FIT payment

[Chri5]

Is the payment on the energy generated or the energy genrated and shipped to the network?

Someone suggested you could generate 10 kw and use it all, and still be paid for it ?

 

[Click-Sure]

Correct, all generated electricity leaving the inverter goes via a meter, the back into our consumer unit, FIT payments are made based on the reading of this meter, there is no financial incentive for us to export excess to the grid!

We now do the vacuming, ironing, use the dishwasher and washing machine on bright sunny days now!

 

[pjcomp]

The FiT is paid on all kilowatts generated. If it's exported there's an extra 3.1p per kilowatt, though at present there's no widespread system for checking use v export so the suppliers assume 50% use and 50% export and pay accordingly.

So you sell to the supplier at 46.4p per kilowatt and buy from them at (say) 13p per kilowatt (depends on your tariff, of course).

Once use v export is properly measured, the financially astute thing to do is not use any power during daylight, so it all gets exported, then concentrate all your use in the evening, so you sell at 46.4 and buy at 13. Not a bad trade.....

PJ

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The morally astute thing is to have nothing to do with it.

 

[bernardgreen]

So you sell to the supplier at 46.4p per kilowatt and buy from them at (say) 13p per kilowatt (depends on your tariff, of course).

What price do the suppliers charge for "your" kilowatt hour when they sell it to another consumer. Are there people prepared to pay over 46p per kilowatt hour just to purchase "green" electricity when "non green" electricity is about 1/3 of the price of "green" electricity

If there are not enough people buying expensive "green" PV electricity then where is the money coming from to allow your supplier to pay 46.6p without making a loss on the re-sale at about 13p ?

When this money ( which appears to be from some philanthropic source or a government grant scheme ) stops being available what will happen to the FIT scheme ?

What will people who have leased their roof to an "energy" company do when they want ( or need ) to move home. Who will buy a house with the roof leased to a third party ?

 

[Paul_C]

When this money ( which appears to be from some philanthropic source or a government grant scheme )

It's backed by the government to push its "green" agenda. So as usual, we're all paying for it through our excessively high taxes.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What price do the suppliers charge for "your" kilowatt hour when they sell it to another consumer.

About 13p.

Are there people prepared to pay over 46p per kilowatt hour just to purchase "green" electricity when "non green" electricity is about 1/3 of the price of "green" electricity

There doesn't have to be.

If there are not enough people buying expensive "green" PV electricity then where is the money coming from to allow your supplier to pay 46.6p without making a loss on the re-sale at about 13p ?

From every electricity consumer in the land.

When this money ( which appears to be from some philanthropic source or a government grant scheme ) stops being available what will happen to the FIT scheme ?

It's not from a philanthropic source, or from a government grant. It's from you.

 

[Stoday]

Once use v export is properly measured, the financially astute thing to do is not use any power during daylight, so it all gets exported, then concentrate all your use in the evening, so you sell at 46.4 and buy at 13. Not a bad trade.....

Erm...

I think you got your sums wrong there.

If you consume all the energy you generate, you'll still get 43.3 p/kWh so you are really selling for 3.1 p/kWh and buying for 13 p/kWh.

Never mind. Your arithmetic incompetence will stand you in good stead as a pv salesman. Getting their sums wrong is a prime requirement for the job.

 

[Paul_C]

A pro-FIT site:

http://www.fitariffs.co.uk/

 

[securespark]

No coincidence it spells p-r-o-f-i-t......

 

[bernardgreen]

FAST FACTS ON FEED-IN TARIFFS

If an average household, for example a three or four bedroom house, installed solar PV panels that generate electricity, the Feed-In Tariffs would provide the following benefits:

The electricity generated would pay the homeowner £836 a year tax-free

Remaining electricity costs would be reduced from £450 to £300: saving £150

Therefore the total benefit would be £986 per year

This is based on an average use of 4,500kWh of electricity per year and the installation of 2.5kW of solar PV panels.

£836 at 43p/Kwh = 1944 Kwh of PV generated power each year
1944 Kwh from a 2.5Kw panel = 777 hours of full output in the year
777 hours is an average of 2.1 hours per day through out the 365 days.

So to get that tax free income the panel has to be at full output for more than 2 hours a day average over the year.

That is not taking into account the inevitable losses in the invertors and other equipment which will increase the number of hours of sunlight needed.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

1944 Kwh from a 2.5Kw panel = 777 hours of full output in the year.

Are any of these figures wrong:

1) The average solar energy arriving on a south-facing roof in the UK is 110W/m².

2) A good PV panel is about 20% efficient.

110 x 0.2 = an average output from the PV panels of 22W/m²

To get an average output of 2.5kW the panels would need to cover 113.6m².

 

[bernardgreen]

110 x 0.2 = an average output from the PV panels of 22W/m²

Which is very close the value used when specifying panels for reliable solar power charging of batteries suppling power to remote equipment. I seem to recall a design value of 15 to 20 watts per metre² .

And in many locations a supplimentary wind powered generator is also fitted as back up.

 

[NamelessRob]

There's some interesting real-world data on micro-generation available from Sheffield University.

http://www.sheffieldsolarfarm.group.shef.ac.uk/microgeneration-data-august-2011.html

They quote 734 kWh/kWp per year, based on uk data (seems to be concentrated around Yorkshire) which isnt far off what the proFIT site quotes.

 

[Stoday]

They are already grumbling that the government is reneging on its FIT commitment. click