £15 a month for electricity, which gives him a cosy feeling of energy security as power prices continue to rise.

The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive has finally arrived!

Today (Friday July 12th 2013), the Dept for Energy & Climate Change has released firm figures for the  Domestic RHI, which scheduled to start in March 2014.

This is a major step as an incentive to change over to Renewable Heat from fossil fuels, especially Oil and LPG which are traditionally the only fuels available to the rural community, costing twice as much as mains gas.

Technologies and tariff levels included in the announcement are:

Biomass: 12.2p per kWh
Air Source Heat Pumps: 7.3p per kWh
Ground Source Heat Pumps: 18.8p per kWh
Solar Thermal: 19.2p per kWh

Payments will be made quarterly over a period of seven years. The rates are based on a 20 year generation of the installed equipment, which is why the kWh rates are much higher than expected.. You'll get 20 years worth of payments crammed into a 7 year period.

Obviously this incentive is designed to get people converting over to Renewables if their property is suitable.
The rates are really good, and taking Biomass as one example, a standard 4 bedroom house with a 14kW pellet boiler could typically use around 9130 units annually, which will earn £1113.86 every year and £7800 over the whole 7 year period!

Bearing in mind that typically converting an oil based heating system over to Biomass (14kW) can be around £4000, combined with the far lower fuel costs, being Green is a marvellous way to heat your home.

Obviously, the same story applies to other technologies listed.

Currently available, to help you in the change over, is a Renewable Heat Pre Payment. This voucher scheme goes hand in hand with the RHI, and releases a sum of money from the RHI to be earned.

For more details on the announcement Click HERE

Its Official!.. We're now a Green Deal Installer

We are now an official Green Deal Installer. This means our survey, quotation, installation and certification systems have been upgraded to comply with requirements for the Governments new Green Deal incentive.

The Green Deal has been designed to enable people to have the cost of insulation, renewable energy and other energy saving products installed on their homes with long term finance attached to the electricity bill in affordable payments.

With the power prices soon to start ramping up, this scheme has been launched to enable people to bring their energy bills down as much as possible. Energy costs that are just about affordable now could soon be too high to be easily affordable.

For more information on the Green Deal and how to get a free assessment and Green Deal Providers, go to 
www.gov.uk

Another Big Step Closer to the RHI for domestic premises

Today, the Gov.uk website released a statement from Greg Barker and Ed Davey, which amongst some very interesting items, the following quotes appeared:

"RHPP extension: The Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme is being extended until the end of March 2014, ahead of the launch of the RHI for householders. This scheme, first launched in July 2011, offers money off the cost of renewable heating kit such as biomass boilers, solar thermal panels and heat pumps and is largely targeted at those living off the gas grid. The scheme was due to close at the end of March this year" 

This is good news, as the next quote definately says the Domestic RHI is starting in March 2014, with the rates being announced this Summer....

"RHI for householders: Following on from the consultation on scheme design in September last year, the Government will confirm how a RHI for householders will work and publish the tariff levels in Summer 2013. It is expected that the scheme will be up and running for householders in Spring 2014. Research on householder views on renewable heat has also been published today, which will help inform the design of the RHI scheme."

More updates on this as the next few days go by. But the good news is that although the rate announcement has been moved on a bit in time, it has been confirmed to actually be happening.

For the full document, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-plans-to-cut-emissions-from-heat