Brilliant news!

[edent@mastodon.social]

@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.

[raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie]

@Edent
Because Solar UPS doesn't need this "law change".
The LiFePO4 (unlike Lithium Ion) are safe and maybe 10 to 20 years life.
It's short sighted and a rubbish system to have no batteries.
There is less than 1/10th solar in Dec/Jan compared to Jun/Jul. Adding batteries means cheaper winter daytime electricity and typically 10 hours backup for vital stuff in Jan/Dec to indefinate during the summer.
Also many of the plug in cheap micro-inverters are poor quality & high radio interference

[oneinterestingfact@mastodon.ie]

@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.

[wolf_baginski@meow.social]

@OneInterestingFact @Edent

Detail to check — the circuit breaker protecting the socket you plug in to.

Black-box Inverter between solar panels and socket gives safety.

UPS battery-boxes on solar-panel side of inverter can be used to store excess energy. Off-peak mains might be used to top-up those batteries hut there are AC <—> DC energy losses. USB outputs on these batteries can feed useful lights, tablets, and mobile phones.

I think I have all this right, but CHECK.

Reports from USA suggest fossil-fuel lobbying of legislators is happening there. Be alert! Britain needs lerts.

[photo55@mastodon.social]

@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 #electricity

[jmorris@social.kernel.org]

@Edent Temu entered the chat.

[photo55@mastodon.social]

@fishidwardrobe @Edent
3 pin plug!
Potential for danger, but empirically it has remained potential.

[raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie]

@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.

[photo55@mastodon.social]

@khleedril
Many exist.

[photo55@mastodon.social]

Well, it is AC.

[photo55@mastodon.social]

@Christo_459 Do you have an unlisted garden hut?

[phoerious@mastodon.social]

@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.

[edent@mastodon.social]

@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@mastodon.ie]

@Photo55 @Edent

Bear in mind that a large proportion of homes don't have stored hot water and that a standard immersion heater is 3kW.

[photo55@mastodon.social]

@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

[raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie]

@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.

[edent@mastodon.social]

@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.

[edent@mastodon.social]

@raymaccarthy you do know the UK hugely subsidises solar, right?

And that new-builds will have solar by default. That's already law.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rooftop-solar-for-new-builds-to-save-people-money

I've got to ask, why are you such a doomer about this good news?

[wolf_baginski@meow.social]

@balkonsolar @sheddi @Edent

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.

[raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie]

@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.