Recent content by ghoti

Thanks for this detailed reply. I agree that the section you highlight here will always be in shade. Please let me be sure that I understand the full import of this information. Let's suppose it's noon on a sunny day -- a best-case scenario for an unshaded solar install facing south, as per...

Thank you. A question about your comment here: "#1 and #3 (and #2 and #4) will throttle one another. Whichever one is getting better sun, it will be limited by the current produced by the array with worse sun." So #1 and #3 are in series on a single string, by my understanding. #1 has three...

Thanks for the question. The spec was for them all to be facing due South -- with no overlap. However, the contractor purchased mountings that did not fit the roof space, and rotated the northern pieces so they would fit. I questioned this and was told it would be only a few degrees...

Many thanks @sunshine_eggo. I have edited the post to provide additional information in the light of your response. 1&3 are in series and 2&4 are in series, in two parallel groups. The concrete blocks are holding the arrays down; there is no connection to the building's structure, aside from...

I attach photos of a recent solar install. I would be very grateful for comments -- and possible suggestions for suggested optimisations -- on the panel placement and workmanship. Location is Scotland (latitude 56 degrees). Concerning orientation: in the photo "above.jpeg", North-to-South is...

Thanks SeaGal, that's very useful. I drew 0.8kwh yesterday from my 4kwh install. If I take your 1.2kwh and scale by 4/6, I get 0.8kwh, which looks good. Correction (I was reading the wrong column): my 4kw system drew 0.3, 0.2, and 0.3 kwh on 22, 23, and 24 Dec respectively. This is clearly...

Many thanks for the reply SeaGal. This is clear. The angle was specified in the quote before the install. What is installed does not correspond to that quote. This really bugs me but that is separate from whether it's worth asking for changes. I take your sentence "Won't make huge...

So it's the winter solstice and the UK is overcast. Not ideal conditions for solar energy! I have a brand new 4kw solar panel install and have been drawing between 1.2 kwh and 0.4 kwh per day (total) from the system over the past week. Is this normal (solstice, clouds, etc), or should I be...

We just had a solar panel install in the United Kingdom (latitude of 57 degrees). The panels are installed on a flat roof at an angle of 10 degrees (i.e. nearly flat). I was expecting an angle of 35 degrees for maximum efficiency, but the contractor claims that a 10 degree angle is standard for...