Starting gun

An important step forward was taken today when I paid the deposit for the solar array. I am impatient for things to get going.

To slake my thirst a little, I visited my brother-in-law's home where he is in the process of having a system identical to mine installed. It looked great and it ought to be pushing electrons by the end of the day. Perhaps the installer saw how I was salivating at the idea of having mine up and running, but he mentioned, perhaps in jest, that he might have to work over a weekend to get mine going asap.

Watching the inverter getting taken up to the attic made us think more carefully about where we ought to place ours. The original intention was to place it under the stairs. However, it was pointed out that there was significant power loss if the cable run from the panels to the meter was very long. Also, it's a big brute. At 70 x 30 x 25 cm, it is twice the size of the one we were originally to have and would barely squeeze into that little space. The preference was to have the inverter in the attic, with the meter next to it. But I want to read the meter nightly. There were thoughts of having a wireless webcam installed to allow me to see it from my computer but issues of providing lights were making this less than ideal.

After seeing the installation today, we thought a better place might be one of two cupboards we have in the upstairs bedrooms. The cupboard in our spare room seems the best place. It's not far from the roof and is directly above where the power enters the house. It's accessible and won't require a webcam or remote meter.

There was one other small step in this project that occurred today. EDF Energy wrote to let me know that our energy supply moves over to them on 7 May. As part of that, they asked for an electricity meter reading which I supplied by phone by speaking to a computer. It all worked successfully. They say I'll get another letter soon, asking for a gas meter reading. Ignoring for the moment the solar panel installation, I expect my £2,000 annual energy bill to drop to at least £1,500. The panels and the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) payments should make a huge dent in the remainder.