My 4.5kWh setup

reklamos · 08-02-2020 4:39pm

I have 2MWh generated.
It took 2 months to get to 1MWh but another 5 to 2MWh
I estimate that with my setup I should be able to close to 5MWh a year.

garo · 08-02-2020 6:32pm

FYI unkel I saw full rate battery charging after 12 today when it had warmed up enough. First time this year. February has truly been excellent. In 8 days I have seen more than 50% of Jan production already. The bad old days of winter and a low sun are behind us.

reklamos · 01-03-2020 3:35pm

February stats

Monthly Production: 227.8kWh (up from 119.5kWh in Jan)
Monthly Consumption: 531kWh
Self production: 42% (up from 21% in Jan)
Highest amount produced a day: 17.4kWh
Lowest amount produced a day: 0.6kWh

February was really surprising, I was not expecting it to be that good. I had full battery and hot water multiple times and also exported over 8kWh.

reklamos · 21-04-2020 9:54am

A bit late with update
March stats:

Monthly Production: 403.8kWh (up from 227.8kWh in Feb)
Monthly Consumption: 655.1kWh(I can see the impact of everybody staying at home as consumption is up by 100kWh)
Self production: 61% (up from 42% in Feb)
Highest amount produced a day: 24.1kWh
Lowest amount produced a day: 1.4kWh

reklamos · 24-04-2020 10:44am

Since we had good amount of sun lately, I reached 3MWh yesterday.
It took 2.5months to generate 1MWh

reklamos · 07-07-2020 9:20am

Exactly one year has passed since I got my PV setup
Here are some stats:
Total generated : 4.29MWh
Total consumed: 7.17MWh
Total exported: 118kWh
Total imported: 3.09MWh
Min generated: 105kWh(Dec)
Max generated: 676kWh(May)

Feel free to ask questions

KCross · 07-07-2020 10:27am

reklamos wrote: »

Exactly one year has passed since I got my PV setup
Here are some stats:
Total generated : 4.29MWh
Total consumed: 7.17MWh
Total exported: 118kWh
Total imported: 3.09MWh
Min generated: 105kWh(Dec)
Max generated: 676kWh(May)

Feel free to ask questions

If I read your figures right your Solar PV generated 4290kWh and you only exported 118kWh?

That sounds too good to be true or have I interpreted your data wrong?

reklamos · 07-07-2020 12:22pm

KCross wrote: »

If I read your figures right your Solar PV generated 4290kWh and you only exported 118kWh?

That sounds too good to be true or have I interpreted your data wrong?

The figures are accurate. My export is kept to minimum due to battery, diverter to water and also I try to use(all the washing) as much as possible on sunny days.

unkel · 07-07-2020 7:01pm

With a diverter you will consume near 100% yourself. On a very good day you would probably have to hook your car up too it you are really keen on not exporting - some people in here are so inclined not to give away even the steam off their own p1ss :pac:

Diverting of course saves very little money unless you bought the part cheap and did a DIY install. And for people with small setups it actually costs money to divert. Cheaper to let it go to the grid for free...

reklamos · 23-01-2021 4:09pm

Wanted resurrect this thread and give an update on my PV setup as it has been 1.5years since it was installed.
I had a chance to look at financial part of it since I had a full year of usage.
In 2018 total electricity bill was 2013
In 2020 total electricity bill was bill was 762. I have excluded 2019 as PV was installed in the middle of the year but the trend is similar there also.
I am really happy with the figures so far, taking into account that the electricity consumption has went up in 2020 due to Covid.
Assuming there will be no additional PV investments needed and this trend to continue, my PV setup should pay itself in less than 8 years.

garo · 25-01-2021 3:47pm

That is an impressive reduction. Your bill reflects that you were a high electricity consumer so your self-use must be really high.
My equivalent numbers for 2018 and 2020 are 1033 and 748 but our consumption has gone up significantly this year with CoVid and 3 computers on 24/7 and a daughter who has taken a real shine to baking. Without solar I estimate my bill would have been close to 1300.

KCross · 25-01-2021 4:19pm

reklamos wrote: »

Wanted resurrect this thread and give an update on my PV setup as it has been 1.5years since it was installed.
I had a chance to look at financial part of it since I had a full year of usage.
In 2018 total electricity bill was 2013
In 2020 total electricity bill was bill was 762. I have excluded 2019 as PV was installed in the middle of the year but the trend is similar there also.
I am really happy with the figures so far, taking into account that the electricity consumption has went up in 2020 due to Covid.
Assuming there will be no additional PV investments needed and this trend to continue, my PV setup should pay itself in less than 8 years.

Are you saying you saved €1200 by adding Solar PV? Thats about 8MWh's worth of savings... you suggested below that you expected 5MWh's in total for the year so something doesnt add up (considering your system is 4.5kWp).

graememk · 25-01-2021 7:38pm

KCross wrote: »

Are you saying you saved €1200 by adding Solar PV? Thats about 8MWh's worth of savings... you suggested below that you expected 5MWh's in total for the year so something doesnt add up (considering your system is 4.5kWp).

Yep using the jrc and having it optimise angle and slope 4.5kwp only will generate 4MWh.

Op do you know your useage from 2018, in kwh and the 2020 useage?

unkel · 25-01-2021 9:35pm

graememk wrote: »

Yep using the jrc and having it optimise angle and slope 4.5kwp only will generate 4MWh.

Here in sunny Dublin you'd get 4.5MWh

graememk · 25-01-2021 9:39pm

unkel wrote: »

Here in sunny Dublin you'd get 4.5MWh

According to met eireann your already getting an hour more daylight than the cold north!

reklamos · 26-01-2021 11:13am

garo wrote: »

That is an impressive reduction. Your bill reflects that you were a high electricity consumer so your self-use must be really high.
My equivalent numbers for 2018 and 2020 are 1033 and 748 but our consumption has gone up significantly this year with CoVid and 3 computers on 24/7 and a daughter who has taken a real shine to baking. Without solar I estimate my bill would have been close to 1300.

Yes, I am heavy user as I have some workloads running 24x7(Lab with multiple servers, fish tanks etc) I think with PV install my mindset has shifted how I use electricity. I have built a lot of automation and monitoring so I can see when and what is using electricity.

reklamos · 26-01-2021 12:26pm

graememk wrote: »

Yep using the jrc and having it optimise angle and slope 4.5kwp only will generate 4MWh.

Op do you know your useage from 2018, in kwh and the 2020 useage?

Guys,
I only looked at financial part, have not checked the usage. In 2019 the bill was 1480 and PV was installed in July of that year, so 2018, 2019, 2020 trends are similar from financial point of view.
in 2020 PV generated 4.133MWh and summer was pretty bad, otherwise I would be very close to 5MWh
in 2020 I produced 60% of electricity I used.
My annual self usage in 2020 is 71% compared to 63% in 2019. Being stuck at home(thanks to Covid) does have positive impact.

What I wanted to highlight(and should have done earlier) is how getting PV changes the way you think about and use electricity. Putting PV on the roof alone is not going to save a lot, but putting PV and changing your habits does have a significant and positive impact on finances. Before PV I just took electricity for granted and was accepting that every 2 months I will have to pay for it without asking why I use this much. I did switch my providers to get best deal but that was it. After PV install, I started monitoring and then putting automation in place so I use only what I need and when I need. This combination is what allowed me to save.

garo · 26-01-2021 2:01pm

Yes I think being aware of your usage patterns is the important point. That probably contributed to more than half of the bill reduction. Having all that monitoring software built in really helps figure out what you are doing wrong and how you can reduce consumption. So installing a PV system has benefots that stretch beyond the production of electricity.

mp3guy · 26-01-2021 2:30pm

garo wrote: »

Yes I think being aware of your usage patterns is the important point. That probably contributed to more than half of the bill reduction. Having all that monitoring software built in really helps figure out what you are doing wrong and how you can reduce consumption. So installing a PV system has benefots that stretch beyond the production of electricity.

Once you've some sort of constant load graphing system you discover all sorts of things. I was able to half my base load by determining what appliances/devices were hogging a few dozen watts here and there when "idle".

graememk · 26-01-2021 3:01pm

Getting solar is an expensive energy monitor.

The energy monitoring bit, depending on how fancy and detailed you want to go can cost 1-200 euro. From the likes of an Owl system or an Emonpi.

So in 2020 you had 71% self use, that's great! Its like the argument of smart meters or pre pay meters that you save money - they save you money by helping you reduce your usage.

So at 70% self use, you saved about 470 euro.

Modifying your behavior saved you 730 euro.

Being able to reduce your electricity bill by that much is a huge achievement. But shouldn't be counted in the payback time of your solar.

I was monitoring my usage for about 6 months before getting my solar. Done all what you did about reducing loads, moving stuff to night rate etc.

Should that be counted in my ROI of my solar?

I am all for solar I have my own array, but things has to be realistic for payback times.

I would encourage anyone thinking of solar to get a good energy monitor, your experience proves that.

My 4.5kWh setup

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