DomesticPV

[AJ123]

Bit of advice required. I know very little in this area.
Domestic 4bed house away from the farm ysrd, looking at roof mounted solar. One side of roof faces south south west
The roof is OK at the moment, but won’t last forever before it needs a bit of TLC.
Got a decent sized paddock close (20m) to house we could put a ground mount on, I’d prefer it not on roof I think. Don’t really want to redo roof sooner than necessary or find it’s a big job because it’s got panels all over it!

Questions:

Any reason not to?
Do I need planning consent for domestic on ground? Is this difficult ( we’re not listed/conservation area etc.)
Could I go for 2 axis tracker ( purely because I think they look good!) Do they justify the cost? ( I’d do groundwork’s myself)
Anything else to think about?
If fixed is due south preferred?

 

[upnortheast]

Since the demise of FIT the sums just don't add up. Even worse in a domestic situation when the house is probably empty between 10 & 3 when most solar leccy is generated.

 

[Timbo]

A max of around 5p /kwh for pumping back into grid, but get a decent sized battery pack with the pv. Ive been running purely off the battery in evenings the last few sunny days.

 

[AJ123]

My plan was try and use as much during day as possible- heatings electric. And running a few fridges etc. Hadn’t thought about batteries, any good suppliers/ installers you know of?

 

[chickens and wheat]

Those trackers are very expensive, by the time you've bought panels tracker and batteries. You will have one hell of a bill.

You need to be sure of a daytime usage before bothering with panels.
Unless your hedging bets against very likely electric price rise,then the figures become slightly more interesting.

 

[steveR]

I have a ground mount domestic PV system, and getting a bit of FiT.

I also have a GSHP that soaks up some juice, but the best way other than batteries, is to dump surplus power into a big hot water tank, as in BIG, via a diverter such as an Immersun. Even then, unless you have a pile of teenagers having 10min showers all the time, peak PV output time will lead to some going back to the Grid

In theory, you need PP, but it will depend on the Council. I built mine onto concrete sleepers, so it's temporary innit...

 

[Timbo]

My plan was try and use as much during day as possible- heatings electric. And running a few fridges etc. Hadn’t thought about batteries, any good suppliers/ installers you know of?

I used a recommended-by-mouth local chap to me who has been installing PV for several years.

 

[upnortheast]

Those trackers are very expensive, by the time you've bought panels tracker and batteries. You will have one hell of a bill.

I think you would be better spending the tracker money on more panels.
I seem to often see tracker units needing maintenance / repairs.
Good thing about static panels is they are mainrtenance free ( with luck ! )

 

[steveR]

I think you would be better spending the tracker money on more panels.
I seem to often see tracker units needing maintenance / repairs.
Good thing about static panels is they are mainrtenance free ( with luck ! )

And on the ground, they are a doddle to access and also keep clean (if required) as well.

 

[2wheels]

if anyone is serious about storage there is a new firm started up in aberdeen.
CARBON NEUTRAL ENERGY. no connection apart from my son working for his sons in vehicle recovery. the guy makes a good job of his enterprises. they aim to be worldwide in power storage.

 

[Exfarmer]

Any ground mount does need planning, however in todays world I would think that will not be difficult as long as it is not to obtrusive
Trackers are the dream of all but I have only ever seen one set up and no idea of return. I suspect they are vastly expensive.
For domestic I would favour East West set up at a high angle which will provide most useful energy morning and evening
The jury is out on batteries as to their lifespan and cost.
Be aware there are a lot of sharks out there !

 

[Timbo]

Only thing weve found so far with the battery is it becomes locked out under 6c since my setup is in an outbuilding. So if you have a lovely sunny yet frosty day, you cant charge nor use the battery. We've built an insulated box with 20w heater for the battery pack to sort that problem.

Its more cost effective to self- use than export now since the fit is only 5.5p

 

[chickens and wheat]

I've seen one full tracker, it was in Portugal, on a market garden type small holding,probably making a fortune growing soft fruits for the hotels. And unwilling to loose garden space for panels.
Uk tax probably paid for the fits on it until recently

 

[Exfarmer]

I've seen one full tracker, it was in Portugal, on a market garden type small holding,probably making a fortune growing soft fruits for the hotels. And unwilling to loose garden space for panels.
Uk tax probably paid for the fits on it until recently

I think you will find that in Portugal , as here, the consumer of the power paid for the FIT regime.

 

[steveR]

Any ground mount does need planning, however in todays world I would think that will not be difficult as long as it is not to obtrusive
Trackers are the dream of all but I have only ever seen one set up and no idea of return. I suspect they are vastly expensive.
For domestic I would favour East West set up at a high angle which will provide most useful energy morning and evening
The jury is out on batteries as to their lifespan and cost.
Be aware there are a lot of sharks out there !

Ever been the way with renewables....

 

[rollestonpark]

Neighbour has some solar on trackers. It was put in at a time when the solar panels were very expensive.
It's far better now to spend your proposed tracker money on buying more panels and have them fixed on the ground.
I would go ground mount, due to easy maintenance of the roof and panels, if there is a problem with the roof and you have solar on it, it can be a nightmare.
Personally, I'd forget about batteries for now, but make provision so they could be easily added in the future.