Developer and Solar Feed in Tariff Question
Discussion
herewego said:
Is the power generated actually metered, I had a feeling it was just assumed based on the panel design output?
Not directly. It goes through the meter back into the grid, so, on a sunny day your meter will go backwards. An ex-colleague of mine had panels installed, since then his meter goes backwards all the time because he uses little electricity.KevinCamaroSS said:
herewego said:
Is the power generated actually metered, I had a feeling it was just assumed based on the panel design output?
Not directly. It goes through the meter back into the grid, so, on a sunny day your meter will go backwards. An ex-colleague of mine had panels installed, since then his meter goes backwards all the time because he uses little electricity.Cable from the inverter comes down the trunking, through the meter which provides the FIT reading, through the isolator and thence into the consumer box.
Our panels produce 3,600 KWh The max is 4,000. In the North east of England and produces a FIT of roughly £650 per annum plus my guess of a £200 per annum saving.
So not the squillions that the installers suggested and I didn't believe anyway.
So if you think it will last 20 years divide 20 into the system purchase cost and deduct that from the possible total income. The remainder is your annual profit Work out the percentage. It doesn't matter how much of it you use as until there is a Smart meter reading your incoming from the grid they can't tell and don't bother. I expect that the inverter will die within the 20 years so we will never make a profit
I discovered after the cable had been run and the flooring all replaced that you can buy a box that is wired in after the Solar meter that checks if you are producing electricity and diverts it to something useful like an immersion tank heater to heat up water for free. We don't have a combination boiler so have a hot water tank.
Our panels produce 3,600 KWh The max is 4,000. In the North east of England and produces a FIT of roughly £650 per annum plus my guess of a £200 per annum saving.
So not the squillions that the installers suggested and I didn't believe anyway.
So if you think it will last 20 years divide 20 into the system purchase cost and deduct that from the possible total income. The remainder is your annual profit Work out the percentage. It doesn't matter how much of it you use as until there is a Smart meter reading your incoming from the grid they can't tell and don't bother. I expect that the inverter will die within the 20 years so we will never make a profit
I discovered after the cable had been run and the flooring all replaced that you can buy a box that is wired in after the Solar meter that checks if you are producing electricity and diverts it to something useful like an immersion tank heater to heat up water for free. We don't have a combination boiler so have a hot water tank.
herewego said:
Is the power generated actually metered, I had a feeling it was just assumed based on the panel design output?
They pay you for what you have generated PLUS for what you may or may not feed back into the grid and maybe have not used. The second bit is the much smaller figure and payment rate and so is usually guesstimated rather than measured. I think I get £17 a quarter assumed for a 3.5kw system. Just as well as any surplus is actually dumped into a 2.5kw storage heater...
MJG280 said:
Cable from the inverter comes down the trunking, through the meter which provides the FIT reading, through the isolator and thence into the consumer box.
Our panels produce 3,600 KWh The max is 4,000. In the North east of England and produces a FIT of roughly £650 per annum plus my guess of a £200 per annum saving.
So not the squillions that the installers suggested and I didn't believe anyway.
So if you think it will last 20 years divide 20 into the system purchase cost and deduct that from the possible total income. The remainder is your annual profit Work out the percentage. It doesn't matter how much of it you use as until there is a Smart meter reading your incoming from the grid they can't tell and don't bother. I expect that the inverter will die within the 20 years so we will never make a profit
I discovered after the cable had been run and the flooring all replaced that you can buy a box that is wired in after the Solar meter that checks if you are producing electricity and diverts it to something useful like an immersion tank heater to heat up water for free. We don't have a combination boiler so have a hot water tank.
We were also offered the "diverts the leccy to an immersion" - I wasn't going to pay £400, for it, but I did get a timeswitch for the immersion so that it comes on between 11:30 and 13:30 when we are pretty much guaranteed to be producing power. The economics are slightly better in the sunnier south - we seems to be getting £900 in FIT payments, so will break even in about 9 years. Our panels produce 3,600 KWh The max is 4,000. In the North east of England and produces a FIT of roughly £650 per annum plus my guess of a £200 per annum saving.
So not the squillions that the installers suggested and I didn't believe anyway.
So if you think it will last 20 years divide 20 into the system purchase cost and deduct that from the possible total income. The remainder is your annual profit Work out the percentage. It doesn't matter how much of it you use as until there is a Smart meter reading your incoming from the grid they can't tell and don't bother. I expect that the inverter will die within the 20 years so we will never make a profit
I discovered after the cable had been run and the flooring all replaced that you can buy a box that is wired in after the Solar meter that checks if you are producing electricity and diverts it to something useful like an immersion tank heater to heat up water for free. We don't have a combination boiler so have a hot water tank.
rxe said:
We were also offered the "diverts the leccy to an immersion" - I wasn't going to pay £400, for it, but I did get a timeswitch for the immersion so that it comes on between 11:30 and 13:30 when we are pretty much guaranteed to be producing power. The economics are slightly better in the sunnier south - we seems to be getting £900 in FIT payments, so will break even in about 9 years.
I think I paid about £180 for my Solar iBoost diverter box. I may break even by 2025... Its all a bit pants really but feels good!KevinCamaroSS said:
Not directly. It goes through the meter back into the grid, so, on a sunny day your meter will go backwards. An ex-colleague of mine had panels installed, since then his meter goes backwards all the time because he uses little electricity.
NO IT DOESN'T! Just that if there's enough sunshine, you use that electricity BEFORE it takes power from the grid, it does not send the meter backwards. So if it's making 2.5kw, and you use something that takes 4kw, you'll pay for 1.5kw.(But the 2.5kw will count on the solar meter so you'll get FiT for the full 2.5kw even though you've actually used it. )There is a separate meter that measures the amount of electricity that the solar panels produce whether you actually use it or not, the readings from this is what you get the FiT paid on, you supply the readings every 3 months.
I've just been paid my FiT for the last 3 months, £106.67p Unfortunately my roof is east / west, not south facing which is the best. During the summer months I got £286 / 3 months.
Edited by Gafferjim on Saturday 26th November 17:29
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