Random Renewables Thread

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120224102#Comment_120224102

Well they've definitely got a heat pump, dunno if they've an EV or PHEV, must do some neighbourly eavesdropping 😂

I'd say if they've a battery and charge from night rate to top up any shortfall on solar they're going to be getting close to net zero consumption

Although, probably deemed export so pushing more to the grid doesn't make any sense 🤔

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120224490#Comment_120224490

I'll be using all my available roof space just to get 6kWp. If I want more solar then I need a bigger house 😭

the_amazing_raisin

Folks, how long does it normally take from installation date to SEAI grant being paid?

I know there's a lot of variables but assuming the installer gets their paperwork in pretty quickly, would it be a couple of weeks, or several months?

Same question for the NC6 and getting registered for FIT, is it fairly quick, and is the payment backdated to the date the NC6 is filed?

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120241826#Comment_120241826

A couple of months for me to get the grant paid out but allow up to 3 months, once the NC6 is submitted it should be from that date onwards so make sure when your installer say's they sent it in you contact ESBN, I think the email is on the FAQ sticky to confirm they received it.

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120224898#Comment_120224898

No chance for some vertically mounted panels? I've 2x of them on my shed wall and they work out pretty well. If you have a fence with the neighbor which is (roughly) south facing, they could be pretty workable.

They are on a hinge at the top so I can angle them out in summer.

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120242226#Comment_120242226

How has the winter production been by the way?

bullit_dodger

My self installed shed totaled 48.5kWh for Jan off 2.3Kwp. So 21kWh per 1Kwp. Compared to my other 5.3Kwp which generated 86.49kWh --> 16.31kWh per 1Kwp

I mean it's not a lot when you think about it, but it is January and we all know how useless the sun is this time of year. Also, the shed suffers a little from shading from the walls and the trees. That problem disappears mostly come March. I only have stats since last August, but the shed from Aug 6th -> Aug 30th did 221kWh for 24 days. I reckon it'll do close to 320kWh in May (Pvgis reckons 269kWh)

Pretty happy with it. Payback timeline of 4 years give or take.

unkel

@bullit_dodger - "Payback timeline of 4 years give or take."

Can't argue with that. You spend a minor amount of money, doing something you like doing and is good for all of us. Then rather than it costing you anything, it actually fully pays back for itself in a few years. And will keep on giving for a very long time after that, possibly giving more each year than the year before (as electricity peak rates keep going up)

Now that's a result 😁

The devils

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120242873#Comment_120242873

Brilliant 👏

ELM327

That's the thing. What other hobby do you have to justify with return on investment? I love old classic cars and 90's retrosh1te. I don't think I've ever made a profit on any of them and I bought and sold and traded a lot. I either broke even or made profit on EVs. I enjoy gaming but I'd never think of a console or accessory in terms of ROI.

I like renewables, I like being not reliant on the grid. Why would I analyse this in terms of ROI? My overall investment is large but I will recoup some by selling the dyness batteries and replacing with calb cells.

unkel

@ELM327 - "That's the thing. What other hobby do you have to justify with return on investment?"

In my case, all of them 😂

If you have growing up kids and would like a champagne lifestyle, but only have a beer income, something's gotta give! 😁

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120243125#Comment_120243125

Our house has a 17 year old and a 13 year old so I hear that don't get me wrong, and I'm far from a champagne salary dont get me wrong, but my point is if someone spends 1k on a holiday they don't expect return on investment but if I spend 500 quid on an inverter everyone is like when does it pay for itself!

unkel

Family holidays, college fees, braces and other medical bills, household bills, clothes and food are not hobbies, they are family essentials. They can't pay for themselves and they don't have to.

Classic or other non-essential cars, tinkering with stuff (i.e. renewables and other DIY), watches, going to the pub or the gym or the match with mates, smoking, drinking, golf, football, etc. are all hobbies. For most people they cost a lot of money even though they rarely admit it!

KCross

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120243176#Comment_120243176

I think the thing is it depends on your motivation for installing renewables... hobby, environmental, investment etc

If the whole thing is a hobby to you then ROI doesn't matter. I would suggest the majority dont see Solar as a hobby. They do it to save money on their leccy... so of course ROI has to come into it in that case, otherwise you might not be saving at all.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120242226#Comment_120242226

Probably not a winner in the short term, the back of my house faces almost due South, so my roof array will get plenty but not many other spaces to put solar on

There's a small shed at the back of the garden which might earn a few panels, but it's possible I'll be replacing it with a bigger cabin in the next few years so it's currently in the wait and see category

ELM327

As a random renewable thought, I had ESBn out today to replace my isolator switch, they had removed it when they removed my smart meter.

They fitted it (and my 12v based office UPS kicked in fine) but they put the ct clamp back on in the wrong way. I only realised 45 minutes after they left. I'm pissed at importing 3kW from the grid for 45 minutes, however I'm also pleased. The Solis has shown me that , as other more knowlegeable folks on here than myself had advised, it will use all generated surplus and send it to the batteries. Meaning that, even if it doesnt see how the export was generated, once there is a surplus, it is available to the Solis to use.

For anyone intending on installing a second or subsequent non hybrid inverter this is good news!

unkel

Exactly! Glad you got to experience it for yourself. As for your CT clamp in their outside ESB box - you're lucky they just didn't cut it off and discard it 😁

ELM327

I knew it from the theory of how everything works, but it was refreshing to see it in action in a somewhat simulated test bed environment.

Now I need to wait for some shares to vest and get on to the guy that I was going to use to fabricate a ground mount. 5.4kWp due south will be going in in front of my garage, taking me up to 13.6kWp.

slave1

There's a crew in the SW that setup ground mounts but not cheap, over €3k from what I've heard. Someone like me would never pay that and DIY but for others they are in an out in half a day with job done and booked out for weeks in advance

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120243495#Comment_120243495

No useable roof space at all? Did you consider building any cheap outbuildings / farm sheds? They have cheap steel roofs as standard and form the perfect basis for the cheapest and easiest of PV (DIY) installs. And provide useful space for other stuff. Even a simple open garage / haystack sort of building would do the trick

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120243604#Comment_120243604

I have an outhouse which is too small for any meaningful array and is slanted the wrong way. I have a large garage but the roof is shaded by trees. The additional south south east facing roof space (probably about 4kwp more) I have earmarked for a different array too. Ideally I'll do both this year, but realistically its one or the other. My reasoning for going for the ground mount first is I can position it exactly as I want, and have it aimed towards peak winter generation. The roof is SSE and will be shaded in low winter sunlight and therefore won't give me any usable increase.

I can mount panels and wire in batteries etc but I will not be able to fabricate a ground mount and I will not be up on my roof - those are two jobs I'll be paying someone to do!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120243577#Comment_120243577

Yeah, as above I'm happy to DIY battery packs, inverters, wiring etc but not going to go on the roof and I don't have the spatial awareness or interest to build a ground mount. For me that's worth paying for.

connesha

This is from Kellihers:

https://www.rexelenergysolutions.ie/product/gse-integration-ground-mount-system/

unkel

@ELM327 - "have it aimed towards peak winter generation."

Wow, we all know there is only one rational reason for doing that: off grid. I know you've been saying it

You can still possibly do this cheaply and easily (without ground mount). Have you any south facing fence / walls? Obviously have to be very sturdy like concrete. Mount the panels vertically and keep growth under them limited.

Personally I would first use up any existing roof areas first, particularly given you already have significant batteries. Then any existing walls. As a last resort ground mount as fabrication will be expensive. Dark horse, in Spain simple and cheap concrete angled prefab blocks you can bolt panels into are popular.

silver_sky

Got my 30 euro ESBN one4all. It's one of the stupid digital ones. The app is an absolute sh... disaster. You can convert them to a physical card for free by clicking "spend online" then going to one4all.ie and buying a 30 euro physical card with the discount code letsgetphysical. Free shipping then! :)

bullit_dodger

I hear you about the work required to do a ground mount mate. Still though, (not having done one)....I reckon it's probably a lot easier than you give it credit (and cheaper) Get yourself one of these

https://www.screwfix.ie/p/roughneck-fibreglass-post-hole-digger/35835?tc=CI6&gclid=Cj0KCQiAorKfBhC0ARIsAHDzsluupzcYaObxrgW0noWx3raiIqyhDu3OxF-65dFMcicpp5tT6zcewBoaAvV8EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Couple of bags of cement, sand. Pressure treated 2x4, which you wrap in groilla tape. Some brackets and your done. Being a ground mount, you don't have the safety issues and it's a lot easier to work than on a roof (even if it's flat)

Last summer with all the supply chain issues, I couldn't get any Renusol, K2 or any other panel mounts for my shed roof. 5-6 months lead time I was being quoted. It wasn't a money thing, but rather than give up on the thing I just made the brackets out of wooden 2x4 - taping over all the screws etc. .... I was a bit anal about weather proofing it. Varnishing the beams, coating all the cuts in clear polyvynal and then taping over them to avoid water ingress. Should last as long as the panels I reckon.

One of the lads on the forums posted a good installation made out of telephone poles last year. Those things are good for like 80 years. I reckon you'd get a ground mount done for 8 panels under €1000 if doing it yourself. Bit of work of course, but sure exercise is good for you - LOL

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120243682#Comment_120243682

Hard to disagree with you really on that one. You make sound points. But, the remaining south facing walls are all shaded. Same as the remaining roof space, I have the same problem as I do with my existing array. Grand in high sun but in winter it is shaded. I'll still get it done of course, but that will be done by someone, not me. This one I am aiming to do as much as possible myself. I have the wiring ready to install the inverter I bought from you (!) but am waiting to decide on where the panels will go - no point installing an inverter beside where the ground mount is if I'm not doing that approach.

I'm researching on youtube and elsewhere about easier ways to do a ground mounted install myself. It's not the panels that I have an issue with, it's securing the base. And that old chestnut, if I pay someone and it breaks down the line herself will give out about the installer, but if I install it myself she's going to give out to me instead :P

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120244038#Comment_120244038

Interesting, thanks.

silver_sky

@ELM327 this ground mount was on fully charged recently. Their shows lately are a bit rubbish but this is an interesting one. It's adjustable so you can change the angle depending on the time of year for better production. Seems like that might do the trick for someone looking for the max generation all year round. https://www.solar-frames.co.uk/

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120244038#Comment_120244038

Careful on ground mounts if exposed to wind, mine are not exposed to wind but I still went 1.5m into the ground with 45cm diagonal hole, lots of scrap bits welded onto mounts to create "grab" grip and all in gravel mix. I used 2mt of gravel and sand with about 1/4MT left over

unkel

Yeah I forgot about the telephone poles one. It's @Big Lar in here, he posted up some pics. Looked like a very sturdy and cheap way to do it to. Personally I would look into those concrete ones. Wood will rot or break, metal is expensive, concrete might be the way here. Everyone in Spain has them, they use them mainly on roofs though, but if you have lots of land, why not. Shade caused by growth of weeds etc. might be an issue though.

Mr Q

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120243495#Comment_120243495

If its beside the garage would you consider a roof on a carport or lean to type building. You could park under it to charge an EV or store a classic, otherwise you have lost the space its on.

Might have less shading too if that's an issue as it would be higher.