Advertising a system as 4kWp?

[sambotc]

Even though it is capped at 3.6kWp under G83, surely you would have to advertise it as 4kW or am I missing something?

 

[moggy1968]

well it's 4kw according to the FiTS providers!

 

[sambotc]

kWp or kW?

I've seen a lot of companies advertising as kWp but surely this isn't the case?

 

[Earthstore]

We get into the grey area of TIC or DNC,
According to "the rules" the amount of panels on the roof is the TIC, I am aware some people say different, as the inverter is an integral part of the system, this is the problem with the powers to be using generic forms for all types of micro generation.

I have gone quite in-depth into this (for other reasons),
so if they say TIC is the panels, then it is a 4KWP.

I hope this helps

 

[dansk]

we advertise as 4kwp, TBH its easier to sell, and 3.68kw is more of a technicality.

 

[sambotc]

Thanks earthstore, I realise when it comes to the fits it is as you say and have read the previous posts regarding this, but to a customer could it not be seen as misleading, the system will never peak at 4kw after all? (spanner in the works)

Then you get into the SAP calculations, should they be calculated as 3.6 or 4? if it was calculated at 3.6 then you would not see the gains 4 would have in lower light conditions though, so the figures would be even further out, so I would be inclined to calculate at 4, given the fact that SAP is nearly always outperformed in real life scenarios.

If the industry is sticking to that method then i'm not going to put myself at a disadvantage.

 

[sambotc]

Yeah I think 99% of companies do dansk, and it is more of a technicality really, just wondered what would happen if it went to a court or something silly.

 

[Earthstore]

How many 4KWP systems peak at 4KW, and if they do it is not for long, maybe once or twice in April/May time, they certainly do not run at 4KW all day long, before anybody says "mine peaks".

It is common practice to have a 3.6KW inverter with 4KW of panels, and over a full year they tend to produce more power than a 4KW inverter.

If you have 4kw on the roof, then use that for your SAP calculation.

 

[dansk]

well i always explained its capped due to g83 and ive not had any issues, i dont see any issues really, im not takng VW to court coz my mpg doest do what they state it does!

 

[sambotc]

Yes but technically speaking your car could do the MPG as proven in tests. Technically speaking your 4kWp will never peak at 4kW ever.

It's a hornets nest I would rather not disturb and the way I see it is as long as you sell the system informing the customer that it is capped at 3.68kWp I don't see it being an issue, but those window companies with useless salesman might be misleading their customers technically.