Solar panels ?

[buttercup]

Looking at putting a new shed, 100 by 50 ft, are solar panels still worthwhile ??, put on at start or later ?

 

[upnortheast]

Have a read in the renewable energy thread.

Since HMG did away with feed in tariff the sums are borderline.
Need to be able to use most of the energy on site, remember most of the production is middle of the day & most demand is early & late. Unless you are ventilating hen / pig sheds or running big fridges that is not easy

However I`m hearing circa 20p kw mentioned as the price of new leccy contracts so that may improve the calculation
Do your sums carefully & take what the salesman says with a pinch of salt

 

[Y Fan Wen]

When you are doing your calculations, don't forget to look into a possible battery as well.

 

[Exfarmer]

Looking at putting a new shed, 100 by 50 ft, are solar panels still worthwhile ??, put on at start or later ?

When you are building with the scaffold in place is the time to do it. Scaffolding is a big part of the cost.
Certainly today with cheap panels and dear energy it is the time to do it if you are using thr power

 

[Turnip]

Last time I calculated it was still borderline. Panels would have paid for themselves close to the end of their lifetime. As people mentioned energy storage greatly improves is. I'm now charging batteries for my power tools using a small panel.

What can really change the calcs is a regenerative hydrogen storage solution like SolarBotanic are working on.

How Do I Buy A Solar Tree In The Uk | Solarbotanic Trees Ltd

SolarBotanic Trees Ltd supplies aesthetically an attractive alternative to conventional solar panels that will power your home and charge your EV car.

www.solarbotanic.com

 

[Exfarmer]

Last time I calculated it was still borderline. Panels would have paid for themselves close to the end of their lifetime. As people mentioned energy storage greatly improves is. I'm now charging batteries for my power tools using a small panel.

What can really change the calcs is a regenerative hydrogen storage solution like SolarBotanic are working on.

How Do I Buy A Solar Tree In The Uk | Solarbotanic Trees Ltd

SolarBotanic Trees Ltd supplies aesthetically an attractive alternative to conventional solar panels that will power your home and charge your EV car.

www.solarbotanic.com

The jury is most definitely atill out on the batteries. No figures I have seen make them a dead cert. thr best option is energy storage combined with Energy management, but that is not something a house owner can do, except by going for Tesla and Octopus.
The one thing that worries me there is that the battery is expensive and there is no long term guarantee the tarriff will be available

 

[milton-95]

Last time I calculated it was still borderline. Panels would have paid for themselves close to the end of their lifetime. As people mentioned energy storage greatly improves is. I'm now charging batteries for my power tools using a small panel.

What can really change the calcs is a regenerative hydrogen storage solution like SolarBotanic are working on.

How Do I Buy A Solar Tree In The Uk | Solarbotanic Trees Ltd

SolarBotanic Trees Ltd supplies aesthetically an attractive alternative to conventional solar panels that will power your home and charge your EV car.

www.solarbotanic.com

Have you a link to the panel your using for charging your cordless battery's ?

 

[Turnip]

Have you a link to the panel your using for charging your cordless battery's ?

Don't have a working link anymore but the system is pretty basic although not direct. I'm using a small solar panel that is sold for car uses and have connected to an old 12V van battery. To this I have connected a Ryobi in car charger, as most of my tools are Ryobi. This way the panel keeps the 12V battery topped up and I can draw power from it to charge my tool batteries as and when I need it even if the sun isn't shining.

Make sure the panel either has a charge controller or add one between the solar panel and the 12V battery, otherwise you might be overcharging which could lead to dangerous situations.

Might do a quick post soon to show how it all works and is wired/connected as I'm thinking of upgrading some things.

 

[topground]

Is there such a thing as a roofing sheet that is also a solar panel?
It keeps the rain out while doing away with the need for an extra layer of roofing sheets,

 

[renewablejohn]

Is there such a thing as a roofing sheet that is also a solar panel?
It keeps the rain out while doing away with the need for an extra layer of roofing sheets,

You can even get PV panels that replace the glass in glasshouses to still allow crops to be grown. All at a price and the output of PV is lower than standard panels but if your growing a crop like raspberries then the panels are more durable then spanish tunnels.

 

[Exfarmer]

You can even get PV panels that replace the glass in glasshouses to still allow crops to be grown. All at a price and the output of PV is lower than standard panels but if your growing a crop like raspberries then the panels are more durable then spanish tunnels.

are these panels suitable for all crops? We have had issues with restricted light for somme plants as the glass fitted in our Orangery is not suited to quite a few plants was we discovered

 

[renewablejohn]

are these panels suitable for all crops? We have had issues with restricted light for somme plants as the glass fitted in our Orangery is not suited to quite a few plants was we discovered

Like any type of glasshouse operation you need to know what varies with what type of plant your trying to grow. I had 4 different types of polytunnel plastic for growing specific crops to which I also had different coloured shade screens again for different plants. Quite a fine art with a few experimental disasters but get it right and it can be very profitable. So to answer your question I have not found a panel yet suitable for all crops as shading requirements are different for different plants but generally the least shady panels are the least efficient (5%) and the most shady (20%) but the most controllable are mirror systems (40%) but thats not using conventional panels.

 

[2wheels]

When you are building with the scaffold in place is the time to do it. Scaffolding is a big part of the cost.
Certainly today with cheap panels and dear energy it is the time to do it if you are using thr power

ours was installed by 2 blokes with 2 ladders. a reputable firm too.