Adding PV array into existing circuit?

[johnboy6083]

As far as im concerned, i think it is very dangerous to have an alternative supply tapped into a final circuit. im not PV trained so i dont understand the finer points of PV installation, but i think that in general its not to be done. labells fall off, boards get damaged, and tenants change. also even competant experianced sparks are guilty of not testing dead all of the time.

 

[BruceB]

In principle, it is possible to have microgeneration connected into existing circuits. BS7671 does allow it and it features in the BPG that Worcester cited because that is expressing the 'general' case. However for Solar PV we MCS types are required to follow the DTI guide which says 'must preferably' be a separate circuit. Not 100%, but not far short! If you do install into an existing final circuit then make sure you read and understand 551.7 which is not trivial.

Regards
Bruce

 

[Worcester]

@BruceB Spot on!

Sometimes I think people jump in here before reading the guidelines they are supposed to know to become MCS.

I was at a renewables conference this week that lamented how many small firms were now MCS registered that really didn't know what they were doing and so thereby had devalued the MCS qualification, and as such MCS could no longer be used as a gaurantee of getting good, quality advice that could be assumed to be correct. And they should look for a track record of similar projects to judge their capability.

This was I must admit aimed a a group of people that would in the past have beed considering roo-fit installations and were now being 'pestered' by loads of MCS qualaified organisations without experience of larger scale projects.

Interesting, that people are saying this..

 

[bigbob1]

. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007510/Great-solar-power-Rogue-salesmen-overestimate-savings-green-panels-provide-households.html Read on, i personally believe that PV is a game for sparks, but there is selling involved and money to be made, i am affraid that of the 2400 odd mcs companies out there you can guarantee 2000 of them are window and door companies with a knock you on the head sales approach, with guys that do not really understand the full in's and out's of this industry. But saying that they're not going to be able to help build 8 new power stations, and that in itself destroys the longevity of the solar industry. Germany 100% renewables within 20, UK 30% within 9 then nuclear you can look at it like this really america 5 litre engines uk about 2 litre we're tiny country so why bother trying to cut down on co2? which is a myth in itself, because wether tv's on stand by or not or lights left on or not the turbines are still spinning at the power plant, which is creating the co2!

 

[BruceB]

Worcester, I spent 36 years in the Services and for the latter 10 years saw so often examples where process came to dominate over substance of what we were trying to achieve. The same is happening with MCS. I have been assessed for GSHP, ASHP and PV and I did expect some discussion of the engineering judgements I had made on my initial installations, because they were real, tricky installations, not just a simple 2kW on my own roof. There was no engineering discussion. The focus was almost entirely on the paperwork - that the bases had been covered in the QMS and in the information provided to the customer. I do not have a simple solution to offer though because I bridle at over regulation of activities.
Regards
Bruce

 

[bigbob1]

Anything to do with the government will have a paper trail sponsored by andrex guaranteed.

 

[johnthesparky]

I finished my NICEIC solar PV course yesterday (with PPL training), and it was talked about as an alternative option....

not the best solution, and you would need to establish that the circuit could take the additional load, but it is allowed

 

[Energetic]

Cheers for the comments everyone, I am familiar with all the guidence identified above and it seems to me to be a bit abiguous and open to interpretation. As such i was after opinion based on experience rather than quotation from other texts.