Just look at the overhang!

[SRE]

You must have one of those rubbish solar pv systems installed then ;-)

 

[shanky887614]

You must have one of those rubbish solar pv systems installed then ;-)

He must have those Chinese micky mouse panels (you try pronouncing name)

Sanyo are good and generate what they are rated at.

 

[SRE]

I was being facetious, we have 3 systems all 3 are over producing. One Sharp, 2 Yingli all absolutely fine and those Sanyo panels you know all about - were re-branded as Panasonic after a buyout 18 months ago.

The key to good solar installations is to listen to what your customer needs and match with system appropriate for them. Not to buy in panels and inverters for what you think you will be able to sell to your customers.

 

[SolarRoofSols]

Crikey, post a pic of a dodgy install, go away for the weekend and world war 3 breaks out!

 

[SpitfireW'sale]

The whole green energy business is full of speculative sharks and cowboys. It is at the point where some companies are looking for fields and approaching the DNO's to find out what the capacity of the distribution network is at that point and how much generation they can fit. They are then approaching the landowner and promising huge unrealistic returns on their substantial investment. I for one cannot wait until the government screws the tarriffs down and the sharks and cowboys disappear back to where they came from. It is high time this bubble burst.

I’m not sure this is completely accurate. To make an application to the DNO for any site you now need the land owners permission, you can’t (legally) get details from the DNO and subsequently approach the land owner. Also, these big installs are usually (but not always) done on a rental per acre to the landowner and the figures quoted (at least by any company of any standing) are very accurate and subject to contractual review between the EPC company and the investor, with penalties in place for not meeting them.

However - The big EPC companies for utility scale installs have been known to put in very speculative applications to the DNO’s. They know the network capacity and know what regions are within striking distance of grid connection points with excess capacity. They are then approaching land owners with the offer of earning significantly more per acre through rental for solar than through arable farming. Once an agreement in principle is granted by the DNO this this potentially blocks anyone else wanting installs in the area for 3 months.

I completely agree with the point of your post though. For me solar should be primarily installed on domestic and commercial roof spaces. The utility scale installs are swallowing network capacity and lining the pockets of investment firms whilst most of the installation work goes to Eastern European firms which local installers struggle to compete with on price. This makes the big installs pretty much a closed shop.

I find it hard to admit, but I agree with Barker on this aspect – I saw him speak at an event recently and if he is to be believed (!) then new incentives to install on commercial roof spaces (over fields) should be introduced next year. This should hopefully be of benefit to pretty much everyone who contributes to the PV forum.

 

[MDJ]

Anyway, did you see that overhang on that PV install?

Yes appalling, If I were his next door neighbour I would be trying to get it removed from my side of the fence LOL

 

[FB.]

He must have those Chinese micky mouse panels (you try pronouncing name)

Sanyo are good and generate what they are rated at.

A couple of years ago when I was getting quotes for my panels I could get Chinese panels for a total installation cost of around £9k and Sanyo/Panasonic for total installation cost of around £12k.
So the Sanyo panels would have to generate 33% more to justify the extra cost.

As for real-world performance: I contribute readings to the Sheffield Solar Farm (they only want readings from the OFGEM-approved generation meter, not the add-on devices which can be inaccurate).

The 3.75kWp system in my signature is URN 774 (just North of Cambridge) and you can look at its data for yourself on the bottom left of this link:
Welcome to the UK wide network of PV generators - Microgen Database.

When examined on a "performance ratio" my system seems to be a regular outperformer (performance ratio takes into account azimuth, pitch and location; you have to compare like with like).

So the Kinve panels in my array seem to be very satisfactory at the moment. My best guess is that if I had Sanyo/Panasonic panels the outperformance over my Kinve panels would be between 0 and 15% (with the most likely difference being 5-10% in favour of the Sanyo) whereas the extra cost would have been 33%.

That's not to say I think Kinve are some miracle panel: I think that they're probably about the same as most others on the market. I think a randomly chosen "lucky dip" panel has almost as much chance of performing well as a carefully chosen panel, although the Sanyo/Panasonic might have a slight edge in total generation (but nowhere near enough to justify the substantial extra cost).

 

[jason121]

The only benefit with Panasonic is that they are small in comparison to other modules.

 

[FB.]

......i think a randomly chosen "lucky dip" panel has almost as much chance of performing well as a carefully chosen panel......

Of course, the most important thing is a well-designed system.
A well-designed system with average quality components will far outperform a poorly designed system with the finest components.

Lots of subtle performance-impairing things can affect solar arrays and a good installer will notice the potential problems and design the system accordingly - sometimes it can be that "less is more" and an array with one or two panels less might be both cheaper and be able to generate more power than a bigger system where panels have been squeezed and poorly positioned.
But try telling a Joe public with an awkward roof that he'd be better with 3.5kWp on his roof instead of 4kWp.......

 

[Marvo]

Not sure if it's a sign of insanity FB. but you're arguing with yourself in your last post

 

[FB.]

Not sure if it's a sign of insanity FB. but you're arguing with yourself in your last post

I talk to the fairies at the bottom of the garden too.
Can't you hear the voices? :wacko: