Solar PV Performance Thread - Post your monthly output

DC999 · 02-05-2023 11:06am

404kWh for April. Used 40% only. We’ve a small EV (25kWh battery) so once the car is filled there is nothing else to soak it up. I won’t turn stuff on for the sake of it. And car only uses ~6kWh a day. Plus there wasn’t enough excess in the mornings or evenings for the 1.4kW the car needs to start charging. May will sort that, so can dump more into it😊

If we had a battery, we’d have little or no import (including charging the EV). But we don’t.

From now until mid-Sept the house only needs maybe 8kWh a day. No electric heating in use. We’ve a gas cooker.

Setup: 4.9kWp E (mostly) and small W and S. Dublin 12.

DC999 · 02-05-2023 11:09am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120542803#Comment_120542803

Welcome. You're setup is similar to mine with an E/W split (info in last comment above). We'll never see the heady numbers of the pure Southers :) I was worried my setup wasn't right at the start when I saw some of the stats from South. But we E/Westers get a decent spread across the day.

SD_DRACULA · 02-05-2023 3:41pm

8kwp S 20kwh battery W Dublin

Best day 20th - 51kwh

Worst day 22nd - 7kwh

300kwh into EVs

Consumption 96.61%

fuse · 02-05-2023 4:01pm

5.6kWp E/W split South Dublin

5kWh battery

Generated: 530kWh

To Battery: 183kWh

To Eddi: 88kWh

Exported: 136kWh

Imported: 58kWh

Consumed: 486kWh (88% solar)

Best day: 20/4 32.2kWh

DC999 · 02-05-2023 4:23pm

Interesting stats there from @fuse and @SD_DRACULA. Fuse’s 5kWh battery covers 88% of self consumption. Only bought ~60 units. No EV. But has an Eddi so has 2 ‘batteries’. It’s E/W which fills more slowly which is good on a small battery I guess.

Where Dracula has a larger DIY 20??kWh battery afaik. Covers 97% of self consumption. But has a South so battery fills faster (good for a larger battery I guess). Only bought ~25 units. Has an EV so has 2 ‘batteries’.

@bullit_dodger, you suggested before the 1st 5kWh of battery gives the best return (when they are in increments of 5kWh batteries). Those stats back that up. Depends on the house usage of course

bullit_dodger · 02-05-2023 4:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120547067#Comment_120547067

Yeah, you can do a little "thought experiment" on that. If you imagine you got a 100Kwhr battery, yeah 100! .... well your not going to be able to cycle that storage every day as (unless your VERY unusual and have a pottery business/kiln in your back yard or something!) - so that's too big. Lowering down, a 80Kwhr would do exactly the same as the 100Kwhr, so you've still wasted money. As you reduce the size of the battery, the percentage/ratio of the battery your actually using everyday will increase compared to the size that's sitting there idle.

As you get down to more "normal" figures, there'll be some point where your using ~90% of the battery every day. For most people that's around 5Kwh I reckon. Heavy users will be closer to 10Kwh.

Course the landscape (fiscally) has changed over the years now with the grid being a half decent battery to an extent with FIT.

SD_DRACULA · 02-05-2023 4:45pm

Well iirc with one 5kwh battery I was struggling to go over 60% consumption since when South pumps it pumps hard.

But now with 20kwh batteries and 120kwh in the EVs it should be a lot less escaping unless I'm not at home, like tomorrow but all are 100% anyway so I guess it is what it is.

Ginger83 · 02-05-2023 6:48pm

Generated 656kWh for April. Only used 200kWh but it's only our second month with solar.

I think I need to consider a battery.

garo · 02-05-2023 6:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120427139#Comment_120427139

4.8kW EW Dublin. 20kWh DIY battery

April 2023 (kWh):

Production: 449.5 (442 predicted, 501 last year)

Consumption: 664.4

Import: 251 (30d, 221n)

Export: 36.1

Best day: 20th: 26.9

Worst day: 22nd: 4.8

bullit_dodger · 02-05-2023 6:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120547579#Comment_120547579

Possibly. Are you on deemed export or a smart meter?

Ginger83 · 02-05-2023 7:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120547608#Comment_120547608

Deemed export

jkforde · 02-05-2023 10:59pm

April 2023

647kWh generated

197kWh exported (deemed CEG; forgone metered export (Energia 0.18c) of ~€35, not far off monthly deemed)

108kWh into hot water

150kWh surplus into EV

overall, 2yrs anniversary and still excited with the system! 😆

Bluefoam · 03-05-2023 9:43am

April: 48.8kWh 🤣

yugi · 03-05-2023 1:28pm

Screenshot_2023-05-03-13-21-13-94_a3b3f7ff182fbca1933b088238f0f0da.jpg

1.8kw array, due south, Terenure, Dublin

thatphil · 03-05-2023 4:27pm

2.4kwp south facing in Kildare

236kwh generated

56kwh exported

74kwh diveretd to hot water

First full month since install and very happy so far.

DC999 · 03-05-2023 9:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120550936#Comment_120550936

Class. Welcome!

redmagic68 · 03-05-2023 11:38pm

8.4 kwp E/W Louth

Generated -- 731.72kwh

Grid Import -- 408 kwh

Grid Export FIT -- 91kwh

too much import and export will look to maximise this more this month.

ECO_Mental · 04-05-2023 9:35am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120547579#Comment_120547579

Unless you go down the DIY battery option the numbers/payback doesnt stack up for a battery...I would love one too, but since you are getting FIT payment for what you export it just doesn't add up. I have crunched the number a number of times trying to make it work but cant 10+years at least

The only way is building your own battery and that is above my tech ability...even though people say on here its not that hard.

bullit_dodger · 04-05-2023 11:10am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120553145#Comment_120553145

It's the PV performance thread so I won't go too far off topic, but yeah, fiscally (even with a DIY battery), it's a hard slog to get a break even point. I'm a math guy, and I track my stats pretty well and I reckon in my first 12 months I saved approx €250-300 with having a battery and I was able to cycle it 100% every day.

One thing that it does do though is that it helps reduce your bills by €30-40/month in those dark months where solar is doing next to nothing. That helps especially in around Christmas were an extra €40 or so not being sent to a supplier is welcome. I'd get a battery again in the morning, but yeah, not as good as it was pre-FIT.

glen123 · 04-05-2023 12:40pm

4.5kwp South facing in Co Limerick

April - 428kwh generated of which:

- Exported 74kwh (I am on deemed export which works out better than 74kwh * 0.18 (Energia) = 13.32eur)

- Eddi hot water 105kwh

- Zappi 74kwh

- Consumed 175kwh

- Imported

Day - 166kwh

Night - 448kwh

kabakuyu · 05-05-2023 2:39pm

2.5 kwp system facing south, Galway.

Monthly total was 271.7 Kwh.

Best day delivered 18.6 Kwh.

championc · 31-05-2023 9:49pm

May Stats

2.7kWp (S) + 1.2kWp on shed, 20kWh battery, 22 deg Slope, Sth Dublin

4.0 (N) ** NEW **

Generation – 449.18 kWh
4.0kWp N   - aprox 90 kWh for last 6 days
Consumed   - 372.99 kWh
Import     – 21.95 kWh
Export     – 84.34 kWh
Eddi       - 28.9 kWh
Zappi      - 163.7 kWh

Meter Readings 06907 (01178 Day - up 5 / 05729 Night - up 1) - Gas 7072 (up 31)

Totals so far:

Month    |   2020 |   2021 |   2022 |   2023 |
---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
January  |     75 |     56 |     81 |     76 |
February |    122 |    142 |    111 |    134 |
March    |    200 |    269 |    370 |    245 |
April    |    279 |    373 |    372 |    320 |
May      |    396 |    430 |    445 |    449 |
June     |    264 |    425 |    425 |        |
July     |    261 |    387 |    407 |        |
August   |    254 |    264 |    435 |        |
September|    268 |    248 |    242 |        |
October  |    151 |    185 |    221 |        |
November |     90 |     78 |     96 |        |
December |     56 |     52 |     55 |        |
---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
Total    |   2.41 |   2.90 |   4.61 |   1.22 |