British Gas FIT Payment Installation ID Problems

 I've had my solar panels for 10 years this year and over that time registered the generation meter readings every 3 months or so to get the FIT (Feed in Tariff) payments from British Gas.

I've come to do the same today and the British Gas website is refusing to accept the installation ID for my system. The number I have had since the system was fitted starts 95000 and is 12 digits long yet the BG FIT payment screen insists that the ID must begin with a 5 and be 10 digits long.

It would appear that British Gas have made some amendments to their FIT payment screens but not actually checked whether they work.

Update - on checking elsewhere it appears that BG have generated new Installation IDs but failed to actually inform any of the solar owners what the new numbers are or even to put a message on their website to let people know that it has changed.

Quite incredibly the help icon next to the error that states the installation ID must be 10 characters actually shows a 12 digit number next to it!

Very poor show British Gas! Maybe it's a deliberate ploy to stop people claiming their FIT payments!

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http://solarpv-expert.com/2021/03/22/lighting-up-the-ideal-home-episode-1-what-is-distributed-solar-pv/

Saving Money with LED Bulbs and Solar Panels

Even before we had solar panels installed I was starting to be aware of power consumption and trying to reduce the electricity we used by switching to low energy light bulbs. For most bulbs in the house we replaced the standard bulbs with CFL low energy versions so 100W bulbs became 20W CFL. After having the solar panels fitted and monitoring our electricity usage I tackled some of the other big guzzlers by replacing kitchen GU10 50W bulbs with LED versions at 5W.

Saving Money with LED Bulbs to replace CFL

Until this week I wasn't aware how LED technology had moved on and that LED versions of standard bayonet and screw light bulb fittings were now available at very low prices. I took the plunge and bought a few 5W LED bulbs from Screwfix. I've beenvery impressed with the brightness and how they instantly come on compared to CFL ones and the power consumption is far better too.

In the hallway it was a 20W CFL replacing a 100W standard bulb. That's now been changed to a 5.8W LED which seems very similar brightness despite only being a 40W equivalent rating. Best of all the LED bulb was only £1.79.

It's really great way of reducing energy use as well as saving money as it's now well within 12 months payback for heavily used lights. In fact a colleague was changing his halogen GU10 bulbs for 5W LEDs and I did a few calculations. For the most heavily used bulbs the payback would be under a month!

LED bulbs to save electricity

The only problem I have now is a stock of CFL and standard bulbs that I've replaced!

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Ideal Logic + Plus Combi Boiler Review & Installation Costs

We needed a new boiler for our rental property and most plumbers seemed to be recommending the Ideal Logic Plus Combi Boiler as it has a 7 year warranty on it as long as the service is carried out every year. Being a rental property the boiler needs a gas safety certificate annually so servicing at the same time to ensure the warranty remains valid makes sense.

It was quite a hard decision as all the information online about Ideal boilers was quite negative but it seems that the Logic Plus combi boiler is a very different design and far more reliable than older ones that have some serious problems and issues.

The old boiler was a Vokera Compact HE that had been exceptionally unreliable over the last 5 years and was very costly to repair with parts taking days to arrive. I'm hoping that the Ideal Logic Plus boiler will have much better parts availability should any faults arise as it's a UK company.

So far the installation went smoothly and was completed within a day by 2 gas safe plumbers. The Ideal Logic Plus has the option for a wireless thermostat controller which I chose and so far it seems to warm the house much more effectively as well as giving better water pressure than the old boiler.

I'll try to update this with more details as the time goes on and record any issues with the Logic Plus boiler that we experience but fingers crossed that won't be for a few years yet!

The Ideal Logic boiler comes with a service pack to record details of the services carried out alongside the instruction and installation manuals.

The cost of the boiler installation in January 2017 was £2000 which included the boiler, fitting as well as Powerflush and fitting a new magnaclean unit.

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Long Term Solar Panel Generation Review - 5 Year Output Data

We've now had our solar panels for over 5 years and have collected 5 complete years worth of data from them.


http://solar-panels-review.321web.co.uk/index.php/yearly-comparison-of-solar-pv


It's interesting to see how years and months compared and how similar some months are every year. Overall the annual generation has been consistently over 3000 kWh which is pretty impressive for 3kWp panels. We are fortunate that our panels face almost directly due South and have minimal shading so are probably about as good as you're likely to get for a location in the south of the UK (We're based in Kent)

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New FIT Rates from April 2017 - Increased Solar Feed in Tariffs

The FIT rate from April each year is determined by the RPI inflation rate for the previous December. This was announced today as 2.5% so FIT rates will rise by that amount from April 2017.

Currently we get 49.43p per kWh that we generate as our solar PV panels were installed in November 2011. This will increase to 50.67p per kWh from April 2017.
The export rate will increase from 3.48p per kWH to 3.57p per kWh at the same time

(Rates for 2016/17 are 49.43p for generation and 3.48p for export. Numbers calculated based on 2.5% RPI on existing 2016/17 FIT rates for 2011 installations)



New FIT Rates from April 2017 - Increased Solar Feed in Tariffs

Rates for more recent installations can be found here

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UK Solar Panels 6 Years On

Our solar panels were installed on 19th November 2011 so we've now had them just over 6 years. In that time they've generated 19261 kWh of electricity which equates to 3210 kWh per year which is pretty good for 3 kWp panels. Our solar panels do face almost due South and have minimal shading so we are in optimum conditions for the best generation.

In that time our panels have also earned £9124 in FIT (UK feed in tariff) payments which have more than covered the installation cost of £8999. The FIT payment actually runs to August 2017 so we still have nearly 1000 kWh of generation to receive FIT payments on.

Is there anything we'd do differently? 

Not really. As per the image above it wouldn't have really been worth the panels on the lower roof which would have dragged the overall generation down due to shading unless we had multiple strings or an inverter optimised for shading.
The one thing we would do if we had panels fitted again would be to install pigeon deterrent grills underneath the panels. It seems that they're a perfect home for pigeons who like to use the shelter of the panels to build their nests. It's not just our panels, we've noticed them on many in the area.

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2017 Solar Panel Data UK

I've been a bit slow to update the data on my website over the past 12 months as it was becoming more tedious to do every month so I decided to batch it up. Unfortunately I subsequently discovered that the Sunny Boy inverter only holds 2 months of detailed daily data but full copies of the monthly summaries which means that a couple of months are lacking details.

http://solar-panels-review.321web.co.uk/index.php/yearly-comparison-of-solar-pv

With another year added to the totals it's interesting to see how the months may vary by year but often a bad month will be balanced out by a better month the same year so the overall totals are much closer that you might expect. For example 2015 and 2017 were only 6kWh different at 3207kWh and 3213kWh respectively. What does seem clear is that the maximum days are dropping which might be expected as the solar panels age so in 2017 we only had 1 day with over 20kWh of electricity produced.

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2018-19 Feed in Tariff FIT Rate Level for UK Solar PV

The inflation rate for December 2017 has just been released today which means that the level of Feed in Tariff for 2018/2019 is now known.

The Feed in Tariff (FIT) rate for April onwards is based on RPI inflation rate for the previous December so the 2017 figure will determine the FIT tariff payment level from April 2018.

The FIT tariff level for 2017-2018 was 50.67p per kWh for generation and 3.57p per kWh for export which is deemed as 50% of the electricity generated.

The headline figure of CPI inflation for December 2017 was 3.0% but this isn't the number used to calculate the Feed in Tariff FIT level, the value needed is for RPI inflation which is much harder to find as it's no longer considered an "official" national statistic.


Solar PV generation meter - FIT rates 2018/19

Delving into the ONS statistics page it's eventually possible to locate the RPI number which is 4.1% for December 2017.


So to calculate the new FIT rate we need to multiply the old value of 50.67p by 4.1% which gives a new value of 52.75p for the Feed in Tariff rate as of April 2018-2019. The level for export will increase to 3.72p

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/datasets/consumerpriceinflation

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Solar Data to June 2018

I've now loaded the first six months of 2018 data to 30 June. Some interesting data that shows the "Beast from the East" cold weather event in March 2018 and how fantastically sunny June and May 2018 were with record solar generation during those months.

http://solar-panels-review.321web.co.uk/monthly-pv-solar-panel-generation.php

In the UK as a whole solar has made a much bigger contribution this year too.

Solar Data to June 2018

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Why choose UK Solar Power to supply and install your solar products?

 The sun not only provides light and heat to the planet. The sun's energy is crucial to civilization, and it also acts as fuel to the Earth. Solar energy regulates the environment and all energy sources that exist on Mother Earth. The sun's rays contain enough radiation that is capable to fill the energy needs for over a year. Have you ever thought about how the sun radiates so much energy? The sun unlike every other star is a huge nuclear reactor. It has nuclear reactions and produces a tremendous amount of energy that hits the Earth in the form of heat and light. This massive energy is changing in the form of solar power and hence, it transforms into solar energy. It then uses this energy as photovoltaic energy. With the reducing prices of the solar panels, the installation cost of solar panels in London is becoming cheap with each passing day. More and more people are shifting their attention to solar panels UK. Hence, it can play an important role in transforming the face of global energy, and for a better future.  How to choose the service provider for installing solar panels? To install solar panels in London, you need to lot of homework before moving ahead. Though there are several players in the industry, you need to pick the right one correctly and wisely. However, there is one such player who is reputable because they are in the industry since 2014. The company’s name is UK Solar Power. UK Solar Power provides services that are of the highest quality because it is a quality that defines them. It manufactures and installs various solar products in line with European and British standards. UK Solar Power provides an extended range of services to the British people and globally. Their primary intention is to offer convenient products comfortable with commercial and residential needs. Their every product is of high quality and with the right expertise available for disposal, your solar installation is in safe hands. Reasons to Choose UK solar power to install solar panels London? Offer more Profit – You can avail more profit by installing a reputable British brand. Many of their customers looking for solar panel installation UK. As their product is of higher grade, you can trust their British guarantee. Rich Experience – They are having a rich experience of over 50 years of installing 3 GW solar systems worldwide. Their team comprises eminent experts and qualified engineers and can install various crucial solar panel projects. They are the best solar panel installation in London.

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How to use insulation in a shipping container?

Shipping a container often requires a good insulation specifically if it has to go through different and extreme weather conditions. It is common for people to use spray insulation foam for containers for its reliability factor. However, there are other forms of insulation that are available too that you can consider. While there are also home container insulation options, we specifically look here about a shipping container and the insulation that suits best for it.  Types of Insulations Available You would be amazed at the options available for you when it comes to choosing an insulation for a shipping container. This can often leave you confused on which one to choose for the container that is supposed to be shipped. The different types are as follows: ·         Non-Traditional Insulation (Hempcrete and Straw Bale) ·         Blanket Insulation (Fiberglass or Different Wool Types) ·         Loose Fill Insulation (Perlite, Fibreglass, Vermiculite, and Cellulose) ·         Expanded Foam Insulation ·         Refrigerated Shipping Containers ·         Green Roof (Not Really an Insulation) ·         Radiant/Reflective Barriers ·         Cooling and Heating Design that is Passive ·         Spray Insulation Foam Among these options the spray insulation costis said to be one of the most cost effective and reliable ways to insulate a container. Contacting a spray foam insulation UK company can help you obtain the details on the costs involved with this type of insulation. Usage of Spray Foam Spray foam insulation cost UK is supposedly the main reason for people to choose this as an option. It is also reliable to a great extent and is said to provide the best value for the money spent when it comes to keeping the items inside safe and secure. Open cell insulation and closed cell insulation are the two spray insulation foam options available to you. However, the spray foam insulation UK companies suggest that you do both open and closed cell insulation for best results when it comes to containers. Importance of Insulation There are lots of items that are shipped on a regular basis. To get the best value for money you can choose to obtain quotes on the spray foam insulation cost. This would help you decide if it is worth spending the amount of money you have to on the insulation. This can be done considering the items that you are likely to ship. Produce, flowers, and other items that can deteriorate quicker should need a spray insulation foam. This is the only way you can keep your items from not getting spoiled due to weather conditions. 

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2020 - Worst Ever October for Solar Panels

 As an example of how nature evens out the weather in 2020 we have now had the best and worst months for solar generation since we had panels installed in 2011.

April and May 2020 beat every previous record for our system but October has now been the lowest generated for an October by a significant margin

Average for October was 205kWh with a previous minimum of 185kWh and high of 273kWh in 2018. This month was only 163kWh of electricity generated

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