new installs - 6 to 10 panels??

[Aquinas_Quark]

Hi everyone,
I have noticed the number of PV roofs has mushrooomed in the last 2 months - but most are 14 panels or less, I have even seen 6 panels - is that worth bothering with?
Also on some of 11 to 13 panels there is clearly space for 2 or 3 more - what's that about?

 

[JulianC]

I frequently pass a 7 panel job - one row of 3 over one row of 4. No visible reason why they didn't fit the 8th panel - the two rows are lined up with each other so there is space for the missing panel and no shading reasons to not fit one. Might knock on the door and ask next time I'm passing.

 

[MCS Renewables]

Maybe the customer couldn`t afford any more.

 

[sharpener]

Hi everyone,
I have noticed the number of PV roofs has mushrooomed in the last 2 months - but most are 14 panels or less, I have even seen 6 panels - is that worth bothering with?
Also on some of 11 to 13 panels there is clearly space for 2 or 3 more - what's that about?

It's a mystery. Once you have decided to fit panels on your roof it will not look any better if you miss a few off.

There are inverters that are optimal for almost every conceivable power level from one panel upwards so it can't be that. Some of the costs are more or less fixed anyway - e.g. survey, scaffolding, inverter installation, certification, travel - so small installations are proportionately more expensive. And as the extra cost of individual panels is a small fraction of the overall system it generally makes sense to go for some obvious limitation, generally the area of (unshaded) roof or the 4kW FIT break point.

Maybe in individual cases the installers were trying to shift kit they had in stock, or was ordered on another job, or they ran out of rails or brackets (as mine did, they had to rob the next job in line), and the customer had to take whatever they could get installed before Dec 12th. Though that would not account for the high proportion of apparently incomplete arrays you are seeing.

Sorry this doesn't amount to a really satisfactory answer!

 

[Aquinas_Quark]

Thanks for all the suggestions - still a mystery then! I just hope it wasn't salesmen offloading spare panels in a rush and saying that it would be just fine, as even my 15 panels have been fairly "dormant" lately....

 

[Stevesolargill]

Could something all the more feasible be the real reason why we're seeing " odd" arrays I.e not uniformed?? There is the possibility that the installers have carried out a horizon shading survey and found that the corner panel would have or could have been shaded for a prolonged period of time and therefore knocked out the whole string???

Not all arrays should be uniformed - in certain circumstances it is far better practice to install unequal or irregular looking arrays. Sometimes it shows that the installer is doing his job properly!!!

As for whether 6 panels is "worth it", people do have budgets to adhere to and lest we not forget that basically the investment in PV is pro- rata'd i.e the more you put in the more you get back ( potentially). Even the small arrays can return 15% pre Dec 12th based on location and orientation!!!

 

[Eco Deal]

I do have a small 1.4kw system I am am more than happy with it I would love a 4kw but not enough roof space!!!

Spring and summer it did me proud !!!!! I was mostly running on free juice

 

[moggy1968]

I've seen a few far smaller than they could have been, seems a shame to me

 

[Earthstore]

Bet she say's that to all the boys....

 

[solarsavings]

Went to one of our customers today who is happy with his fit payments totaling £541 for the year from his 6 romag 225's. He had six modules because that was all he could afford.

 

[SolarCity]

£541 is good going from a system that size.

 

[solarsavings]

We have another romag system, 3.995KWp that has done better still and BG now turns up on the off chance to read the generation meter :-0

But it's not all good.

I'm about to go to a 9 panel bosch system on a west facing roof we installed on the 3rd november where they're not happy with what it's produce so far when comparing it to their friends 9 panel bosch system on a south facing roof ( we installed that too). I want to check the system over before I go through their expected returns (sap 2005) again and why it will be/is different to their friends. We projected 1660 KWh due to the system being west facing and shading issues. so far it's produced 84KWh which is about right given the time of year, roof facing and shading.

 

[LightGEN]

We're supplying a 6 panel system, for a comercial property, which is being installed because the local planning department has specified an element of renewable energy as a condition of planning consent.

 

[moggy1968]

I would expect your west facing install to be about 20% less than the south facing

 

[darrens1973]

We have another romag system, 3.995KWp that has done better still and BG now turns up on the off chance to read the generation meter :-0

But it's not all good.

I'm about to go to a 9 panel bosch system on a west facing roof we installed on the 3rd november where they're not happy with what it's produce so far when comparing it to their friends 9 panel bosch system on a south facing roof ( we installed that too). I want to check the system over before I go through their expected returns (sap 2005) again and why it will be/is different to their friends. We projected 1660 KWh due to the system being west facing and shading issues. so far it's produced 84KWh which is about right given the time of year, roof facing and shading.

I have a 4kw Sanyo system, split west and east 2kw each side, comissioned on Dec 11th, its produced 88 Units to date, most of the last 4 weeks have been really dull, so only 1 unit a day, the last 2 days have been brighter and now 6 units a day. I would tell them to monitor it in different weather conditions. You could end up wasting a lot of time otherwise looking for an issue that does not exist. The 4kw system on my commercial unit has been in for a similar time and is on 75 units, it is only on a 5 degree slope though.

 

[darrens1973]

A fair few of the smaller ones are housing associations and local councils who are doing their bit too.