Search found 73 matches

by robl
Mon Apr 14, 2025 11:03 pm
Forum: Photovoltaic
Topic: Armoured cable for DC
Replies: 25
Views: 12044

Re: Armoured cable for DC

There’s no point fusing the cable at the panel end - the mppt will run them at 90% or so of their short circuit current. You’ll not find a fuse that will work normally, then blow when you want.
by robl
Sat Mar 29, 2025 6:58 pm
Forum: Energy storage, batteries, energy tariffs
Topic: ASAP / aircon?
Replies: 34
Views: 1333

Re: ASAP / aircon?

In a Split system, the hot heat exchanger is inside the house so no losses. I think in a typical split system, in the outside unit there is an air-refrigerant heat exchanger, a compressor, and a reversing valve. So in heating mode the refrigerant pipe carries hot gas to the indoor heat exchanger wh...
by robl
Sat Mar 22, 2025 8:48 am
Forum: Photovoltaic
Topic: One warm panel?
Replies: 4
Views: 303

Re: One warm panel?

The sun is providing maybe 100W to that panel, of which 20W could be turned into electricity if it’s usefully connected to an mppt inverter, the other 80W turning to heat. If the inverter doesn’t use it for some reason - eg. it’s not actually wired up or it’s shorted out or the current is too high f...
by robl
Mon Mar 03, 2025 12:13 pm
Forum: Wind Power
Topic: Batteries increase wind farm utilisation
Replies: 18
Views: 8778

Re: Batteries increase wind farm utilisation

Paying turbines to stop generating is actually not all that hare-brained. It's a lot quicker and easier to balance local network capacity issues by turning off some turbines than it is to completely switch off an entire gas plant. It actually provides additional flexibility. Which will become incre...
by robl
Sat Mar 01, 2025 7:47 am
Forum: Biomass
Topic: DRAX
Replies: 13
Views: 839929

Re: DRAX

Why did Ed Milliband agree to CCS and also to subsidise Drax? I think it pained him to do so, must’ve been some serious lobbying going on.
by robl
Sun Feb 09, 2025 8:46 pm
Forum: Spaceheating
Topic: UFH to be connected to ASHP ?
Replies: 40
Views: 11376

Re: UFH to be connected to ASHP ?

I’ve heard the 3.5kW Vaillant arotherm plus is a software limited version of the 5kW. If so, you’d have the same low power level, just a limited maximum compressor speed ie power, so lower modulation effectively. I’m not sure of an engineering reason to make two models out of one piece of hardware, ...
by robl
Wed Jan 22, 2025 7:36 pm
Forum: Media and Culture
Topic: Why the ‘eye-watering’ cost of heat pumps doesn’t add up
Replies: 20
Views: 4452

Re: Why the ‘eye-watering’ cost of heat pumps doesn’t add up

IMG_2989.png Well the facts are true; the horrifically high ‘spark gap’ in the UK is why we aren’t all embracing heatpumps. In a perfect world everybody would want to ‘do the right thing’, but financially nudging people to do what you want is a standard government technique - what is Ed Milliband w...
by robl
Tue Jan 14, 2025 9:47 am
Forum: Photovoltaic
Topic: Big roof solar - sharing power...
Replies: 13
Views: 3637

Re: Big roof solar - sharing power...

There's a petition to allow local selling of electricity here - it looks like exactly what would help!
I signed it.

https://powerforpeople.org.uk/the-local ... icity-bill
by robl
Mon Nov 11, 2024 5:44 pm
Forum: Energy storage, batteries, energy tariffs
Topic: Octopus Go/Go faster - enforcing "EVs only" ??
Replies: 25
Views: 11938

Re: Octopus Go/Go faster - enforcing "EVs only" ??

So my buddy just got go! He’s got a home batt and PV, and was with octopus already, with a smart smets 1 ‘secure’ meter that was correctly sending readings for import and export according to their app. He found an online link to swap to go, said yes to some sort of pdf of terms and conditions that h...
by robl
Sat Nov 09, 2024 8:19 am
Forum: Energy storage, batteries, energy tariffs
Topic: Octopus Go/Go faster - enforcing "EVs only" ??
Replies: 25
Views: 11938

Re: Octopus Go/Go faster - enforcing "EVs only" ??

Anybody recently get Octopus Go, without an EV, and what was your experience? Does Octopus actually care for some reason, or are they ‘helpfully’ trying to avoid inappropriate tariffs for regular electricity users? Asking for a friend who’s just got PV and batts, no EV. Noted that the export rate fo...