Discuss Purchased a house with PV in the Solar PV Forum | Solar Panels Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

Reaction score
1
Hi all
I'm after a bit of advice I've recently purchased a house with a PV Array which was installed in 2015 and I have a copy of the MCS certificate.
it is owned by me outright without any FIT connected to it.
How can i maximise the utilisation of the electricity it generates as I really don't want to be exporting electricity to the Grid needlessly if possible.

Thanks in anticipation
 
How big is the system, you can get that information from the MCS Certificate? Why wasn't it registered for FiT, are you sure it isn't? Is there a generation meter?
 
Hi
Just dug out my MCS certificate to answer the above
Installed capacity 4.0kw commissioned 06/08/15
there is a generation meter

and no i don't have any batteries

as was determined by my solicitor during the purchase there is no FIT agreement

and ok then if I'm not exporting it - I want to stop wasting the potential generated
 
I have a system similar to yours although I get a fair whack from the FIT, I have a solar iboost and during the Summer if sunny the solar heats my water, we tend to leave the dishwasher and washing machine to run during the day if sunny etc etc. My solar iboost lets me know when I am in credit and have an excess to use.
 
atoms from the grid will only come one way and not the other way ,why do people think they are put electricity to the grid .unless they have one power station .

Atoms don't go anywhere.

Only electrons do.

To put electricity into the grid simply regulate the output of the inverter to be slightly higher than the incoming grid voltage.

Simples!
 
It seems odd that someone would instal a PV system and then not avail themselves of the income available from the FiT scheme.

Considering this some ....you should be able to apply to one of the many suppliers who offer FiT connections and receive the appropriate level of FiT income for the system you now own.

I've been away from the PV game for some time, so others who are more current with scheme terms might have things to add on the subject.
 
Last edited:
I would be staggered if this systemn was not registered for FITs. Would contact the vendor of the house via your solicitor. The FIT is for the system and should have been transferred as part of the sale of the property. As you have an MCS certificate this would suggest this to be the case. If by some outside chance the system is not registered, there may still be time as I beleive there is up to 12 months from the end of the qualification period (31st March) to do so. However, a FIT from 2015 will be worth a whole lot more. Ofgem also have a central FITs register and may be able to help.

To maxx out self consumption:
Change behaviours - put the washing machine/dishwaher on when you go out to work, not when you go to bed. Think about when and how you use electrcity, then do all you can to coencide with PV production.
If you have a hot water tank, fit a diverter to send excess to heat water via the immersion element. Be aware you only save the cost of whatever you use to heat water.
Look at battery storage. Do not go for a cheap and cheerful system. There is a lot coming in terms of utilising time-of-use tariffs, weather compensation and other cleverness to not only maximise use of PV generation but also to charge/discharge using the grid to avoid buying peak rate power.
Use a solar optimised car charger to charge your EV from your PV.
 

Reply to Purchased a house with PV in the Solar PV Forum | Solar Panels Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock