EF members' installs - show us your work!

[SolarCity]

As this forum gets a lot of examples of bad work throughout the PV forum, we thought it would be a good idea to have a thread showing examples of how it should be done.

This isn't about ego stroking - this about showing the high volume of public traffic that come through here that some of us do actually care about the work we do.

Go ahead and post some pictures.

 

[dansk]

East/West install on slate garage roof. LG250S1C Panels, Twin Tracker Power One Inverter. These photos are in no particular order!

 

[HandySparks]

East/West install on slate garage roof. LG250S1C Panels, Twin Tracker Power One Inverter. These photos are in no particular order!

All looks good to me (not being a solar installer) but what's the story on the pic of the switchgear and socket right next to the shower???

 

[dansk]

Was there before me - its in a garage and its for washing his dogs.

 

[infinity]

Nice work, are they Panosonic and are they allowed to be clamped on the side edges?

Also is that just a 4mm Flex used for AC side or Hi-tuff?

Like the idea of the sticker for the inverter with your details on as well!

 

[dansk]

Guys - the pictures are for illustration - not picking at - the title say LG250 - yes they can be clamped short side otherwise i wouldnt have done it - yes its 4mm 3 core flex. why?

 

[infinity]

[video=youtube;LXVUtwdlZQ0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXVUtwdlZQ0[/video]

Some of our work in a video i made for site

 

[infinity]

Guys - the pictures are for illustration - not picking at - the title say LG250 - yes they can be clamped short side otherwise i wouldnt have done it - yes its 4mm 3 core flex. why?

Not picking at all! Just wondered, should have read the titles :s Not used LG.

No reason again just curious if it was flex or not.

 

[dansk]

Ok -

 

[Energetic]

One from us

 

[SolarCity]

A ground mount system we carried out last year

And a couple of pics of the inverters

 

[MCS Renewables]

This PV system and project came second at the National Renewable Awards, Ricoh Arena, September 2012.
The category was the "UK best residential renewable project"

The category was won by British Gas !

 

[Worcester]

Sometimes we even have to re-roof it first


p.s. that's reflection not shadow on the aerial shot!

 

[Ian-LS]

Just a few of our best installations

 

[infinity]

Sometimes we even have to re-roof it first
View attachment 16166View attachment 16165View attachment 16164View attachment 16163View attachment 16162

p.s. that's reflection not shadow on the aerial shot!

That metal work= work of art!!

 

[Energetic]

Another from Us, this is one some of you have seen before but this is a recent photo taken at our 12 month check. Keep em coming guys...

 

[jason121]

Enphase inverter on this install

 

[jason121]

Cement fibre Asbestos roof

 

[JulianC]

Got panels up this morning, after a right drenching yesterday. 16 x Canadian Solar 250 / StecaGrid 3600 combo. Finishing off Monday with an ImmerSUN

 

[Maff]

 

[nathanb]

Hi

looks like a 30 or 40KW system, just wondering did you fit surge protection or did the inverter have it internal also all your panels are together so for maintenace would it be better to section off each string?? just a thought

 

[jason121]

What maintenace, all i can think of is cleaning them. Which is the new trend in London

 

[Silly Sausage]

Some nice work there chaps!
The trouble with those ground mounted arrays, for me, would be the worry of vandalism. Too many headcases out there.
Do you get much trouble that way?

 

[Gavin A]

Case Study | Quaker Meeting House, Leeds


In August 2011 Leeds Solar installed a 4kWp solar PV system on the roof of the Quaker meeting house, opposite Leeds University in Leeds. The system consisted of 16 x REC mono-crystaline black framed panels (250Wp I think), chosen for their lower than average carbon footprint, and an SMA SB3300 inverter.

The building is in regular use during the day time and early evening most days of the week for a variety of community activities and meetings, so the consumption patterns are a good match for solar PV generation times.
The graph below shows more than a 50% reduction in electricity consumption over the year, with a 60% reduction in electricity consumption even in the poor summer of 2012, and perhaps more surprisingly a 40% reduction in consumption even in the peak of winter, with no particular changes to usage patterns or other factors that would have impacted significantly on the consumption levels..

Monthly electricity consumption before and after PV installation

The reason the reduction is still so high even in winter is that on cloudy days the solar system still generates a few hundred watts of power, but all this generation is then used within the building, whereas in peak sunlight the majority of the additional generation is exported.
Where peak generation is significantly above the average daytime consumption levels there may not actually be much difference between the energy savings on a sunny day vs a cloudy day.
In very high consumption situations where most of the generation is consumed on site even in peak sunlight, there would be a lot more difference between summer and winter energy savings.

 

[JD6400]

Just a few from when we were still installing .
Picture 15 had a shed built around them straight after that photo !

 

[Gavin A]

Picture 15 had a shed built around them straight after that photo !

glad you said that. I was going along with the whole outside thing until I spotted the meter.

Some decent workmanship on display there IMO. Interesting that you do the same as us on the commercial mounts in terms of cruciform mounting on most of it.

I might have to nick the idea of using a tray to run the cables up and over the cutter, that looks quite a good solution

 

[sparkless]

if only this was mine

 

[Earthstore]

View attachment 16828 if only this was mine

Hell that's impressive......

 

[Ian-LS]

I'd love to see the prediction for that system....

 

[Gavin A]

View attachment 16828 if only this was mine

it's all wonky. They could at least have levelled it up

 

[JD6400]

It dropped a couple off that last post for some reason .

 

[SolarCity]

Some nice looking installs there, Gav and DP.

DP, I noticed the netting underneath the trapezoidal roof on those pictures. I've never thought that would be necessary unless there were any sky lights.

 

[Earthstore]

I agree, nice installs chaps,
Netting is always required on a fibre cement roof, if you have ever fallen through one you would understand why...

 

[SolarCity]

I agree, nice installs chaps,
Netting is always required on a fibre cement roof, if you have ever fallen through one you would understand why...

It looked like a metal trapezoidal roof from the picture. Maybe I was wrong.

 

[JD6400]

Hi SolarCity , Earthstore was mostly correct apart from it was what we prefer to call a "Pre" fibre cement roof !:ihih:

It was hard enough to load them up let alone tag the photos so they are in a bit of a random order i am afraid , but if you look at the barn with all the intricate scaffolding at the side and front of it , i did not take a photo of the internal netting work which was over the Drier And holding bins but it was literally a work of art !

From memory the netting and scaffolding for that 10 kw system came to over £2.500 +vat alone , it was one of the last we installed before the deadline and we even sent one of our lads (free of charge) up to Gritish bas at I think it was Manchester to hand deliver the fits application because the client did not trust the automated system .

When we had sky lights we just 3/4 in ply lined them , with or without a net it F!"£$^g hurts when you go through no matter what !

 

[jason121]

I agree, nice installs chaps,
Netting is always required on a fibre cement roof, if you have ever fallen through one you would understand why...

Not always. You can use crawling boards

 

[jason121]

Also if it was pre 1995 would of had asbestos in it unless you had it sent to the lab for testing

 

[JD6400]

Also if it was pre 1995 would of had asbestos in it unless you had it sent to the lab for testing

Exactly , "Pre" fibre cement !:leaving:

 

[jason121]

Interested in how you managed to collect the dust from drilling roof. Was the the old shaving foam technic

 

[JD6400]

Or just one of those 15 litre garden sprayers with water in it .

 

[steve Leese]

When we drill through fibre roofs we use a strong solution of PVA which binds the fibres together, when dry they stay bound up out of harms way, if you just use water, when it drys out the fibres become airbourne again. Got lots of photo's but don't know how to load them on hear.

 

[The Launderer]

Some of our work.













If anyone knows how to remove the big image please let me know. Spent ages trying to remove but can't do it.

 

[rmccabe20]

some recent jobs, 2 no 50kw system, 4 no 4kw systems on roof of multistory buildings ballasted down with 100kg per panel (ouch).

 

[rmccabe20]

some recent jobs

- - - Updated - - -

some recent jobs

 

[Marvo]

Wow, I can't believe the planning department allows people to install panels on their front wall. I know nothing about solar PV so I'm not knocking your installation, I just know if that was one of my neighbours I wouldn't be a happy camper having to look at it every day.

 

[Silly Sausage]

Hahaha...apart from the dubious angle, them downstairs will be in complete darkness with the lights on!
I'll stick with the curtains open.

 

[JD6400]

some recent jobs

- - - Updated - - -

some recent jobs

Sorry mate , the post before this was "Liked" by me for good reason !

But that house is one of the most unsightly installs i have yet seen , I know I have just judged it on aesthetics alone and this smacks a little of "The solar police" mentality , but it is installs like this that get people suggesting that solar is a blight on our landscape !

Again i am sorry if i have offended you as your post before shows a very tidy solution indeed for the containment on that job, but i feel for that install i had to say something .

 

[Gavin A]

Wow, I can't believe the planning department allows people to install panels on their front wall. I know nothing about solar PV so I'm not knocking your installation, I just know if that was one of my neighbours I wouldn't be a happy camper having to look at it every day.

They definitely wouldn't in a conservation area, well not on permitted development grounds anyway, that'd be pretty dubious if anyone challenged it IMO.

Still, I suppose as long as the customer was made aware of this, and insisted upon it being done like that then on their head be it. I just hope they get on well with their neighbours, otherwise they could be in trouble.

 

[rmccabe20]

2 x 50 Kw systems = 400 panels

 

[Worcester]

I refuse to comment on the above, the purpose really was to showcase good installs and hopefully good installation practices ...