Nowty Towers Vs UK Grid Storage

[Andy]

Nowty, what is stopping the DNO giving you a higher export limit ie 6kW?

The higher export requires a higher voltage to push it out on the lines. I am allowed to export 13kW but tend to find in the middle of the summer I'm hitting 250V at 5.5kW.

[Krill]

Thanks Andy, learn something new everyday. Would have thought 250V would push more than 22A back into the system.

[Andy]

Thanks Andy, learn something new everyday. Would have thought 250V would push more than 22A back into the system.

I didn't often export until later in the afternoon. But here is a chart showing what happens. The grid voltage in green and the yellow is the export limit being applied to stop the voltage going too high. I find electrical things start dying if I go too high so I am quite conservative. This chart was from some day in June.

[Krill]

Andy, a question for you and the more technically minded folk: does it make sense, for the really high powered single phase systems, to trial a slower battery charging rate (and hence export from earlier in the day?)

I imagine there would be some challenge coding it for those people with semi automated systems. I know I can eyeball it and limit my rate in the luxpower app but my system doesn't tend to run into those problems as it's not as high production.

[nowty]

Nowty, what is stopping the DNO giving you a higher export limit ie 6kW?

The higher export requires a higher voltage to push it out on the lines. I am allowed to export 13kW but tend to find in the middle of the summer I'm hitting 250V at 5.5kW.

Until 6 months or so ago I was struggling to export 3kW before hitting 253V, in fact the grid voltage was always around 250V even at night and sometimes 255V or even higher which on occasion was causing my sunny Island to freak out and take us offgrid. It had been slowly rising year on year, then suddenly it dropped 7V and its been around 243V ever since so whatever the DNO did, I'm happy as now 8kW+ export on a Saving Session is now only up to about 248V or 249V.

[ALAN/ALAN D]

Ref " I was struggling to export 3kW before hitting 253V, "

I had the same problem with inverters shutting down at 253 Volts.

I walked up the road checking the crimped overhead power line connectors with a thermal imaging camera.
I found two conectors getting hot. They came out and replaced both.
Voltage been at 245 ever since. No tripping out.

[ecogeorge]

I too suffer from high voltage , although it doesn't appear to be causing any problems.....
George

[Andy]

I too suffer from high voltage , although it doesn't appear to be causing any problems.....
George

That's good to know. I had 2 things die so it might be coincidence. I'll probably go back to 253 again and see what happens. G99 now allows something like 262 volts before turning off so that is something to be careful about as well with newer equipment. My solar edge used to trip out at 253 before the new firmware was uploaded as part of the install requirements.

[Andy]

Andy, a question for you and the more technically minded folk: does it make sense, for the really high powered single phase systems, to trial a slower battery charging rate (and hence export from earlier in the day?)

That's my plan when I get onto intelligent octopus. The battery will only hold enough to get through the next 3 days of expensive periods not covered by solar. It'll probably discharge if too much in the battery as well. I haven't fully decided what I'll do if I don't get on IOG.

[Stinsy]

Uh oh. I've just started the whole export process pulling out of my FIT. Let us know how it goes please. Hopefully nothing to see here.

Hopefully you have lots of screenshots etc. The words 'your balance may be incorrect' as we make changes is a bit dodgy.

Hopefully will be OK, ,

They debited my Dec usage without sending me the actual bill. The amount they debited looked about right to me but I may have taken the IOG too far on the extra slot manipulation and they want to charge me full rate on some of the extra slots.

Or it could be my export at the start as I had asked to initially go onto the Agile export, but they put me on Fixed export. I decided to keep the Fixed export, but then they changed my export to Agile and somehow back dated it. I then asked to move to Fixed and they did immediately but maybe the billing has gone awry.

I'm not too worried.

I finally got the actual bill and from their manual reviews, the only two changes were,

An additional charge of 86p and a credit of £15.17 for my export. , it looks like it was my change from Agile to fixed export which required some recalculation. It seems gaming cheapslots on IOG is all fine.

I was thinking as I am now on an export tariff and have Ripple wind turbine savings,

I effectively sell to Octopus my Ripple wind turbine leccy for 27p / kWh.
I then buy the leccy back from Octopus which includes all the levies and VAT at an average of 7.7p / kWh on the IOG tariff.
I then sell some back to Octopus at 15p / kWh on the fixed export tariff.


The statement does not include £181 in octopoints gained on the Saving sessions over the same period.

I too am stuck in “transactions on your account are being manually reviewed” limbo. I went live on the 11th December on Outgoing so I guess that is what is slowing things down (rather than the improbable number of IOG cheapslots I’ve been allocated). I’ve emailed Octopus but to-date no reply.