Brilliant news!
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@Edent excellent news if it turns out they don't screw it up.
but.
"plug it into your mains"? really? how does that work?
edit: even if it does work — how would i know it was doing anything?
edit^2: the relevant search term here is "G98". i'm still very confused what the hell this is, but it is a thing, in some areas.
@fishidwardrobe @Edent
3 pin plug!
Potential for danger, but empirically it has remained potential. -
@raymaccarthy
What do you mean "a sop"?Balcony solar works really well in Germany. Even without a battery, this will offset people's energy costs by letting them use solar in the day.
@Edent
I've halved our electricity bill and have the 12 panels on two shed roofs.
No contractor or law change needed because it's Solar UPS. No power fed to grid.
two systems: Bluetti & their proprietary batteries and Victron with a generic battery (both LiFePO4),.
Runs 3 freezers, fridge, internet/pcs, TV, satellite & some lights.
We'd save more with a smart meter as we then could charge at cheap night rate and use that during the day. Solar only is only good for the summer and no security. -
@Edent That's great. We could do with plug-in battery packs too.
@khleedril
Many exist. -
@inpc because the grid was originally designed to support electricity flowing in one direction.
It's a bit like asking why it's illegal to connect your sewage pipe back into the mains. It wasn't designed for that and it carries risks.
Thankfully, the grid is mostly upgraded and can now handle energy flowing in both directions.
Well, it is AC.
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@Edent
Not if you live on a listed residential estate@Christo_459 Do you have an unlisted garden hut?
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@phoerious @Edent
The devil is, as usual, in the detail. If every smart meter is automatically configured to measure export then maybe we have a winner.
If you don't get paid for energy put into the grid then balcony solar looks like an expensive way to make very small savings for those who don't have a way to shift consumption to the middle of the day or to store the energy they would have exported.
Adding a battery to my existing 4.4kW(p) PV system would have saved <£70 last year. Not viable.@OneInterestingFact @Edent Ideally, you use the battery to store your own solar production over the day to use in the evening. If your panels cannot fill the entire battery, you fill the rest with cheap energy from the grid (requires a variable energy tariff, of course). Such a setup should usually amortise within a few years. But 4.4kWp is already quite massive. That's not a plug-in panel for your balcony I suppose.
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@phoerious @Edent
The devil is, as usual, in the detail. If every smart meter is automatically configured to measure export then maybe we have a winner.
If you don't get paid for energy put into the grid then balcony solar looks like an expensive way to make very small savings for those who don't have a way to shift consumption to the middle of the day or to store the energy they would have exported.
Adding a battery to my existing 4.4kW(p) PV system would have saved <£70 last year. Not viable.@OneInterestingFact @phoerious
Yes, every smart meter in the UK can measure export. I've done it on several smart meters. You'll need to tell your energy company so they can pay you correctly. -
@OneInterestingFact @Edent
With 800Wp of panels this isn't a very important factor.
With a solar diverter to an immersion heater, even less so - make hot water.
With a battery even less less so. The amount of energy escaping is going to be trivial.But I think generally the expectation is that you just plug it in and use it.
#solar #balcony #electricityBear in mind that a large proportion of homes don't have stored hot water and that a standard immersion heater is 3kW.
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Brilliant news! The UK's Labour Government are going to make "plug in solar" legal.
Grab some panels from Lidl, hang them off your balcony or out your window, plug them in to your mains. Done!
Government to go "further and faster" in becoming energy secure
The Energy Secretary outlines measures to protect consumers and make Britain energy secure.
GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
@Edent it doesn't say when, which is important.
I do wonder though how likely anyone will now be to take action against someone who hangs panels on a balcony or wall.
Not very, I'd think.
#balconysolar -
Brilliant news! The UK's Labour Government are going to make "plug in solar" legal.
Grab some panels from Lidl, hang them off your balcony or out your window, plug them in to your mains. Done!
Government to go "further and faster" in becoming energy secure
The Energy Secretary outlines measures to protect consumers and make Britain energy secure.
GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
@Edent
A subsidy, plus mandatory Solar + batteries on all new buildings.
Add to bus shelters, bicycle shelters, car parks etc.This encourages poor quality solutions and changes nothing.
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@Edent it doesn't say when, which is important.
I do wonder though how likely anyone will now be to take action against someone who hangs panels on a balcony or wall.
Not very, I'd think.
#balconysolar@Photo55 it literally says they're consulting now.
The action wouldn't be against hanging a panel (although their could be some health and safety things if not tied down). It's about making sure that the things are electrically safe.
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@Edent
A subsidy, plus mandatory Solar + batteries on all new buildings.
Add to bus shelters, bicycle shelters, car parks etc.This encourages poor quality solutions and changes nothing.
@raymaccarthy you do know the UK hugely subsidises solar, right?
And that new-builds will have solar by default. That's already law.
Rooftop solar for new builds to save people money
New homeowners stand to benefit from rooftop solar and cheaper bills, with the Future Homes Standard being published this Autumn.
GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
I've got to ask, why are you such a doomer about this good news?
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I am wary of ANY supermarket for stuff which needs support available in the long term. Not wearing out as aging, over 4 or 5 years, but failing next year.
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@raymaccarthy you do know the UK hugely subsidises solar, right?
And that new-builds will have solar by default. That's already law.
Rooftop solar for new builds to save people money
New homeowners stand to benefit from rooftop solar and cheaper bills, with the Future Homes Standard being published this Autumn.
GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
I've got to ask, why are you such a doomer about this good news?
@Edent
Because it's mostly PR.
The Solar UPS was already possible without this is change and far better as It can make bigger savings & security.
The so-called "balcony" solar makes little difference. This is ONLY useful for people wanting to sell to grid that have maybe only one or two panels. You need a lot more, especially the darker half of the year to make a difference and then the extra cost of a certified electrician isn't significant.
Solar without the LiFePO4 batteries is stupid. -
@Edent
Because it's mostly PR.
The Solar UPS was already possible without this is change and far better as It can make bigger savings & security.
The so-called "balcony" solar makes little difference. This is ONLY useful for people wanting to sell to grid that have maybe only one or two panels. You need a lot more, especially the darker half of the year to make a difference and then the extra cost of a certified electrician isn't significant.
Solar without the LiFePO4 batteries is stupid.@raymaccarthy
No, that's not really correct.A battery is only good if you can plug stuff in to it. Which means you need to route your cables around - and it'd be impossible to plug an oven in to it.
Balcony solar goes:
* Panel out of window
* String to inverter
* Inverter to mains via plugThen *all* of your devices can use solar. Not just the ones within cable reach of your window.
Anyway, if you want more of my thoughts on solar - https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/solar/
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@raymaccarthy
No, that's not really correct.A battery is only good if you can plug stuff in to it. Which means you need to route your cables around - and it'd be impossible to plug an oven in to it.
Balcony solar goes:
* Panel out of window
* String to inverter
* Inverter to mains via plugThen *all* of your devices can use solar. Not just the ones within cable reach of your window.
Anyway, if you want more of my thoughts on solar - https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/solar/
@Edent
No, that's nonsense.Talk to an electrician and look at power of panel.
A typical 400W panel only gives that for a few hours each day in clear sky in Jun/Jul. A cheap "balcony" system is 1/2 that.
Maybe 10W to 40W at noon in Dec/Jan on average.
Without a battery you can't use ANY of the 400W if the mains supply fails.
You don't plug anything into the battery!
You plug into the inverter or inverter/UPS. The Electricity companies don't pay well for the Solar to grid!
Oven is irrelevant -
@Edent
No, that's nonsense.Talk to an electrician and look at power of panel.
A typical 400W panel only gives that for a few hours each day in clear sky in Jun/Jul. A cheap "balcony" system is 1/2 that.
Maybe 10W to 40W at noon in Dec/Jan on average.
Without a battery you can't use ANY of the 400W if the mains supply fails.
You don't plug anything into the battery!
You plug into the inverter or inverter/UPS. The Electricity companies don't pay well for the Solar to grid!
Oven is irrelevant@raymaccarthy
I have rather a lot of experience with domestic solar.The point of balcony solar isn't to power your whole house. Nor is it to island your home in event of a power cut.
You're arguing against something that it explicitly isn't designed for.
It's to trickle feed energy into your home in order to reduce what you're drawing from the mains.
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@Kerplunk you didn't read the Labour Party manifesto, did you?
They explicitly mention solar and other green policies.
Not sure how making it easier to get solar power is a trick. Do you want these policies now or only after another 3 years when Zack is PM?
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@OneInterestingFact @Photo55 @Edent a 3kw immersion element doesn't have to be run at a continuous 3kw
But more importantly most homes have a small continuous power draw for things like fridges and devices on standby
A small solar panel will avoid having to pay for much of this power.
The smaller the solar setup the less "problem" there is with "excess" free power.
So a small cheap setup is likely to be highly utilised without storage.
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@raymaccarthy you do know the UK hugely subsidises solar, right?
And that new-builds will have solar by default. That's already law.
Rooftop solar for new builds to save people money
New homeowners stand to benefit from rooftop solar and cheaper bills, with the Future Homes Standard being published this Autumn.
GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
I've got to ask, why are you such a doomer about this good news?
Meanwhile, due to leaseholds and the seeming lack of reform on their rules, despite initial optimism, I still can't get solar anywhere near the roof of the flat I own.
