Wednesday 16 April 2014

Solar Panel Shading - What is the Impact on Generated Output?

How does shading affect Solar Panel Electricity Output?

The simple answer is a lot. The more detailed answer is that it depends on your inverter setup. If you had separate strings on the inverter or micro inverters then the impact of shading on panels can be mitigated and generation from the unshaded panels maintained.

For shading such as below with a telegraph pole casting a shadow over the panels in winter this would be a suitable option to optimise the output of the unshaded panels.
Solar Panel Shading - What is the Impact on Generated Output?
Solar Panel Shading - What is the Impact on Generated Output?


However with the panels in the location in the photos below I doubt there is anything that can be done to optimise output when all the panels are covered in shade. These photos were taken in mid winter when there were no leaves on the trees. In spring and summer I'd expect those panels to be shaded virtually the whole day.



Thursday 3 April 2014

New FIT Feed in Tariff Rate from April 2014

The FIT Rate (Feed in Tariff) changes in April each year and increases by the RPI inflation rate for December the previous year. So the April 2014 FIT rate is based on the 2.7% RPI inflation for December 2013.

The new FIT rate for 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 is:

48.07p per kWh plus export tariff of 3.39p per kWh with 50% deemed export

In total that means you will be paid 48.07 + (3.39/2) = 49.8p per kWh

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/85846/010214rpiadjustedtariffspv1.pdf

New FIT Rates April 2014
FIT Rate April 2014