Recent content by offgridAndy

There is no such thing as a free lunch, or magic energy creation. The heat is extracted from the atmosphere (thanks sun) and the electric is consumed in the conversion process.

correct. go to top of class

Hi, I'm not an electrician although I did serve time as a unit operator on the power station (CEGB) in the 1970's. But I have lived "off grid" for over 20 years and have designed and installed our entire household power system which includes 6.5 Kw of solar PV, 25 Kwh of lead acid battery...

Do you have a battery in your off grid set up? Is the battery negative grounded? On a common earth point?

Yes I am completley "off grid". with 6Kw of PV panels plus 3 Kw wind turbine, 24Kw lead acid battery and 12KVA propane powered gen set. Various charge controllers and 3 Kw Outback inverter charger. The WT is AC coupled and back feeds through the inverter charger to charge the battery when the...

Does your battery and inverter set up not require the battery negative to be tied to the (single common) earth point. What does the manufacturer specify that you do in their hand book. Note that the genny should also be earthed to the same common earth rod. If practical,

We run a Ltd Co. We use an xcel spread sheet upload to file VAT cost £50 per year. Other digital tax upgrades have been delayed. The first mandatory use of digital methods was for Value Added Tax, beginning in April 2019 for many businesses and organisations. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax...

You can purchase for very few English pounds a adjustable pin "spanner" for removing the retaining plate on a disc cutter. Pins are about 2.5mm dia but could be ground down a bit if required.

what about some SY armoured cable . Very flexible and easy to work with, Doncaster Cables SY Cable 2.5mm2 Coil 3 Core

0 (1/0) 8.3 0.33 53.5 AWG Diameter (mm) Diameter (in) Square (mm2 Perhaps confusion between sq mm and actual dia. 0 AWG is 8mm dia and 53.5mm sq. Single copper core rated for 200amps.

Heat can “severely reduce” the ability of solar panels to produce power, according to CED Greentech, a solar equipment supplier in the United States. Depending on where they’re installed, hot temperatures can reduce the output efficiency of solar panels by 10%-25%, the company says. According to...

I meant comparring like with like as regards the chemistry. So LiFePo4 is a different chemistry from LiPo so density would vary.

I believe when comparing cells from different sources you need to compare and consider the weight of the cells. Ie 280Ah from EVE weighs 5.35Kg and the CALB one refered to weighs 5.42Kg. If someone offers cells with greater capacity and lighter weight than these quality products then they are...

from my experience, about 20 yrs of living off grid with PV and a WT, if you get 10% of your rated PV output in the 3 winter months you be doing well. I.e. if you have an 8Kw array you may see 800 watts produced in a day in December. I'd suggest you make any plans for winter useage based on...

FYI I had a LPG tank installed in the spring. 2800 Ltr bomb installed FOC and gas service supply pipe installed to house. We did the ground works and concrete base. I have a fixed rate contract for the LPG supply for the next 2 years 60p per ltr. If I had been an existing customer and had...