Solar Performance Q2 2024, new project ideas!

[@ambassadorfromreality1125]

You might want to link up with local rewilders to make the best use of the new grass patch. My wife is one and am amazed at the insects she manages to attract. The flowers look great as well. I don't do much myself but am grateful for what she does.

[@ellon118]

I look forward to seeing your solar fence and shed setup, as I am considering a similar project myself. Another informative video, Cheers

[@bikerchrisukk]

My hat off to you for documenting and conveying your findings so well, thank you.

[@grahamleiper1538]

Interesting. Your new intended system is pretty close to what I'm considering. Had a couple of days with no power after Storm Arwen myself. Lot of people I know relied on their wood burners for as much as a fortnight. Always in the back of my mind now I'm finally thinking about solar is wanting something where a battery will still be topped up in a power cut, even if it's just enough to run a bare minimum of fridge, freezer, and a couple of sockets.

[@anthonydyer3939]

Yes, that's what I'm thinking with having the solar fences. They can still top off the batteries, but no doubt the performance will still be poor in winter.

[@Dominic_Bolton]

Great stuff Anthony. I have planning permission for additional panels on my external garden wall fascia, which I’m going to make adjustable tilt using Unistrut products. My most difficult task though is getting an installer to do my inverter upgrade without charging the earth for! Looking forward to your fence project whenever you get it done 👍🏼

[@jeanh9641]

Very interesting future ideas. If it is any confort to you we had a below average solar production in July in Cambridgeshire. I had to put the heating on for short periods on four days!

[@Coooogz]

Have you considered the durability of a solar panel used as a fence? Rock flying off a lawn-mower? neighbours kids kicking a ball up against it?

[@anthonydyer3939]

The lawnmover stone isn't such an issue since there's no grass at that particular spot. I've suffered glass damage on my old Corsa due to a Contractor's brushcutter kicking up a stone, so I'm certainly aware of the risk. The football is a residual concern, but there's no neighbour on the other side of that particular fence. In theory you'd get the neighbours to pay for the damage, if it's their football. We do after all owe each other a duty of care. That said, if it's a boundary fence, I'd make sure that the solar surface is only exposed on my side of the fence. Wayward footballs causing damage to residential property is certainly not a new phenomenon, but the probability of impact damage is certainly increased. All that said, repair costs aren't outrageous. Compared to windscreens, solar panels are cheaper to replace.

[@Coooogz]

@@anthonydyer3939 True, I imagine solar panels are actually a bit stronger than I imagine too :) Look forward to seeing the final product.

[@Hansen710]

the angle does makes it catch less comming from above i would argue you could add some plexiglass if you was in a area where they was in more danger then normal.. so far i havent been able to crach mine and i have done a good job trying, bumping in them with the lift when working on my roof.. im surpriced how much they can handle if a ball did hit it, it is still cheaper then breaking a window with a ball its not like we can wrap our propperty in bubble wrap and avoid everything, not matter what

[@ChrisM-gs6xu]

Another good video Anthony. I'd be concerned about keeping the Pylontech batteries warm in the winter.. I'm only 10 miles away and I have mine in the garage, un heated but wrapped in foil insulation and then woolen blankets . In mid winter they can get down to 13 or 14c which is about their limit. But my garage never goes below freezing inside. I would imagine your shed would. Also have you considered a victron Multiplus to control the batteries and solar. You're welcome to have a look at my setup. Chris

[@anthonydyer3939]

@@ChrisM-gs6xu Yes, the cold temperature is a concern. My plan is to cover it on six sides with PIR insulation when the temperature drops. I’m hoping that the battery would thus be able to remain warm enough. My Solaredge battery would certainly warm up gently during high rates of charge and discharge, and I could plot its temperature during such regimes. It was probably 3-4 degrees above ambient temperature. It is annoying that it has to be the shed. I had a spot all planned out in the utility room for Pylontech before PAS63100 came out and ruined the concept. Essentially batteries aren’t allowed to be mounted in any escape routes. The utility room is an escape route.

[@ChrisM-gs6xu]

​@anthonydyer3939 you could always have a word with Sam at AESsolar. He was over yesterday replacing a failed MPPT. he was telling me he's working on using pads between the batteries to keep them warm in his installation, which is a lean to on the south side of his house.

[@Hansen710]

@@anthonydyer3939 are a heating element/wire not worth it.. (like the ones used for water pipes for example) if the battery is not able to work as good as on a summerday if its like a EV then we are talking under half the power on a winterday without any heating and just like considdering a heated garage might be worth it in a colder climate with a EV, the same should apply for a housebattery that is used often EV´s do also have preheating of battery and so on

[@M0j0]

A very interesting project. Look forward to it being realised. I have 24.6kwh of storage but yet to have my first full winter with our 11kw heatpump. My thinking was that with the 6hrs off peak I would recharge my batterys and run the heatpump from the grid, then at 5:30am onwards the battery's take over up until enough day light would at least subsidise the total energy use... In theory it should work until the next cycle at 11:30pm! Having said that... 30kwh would be most welcome indeed :)

[@anthonydyer3939]

I think your setup will be running off the batteries for all but the very coldest nights. During the first nights, my heatpump consumed about 2-2.5kW when my house was stone cold, and it dropped to -5 at night. All told about 20kWh consumption. My existing 10kWh battery went through two charge cycles that day, so it was well exercised.

[@southwestsellers5475]

We have a 6kW ASHP and 20kWhs of batteries. Had quite a few days in December and January where we had to top up the batteries during the peak rate. Highest consumption for one day was 42Kwhs.

[@TimHodgesofEdinburgh]

I've seen a drop in annual production for 2023 and 2024 is looking similar. I average 4.4MWh / year for 2019-202. But 2023 was 4.11MWh which I'm hoping is cloud rather than panel drop off. I'm blaming El-Nino.

[@anthonydyer3939]

@@TimHodgesofEdinburgh The way I look at panel performance is not to look at the average outputs, but to look at the peak output and compare with the peak output recorded on a previous year. When sustained over 15 minutes I’m seeing no discernible difference between the best output in each year. 2024 as a whole however I think will be 20% down from 2022 which is currently the best producing year. That’s just the weather.

[@TimHodgesofEdinburgh]

@@anthonydyer3939 Are you using the Solaredge Module Mismatch report ? I just ran it for my system for the last 30 days and it says I have a site average 2% Module Energy mismatch. I think that's ok. My worst performing module is -5% energy mismatch which it says is within tolerance .

[@russvhill2]

I'll be interested to see how you mount the panels if not with wood. A usual wooden panel fence is 6ft tall and kid's football resistant.

[@rbee3936]

I live near Bristol so we get clouds generated via the Bristol Channel, so I think I'm in the worst place in the UK for solar production. Cloud cover has been awful this year - totally disasterous. I'm more like 50% or more down from last year.

[@healeydave]

You should look at the Sunsynk inverters, better than Solis IMO, you can parallel the load output.

[@anthonydyer3939]

@@healeydave That is interesting. It sounds like they have sync relays to make this possible (I guess it’s all in the name). It’s sounds like it’s entirely possible to have a whole network of emergency bus inverters.

[@healeydave]

@@anthonydyer3939 what happened to the other comment about the battery recommendation?

[@rbee3936]

Did you know Sunsynk inverters have a UPS output as standard?

[@jasonrhl]

I wonder why your solaredge dashboard is different. I like this one to the version I have

[@anthonydyer3939]

You can select between old and new dashboard in the top right corner of the monitoring portal.

[@gregcope5565]

Is the cable size/ampacity from the shed not a possible limit on inverter/battery power delivery to the house?

[@anthonydyer3939]

The existing cable is Steel Wire Armour 6mm2. It's protected with a 23Amp breaker. It's buried underground so it's capacity is nominally 50 ish amps. The loop impedance in my existing certificate is somewhat contradictory however: Zs was recorded as 2 Ohms. However Ze was 0.3 ish Ohms, and R1+R2 was recorded as also being 0.3 ish Ohms. So something needs to be re-measured.

[@adus123]

I like the idea of a Solar fence but What is the likelihood of them getting broken by a stray ball or something like that.

[@Hansen710]

add some plexiglass, for security then .. but its still cheaper to break a solar panel then a window with a ball.. and we dont bubble wrap our windows i would probetly worry more about falling drones and hardball shots these days, when it comes to kids

[@anthonydyer3939]

@@Hansen710I certainly worry about kids footballs. But as you say it’s glass which I worry about. My Model 3 windscreen took 8 months to replace (still drivable, but just imagine the hire car costs if it wasn’t). and a failed window pane (condensation between panes) cost about £300 to replace. A solar panel costing £80 including delivery is small money, and the neighbours would probably pay for the damage anyway.

[@kevinmatthews2620]

why not look @ the fogstar rack style batteries 5.12 kwh(16 cells ,pylontech only 15 cells) each @ £1049, or there doing a deal currently 3 in a rack on wheels for £2500, and they solis inverter compatible too ,they are based in Redditch Worcestershire :)

[@anthonydyer3939]

I considered Fogstar. They are rated for an 80% Depth of Discharge vs Pylon which is 95%. That said: Their 30kWh rack bundles is on sale at £4999 :-) , but it's out of stock :-( But I do wander if they would be a better bet. They appear to be British, and I hope that means warranty claims are not routed through China. I think they have a long heritage particularly when it comes to boats and caravans. I'd really like to see some objective reviews about the Fogstars. All the solar youtubers I see are american, reviewing brands such as EG4 which I've not seen in this country.

[@MikesAllotment]

Would love to know where you are able to source 400W panels for £51+VAT in the UK? Do tell.....

[@anthonydyer3939]

@@MikesAllotment it’s gone up a little in price to £53.24 + vat, but it’s right here: www.itstechnologies.shop/collections/ja-solar/products/405w-ja-solar-mono-mbb-perc-half-cell-all-black-short-frame-mc4-solar-panel

[@MikesAllotment]

@@anthonydyer3939 Thanks 👍

[@jenniferpatton5108]

Disliked for having a FASCIST tesla TRAITOR

[@anthonydyer3939]

It can't be fascist. It's just a car. The AI hasn't developed enough to enslave us yet. If you're alluding alignment between the company and Mr Musk, please pick another car brand and explain to me why they aren't fascist, and no doubt someone else will point out why you're incorrect, and I'll just point out that that car brand you chose is simply crap. Just imagine if you bought yourself a Chinese brand (such as Volvo), and then China goes ahead and then invades Taiwan. There's political risk in every brand you choose. It's a car. It drives. It gets me from A to B. It's been OK to me so far. I personally just don't care about anything else, and most other people have the same sentiment towards their car.

[@jenniferpatton5108]

@@anthonydyer3939 Musk is unlike all other car companies since Ford, I'm sure you can make accusations that others are equivalent, but they are obviously not, as for China taking back Taiwan may be aggression but it isn't FASCISM and don't forget what WE DID TO China!

[@ttkddry]

Jennifer: if you want to be virtue signaling, then surely you are not using any Microsoft products anymore (there are plenty of Open Source equivalents available). Far worse than Tesla, Melinda Gates divorced Bill Gates's because he kept Jeffrey Epstein as a close friend, visited his private island many times...