Hi all just a quick question if anyone can help solve it, I have 5 panels on 1 side of the house
In the shade all day, I have 5 panels on the other side of the house full sun 75% of the day. From what I have read the inverter takes the lowest reading from the shaded panels.could I unplug the shaded panels & get power then from the panels that are in full sun. Seems a shame blue sky quite warm very sunny here 290w generated from 10 panels don’t sound right or does it. Just wondering if it could be done
It all depends on how the panels have been wired up.
Panels are wired in series into a string of panels. If your panels are on different sides of the house then your installer should have wired them as two separate strings, both of which go separately into your inverter.
In the GivEnergy portal you can see PV 1 and PV 2 strings, both operate independently so you shouldn’t have a problem.
If your installer has wired all the panels in a single long string then this would be a bad mistake by your installer. It can be corrected, but I would talk to them first.
If you have panels that are partially shaded then you can have solar optimisers fitted e.g. Tigo which will enable the partially shaded panel to not affect the operation of the other panels.
There’s good videos on Gary Does Solar YouTube channel on how these things work
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I agree with Geoffrey. Ideally your two sets of panels should be on separate strings. But with only five panels on a string you may not get enough start up voltage for the inverter. You should ask your installer how the panels are wired up and explain the problem you have. If your panels are all on one string then having solar optimisers fitted to the shaded panels would help.
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Thanks Norm for the advice
Nothing is easy though.
My problem is my system was fitted through a government grant, the installers said they have not been paid by the contractors so they are not prepared to do anything.
Although it was not commissioned on the day it was fitted because they had a problem.
When I phoned them 11 months later & asked about problems & commission of the system next day I had a message off GivEnergy saying system commissioned today all done by a phone call not even called to the property amazing.
So I’ve got a lovely sunny day blazing sun on 5 panels at 3pm and on the GivEnergy app I am generating around 150-230 w on a dull day it could be 90w.
Looks like I may have to get a solar company to check out the install.
If you touch the inverter you get a 12v shock
That happened to the fitter also but put it down to the ground being wet.
Perhaps one of those bad installs you hear about. Thanks again for advice.
Andy
Have you tried contacting the Contractor? I would suggest that you email them and express your concerns about low generation. Also highlight the fact that you get an electric shock if you touch the inverter. Did you get a handover pack after the system was fitted? You should have some documentation such as a Buildings Regulation Compliance Certificate. I would also expect a contractor who is installing solar panels and applying for a government grant to be MCS registered and ensure a MCS Certificate is issued.
if you had a government grant for the installation then its almost certain that the company that installed the system was MCS registered - government grants tend to require such registrations
An MCS installation has certain standards to follow, including electrical safety, so on that one you can certainly go to MCS and raise a complaint. They will doubtless expect you to have exhausted all avenues with the installer (it’s them that your contract lies), but I would raise a complaint with MCS for that issue.
They may also take on the issue of the system design because they have design standards to be followed.
The givenergy system commissioning requires the installer to upload photos of the installation and complete some setup tasks, so if this hadn’t happened it might be why it was delayed and then could be done remotely. I would check in the portal that the warranty dates are as you expect them to be