Offgrid systems here on Camelot?

[Joeboy]

After looking at the Drax energy figures site and clicking through to Sheffield University PV site I had a thought.

https://electricinsights.co.uk/#/homepage?&_k=bcqggz

Via NG data, the estimate for installed PV in the UK is 13.86GW. I wonder what the UK offgrid PV capacity is?

There must be GW's worth more second systems out there happily doing their bit? I think that's a Happy thought!

https://www.solar.sheffield.ac.uk/pvlive/


Edit, govt doc quotes 13.8GW at the end of 2021. Well there's been a bit of an upswing since! I know this is angels head of pin type question yet it does make me wonder just how much is out there.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... U36G-YjhcQ

I'm sure there will be a similar lag in true WT capacity? A year off the pace just seems wrong...
Although that year off the pace just shows how well served and at the front of the game we are in Ripple WT1 and the data supplied. I'm sure this thought started with PV!

[Paul_F]

My suspicion is that the truly off-grid amount is actually very small indeed - very few people out there aren't grid-connected and those that are won't use all that much PV.

Output estimates in PV_Live are taken by a sample of a few hundred sites for which metered data has been made available, and extrapolating it to the National Grid figure for how much solar is installed in the UK. The National Grid explicitly stated a few years ago that no solar PV installations were big enough to be notified to them, so my suspicion is that they've somehow got hold of data from the importers or Customs on how much PV is entering the country. Assuming it's all installed within a few months and grey imports are very small (both good assumptions IMHO) and PV_Live should be giving us very good data.

[Joeboy]

My suspicion is that the truly off-grid amount is actually very small indeed - very few people out there aren't grid-connected and those that are won't use all that much PV.

Output estimates in PV_Live are taken by a sample of a few hundred sites for which metered data has been made available, and extrapolating it to the National Grid figure for how much solar is installed in the UK. The National Grid explicitly stated a few years ago that no solar PV installations were big enough to be notified to them, so my suspicion is that they've somehow got hold of data from the importers or Customs on how much PV is entering the country. Assuming it's all installed within a few months and grey imports are very small (both good assumptions IMHO) and PV_Live should be giving us very good data.

Ah but being grid connected and the entire PV system being registered so that NG know about it all via tartiff registration are not quite the same(dc-dc via battery system). Fair point on importer data, that makes sense and a great way to gain an accurate estimate if they thought of it and far enough back in time. The year behind though...doesn't bode well for accuracy.

[nowty]

For the absence of doubt it was possible for OffGridders who AC coupled their PV to have an MCS installation and claim the Feed in Tariffs (FITs). Therefore they should be included in the totals.

Some folk think the word "feed in" is with respect to the grid but its not, its about "feeding in" the new technology via a subsidy.

[Sunrisemike]

We are off grid and registered our panels with edf 10 years ago. I think we were the first, as they demanded wiring diagrams etc before agreeing to accept our install. I have a dc voltage monitor that opens ac circuits at different voltages. As the batteries go into absorb, it switches on one dehumidifier, then another and finally the off peak heater. This keeps the meter whizzing, even with charged batteries.

mike

[ClockmanFRA]

What is OFF GRID.

My definition is NO Utility connection. ?

But then most folk i know without Utility connection have a good standby generator.

Then the grey areas.

Us, we have stonking big changeover switches. We have a EDF Utility connection, but are not GTI to the EDF. So EDF have no knowledge of our RE generation. When our batteries are low and RE input is poor then we use EDF utility supply instead of a Standby generator.

We did the calculations against a base 3KW EDF supply, its different here in FRANCE, against a good 15KVA generator, its cost and life span, maintenance and fuel costs.

Still do the costs comparisons EDF or Generator and the low cost of a minimal EDF still works for us.

Over 15 years with our own RE generation we saved 54K euro against having all energy supplied from EDF. Only spent 18k on all our RE equipment. And very soon we will have reached 33kW of RE generating capacity.
WE have 12 buildings here, 7 are independent house/accommodation buildings to passive house standards. All heating of these buildings is electric and log wood burner stoves.

Perhaps someone would like to define OFF GRID and its sub categories?

Is ‘NOWTY’ busy,? LOL.

[Joeboy]

My idea of off grid is a system that will function if grid is down. More importantly though for this thread. Its a set of panels that NG don't know about so are not in the annual count.

I have no doubts that definitions will vary!

[nowty]

More importantly though for this thread. Its a set of panels that NG don't know about so are not in the annual count.

The point I made is that some of them will be in the annual count, at least for the ones back in the FIT days.

But I agree that there will be a lot of "second systems" not in the count. Yours and my place are obvious examples.

[Joeboy]

More importantly though for this thread. Its a set of panels that NG don't know about so are not in the annual count.

The point I made is that some of them will be in the annual count, at least for the ones back in the FIT days.

But I agree that there will be a lot of "second systems" not in the count. Yours and my place are obvious examples.

Indeed, I hope there are many, many more second systems out there doing good work.

[AlBargey]

Most boats are off grid, there are quite a few of us with solar arrays and no authority is logging them, I guess the same for motorhomes / camper vans.

There are 35,000 boats just on Canal and River Trust (CRT) waterways, with 7,000 constant cruisers, many now have at least one solar panel to power minimal loads, I'd guess that's a fair amount alone un accounted for.