@AndyNEBristol
my honest advice would be to go to SMA - their standard inverters have built in monitoring and all you need is either a network cable or wifi within range. If you really wanted module level monitoring SMA also do an optimiser which can do monitoring per module - but again it...
@AndyNEBristol if you want monitoring, you may well be able to add it to your existing system - either using the inverter manufacturers own equipment, or by adding a SolarLog (I have one in stock) or proprietary GSM network generation meter
I'll do it if you want - but that is an expensive upgrade and my preference is to leave well alone unless you have problem shading. I have seen 3 optimisers fail in recent months, and when that happens it means you lose output from the attached panel...
You can find me through my website by...
Using solder fittings was pretty common years ago but got outlawed in the MCS regs I believe. I think the concern was excess flux not getting flushed out and reacting with the glycol - can't say I ever saw any damage to systems because of this myself... I certainly wouldn't object to using...
20 metre run is not that unusual - Worcester has it right in that you would probably end up using DN25 stainless pipe as your best option. If you can bury it 1 mtr down it is likely to stay above 10 degrees even through winter, and you could even add extra insulation if you are so minded. As...
@Worcester I went through your analysis quickly, and if you average the high and low seasons across the 4 years, the ratio is almost exactly a 70/30 split as you say. I wonder if it wouldn't even be a little more pronounced on a system doing DHW only?
My store is stratified (a TiSUN, with...
@Worcester have you ever read the Energy Saving Trust report "Here Comes the Sun" - a field trial of about 80 systems from memory? Its a pretty well written report, but of course focuses on the traditional British meanly sized hot water stores and does not cover best practice as carried out in...
@beachlover there is no legislation to say it should be done yearly - but you do have a responsibility to maintain both your house and solar system electrically speaking so that it is not a danger to other people. Obviously most people wait until something breaks before fixing - you will have...
I have looked into this in a bit of detail - if you are on the earliest tariffs then it makes sense to clean panels annually. If you assume loss at about 2% per annum which seems realistic to me, (though obviously it could be more in a dusty environment next to a road or farm). If you are on the...
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