INQ solar panels up a month

QUITE A FEW readers have asked how well the 15 solar panels we installed at INQ Central are doing, so we thought we'd bring you up to date.

Obviously, everything depends on cloud cover - but we've had a pretty nice March and April so far, and that's reflected in the graph shown below.

Just taking one fine day into account, the 6th of April, lets you see the pattern on a typically clear day. The inverter wakes up these days about 05.30 and nods off about 19:30.

We're still waiting to strike a deal with our energy supplier, so our coffers aren't yet overflowing with microgenerated loot, but according to this twee screenshot, the system could have generated €179.14, based on a notional amount per unit - which may well differ greatly from reality. We'll let you know about that when we know.

Quite a few people strolling down the street stop and look up at the panels, often with obviously quite a keen interest. But the rumour is local councils will price up the council tax if there's a PV installation on your house - which obviously demonstrates just how dumb they are. Last week, the UK government said it would make it easier for people to install microgenerating systems, but the monthly rush for the grants is such that the supply of money is usually blagged in 25-30 minutes.

The score since installation

If you think that we're a bit short of sun in Harrow, you should stroll around and look at the palm trees people have got in their front gardens - no, we're not kidding. And just a few doors down there's a handsome tamarind tree - seen plenty of those in India but not many in Harrow, yet. Well, it was handsome until someone cruelly cut it down to size late last year - hopefully it will recover from the trauma. µ

See Also
Watts up with the INQ solar panels?
INQ solar panels up and running
INQUIRER solar panels get squeezed in mad land grab