I
Ibis Designs
Hello
This is my first post but I have read many others and am impressed with the quality of the correspondence.
I am not an electrician but a retired electronics engineer wishing to experiment with solar energy storage using heat dumps. After some research I decided to go the PV route for a variety of reasons. The plan is to fit a 4kW PV system heating 117 kg of water which I reckon will take about 7kWh from cold.
A couple of local firms responded quickly to my request for a quote and I am now somewhat the wiser for it. It was disappointing to find that my technical questions could not be answered and some of the advice I was given was very suspect. I was told that the 20m of cable running from the inverters to a spare connection on the consumer unit would be 2.5mm cable and that because it’s a difficult run it would be laid in the gutter and dropped down the drainpipe.
The cable idea didn’t sound right to me so I checked. The use of a spare outlet also sounded wrong so I checked that in this forum and found that was also not correct.
As for the gutter idea ……
The final issue was the price for the solar panels. The recommended panel was Suntech 250 Watt STP250S-20/Wd which is available from UK Urban energy for £139 trade but these guys want £343 a piece. I don’t mind a fair mark-up but this is excessive.
So, the reason for this post is to seek advice on competent installers in my area (Shoreham-by-sea in Sussex). I appreciate that at the moment it’s a buyer’s market but it’s not my intention to run an auction or press for the lowest possible price. I simply want a well constructed system at a fair price.
I have provided some information on the PV system but apparently I can’t provide hyperlinks to the files as I am a new member. To get around this I have provided a single short URL code that links to a google docs file containing a system specification and hyperlinks to three files. These are:
· A 3D SketchUp drawing of the building and associated items that create shade at certain times of the year.
· A wiring diagram
· A google earth kmz overlay with the building geographically located in its correct position.
Google docs hyperlinks require a click to select and then choose your option.
The short URL follows – it is case sensitive. Remove the spaces in h t t p
h t t p://goo.gl/Y9nrP
Brian
This is my first post but I have read many others and am impressed with the quality of the correspondence.
I am not an electrician but a retired electronics engineer wishing to experiment with solar energy storage using heat dumps. After some research I decided to go the PV route for a variety of reasons. The plan is to fit a 4kW PV system heating 117 kg of water which I reckon will take about 7kWh from cold.
A couple of local firms responded quickly to my request for a quote and I am now somewhat the wiser for it. It was disappointing to find that my technical questions could not be answered and some of the advice I was given was very suspect. I was told that the 20m of cable running from the inverters to a spare connection on the consumer unit would be 2.5mm cable and that because it’s a difficult run it would be laid in the gutter and dropped down the drainpipe.
The cable idea didn’t sound right to me so I checked. The use of a spare outlet also sounded wrong so I checked that in this forum and found that was also not correct.
As for the gutter idea ……
The final issue was the price for the solar panels. The recommended panel was Suntech 250 Watt STP250S-20/Wd which is available from UK Urban energy for £139 trade but these guys want £343 a piece. I don’t mind a fair mark-up but this is excessive.
So, the reason for this post is to seek advice on competent installers in my area (Shoreham-by-sea in Sussex). I appreciate that at the moment it’s a buyer’s market but it’s not my intention to run an auction or press for the lowest possible price. I simply want a well constructed system at a fair price.
I have provided some information on the PV system but apparently I can’t provide hyperlinks to the files as I am a new member. To get around this I have provided a single short URL code that links to a google docs file containing a system specification and hyperlinks to three files. These are:
· A 3D SketchUp drawing of the building and associated items that create shade at certain times of the year.
· A wiring diagram
· A google earth kmz overlay with the building geographically located in its correct position.
Google docs hyperlinks require a click to select and then choose your option.
The short URL follows – it is case sensitive. Remove the spaces in h t t p
h t t p://goo.gl/Y9nrP
Brian
