61–70 of 88 posts
We legalized these in Belgium last year. I bought a 1600Wc + 1.9KWh kit (Ecoflow Stream) for +/- 1300€ last summer. It took us about 2h to install (we had to setup a new plug outside), and I already saved 200€+ since July. I am expecting to save about 350€ per year. Also, as u/jstch said, it's extremely fun to setup and generate your own power!
Every installed PV-panel is a dozen barrels of oil (eq.) less CO2 in the atmosphere. Plus, so much fun to generate your own power! Can highly recommend it, even starting small. It's addictive though. Living in the center of the city (The Hague, NL), with a home battery, I'm now 100% self-sufficient electrically for 10 months of the year.
Hey jstsch, would you mind answering some questions? - Did you need/use an electrician to set this up? - How much KWh capacity do your batteries have? - What about fire safety? Did you install outside, or inside? - I assume dec/jan are the months you're not fully self-sufficient, are you allowed to charge from grid to do arbitrage over time, or is that another can of worms?
The battery is 16kWh. Effectively around 14kWh, since you never fully discharge. LiFePo4, so no chance of spontaneous combustion like other battery chemistries.
I'd say the months Nov→Feb are tricky, although since I have quite a bit of excess solar capacity there are even in December plenty of days where the battery pulls me through the night.
Charging/discharging from/to the grid is possible, since I have a retrofit inverter (AC to battery), but not doing it yet, have to do a bit more research (dynamic pricing, tax is >50% of the kWh price in NL, etc).
How does panel shut-off work for emergency responders? Where I live, a solar energy system is required to have a shut off switch. For example, my system has a big red handle mounted on the side of the house. This is important not just for first responders like firefighters but also for linemen repairing downed lines, which are pretty common where I live (a mountainous rural area). Given that these store-bought panels…
These inverters have to switch off if they cannot detect a grid signal, or if the grid frequency/voltage goes out of the safe range. Same legislation as the non-plug&play inverters.
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These inverters have to switch off if they cannot detect a grid signal, or if the grid frequency/voltage goes out of the safe range. Same legislation as the non-plug&play inverters.
Does this mean if you have a main grid power outage the solar panel cannot provide your house with power either?
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What do you mean? Do you mean small solar panel for smartphones? Because the panels in the article are over a square meter big. Mine make 200-400 watts on sunny days
Yes. But 20W panel is panel too. Little worried about Lidl-quality also on larger scale.
Different companies, different manufactoring methods and different components. The inverter is the biggest cost at normal PVs for example, the panel itself is glas and alumnimum and not epoxy or plastic.
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These inverters have to switch off if they cannot detect a grid signal, or if the grid frequency/voltage goes out of the safe range. Same legislation as the non-plug&play inverters.
Does this mean if you have a main grid power outage the solar panel cannot provide your house with power either?
Some models of inverter brands like Victron (which isn't very common outside its niche of self-sufficiency because they are rather expensive and sometimes complex) can form a micro-grid. They have the option of a special circuit breaker [1] that decouples the inverter from the grid if the grid is detected to be down, which allows their use during a power outage.
[1] https://www.victronenergy.com/accessories/anti-islanding-box...
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If you are curious about it, why don’t you go and find the answer and then let us know too, no?
It’s a new account that has posted only pro nuclear and anti solar/wind stuff since its inception.
Long time ago when Siemens in Germany was still building nuclear power plants, I was working in the nuclear power plant engineering department. After the year 2022 when the Russia invaded Ukraine, the gas shortages and the following costs hikes renewed my interest energy sector. Why didn't German reverse it's anti-nuclear stance, even with war in Europe?
Was is the general lack of knowledge of physical, technological and economical aspects of energy, both in German population and decision makers?
The political aspect became clearer after reading "Akte Atomausstieg" by Daniel Gräber.
https://www.perlentaucher.de/buch/daniel-graeber/akte-atomau...
Little bit of money from oil and gas industry always helps.
https://correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2022/10/07/gazprom-l...
https://www.politico.eu/article/robert-habeck-germany-qatar-...
I think solar and wind are interesting technologies, (solar almost magical - turning photons of light inside thin layer of doped silicon into electrons) but by itself insufficient to power modern world. They are intermittent, weather dependent and low density. Yes the sun and wind come free from Sun, the machines that convert the energy, store it and distribute it are not. Minerals have to be mined, machines build, transported, installed and then disposed off.
Recommended reading:
"Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air" by Sir David John Cameron MacKay
Books by Vaclav Smil:
Energy and Civilization: A History
Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives
How the World Really Works
"Why Nuclear Power Has Been A Flop" - The Gordian Knot of the 21st Century
There are still big hydrocarbon reserves, gas/oil for atleast 100 years, coal 200 years, at current consumption rates. I fear that, if we don't use the only carbon free high density energy source and cling our hopes to the mirage of renewables, we will transform our atmosphere to hell.
When even the oil and gas giants advertise for renewables, you know that renewables will never replace fossil fuels.
"gas the perfect partner for renewable energies"
https://totalenergies.com/news/news/natural-gas-integral-par...
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It’s a new account that has posted only pro nuclear and anti solar/wind stuff since its inception.
You are both right and wrong at the same time. Long time ago when Siemens in Germany was still building nuclear power plants, I was working in the nuclear power plant engineering department. After the year 2022 when the Russia invaded Ukraine, the gas shortages and the following costs hikes renewed my interest energy sector. Why didn't German reverse it's anti-nuclear stance, even with war in Europe? Was is the gener…
> the machines that convert the energy, store it and distribute it are not. Minerals have to be mined, machines build, transported, installed and then disposed off
This is of course also a valid argument against nuclear power.
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Hey jstsch, would you mind answering some questions? - Did you need/use an electrician to set this up? - How much KWh capacity do your batteries have? - What about fire safety? Did you install outside, or inside? - I assume dec/jan are the months you're not fully self-sufficient, are you allowed to charge from grid to do arbitrage over time, or is that another can of worms?
Set it up myself, mostly. Some specific tasks like bringing three-phase power to the garage and hooking up the breaker box I did with an electrician. But installing an additional circuit inside the breaker box, or putting new conduit up, is easy to do safely yourself. Pre-wired breaker boxes can be configured online and are cheap. The battery is 16kWh. Effectively around 14kWh, since you never fully discharge. LiFePo…
UK specific note: note that since the changes in 2013 under the ""Part P"" building regulations, almost all electrical work other than trivial replacement is illegal to DIY. Additionally, renewables work requires extra MCS certification.
Which is why balcony solar is a good deal, it requires none of that.
I tried to set up Bluetti solar panel on my balcony in a similar way, but the efficiency was abysmal because of the angle to the sun. I wonder for how many people it will work in practice? Putting panels on the roof should be much more efficient…
Yes, but it's also much more expensive.