Solar PV. What is a "comissioning form"?

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I have to notify SSE of my newly installed solar PV

It is not claiming the FIT

This is what SSE have to say https://www.ssen.co.uk/Stageoneconnections/

So I have to provide them with a "single line diagram" and a "comissioning form"

What is a "single line diagram"?  I can draw a proper circuit diagram, is that what they want?

What is a "comissioning form"?  I can send them the EIC is that what they want?

 
Standard G83/2 system, 4KW of panels, inverter limits the maximum output to 16A.  There is no need to pre notify installation, and they can't refuse it, but you have to notify them when you have connected it.

 
Single line diagram??

(one end of line) ____________________________________________________________________________ (other end of line)

maybe not?  

:innocent

:coat

:slap

 
Standard G83/2 system, 4KW of panels, inverter limits the maximum output to 16A.  There is no need to pre notify installation, and they can't refuse it, but you have to notify them when you have connected it.


Interesting. How long do you expect to take to make it pay for itself?

 
The big issue with claiming the FIT is needing an EPC of D or better.  This is an unfinished new build that I expect to get an EPC A but until it is finished I don't have an EPC.  I have watched the FIT rate drop like a stone, frustrated at the stupid paperwork block put in front of me. If I had been able to claim the FIT I would have installed the solar PV 3 years ago when the rate was higher.

In any event the FIT ends at the end of March, so by the time I do get an EPC it will be too late.

So this is plan B.  I have put together a 4KW PV system for £1500 mostly from ebay and a lot of patience to get it that cheap.  If I can save £250 per year in electricity usage that is a payback of 6 years. Plus the PV is essential on the SAP rating to get the EPC A that I so want for this house.

It's an all electric house (heating and HW by an air source heat pump) and will have surplus PV diverted to the immersion heater.  That and using all the big appliances only in the daytime should get close to 100% self usage.  Later on when the price falls further,  will add battery storage.

I have emailed SSE to ask what exactly they want. If they don't  answer they will get a drawing and an EIC.

 
Yes I see your point. When I had mine done the installer employed their own surveyor for  energy.

I made it clear to them that my bungalow either passed as is or they hadn't got a job. Passed OK! 

The structural guy was a sub contractor and started dreaming up problems that my roof wasn't tied to the walls, (1950s build), and is susceptible to wind lift. Well its massive timbers with concrete tiles. When I told the solar panel firm I was aborting the job rather than having my roof messed around with the calculations were suddenly re-done and the problems vanished. I think the surveyor got an offer best not refused.

You should make your £250 worth OK That's what I guestimate I get from my 3kW system.

 
I don't want a bare "pass" I want a true assesment of the fact my house is very low energy and deserves an EPC of A. It is not far from being a passive house.  Without taking the PV into account it would probably make a B

Solar PV is ground mounted so no structural issues, that's why had I been allowed to claim the FIT it would have been installed and in use before the house was built.

There are rumours of an export payment scheme replacing the FIT after April.  It sounds like that will only pay for what is actually exported.  I will see if I am eligible when the details are know, but I doubt that will pay much. I will be installing my own export meter soon to see how much escapes back to the grid.  I just have a feeling that to qualify for that, the install would need to have been done by an MCS contractor, and the extra cost of that would have made it not viable.

 
The single line drawing is simple enough. A box for the PV array with a single line to a box for the inverter followed by another line to a box for the CU. A branch off to a box for battery storage if you’re using them.

As for the other requirement, I haven’t a clue  :Salute

 
Dave,

I have a customer who's just asked me about haven some PV installed with battery backup, and as he's not interested in the FIT he's looking at "other" options

So, is it possible to just install the system and notify the DNO or are there more hoops to jump through?

 
I don't want a bare "pass" I want a true assesment of the fact my house is very low energy and deserves an EPC of A.
I would think with a new build using current insulation standards and materials you would be fairly certain of an A score, but my perception is that the assessment is somewhat subjective.

I wasn't trying to pull any tricks with my bungalow; I've got double glazing, decent loft insulation, LED lighting, etc, in fact everything I consider sensible, but 1950s brick walls and I don't believe in retro-fit cavity insulation.

I was wary of "essential improvements", being advised, and I'm also a suspicious old B**.  Who knows what unofficial links exist? 

I think my experience with the structural surveyor reinforced my suspicions.

 
Dave,

I have a customer who's just asked me about haven some PV installed with battery backup, and as he's not interested in the FIT he's looking at "other" options

So, is it possible to just install the system and notify the DNO or are there more hoops to jump through?
I will let you know when I have done it.

 
the official response from OFGEM for solar on new build that isn't finished. Now, what they don't say is what FiT you can get with an EER exception. If you don't want the FiT you just need to notify the DNO, but. if you can get the export rate (which is higher than the FiT rate anyway) then that would be a good thing.

RECompliance <[email protected]>

Mon, 21 Jan, 11:35

to Dave

Hi David,

Thank you for your email.

The need for an EPC of band D or above is part of the Energy Efficiency Requirement (EER). The EER applies to a PV installation with a TIC of 250kW or less which is wired to a“relevant building” or wired to provide electricity to one or more such buildings.

A relevant building is defined as a roofed construction which has walls and where energy is used to condition the indoor climate, whether this be heating or cooling systems. A relevant building must also be a building in respect of which an EPC can be issued. If any aspect of this definition does not apply to all buildings to which the PV installation is wired to provide electricity to, then the energy efficiency requirement does not apply. The assessment for whether the building meets the definition of relevant building should be made at a single point in time, i.e. the commissioning date.

A SAP cannot be used in place of an EPC, however if when the solar panels are commissioned the houses do not meet the definition of a relevant building (for example, the roof wasn't completed or the indoor climate was not fully installed), then they may be exempt from the EER. In this case, your customers would need to complete declarations from themselves and the EPC assessor. These declarations should give a detailed explanation as to why the buildings in which the installation is wired to provide electricity did not meet the definition of a relevant building on the commissioning date. You can find the template declarations here. The declarations will be reviewed by the FIT licensee as part of the application process.

 
Dave,

I have a customer who's just asked me about haven some PV installed with battery backup, and as he's not interested in the FIT he's looking at "other" options

So, is it possible to just install the system and notify the DNO or are there more hoops to jump through?
worth fitting an AC linked battery system, there is talk of some sort of payment scheme for the grid being able to access your battery as part of smoothing the grid supply to deal with solar / wind generation and deal with peak demand. For this you need an internet link that allows remote control of the battery, and this won't work with DC linked batteries, as these will not allow grid to charge batteries as storage. Scheme was suppossed to be launched this year, but Brexit is spannering things!

 
the official response from OFGEM for solar on new build that isn't finished. Now, what they don't say is what FiT you can get with an EER exception. If you don't want the FiT you just need to notify the DNO, but. if you can get the export rate (which is higher than the FiT rate anyway) then that would be a good thing.

RECompliance <[email protected]>

Mon, 21 Jan, 11:35

to Dave

Hi David,

Thank you for your email.

The need for an EPC of band D or above is part of the Energy Efficiency Requirement (EER). The EER applies to a PV installation with a TIC of 250kW or less which is wired to a“relevant building” or wired to provide electricity to one or more such buildings.

A relevant building is defined as a roofed construction which has walls and where energy is used to condition the indoor climate, whether this be heating or cooling systems. A relevant building must also be a building in respect of which an EPC can be issued. If any aspect of this definition does not apply to all buildings to which the PV installation is wired to provide electricity to, then the energy efficiency requirement does not apply. The assessment for whether the building meets the definition of relevant building should be made at a single point in time, i.e. the commissioning date.

A SAP cannot be used in place of an EPC, however if when the solar panels are commissioned the houses do not meet the definition of a relevant building (for example, the roof wasn't completed or the indoor climate was not fully installed), then they may be exempt from the EER. In this case, your customers would need to complete declarations from themselves and the EPC assessor. These declarations should give a detailed explanation as to why the buildings in which the installation is wired to provide electricity did not meet the definition of a relevant building on the commissioning date. You can find the template declarations here. The declarations will be reviewed by the FIT licensee as part of the application process.
I tried that route. Every avenue I tried, I hit a brick wall.  I needed something from an EPC assessor stating that the building was not a relavant building.  That was hard enough to eventually get one to write such a letter.  When I did eventual get such a letter, I ran it past SSE who would have been the FIT provider and they said they would not accept it. 

 
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