Poor Solar PV Installation ??? Expert Help Needed

[Bucks]

The lower roof area is shaded from the main house until about midday
Other people have told me that with them being wired into the same string as the other 12 panels, the efficiancy of the 12 top pannels would be greatly reduced.

 

[JD6400]

I would go with what Biggs is saying !
As for the vent pipe we had two neighbouring houses only about three weeks ago with two on each roof , after a quick enquiry with a building a contractor we work closely with on other projects and a double check of what they said with our domestic roofers just to make sure , half hour latter we have four tile vents at about £40 each and the job is looking good !
I may be barking up the wrong tree but do you live in Bucks more specifically Steeple Claydon , your house design does look very similar to some in that area ?

 

[JD6400]

Just looked at the pictures again , now i may be wrong but the block of four are clamped on the their short side , not sure about the 245's but i know that used to void the warranty on the 235's ?

 

[nbown]

you can cut down the soil stack and fit a 4" air emittance valve, that would stop the shading of the top roof. i took mine out completely and removed to boxing in in the bathroom.

Just for reference and it may not help as i'm in Essex. I had my install done on Saturday (not running until Sunday, low light levels) 3.92Kw (all panels on the roof), SSW facing. Fronius IG-tl 3.6 and have produced 43KWh.

Question, what's the darkening on the panels, it appears in the area where the junction box could be on the panels, i'm not saying it's right or wrong, i was just trying to work it out.

 

[Bucks]

I may be barking up the wrong tree but do you live in Bucks more specifically Steeple Claydon , your house design does look very similar to some in that area ?

No I live in North Yorkshire

Question, what's the darkening on the panels, it appears in the area where the junction box could be on the panels, i'm not saying it's right or wrong, i was just trying to work it out.

I dont know what it is

 

[MorganPVI]

we've had 39kwh for the last 6 days, so suspect some shading issues. Very bad desgin as Biggs has said, easily fixed swap out for a Aurora 3.6.

I surveyed a house today, lots of social housing had 10 or 12 of the little Sharps, 15-20 properties, EVERY one had a the long vent pipe at the base of the panels merrily shading away.

 

[Bucks]

THANKS for all your comments so far Guys its much appreciated,
I will have another look through them tomorrow when I get in from work,
no doubt I will have a few more questions.

 

[SolarCity]

By the time you've done a bit more research on this, you'll know more than your installer. The system design and the fact that the vent stacks are left in (which will give almost day long shading) tells me that your installer is not very clued up.

The fact that he has torn holes in the felt (for reasons that escape me) suggests that he couldn't care less either.

 

[funboy57]

The soil vent at the front can be dealt with not sure the same applies to the boiler flue near the ridge.

 

[Scott H]

if I recall correctly, Air Admittance Valves can only be fitted if there is another vent on the stack and the top of the stack must be more than 900mm above the top of any window openings - to prevent the smell coming back into the house.

hope this helps

 

[JulianC]

Air admittance valves can only be fitted if there is an open vent on the same drain - this can be on another property. A (very) basic rule of thumb is if every 5th property has a soil stack, the rest can be fitted with an air admittance valve. In other words, if the next door neighbours have got one, lop it off!

The 900mm above a window opening only applies to soil stacks (that are located withing 3m of a window opening). AA valves, by their nature, can't let smells out. They must be located internally otherwise they freeze up - usually in the loft (or bathroom so long as it isn't boxed in).

 

[Scott H]

thanks for the clarification JulianC, I wasnt aware that you could get away with using a AAV and 'use' your neighbours open vent - I had wrongly assumed it had to be on your system.

 

[JulianC]

No probs. The wife's a plumber so comes in useful occasionally ;-)

 

[Bucks]

Thanks Guys, you have confirmed what I thought about the soil stack regulations,

I don't think I can put a AAV in as it would be so tight to get access with it being right in the eaves, also it would be surrounded in insulation, the soil pipe is all boxed in in the bathroom, so if it can't be boxed in thats not an option.

I am thinking the best option might be to cut the soil pipe right down to just a couple of inches above roof level so it didn't shadow the panels, I know that it wouldn't comply with building regs, but who's to know and I cant realy imagine smells getting in through the windows. I think that would be better than leaving it to shadow the panels.

The ariel could if it had to, be moved to the left hand side of the house, but it would be overhanging next doors flat roof.

Not sure but would it be possible to shorten the boiler flue a bit?

Any comments to these suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[Bucks]

Just looked at the pictures again , now i may be wrong but the block of four are clamped on the their short side , not sure about the 245's but i know that used to void the warranty on the 235's ?

Just checked the manual & it looks like your right, it pretty much says the panels must be clamped on the long edges with minimum distances from the edges.

It's a pity the installer didn't read the manual!