Average Energy Consumption

[Maurice TaylorParticipant @mauricetaylor82093]

Hi, Thanks for your reply. I can’t see how it’s complicated , if a person has spent £8000 on kit after a year he should be able to say how much he’s saved.

It doesn’t matter what size batteries or other kit he’s got ,the only thing that matters is total cost and yearly saving, so it’s really very simple.

Maurice

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Maurice Taylor on 30/09/2023 13:19:37:

Hi, Thanks for your reply. I can’t see how it’s complicated , if a person has spent £8000 on kit after a year he should be able to say how much he’s saved.

It doesn’t matter what size batteries or other kit he’s got ,the only thing that matters is total cost and yearly saving, so it’s really very simple.

Maurice

.

I don’t know whether this will help or not, Maurice … My brother has a system notionally specified at 4.44 kW and it has a Kodak branded battery with a capacity of 5.12 kWh, and a reasonably fancy controller.

The snapshot that he sent me recently [from North West England] showed this :

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.

Which tells me that he purchased no electricity that day, and exported too little to mention.

What that would mean to any of us, in our own personal circumstances, is for us to work-out.

MichaelG.

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

Maurice,

Nobody can guarantee what the weather will be like for the next year at your location (how much sunshine). The 'projected savings' I mentioned are all calculated using approved assumptions that are reasonably conservative.

You could get a free quote from one of the many providers, or I suspect that whoever sets out the calculation method probably makes it all available on line somewhere.

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

This might be a starting point for working out savings

Use the solar energy calculator – Energy Saving Trust

[John MCParticipant @johnmc39344]

The results I get from my PV's would suggest that it is possible to predict the amount of "generating weather". Over the 10+ years I've had them the export "income" for has been the same +/- £20/annum. I was also able to work out how long it would be to cover the purchase and installations costs, only out by a couple of months in nearly 8.5 years.

While its nice to be able to do ones bit to save the planet, I want a reasonable return on the investment. I'm fortunate in having the old Feed in Tariff still. The SEG tariff is nowhere near as good, a quick calculation suggests that pay back time would almost double. I probably wouldn't bother with a PV installation now.

I looked in to getting a battery recently, the numbers just didn't add up, I would be using the grid to keep the batteries charged during the winter. Also, £7k will (still) buy a lot of electricity.

As for heat pumps, I can see me going that way when I'm too old to shovel coal in to the solid fuel boiler. But first I will continue with my efforts to improve insulation of the house.

[Emgee]

On Emgee Said:

Mchael

The annual consuption you state appears to me to be incorrect, I believe either you have a very slow meter or you may have got the dates wrong, 658 kWh for a year !!!

If the figures you stated are correct don’t request a meter change.

Emgee

My humble, shame-faced apologies, Emgee

Your instinct was quite correct !

I made a stupid transcription error when calculating the consumption:

My meter-reading on 04-Aug-2022 was actually 34276 not 35276

Having just gone-through the details of an already unaffordable proposal from a supplier [which assumed significant feed of surplus into the grid] it becomes evident that Solar PV is not cost-effective for me.

Note: Despite my numerical error in transcribing the meter reading, the cost of my Mains electricity was correct, and is still only about £660 per annum … so the amortisation period for a substantial Solar installation is simply unrealistic.

… better to spend the money on a superbly insulated extension, and upgraded insulation in the existing roof.

It’s been an interesting exercise, and I thank you very sincerely for your observation … I only came back to it when I noticed that something else ‘did not compute’

MichaelG.

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