Random Renewables Thread

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120115178#Comment_120115178

I was wondering how people were doing on a day like today. Plenty of sunshine but it's low angled, and short days

How much are you getting now compared to summer?

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120115439#Comment_120115439

I would say the portable induction hob would actually work well. Do you often need more than 2 rings? If not then a double hob, or two singles might work well

You can always push them right back on the worktop so little hands can't get too close. The cookers themselves don't get very hot, unlike electric. But the pots obviously do get hot

Might also be worth seeing what cooking you can shift to the oven, it is generally safer when closed since I think they all have double glazing at the front and stay relatively cool

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120115178#Comment_120115178

As soon as the snow cleared it peaked at 6.7kw, and then it snowed again.

Sun is out again, power slowly rising again... Scratch that. Snowing again lol.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120115584#Comment_120115584

Not unkel, but starting to see a small increase in generation.

Not a touch on the summer days (ie 6kw at 10-11am)

Usually it's March before things really kick into gear.

unkel

@the_amazing_raisin - "How much are you getting now compared to summer?"

Peaked at about 3kW today. In summer that would have been 10-11kW. Making about 8-9kWh today tops. Best day in summer would be more like 80kWh

Maybe I am being a bit optimistic, but I hope to be pretty much off grid from some time in April until end of August. And that includes everything, home electricity use, home heating, water heating, cooking and 2-3 EVs

ELM327

Peak of 2.7kW today compared to 7+ in the summer

the_amazing_raisin

So about 30-40% of summer production seems around what people are getting. That's pretty good when you can get a few kilowatts out of the system

As @unkel said you can still do a lot within that. You should be meeting your base load and stopping the batteries from draining at least, with some leftover to do some laundry or cooking or heating the water

Despite the cold weather today it looks like the heat pump hasn't kicked in since the morning, so the solar gain from the windows is keeping the house warm enough for now

paulbok

10.4kWh off a 6.9kW south facing array today, almost a perfect curve until 1pm then it's been up and down. A perfect day would give me 14kwh today (got 13.9 on Jan 2nd), max I've got in the summer was a fraction over 40kWh in a day. Jan production is almost covering a quarter of consumption so can't but be happy with that this time of year.

Nice and cold for the panels today compared to baking in the summer sunshine so that helps balance the seasonal differential.

Definitely seeing a stretch in the evenings, but it's very weather dependant at the moment, yesterday was only 3.1kWh.

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120115805#Comment_120115805

I think that's achievable. Sure you might be forced to grab a few kwhr here and there, but I'd guess that you will be 95% offgrid

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120116006#Comment_120116006

More like 10-20%. The max production rate might be 30-40% of the max rate in summer, but of course the days are short, so you have to factor that in. My max in summer is ~35Kwhr/day, and today (a nice blue skies day in Dublin) I did 4.3Kwhr. So approx 12.2% of my max.

Still that and add the shed's 2.3Kwhr gives a nice 6Kwhr or so. I'll take that as a "bonus" for winter.

DrPhilG

Long spells of cloud and snow today, south peaked at 1.4kW and west at about 400w.

1.8kWh total.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120116413#Comment_120116413

Winter: 95% night rate, 5% day rate

Summer: 95% PV, 5% day rate

I like, especially since my night rate is fixed at 7.9c / kWh until the end of summer 2023 😁

silver_sky

Changeover switch came into use with the power cuts in North Co. Dublin. Good to know it all worked but I need to get a stove top kettle as the electric one would be too much for the backup port... or maybe a little electric travel one? 🤔

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117169#Comment_120117169

Microwave is your man here Silver. Most are like 800-1200 watts, which should be fine and you can heat water with that.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117169#Comment_120117169

Big Thermos flask maybe? Cut down the number of times you need to boil the kettle

I heard from a story from an office in Ukraine that when the air raid sirens go off now the first thing they do is boil the kettles so they've got got water in case the power goes

silver_sky

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117182#Comment_120117182

Yeah that'd work actually 900W here I think.

Mrs managed to make some dinner using one ring on the electric hob.

It's a ceramic one, not induction. It seemed to use about 1800W.

The devils

That's brilliant 👏 hager brand wasn't it ? Would be interested in getting one fitted

silver_sky

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117525#Comment_120117525

Yep. It's a hager one. I have to push down to inverter only and flip the separate switch on the board for the inverter also. This was to avoid it feeding itself through the consumer unit. May just be my own setup but this is what the installer instructed.

The devils

Would you recommend installer ? If possible send details?

Cheers

silver_sky

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117636#Comment_120117636

Mine was done as part of my install/upgrade. I'd suggest to contact whoever did your install to see if it's possible.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117169#Comment_120117169

I have a Kelly kettle I use when fishing that is handy as a last resort. A little bit more expensive these days compared to 30 years ago though! If the weather is forecast stormy I normally boil up a kettle and fill a 3 litre thermos and that does the tea and coffee for the day so it's not wasted if the power doesn't go.

7 power cuts last year and similar amount in the previous years. I have used the kettle - toaster - portable induction hob though in power cuts but staggered the usage on the 10kwh Puredrive batteries no problem.

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117169#Comment_120117169

I have a 900w kettle and a stove top kettle, coffee pot and espresso maker! For that exact purpose, staying beneath 2.5-3kW when the power is out.

silver_sky

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118947#Comment_120118947

It's on my list now. I spotted a few 900W kettles about and will pick one up. Handy to have as a backup.

jkforde

https://vektra.uk/

next kettle will be one of these or similar

unkel

It will take 10 minutes to boil 🤣

You need a better inverter, not a smaller kettle.

DC999

Jaws, need a bigger boat.png

Bigger?? :)

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120119242#Comment_120119242

It doesnt. Mine takes 2X the normal time.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120119431#Comment_120119431

A 900W kettle takes only twice as long as a 3000W kettle? Only if you fill it with way less water ;-)

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120119238#Comment_120119238

I was thinking of getting a portable induction hob and a stovetop kettle and maybe an insulated flask

The idea being that I can chuck the kettle into the dishwasher at the end of the day to be cleaned and stop limescale forming

So I'd make up a big flask of hot water a couple of times a day and use that for the tea

I'd also have the induction hob for cooking

Supposedly induction is more efficient than electric cookers so it might save some energy as well

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120119461#Comment_120119461

Stop filling the kettle for one cup of tea 😜

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118947#Comment_120118947

Good idea to keep the load lower. I tackle it a slightly different way when I turn on devices that need a lot of power but only need juice for a few mins. I tell Alexa to turn off some stuff heavy devices like washing machine, dishwasher, electric rads when I turn on that other device (like a kettle or electric shower). So my household load drops for those few mins.

Those other plugs stay off for a few mins, then auto come back one. They are set in a group in Alexa so one voice command does it. You setup the routine in Alexa and that routine can see the smart plug groups you’ve already setup in Alexa. Handy for those not using automation like Home Assistant. Am sure Google speaker can do the same. But with Alexa there can be a delay or sometimes I have to say it twice. So in the routine, I’ve the action to run once, then run again 1 minute later - as sometimes it misses the 1st action. I reckon that’s because it goes via the cloud so sometimes the command to turn devices off or on doesn’t get to them 1st time (as in a dropped packet on the network that never hits the smart plug). Where home assist would be all on the home network, so less likely for that to happen.

In time, when I get Home Assistant setup, I’ll likely have a smart-button beside the kettle and electric shower. Then wife and kids just need to press the button to do the same thing. And Alexa voice command won’t be needed.