garyhove Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 hello has anyone in the UK set up any solar panels to generate their own power for fans or greenhouse heaters?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattynatureboy44 Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 (edited) hellohas anyone in the UK set up any solar panels to generate their own power for fans or greenhouse heaters?? No but Id be interested to see if anyone has though, the only thing I use solar powered in my greenhouse are six small fans that I bought online here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Clip-on-Solar-Sun-Po...=item335f508d45 They are small and aren't all that powerful but do a good job of moving the air about in the greenhouse but they do speed up when its really sunny and provide a cool breeze for the plants, you have to get a few of them to make them worthwhile so its good that they are cheap. Edited October 18, 2010 by mattybadboy44 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike King Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 hellohas anyone in the UK set up any solar panels to generate their own power for fans or greenhouse heaters?? Hi Gary, I have 4kwp of solar panels on the house, but the fans (when they are installed) will only be powered whilst the panels are producing and will need in my case, 53w of power each, so no problem there The heating is just in case of emergencies, but I would forget any idea of running heating by solar power alone as one would need heating mainly in winter and at the time of yyear when solar yields are at a minimum, unless of course, you are looking at the feed in tarriff to offset electricity costs in which case it is payable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyhove Posted October 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Mike thank you for the advice I agree I think solar panels would be good for tIe fans. I see there is a company offering free solar panels which I will be getting more info on as can they really be free? If so I hope to have them on my new house next year. I work for an energy company and feel it its about time solar was everywhere!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimfoxy Posted October 19, 2010 Report Share Posted October 19, 2010 (edited) I have 2.6kW of grid tied solar panels on my house and also a completely separate little solar panel for my greenhouse. What I have been wanting to do for the last few years is to fit a few small cheap fans (e.g. PC fans) inside my greenhouse so that the power from the little panel is moved between them (my pile of little fans gathers more dust every day). This can all be done with a little bespoke controller and a 3-core wire (or 2, with a little more complexity) going between all the fans. There could be lots of fans but you would only need enough power to drive one, thus keeping the panel size small. I just have my panel rigged up to one fan at the moment. If only I were retired! P.S. Yes, because the feed in tariffs (FITs) are now so good for domestic installations (must be done by registered installers to qualify for the feed in tariff), there is at least one company who is offering free electricity from roof panels that they fit (and maintain) on your house in exchange for a rental agreement for your roof top. They are happy with simply getting the feed in tariff from your electricity provider which is about 42p/kWhr and is paid to them whether you use the electricity from the panels or not. The feed in tariff makes pay back about £1000 per year on a good sized south facing roof. Hence, installation and purchase is paid for in about 10-13yrs (far quicker for a bulk installer). The estimated lifetime of the system should be over 20yrs. This feed in tariff payment is coming from everybody's electricity bill; therefore, if you are not on the boat, you are losing out. Edited October 19, 2010 by jimfoxy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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