Talk Morgan Forums Community General Photo Gallery Solar PV at the N-M ranch

I know that one or two of the TM regulars are also micro generators, so I thought I would post our new installation up for anyone interested.
It's a 4KW system and it went live at the end of last week, but with so little bright weather over the last few days we have not generated very much electricity so far.
Cheers,
N-M

Very impressive, should produce enough to put some volts in the electric fence

Sorry NorthernMogman----IMHO this looks like desecration of a beautiful stone building

Couldnt the paneling have been laid out concealed in the back garden? Its probably me, in for example Germany, which I know quite well, there is the same problem i.e. combining modern technology with economic benefits, in a similar rural architectural setting. For me the application of this panelling in a sensitive way is a can of worms, and no doubt I will be shot down but, hey ho thats how I see it

Gald to see you got in before HM Gov pulled the rug on the FIT.
This week has been pants on my system. But I have made 1608 kWh in 148 days and the quoted output was 3054 kWh per annum.

I like the look by the way.

Ranch?
Looks more like a small mansion... Just jealous

With my smaller roof (it's a chalet bungalow) the reduced FIT make it not economically viable chez moi...

Cheers,

Graham,
yes it makes far less sense after 12/12. My neighbour is just getting his installed.
I can just imagine how all those people who have set up PV installation companies feel, thier market was just wiped out.

John

Well David, I have to say that in my heart I agree with you about spoiling a beautiful stone building, but I have to say to myself that it has not affected the main fabric of the building and the panels and associated systems can be easliy removed at some point in the future. It is over 300 years old and I take good care of it, so the next 25 years or so will be just a blink of an eye for this old building.

I have made every effort to lay the panels in such a way as to 'fit' with the proportion of the roof. (Many different panels and layouts were drawn up before I settled on this one).
This is the rear of the property and it is south facing and has no shading. It is therefore a prime candidate for a solar system. There is much more to this building than can be seen in this photo, so it's not taken over the roof completely.

I have done a lot of soul searching about doing this, but in the end I made the decision to do it for certain financial reasons.

My plan is to use the income generated from the PV system, to help finance the installation of a sustainable heating system and then help power it. I am looking to the future and predicting that if we to live here in our retirement, we will need to tackle the running costs. I also work from here, so I can use all the daytime energy I can generate.

When I weigh everything up, I think I can just about live with it. After a year or two it won't seem such an imposing thing.

I know where your comming from Graham. Once the installation is below a certain capacity the costs don't stack up, but keep an eye on the technology because they are developing new and more powerful panels all the time.
With my roof size and aspect I couldn't ignore the potential.....I just have to get used to it after many years of seeing it without......it's a bit like a new pair of white trainers !...not that I wear white trainers these days

I have 3kwp 3,5 Year ,

Despite sharing the reservations, I believe almost all people would have about putting solar panels on the roof of any residential building, let alone an old one, I agree with your logic entirely.

I believe we'll see a lot great uptake when the price of solar roof tiles (shingles) comes down. I have seen installation where the roof looks like a normal tiled roof but almost the entire expanse is small solar panels (in roof tile form). When paired with a slate roof, it looks great.

In terms of effective heat generation, ground source heat pumps are superb but you either need a large expanse of ground, to have a lot of pipe over a large area, or the desire/ability to drill a VERY deep hole, to bury a deep pipe straight down (circa 300 feet iirc).

I'm actually quite excited at the development of these technologies over the years to come - it is about time governments kicked themselves into gear and put time, effort and money in sustainable energy, available at affordable prices to the public.