Solar PV Panels

Thanks James.  I had seen that one.  

I added my post in the hope it might generate some more (sensible) info.

It did show up one positive comment in that it makes no difference to the sound, so thats noted.

That adds to comments I got from friends in USA who have a theory that it cleans up the local power that's carrying on line noise & DC off-set pollution.  

I would lurve to get a schematic of the inverter(s),  utopia would be a sine wave graphic that shows the affects on noise. 

That should answer the questions,  but all this seems to be a state secret,  hence my questions & sceptisism

If you are in the SE Hants area you can drop by and listen to a before and after this week - the panels go up on Friday.

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Understood Mike. I think any inverter noise contribuiton (as long as you are not 'off grid') is going to be lost in the noise (no pun intended).but it would be good to get more info from those who have done this.

Of more concern is the move to Smart Metering and its potential contribution to mains noise due to signalling, if we're not overun by then with Powerline Ethernet !

If you find anything useful please post.

James

Great offer Derek

I would normally jump at that as I am only up the road in the Oxford area

Problem is I just - like just last weekend - had a replacement (half) knee fitted so can't drive for 6 weeks.

Let us know how it sounded to you & if you can find any other from the people info thats on www.    

Hope the knee gets better quickly

All installed and connected up - so far no effect on the HiFi  and today it generated 5KW between 10 am and 4pm.

The install team were very efficient.

Actually I would be able to demo a before and after effect as I can switch off the inverter during daylight and hear if there is a change in the sound

Thanks for the update

5kW in 6 hrs, not bad for a dull day

A neighbour opposite has just finished his install & he reports total satisfaction with both the install & the generated  power.   Problem is he has no idea about electricity or interest in hifi.

I got a copy of his installation schematic & can see the detail on how its connected.

Keep us posted 

A colleague lives in a house which has pv's installed.  Just at the end of the warranty period something went wrong.  The pv company have agreed to replace the relevant bits which is good; but the warranty only covers parts - not labour, nor the cost of scaffold erection, hire, and removal!  They are not exactly chuffed - I can't remember how long they reckon it will now take for the pv's to pay for themselves!!

Peter

A little off topic, but those rooftop solar PV cells aren't really a good idea for anyone truly interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Moving to renewable (low carbon) energy is currently a trade-off between carbon emissions and extra cost, as the cheapest sources of energy are still those that emit carbon dioxide. The best "bang for your buck" is to maximise the reduction in carbon that we get from every dollar/pound we invest. This way, for a given sum of money invested we get the best outcome in terms of saving the planet. Solar PV is VERY expensive per kwh, especially in places like the UK and especially when done on a small domestic scale. A MUCH better use of the money would be to pool it into a fund with like minded individuals (dirty stinking bankers are necessary for this step) and invest in an efficient industrial-scale project.

Currently, the best value ($ invested per kg of CO2 saved) industrial scale projects at the moment are efficiency projects in the coal-fired/fossil-fuel energy space. Convert to gas, build new, much more efficient coal-fired plants and retire old dirty ones (especially in places like Russia, India and China where old technology still generates a huge base-load - but even in the US). This approach is being undertaken very much in the background in response to emerging (and anticipated) carbon pricing. The market is ensuring efficient approaches. Doesn't play well in the world of political green-wash, of course so we don't hear much about it. Instead, politicians play to the populist vote by getting consumers to subsidize bizarrely expensive schemes with extraordinary feed-in tariffs. Astonishingly (or perhaps not) the economic illiteracy of those politicians is exposed when the true cost of their stupid actions inevitably emerges, and they are forced by harsh economic reality to backpedal furiously. See Ontario, Canada and New South Wales, Australia feed-in tariff policy retrospective legislation for a couple great examples. Everyone suffers. Consumers, suppliers, installers.

If you really can't stomach your green dollars going into fossil fuel projects, at least use your money to build industrial-scale, relatively efficient projects. Really big solar farms in the desert, windmills offshore in windy places etc. Match the response to the climate. Remember, it is all one atmosphere. It doesn't matter where you save the kg of CO2. It doesn't have to be in a tiny rooftop solar PV  panel in cloudy Croydon. Just make sure you get the best value for your money. (That doesn't mean asking others to subsidize your feel-good solar panels by way of non-market priced feed-in tariffs and rebates.)