Entry tags:
Angle of incidence
Interesting to see the difference that the angle of the sun in the sky makes. it's getting towards 4om now and generation has fallen to around 1.3KW - which is still far less than the 300W I'm actually using, but you can see the pattern.
Electricity use will rise a bit in the evening with lights switched on and more computers in us (though it's surprising what a difference it makes if you get serious about switching off lights in rooms you're not actually in).
It will be interesting to see how much difference clouds make. If a cloudy day can still manage 2-300W, then it will be really useful.
Incidentally, if anyone is interested, this is the monitor that I'm carrying around the house with me to view the net electricity generation/consumption. It's a remarkably handy little gadget. I've been using it for a month or two and not only does it give me a good feel of which appliances use how much electricity, I find that now I'm used to the normal patterns, I can often spot when things have been left switched on elsewhere in the house.
At low readings during the day, I'll now find it tricky to tell difference between a small gain and a small loss solar electricity-wise, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I can always go and look at the solar reading in the meter cupboard if I really want to know.
Electricity use will rise a bit in the evening with lights switched on and more computers in us (though it's surprising what a difference it makes if you get serious about switching off lights in rooms you're not actually in).
It will be interesting to see how much difference clouds make. If a cloudy day can still manage 2-300W, then it will be really useful.
Incidentally, if anyone is interested, this is the monitor that I'm carrying around the house with me to view the net electricity generation/consumption. It's a remarkably handy little gadget. I've been using it for a month or two and not only does it give me a good feel of which appliances use how much electricity, I find that now I'm used to the normal patterns, I can often spot when things have been left switched on elsewhere in the house.
At low readings during the day, I'll now find it tricky to tell difference between a small gain and a small loss solar electricity-wise, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I can always go and look at the solar reading in the meter cupboard if I really want to know.
no subject
That power is a lot more than I'd expect from solar panels, what area do they cover? And is your roof south-facing? Mine is SE/NW so it's far from ideal.
How do you get them to install it free? Since my average power consumption (without heating on) is around 500W that might reduce my costs quite a bit, but not if I have to pay several thousand pounds to have it installed.
no subject
My father - child of the Depression as he was - instilled that habit in us when we were children. My brother-in-law really irritated me the way he would never turn the lights off when he visited, and that in turn irritated him so much that he insulted me by leaving some loose change on the table "to pay for the extra electricity". (sigh)
no subject
I did read everything you posted about it.
Here the solar panels are popular too.