Random Renewables Thread

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123547709#Comment_123547709

Figures are good, but you'll have to knock off a small percentage of the shift. It takes maybe 5 to 10% more to put a Kwh into a battery especially at the final kwh of capacity, and you lose maybe 5% in heat drawing it down and inverting it to AC.

So say, using 5% loss, for 10Kwh, you buy 10.5 kwh at 13c each, and this replaces 9.5kwh at 26c, you save €1.05 per 10kwh cycle, and for 2000 kwh or units annually (I presume you mean kwh, not w) , you'll save 200 times this, €210. Is €210 per year enough to cover the write off of your battery system over a ten year lifetime, and the probability of failure? Maybe. Maybe it will still work for another 4 or 5 years with reduced capacity and increased inefficiency. If you've paid 5 grand for the battery, you'd need it to work for 25 years. If you've paid 2 grand, you break even after ten years. It's probably a better prospect if you're using it to time shift free solar to use at peak.

Can I ask is that a smart rate or a night/day rate, and if it's a one year offer? The gas man at Flogas has written to me saying my 12 month switch flat rate of 23.44c expires in August, and they'll shift me to a rate that they estimate will add €572 to my bill, based on 4200kwh/annum, which I've calculated will be an extra 13.62c/kwh, and new flat 24h rate of 37.06c.

26c/13c seems very attractive.

con747

@graememk looks like this thread has gone like solar for beginners went a while ago so a few posts should get it to kick into the next page.

con747

bump

con747

Sorted.

funnyname

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123547845#Comment_123547845

Yeah we have a smart meter, currently with Energia on a 1yr contract which is up soon so will be using energypal.ie to help find a better contract.

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123548495#Comment_123548495

Thanks. You list two rates, not the usual smart meter three which generally has a punitive peak time in the afternoon/evening, which by my calculations over the years usually negates virtually all the savings if you cook with electricity. Do you have three rates or is that a version of day night rates they're offering. It'll probably leap up after the year anyway, I'm on the lookout too, but am on the verge of installing solar, plenty of FIT, and no battery, so a reasonable 24hr flat rate would be my ideal.

funnyname

yeah it's a day night rate with peak the same rate as day

bullit_dodger

EirGrid Group plc - Smart Grid Dashboard

Nearly broke the all time solar for Ireland today. It was close - but solar noon is another hr away, so we might do it yet.

SD_DRACULA

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123560186#Comment_123560186

Think it did by 1 😁

Busman Paddy Lasty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123548592#Comment_123548592

I have an Energia with that posters Day and Night rates and a Peak of 28c. Not the worst in the world, was paying 42c on a standard 24hr tariff two years ago.

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123561266#Comment_123561266

Yeah, I saw that it hit 861 on the chart yesterday, but today it looks like the all time is still May. Might have been a rounding issue yesterday and it was 860.51 or something and they rounded it up to 861 for the chart purpososes, so it was just shy of the 860.56 all time record.

Great to see though that ~20% of the countries power was coming from sunshine, even if it was only for a few hours out of a 24 hr cycle.

paulbok

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/06/25/ikea-begins-offering-balcony-solar-kits/

Wonder will we ever see these over here.

Would make good secondary systems, eg on a garden shed for those not into DIY.

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123581589#Comment_123581589

Unlikely, unless there is a change in regs on the ESBN side, to allow this.

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123581589#Comment_123581589

Probably in 20 years time or 5 years after weed is legalises whichever comes later

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123581589#Comment_123581589

German systems can have a standard plug that you plug into a standard socket and not a registered electrician or form in sight.

Not a chance.

Capt'n Midnight

https://xkcd.com/3099/

"The installation of the pipes on the inside of the insulation can be challenging, especially when the neighbor could come home at any minute."

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0YjXrfKgpU

Scrap steel production using hydrogen, I thought this was very cool sounding and one of the use cases where hydrogen works well

I thought it was very interesting how they have the hydrogen production responding to the electricity prices so they could ensure its cheaper than propane as much as possible

I also like the idea of using the waste heat for district heating. It's something I really wish would be rolled out here more

deezell

I didn't know that we pay dearly on our bills to renewable providers not to take their excess energy. Now we've to pay another hike to the ESBN to increase the grid capacity for this highly variable source. Below is a top scientists explanation in layman's language. It puts a tin hat on the notion that we can be independent of on demand switched power sources (fossil, hydro and nuclear), but if the renewable sector are allowed to expand based on extorted levies from consumers for unwanted generation, it doesn't sound like the nirvana that was promised, just another massive transfer of the ordinary man's wealth to the corporate sector. This kind of thing happened before, with huge subsidies and taxes being levied to buy unwanted produce. Green electricity is just the latest one. Youll find in the future that your utility bill be be just as onerous though you're probably generating most of your own demand from solar. I must visit the attic and dig out some ESB bills from the '80s to check the split.

https://www.irishtimes.com/science/2025/08/07/irelands-electricity-grid-struggles-with-increased-supply-from-renewables/

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123705550#Comment_123705550

Top scientist.. in bio chemistry. You or I are just about as qualified to talk about grid infrastructure than he is. The first half of the article is junior cert science.

Large demand users are also paid not to use power in times of low supply too, and have done for a long time.

But I do agree with his last paragraph, need better infrastructure from where the wind turbines are to the population centres.

Need more storage and grid forming storage too, not just grid following.

On Monday we were running at about 75% renewable, 25 % gas, and also exporting at full power on all the interconnectors.(About 1GW)

The counties demand was actually being covered by wind for a few hours in the morning, but we need to keep the turbines spinning for grid stability.

Sure inverters can react very fast, but turbines coupled to the grid react instantly and also have a store of energy in the rotational inertia, which buys valuable time when a large load suddenly appears.

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123705562#Comment_123705562

Makes some sense, but if the penalty for trying to accommodate unpredictable renewable supply is massive levies, industrial level infrastructure and a permanent investment in costly, bulky and risky battery packs per home, then it's better to refocus exactly where the split between renewable and fossil is deployed. I'd be very hesitant to dis an academics qualifications. You don't define your scientific education with the title of your job. I'd read those infeasibly high renewable contributions with a pinch of salt too. They remain at 30 to 40% over a long period, so how are we going to power 100% heatpumps coverge on demand if we remove gas and oil. The answer is and will be scientific fact, not science fiction, and thats a marathon, not a sprint. Fossil power generation is here to stay. Paying for its use only as a backup, and paying for renewable power bursts that are not required is a huge burden of cost, and we'll all pay.

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123705838#Comment_123705838

regardless its a price worth paying wouldnt you think so that we dont all get lung cancer?

anyway at the current rate of pace itll take longer to get to a meaningful % of cars on the road as evs (who mostly charge at night when demand is low anyway) and to get a meaningful % of houses fully electrified than it will to build out industrial long duration storage and improve grid infastructure.

When do you think we will have 100% heat pumps???

deezell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123706088#Comment_123706088

In about the same time scale it took diesel and electric to fully replace steam trains in Europe. Say about 40-50 years?

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123706235#Comment_123706235

not the same though, you can force people to electrify their homes and make the associated upgrades, you can incentivise them but you wont ever get full take up.

bullit_dodger

Yeah 40-50 years might be on the pessimistic side. Just looking at the history there for electricity generation, from 2010 → 2020 we went from circa 15% to 39%

Renewables | Energy Statistics In Ireland | SEAI

After 2020 we had the various thing going on like covid, so dunno if it's plateaued there or can we get higher. I think Ireland already has one of the highest wind generation percentages world wide. Getting to 60% might be doable, but it's increasingly harder to get up the scale due to various synchronization issues with wind.

Don't think it'll be a binary thing. People will move to EV's, induction hobs, heat pumps when they realize there's a few quid to be saved…… if there's big savings (like huge carbon tax on gas etc) they'll move en masse. It won't suit everyone. Not everyone is in a class A insulated house, but I'd say the vast majority of people could run a HP or drive a EV without bankrupting themselves.