Solar for Dummies.

Savetheplanet

If this was on the food forum and you told someone to eat something a day after it's use by date your post is acted on by a Mod. Here you can tell someone to mess with electricity and be possibly killed and that's fine? Maybe a Mod needs to step in here @Jonathan ? Advice is one thing but saying anyone can do what has been said above is asking for trouble. Some people might think they have skills beyond their capability.

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120048653#Comment_120048653

So let me get this the sequence correct here? I said reversing a CT clamp is simple (which it is for me). Unkel corrects me and I absolutely agree with him that it could (on reflection) be dangerous and I clarify my position - and now your talking about mods and what not?

Firm believer that everyone is of course entitled to an opinion, but that same grace that allows you to have an opinion also allows me to think that your perhaps being a bit argumentative. Move on.

unkel

All agreed there, @bullit_dodger! Currently (pun intended) have a CT clamp for my hybrid inverter in the ESB box as I thought I was getting interference using the one in my consumer unit. Still have the zappi one in the consumer unit though.

Savetheplanet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120048660#Comment_120048660

Opinion is one thing, someone just reading your post stating anyone can change a CT clamp without reading the following posts could end up badly. I notice the wagons have circled so enough said. I will "move" on.

micks_address

The CT clamp to my zappi is to the meter box.

olympicweights

I just registered with ESB Networks to see what info was available. I got the attached response when I logged in. Does this mean I'll get deemed FIT as opposed to actual export?

Also do I need to follow up my install with either ESB or my current provider to ensure I will receive FIT? Solar installed end of November, thanks.

Jonathan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120048653#Comment_120048653

I've edited @bullit_dodger's posts to provide additional clarifications. If you (or indeed any other posters) have any issues with posts on this forum, please report them using the Flag button rather than having it out on the thread and derailing it.

That said, I would sincerely hope that readers of this forum know their own skills and limitations and that they don't undertake Restricted/Controlled Electrical Works because some random person on the internet says it is easy to do.

Savetheplanet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120053488#Comment_120053488

I would normally flag a post but on advice from numerous Mods the flagging of posts since the changeover is not working as it should so is a waste of time. I was told to either PM or reference a Mod to get a post reviewed. Has the flag option been fixed?

Jonathan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120053538#Comment_120053538

Yes. It has been working for a while now.

Hellrazer

So my RECI is coming out tomorrow to fix my previous issues.

Had to go down the road of a new consumer unit, upgrade the tails, new earth spike and pipe bonding.

Did the earth spike myself and the bonding and ran the cables back to the new board myself (didnt connect anything- left them for the RECI)

Hes fitting the board and certifying everything and fingers crossed my panels will be up and running by next week.

micks_address

First electric bill after solar install 11th November.. tariff change 14th Nov to ei home electric plus nightboost.. was on standard tarrif before 39 cents per kwh with 26% discount (which was pretty good)

Looks like saved about 170 euro approx moving to night rate and shifting consumption to night time versus old tariff. Some accidental day rate ev charging in there as well. Still used approx 24 percent units on day rate which should aim to improve. Showers, Kettle, cooking probably account for a lot of that.. along with evenings where battery ran out before 11pm. Have changed to use washing machine and dishwasher on timers between 2am and 4am.. along with car charging and charging battery storage (9.5kwh)

Bill still @ 99 euro with gov 200 euro credit, ei 50 euro credit.. . 17kwh microgen credit at 21 cents.. (i thought ei was lower?) Not much but this should improve a lot later in the year.

So yeah nice to see the impact on the bill for sure during probably the worst solar months of the year?

Cheers,

Mick

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067865#Comment_120067865

EI FIT was lower but they raised it recently to 21c. If you try using the shower on just 1 element it cuts the power usage by nearly half but some like a very hot shower! I have mine on 1 element most of the time unless it's cold in the house. On 1 element my 2 Puredrive batteries cover the shower and base load.

unkel

@micks_address - moving to night rate shifting saves a lot of money now that the difference between day and night rate unit cost is so high (compared to a year ago)

From spring on you will also see a huge impact from your solar PV production. Personally I expect to barely use any electricity units bought from the grid from April onwards or so until maybe the end of August, and that includes fully charging my EV (from the sun) and heating my hot water (from the sun). Maybe I'm optimistic, but we will see

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067922#Comment_120067922

yeah its always on one element from about march to november.. will try sneak it back down and see what the response is :)

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068013#Comment_120068013

I love a hot shower, and during the cold snap I've had the shower on 3 segments (max) and 10/10 heat (max). I just shower at night rate either before 8AM or after 11pm!

Long (ish) term my plan is to replace both electric showers with pumped showers. We always have hot water in the tank so it's a waste heating more.

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068089#Comment_120068089

I grew up on good gravity showers, (eg on good sized pipes straight from the HW tank), its been a while since ive used an electric one, are they still as bad as they were?

Now, the two showers in the house are run from the same boost pump. Means we can have whatever shower in the bathroom, but have plenty of pressure.

DHW is still a vented system. I never no HW now, In winter, the stove is on. In summer the solar tubes + immersion cover it.

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068011#Comment_120068011

helps you have a large home battery and invertor with high throughput :)

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068180#Comment_120068180

Bad in what sense? I don't find an issue with pressure or temperature. My only issue is the 7-10kW draw!

slave1

Upstairs electric showers with little head pressure (due to cold water tank location) are still brutal, we have one through necessity and I never use it

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068180#Comment_120068180

Electric showers are perfect and have been for years once you get a decent brand and don’t got for the entry level model I guess. No issue for us with pressure (in city) or temp. Big advantage of the electric showers are they use less juice & water. ‘Just in time’ heating of water so no losses (V cooling water in a HWT). More importantly they use way less litres per minutes than pumped shower afaik. I read it’s something like 6 liters electric V up to 20 on pumped shower. So you’ve to heat & use more water of course if on HWT. Can sort that with a restrictor of course. I actually bought some and am going to put it in and see if anyone notices even.

Disadvantage of electric, of course, is the batteries / PV fully can’t feed them. Ours draws 9kW in winter (but that drops in summer to maybe 6-7kW when incoming water is warmer). Which could be hitting peak TOU for those on smart meters (depending on when people shower). No way the rest of our family would shower on the D/N time, might once in a blue moon by chance.

Lower ‘eco’ setting (which is perfect for 2 of 4 of us in the house for half the year) drops as low as 4kW in summer. Can’t use that setting from around end Sept to end March. 

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068345#Comment_120068345

You like your showers, you've invested a huge sum in your new home for renewables and you haven't got a pumped shower yet? 😀

A very decent all metal pump costs €500, fitting maybe same or less. Go for it, you won't know yourself. It's like comparing driving a 10 year old 1l Micra or a brand new Mercedes EQS

yankinlk

Have to agree. Coming to Ireland from the USA - the showers were one of the biggest shocks to the system :P

My entire family used the power hungry piddly electric shower - i could NEVER get them to reduce shower time (they needed longer showers since the flow was so shite).

I upgraded the main bathroom to a pumped shower and now there is a queue for it. I get that an electric shower heats on demand so in theory it SHOULD be cheaper...but I do find that its electric showers where you start to see 1 hour showers from the teenagers. :(

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068474#Comment_120068474

They do use less energy. But will cost more for long showers with current electricity prices. Changing to a pumped shower is on my list (and kids still young so not taking long showers), but it's lower down. Other stuff to sort first.

yankinlk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068487#Comment_120068487

When they hit 11/12 until you get them to MOVE out is your time window. plan accordingly. :)

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068530#Comment_120068530

And these days that's a loooooooooong time window. I've a wife and 3 teenage / adult daughters 😁

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068414#Comment_120068414

Good few setups here will fully feed electric showers, this is where separate AC coupled batteries are good as they are on top of solar inverter production, I'll be able to cover the electric shower from April through Sept (assuming even half decent sunshine)

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068439#Comment_120068439

Oh trust me it's on the plans for this year. Big impact for small outlay, just the kind I like!

graememk

@DC999

That's why I asked the question, what I had used ..oh f, 15ish yrs ago.. in student accomodation.. it wasn't great.. it got me clean but now I like standing under a waterfall. Screw restrictors 😂.

All fair points re water use too etc

And I don't have to worry about heating the water either, generally it's always hot.

Before I automated the immersion I did have to be wary of how much hw there was in the evening in the summer on a dull day as the solar tubes might not have heated it enough. (No point showering in the morning when working outside!)

micks_address

we only have one shower in the house and its electric.. the flow isnt great but have been advised a few times not to go on just a pumped shower as could end up with no hot water etc and no shower.. its a triton ts90 or something.. any time i look at showers triton seems to be the most recommended.. is there such a thing as a pumped electric shower?

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120069037#Comment_120069037

Effectively the Triton -is- a pumped electric shower as in it boosts the pressure by about 0.5-1 bar, but your looking for something more I figure?

I still need to get a pump installed for mine. I have the seperate mixer value in the shower for the immersion HW, but never got around last summer in installing a 1.5bar pump to take advantage of that hot water heated by the Eddi. Too busy installing panels on the shed - LOL

Maybe this year.