Decoding Home Solar Power

2 year into solar power, The pro’s, the cons but first an intro to what you need to know

Solar can be a little daunting, not helped by some companies having a hard sell, the constant bombardment by social media adds and a mixture of hyperbole and significant up front costs, in spite of this I am 100% a fan.

I think a good start is understanding some of the terminology and what it really means. It’s also worth noting this info if you have inherited a house with solar pannels, or have been lucky enough to get a new build house with them installed.

1. kW — this is kilowatts, as in 1kW or 1000 watts — this is what you might see as a rating on a bulb, oven, speaker (most are in Watts) or other appliance such as microwave. This tends to be a peak measurement for the appliance or device.
2. kWh — This is a measure of energy that you get charged for. Your metre measures this, but confusingly its what solar or home batteries are measured in.
3. Solar Panels — these are the things, that in all likleyhood will go on your roof. In the UK, the more of these that can point South, the better, but it is no deal breaker- they can face east or west and make about 15% less in a day, than south facing. North facing ones still can make power but at around 40% less than their south facing friends. The further North you live, the less of the magic kWh you can make per day and the steeper the angle of incline they should be mounted at. (* I know, technically solar panels don’t make electricity, they merely make it available for you to consume, but I think it makes it easier to think of)
4. Inverter — this bit of kit changes direct current (from the solar pannels or battery) to AV (240v AC for UK homes) and again is rated in kW. Most are around 3–5kW and it is important to understand how this can impact on your ability to use the energy you both make from the solar panels, and what you can consume in your home. 
5. As an example, with a 3kW inverter running a 2kW oven, 1kW microwave (total 3kW) will max out the inverter and you will have to use power from the grid for any other appliances
6. Base load — if you have a smart metre look at your typical use through the day — where it is lowest can help you understand how much devices on standby or appliances like fridges use. This might be 50w, 200w, 300w or more. If it is 0.2kWh (200w) then through the day, when you are away — your home has likely used 4.8kWh. This base load should be considered when thinking about your battery, solar panels and inverter.
7. Peak load — again, this is much easier if you have a smart meter — look at your bills or download your utilisation from somewhere like data.n3rgy.com — look for the biggest number on your bill *2 — that is your peak 1/2 use and can help when thinking about your inverter, if you want to maximise load shifting.
8. Load shifting — this is what batteries allow you to do. Let’s say you typically use 15kWh per day in your home. If you have a 10kWh battery you can in theory move 10kWh of your power consumption to a time that is chaeper to buy electrcity, if your supplier lets you do this. I’ll say more about this later in the series
9. Smart metres — these ain't AI smart, but what they do is they communicate with suppliers to let you know what you are using regularly (most do it on a 30 minute basis). You will need one if you want to export electricity.

So just from a terminology perspective there is a lot to take in. If you already have panels but don’t know what they are doing for you, I would highly recommend speaking to Cammo Solar Solutions. Andy and his team there are experts at helping you get the most from what you have installed already.

Next up… what I got installed and what I wish I knew before getting them