Getting the most out of your Solar PV Panel System
There are a three simple pointers to follow which will allow you to maximize the benefits of owning a Solar PV system, which in turn will save you money and increase your return on investment.
1. Use large appliances during sunny hours
We provide our customers with a remote digital energy read-out like the one pictured below. This allows the user to see the amount of energy that is being generated at that instant.
Written by Rupert Waldron on Apr 03 2013
A simple guide which will allow you to maximize your investment in solar pv, by managing your electricity usage effectively.
We'll use the monitor on the left as an example as to how to use the solar energy generated effectively.
The solar pv monitor shows that 2.250kW's of solar energy is being generated at that moment. We'll presume that a 2.25 kW solar pv system has been installed, and its a sunny day working in optimum conditions. (We cover non-optimum conditions in point no. 2)
The aim is to simply use as much of that free energy as possible.
To give you an idea of what you can power with that amount of energy we've put together a table which shows the wattage used by typical household appliances.
Appliances like fridges and freezers are on 24 hours a day, so it's important to take these items into account to accurately estimate your amount of free energy. A house is likely to tick-over on less than 300W. If you contact your energy supplier they may give you an electricity usage remote monitor which will allow you to know exactly how many watts you are using. Put the usage monitor next to your generation monitor and you will be able to see the exact amount of free electricity you have to use.
Let's go back to our example:
2.250kW - 300W household usage = 1.950kW of free electricity.
With that amount of free electricity, you should put one large appliance on, such as dishwasher or washing machine. When one is finished, start the other. It's not advisable to put both appliances on at the power they use changes when on heat cycle to spin etc and will vary from 300w to 1500w.
Getting in the habit of using large appliances in the day time instead of the evening is the 1st step to saving the most you can on your electricity bill
2. An overcast day will affect your electricity generation
A 2.25kW Solar PV array on an overcast day may only produce 800W - 1000W of energy. So it's worth holding off on using the washing machine & dishwasher if a sunny day is expected within the next few days.
3. Use heating controls to heat your immersion heater
You can now generate free hot water in addition to free electricity thanks to heating controls which can be installed with your solar PV system. These heating controls automatically divert excess generated electricity (electricity which is being generated but not used) to your immersion heater. This is an excellent way of using the most of the energy you generate. This is especially useful for 9-5 workers, as they are unable to use the electricity in the day time, they will come home to a free tank of hot water.
SolarTech Energy recently installed two Immersun units with a 4kW solar PV system in Warwickshire. Using two Immersun units allows two immersion tanks to be heated simultaneously. We checked the system after two days of operation, the solar panel array had generated 16kW hours of energy - 13Kw hours of energy had been diverted to the immersion heaters. Had these heating controls not been installed those 13kW hours would have been wasted and sent back to the Grid.
A common question we are asked when we advise customers to use as much of the generated electricity as possible is: "Won't that affect the income I receive from exporting the energy back to the grid?"
Quite simply, no!
As households do not have export meters, the energy companies are unable to measure how much electricity you export to the Grid. Because of this, your energy company will presume that you export 50% of the energy you generate from your solar panel system. And you will be paid for exporting 50% of your generated electricity even if you use 100% and export none.
These are our 3 top tips! Follow these to maximize your investment in your solar PV system.
For more information on Immersun Units visit their website here
If you would like to speak to our advisers at SolarTech Energy, email us info@solartechenergy.co.uk, send us a message via our contact us page or call us on 01789 730475