Author Topic: Deposit sent: 12x215Wp more panels on their way... (Read 6806 times)

DamonHD · « **on:** January 20, 2009, 10:34:34 PM »

I've made my down-payment (deposit) and I'm itching for my grid-tie extension to be installed.

Should only take one-and-a-bit days as there is no extra electrical work to be done other than tap into the existing down-feed in the loft, so it's more a physical task than anything else, getting the mounting done.

It's this (well, and my new son!) that I've been focussing on through the last rather grim months. I'm positively looking forward to having my meter spin backwards at ~3kWp and being able to run the most thirsty appliance in the house (the dishwasher) without the meter more than creeping forward (only near noon, on a cloudless summer day of course)!

Rgds

Damon

tecker · « **Reply #1 on:** January 21, 2009, 05:41:25 AM »

That's an 8000 pounder or there abouts and some interest . The real beauty of this way of moving forward with an investment is that it's also an investment in your property as well . It's not a secret to most that those forward thinker will have to drag the utilities forward on their investments .When they finally see the exchange as an hedge against uncertainty there will be a race to compete for your dollar . Also in the mix are property developers .The warranty with these panels is long enough to give incentives to remodels and new homes .

I hope all goes well with the install.

PaulJ · « **Reply #2 on:** January 21, 2009, 06:52:31 AM »

"being able to run the most thirsty appliance in the house (the dishwasher)"

Is your dishwasher hooked up to your hot water? Heating water is typically the major part of a dishwasher's power consumption.

We live off-grid, run the dishwasher maybe 6 times a week. In winter, I've tried running it off the solar hot water with the gas booster switched off (as an experiment). It used about 1.2kWh per wash cycle, against about 0.3kWh with a proper hot water supply. Bear in mind that the unboosted solar in winter is still significantly warmer than cold where we live - say, 20 to 30C.

It's important to have the dishwasher close to the hot water supply to get the most benefit from this.

Of course, if you have an electric hot water system this won't make any difference to your electricity use - might even make it worse if the pipe run is too long. If you get an off-peak tariff for your hot water you might save some money.

Living on the grid and spinning the meter backwards...ahhh, luxury! Well done! The grid is getting closer to us, by the time our battery bank needs replacing it could be our best option.

Paul.

DamonHD · « **Reply #3 on:** January 21, 2009, 10:37:52 AM »

Our dishwasher is cold-fill only and in any case a long way as the pipes run from our (gas) boiler. In fact, dual-fill dishwashers (and washing machines) are getting to be more scarce than hen's teeth these days.

Yes, the previously 'normal' dishwasher cycle for us is about 1.2--1.3kWh, but the economy setting that we usually use now is under 0.9kW, primarily as you correctly suggest from less water heating.

Rgds

Damon

DamonHD · « **Reply #4 on:** January 21, 2009, 10:40:05 AM »

Especially given the general drop in house prices, but also our location and the fact that the house is not very pretty(!), I'm by no means banking on getting any financial return at point of sale.

We expect to be there for a few years anyhow.

Rgds

Damon

Ungrounded Lightning Rod · « **Reply #5 on:** January 21, 2009, 02:11:40 PM »

Once you get your panels hooked up, switch it back to the normal (or "sanitize" if you have it) setting.

Consider doing that even before. The cost in power bill is trivial compared to the cost of a hospital trip for food poisoning or a food-borne illness.

DamonHD · « **Reply #6 on:** January 21, 2009, 03:23:10 PM »

Most of the power is saved by avoiding the final 'thermal dry' on the usual programme.

We run the machine on max once in a while (as we do with our washing machine) to clean out any build up of grot, and the wash is thorough either way. Note that the dishwasher still reaches the same peak temperature as it ever did. And it still washes better and hotter than I can by hand either way.

So I'd rather not pump an extra 100g+ of CO2 into the atmosphere for nothing.

Rgds

Damon

tecker · « **Reply #7 on:** January 21, 2009, 04:43:58 PM »

You may consider hacking thew dish washer Run the motor in series with the heating element and abandon the dry cycle all together the motor runs fin at 90 volts .

DamonHD · « **Reply #8 on:** January 22, 2009, 12:25:06 AM »

What I'd like to do when this one finally dies (we've already had one repair, possibly two) is replace it with a model that supports 'dynamic demand' (the subject of the talk I'm giving next week to the CIBSE!) and has the highest available energy-efficiency rating. No such product exists yet.

(I'm not keen on tinkering with equipment where mains electricity @240V and water meet.)

Rgds

Damon

Capt Slog · « **Reply #9 on:** January 23, 2009, 05:53:32 AM »

The "thermal dry" setting is a bone of contention in the Slog household. Mrs Slog insists on using it when nearly the same effect can be achieved by waiting untill the end of the wash and opening the door whilst everything is still hot, air then does the rest. I've asked on several occasions whether she intends "to dry dishes washed the old fashioned way with a hair dryer?" a question that usually results in an evening that continues in 'vision only'!

I'd never considered the chance of food poisoning from the dishwasher, I thought that the detergents used would see off most bugs.

As Damon says, most appliances are now cold fill only. I've wondered what differeance it would make to the appliance if it was connected to the hot fill instead? My domestic hot water all comes from a multipoint boiler, it's heated on demand and I think is fairly cheap. I realise that I would be rinsing stuff with hot water, but would that matter when it's only pots?

.

DamonHD · « **Reply #10 on:** January 23, 2009, 01:01:34 PM »

This issue always was for an efficient (dish)washing machine that it takes so little water that if the pipe run from the boiler/tank isn't very short then none of the water actually taken in on the hot feed is "hot" and thus needs to get heated electrically in the machine anyway... And you've just wasted the energy to heat a pipe-ful of water from the boiler/tank.

Rgds

Damon

PaulJ · « **Reply #11 on:** January 24, 2009, 12:11:22 AM »

Maybe plumbing in a small coil of copper pipe that sits on top of (or close to) the dishwasher would save some power - the water in the pipe would heat up from "cold" to whatever the internal ambient temperature is, reducing the electric heating requirements of the dishwasher.

Of course, it wouldn't get you anywhere if the house was heated electrically.

Paul.

DamonHD · « **Reply #12 on:** January 24, 2009, 01:52:38 AM »

I don't believe I could steal significant heat from the house that way even if I wanted to as the water flows only briefly and quickly, and also the machine is against a coldish outside wall.

But a dual-fill machine using solar pre-heated water could indeed be a GoodThing(TM) to follow that line of thought a little.

Rgds

Damon

tecker · « **Reply #13 on:** January 24, 2009, 05:39:43 AM »

Ok 240 /50 My bad what brand is the dishwasher . The Mech is really simple just a pump and valves .I can understand you reservations about messing around with it and I assume it's built in but I'll pull the diagram and take a look just for grinns.

DamonHD · « **Reply #14 on:** January 24, 2009, 05:59:48 AM »

Hi,

No "bad" at all!

The machine is a Zanussi DW24 (slimline/45cm).

Rgds

Damon

DamonHD · « **Reply #15 on:** February 02, 2009, 04:14:18 AM »

Now delayed a day due to heavy snow... Bv<

DamonHD · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2009, 10:46:47 AM »

Finally, after various delays, the panels are up, and I shall admire them (in the dark) when I get home.

I see no particular reason why they should not all be wired and working tomorrow... B^>

Not quite "Energy Independence in the UK" but maybe a decent step!

Rgds

Damon

Airstream · « **Reply #17 on:** February 09, 2009, 11:30:20 AM »

I see they have scheduled a Gobsmack lightning strike for your block this summer... Are you doing anything proactively for lightning protection?

TomW · « **Reply #18 on:** February 09, 2009, 11:30:49 AM »

HD;

It may not be "independence" but its damn sure steps in the right direction! The difference between just another part of the problem and part of the solution is important and the real point.

Great stuff.

Tom

DamonHD · « **Reply #19 on:** February 10, 2009, 07:45:01 AM »

We're a lot lower than some of the sounding trees, and I'm pro-actively thinking 'Ommmmm' if a thunderstorm goes over. Does that count? B^>

Rgds

Damon

DamonHD · « **Reply #20 on:** February 10, 2009, 07:49:46 AM »

The new PV system extension just went live and the sun has graced us with its presence, so now we're putting out ~540W, with 460W+ from the existing single set on the west side, and the rest (from diffuse light) from the two new sets on the east side. So there is ~10x more energy in the direct sunlight.

We even have some sunshine forecast for the next few days.

A small but pleasant problem over the next few days will be to work out how to handle the extra data that my Sunny Beam is collecting from the extra inverters.

Rgds

Damon

DamonHD · « **Reply #21 on:** February 11, 2009, 12:53:04 PM »

3.55kWh generated today on only a moderate day: I'm very pleased!

Rgds

Damon

DamonHD · « **Reply #22 on:** February 12, 2009, 03:25:05 PM »

And another 3.58kWh today.

Here's some pics:

http://gallery.hd.org/_virtual/ByCategory/mechanoids/solar/pv/grid/tie/roof/mounted/power/system/exp
ansion/

Haven't yet been home in daylight to take a pic with the scaffolding gone...

Rgds

Damon

DamonHD · « **Reply #23 on:** February 20, 2009, 01:44:22 PM »

OK, OK, so the family was away and I was out at my client's site all day, but nonetheless the meter has gone backwards from 24hrs ago.

Don't worry, I won't be posting daily readings, but it's nice to have that result, in February, less than 2 weeks after having the stuff put in!

Rgds

Damon

TomW · « **Reply #24 on:** February 20, 2009, 02:44:58 PM »

HD;

Don't worry, I won't be posting daily readings, but it's nice to have that result, in February, less than 2 weeks after having the stuff put in!

Hey, post away. We like hearing about doing, as you know.

Tom

ghurd · « **Reply #25 on:** February 20, 2009, 03:33:56 PM »

Hey TomW,

Do you figure UK households use more power in winter than summer?

And the output will be higher in summer?

Meaning the system works?

There are many links and pdf's that PROVE that can NOT be correct. Correct?

It is right there in black and white. Or blue and orange, with flashing, retina burning colors and frequencies.

"I Reject Your Reality And Substitute My Own"- Adam Savage.

Great work Damon.

It is a good thing you never saw the links?

A meter turning backwards the first time (or 10) is always worth a post.

Congrats!

G-

DamonHD · « **Reply #26 on:** February 20, 2009, 03:54:48 PM »

Tom, G, psst, don't tell anyone, but in the winter I'm charging my OU HHO inverse battery with cold and negative energy, which I let out in the summer to cool the planet. Neato. E=mccxliv. B^>

Rgds

Damon "OU" HD

ghurd · « **Reply #27 on:** February 20, 2009, 04:43:21 PM »

DOUHD,

Your secret is safe.

Only 12.5K registered users here.

No one will notice.

Funny you should mention it, but today I won ($1 on ebay) a charger/inverter designed for the OU HHO inverse battery with cold and negative energy.

The circuit I designed with a cold inductor and negative capacitor will... no need to go on, you know what I am talking about.

wink wink nudge nudge

DamonHD · « **Reply #28 on:** March 01, 2009, 11:15:24 AM »

...from the grid-tie PV system since installation about 1 year ago. I'll presumably therefore have generated/offset a few 10s of kWh from the off-grid system too in the same period.

What I noticed is that our main supply meter was replaced 2008/02/11 and has only advanced about the same, ie 1000 units, so we have indeed been covering about half our own electricity consumption since then. So I can reasonably hope that we really will generate a comfortable excess this year and have kinda hit 'peak electricity' in this house!

(Well, until I switch from gas to electric heat-pump, then watch our bills roar away...)

Rgds

Damon

oztules · « **Reply #29 on:** March 01, 2009, 02:40:57 PM »

Congratulations Damon, your now the megawatt man...

Good work, and good on you.

..........oztules

DamonHD · « **Reply #30 on:** March 01, 2009, 11:59:57 PM »

Thank you! B^>

Next stop: halving our winter space heating demand, then our hot water energy demand! B^>

Rgds

Damon

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Author Topic: Deposit sent: 12x215Wp more panels on their way... (Read 6806 times)