Can I Disconnect Solar Panels When Sun Is Shining?

[agent_zed]

Hi,

 

not car related but on my new house i have 4kw of solar panels (i own them outright) and currently they make the old meter run backwards. Can't get away with leaving it as i haven't been in the house for 6 months so the meter is ~2500 less than the first meter reading which confused the electric company (they must have seen this loads though).

 

So i think they will end up fitting a new meter, which is good because i want it moved anyway so hopefully i can blag it being moved for free.

 

The thought i had though was if its a sunny day and the panels are happily kicking out 3+kw and the meter/electric is disconnected where does the power go? will it damage the system?

It's got rcds and main off switches etc but i don't know whether i would need to cover them while the meter is changed (and i have to add new cable to wire them back into the mains.

 

Obv i'll get a sparky to link them up but just wondering ahead of time how it will work.

 

thanks

 

[Guest 2b cruising]

I was under the impression that you got paid for the excess.

[agent_zed]

yep i will get paid for the production. But the meter shouldn't run backwards apparently. I have a separate meter to show how much has been generated as the government pay me for that (14.90 per unit from the certificate i have). electric company only needs to know how much to charge me for what i've used, which is hard if i've used negative units

 

Just don't want to break them

[Guest 2b cruising]

Check if your meter seals have been played with by some naughty previous person and report right away.

Might save a big bill later.

I would call your provider anyway, first thing.

[agent_zed]

yeah called the provider and they told me to speak to G4s (who i thought were security people but apparently do meters). I've only had the house 6 months and not been living there so i think that should be ok. It was properly installed and i have the certificates but i do think there is a missing tie on the meter though?? will see what they say.

[Kerry]

The Inverter will only produce electricity as long as it is connected to the mains, it needs the incoming voltage for reference. Do not disconnect the wires between the panels and the inverter, you should have an isolator on the DC side. Your electricity provider will change the meter as soon as you tell them the meter is running backwards.

[agent_zed]

cool thanks. There are various isolation switches for the panels and a trip as well. Won't touch anything until the sparky has a look.

 

Told British Gas (odd name for elec supplier but anyway) and spoke directly to their FITS department who couldn't understand it running backwards. Which i find very odd as they much come across this loads as i did a quick google search and it seems to be pretty common. They told me to phone G4S which i did last night and they said 'why did they tell you to call us? we can't do anything until we get told by the elec supplier!' so now have to phone BG again and teach them how to do their job. doh.

[Big Jim]

Your panels produce electricity during sunny/daylight periods and the meter that is attached to the panels will record how much they've produced, this is what you get paid for.

Meanwhile, whilst your panels are producing electricity, you're not using a certain amount of electricity from the grid (depending on how sunny it is0 so your household will use the electricity from the panels BEFORE it starts to use electricity from the grid, this will obviously decrease the amount of electricity that you will need to pay for each month.

I have solar panels (should have got them years ago!) and NORWEB put one of the smart meters in prior to having the panels (not related, just that the meter was getting on a bit) I can now see just how much electricity that i'm having to pay for at any one time.

I'm presently on the PC, with the washer on, lights on, fridge, freezer etc running, and various TV's etc on standby, The panels are presently producing 1.58kw (has been up to 3.8kw when really sunny) and it's costing me nothing.

[Big Jim]

Why this website will not let me edit my own post is beyond me! won't let me upload piccys. gRRRRRRRRRRR!

Edited August 4, 2015 by Big Jim