Plug-in solar panels are now legal in Great Britain!

[geoffl@mastodon.me.uk]

@neil@scare.me.uk @neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk

If this one is the actual live register, then it looks like one company has recently got approval for their plug-in-solar kits.

(If using a mobile browser you might need to use desktop view to see the relevant information.)

https://connect-direct.energynetworks.org/device-databases/search-gen?device_type_id=14

[slothrop@chaos.social]

@neil Great news!

Our experience here in Germany suggests that the decision whether to install these systems is a no-brainer. Recently, one of the discount supermarkets here had 2 panels + inverter for sale for 205€.

At current prices, they should pay for themselves in 4-5 years, even under conservative assumptions.

Germany recently updated the rules so that renters don’t need the landlord’s permission to install panels - that’s helpful too.

[capnthommo@c.im]

@neil I've already got solar on the boat and even I'm considering supplementing it with a plug in for a bit extra

[ret@furry.engineer]

@neil and just like that, the whining of a million electricians and their electrical trade bodies began.

[theolodian@mastodon.social]

@edavies @neil yep, no one should be having any ideas, certainly not ones above their station!

(MPs are just puppets anyway. I’m not saying that it’s lizard people, but MPs mainly parrot what they are told by someone else behind the scenes. ‘Media training’)

🦾🥷

[mikefromlfe@cupoftea.social]

@geoffl @neil@scare.me.uk @neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk
That's not going to stop Amazon and AliExpress selling dodgy kits to the uninformed (or the partly-informed)

[radieschen@climatejustice.social]

@slothrop which discounter had those?

[glaskows@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@neil This is good news. The cynical in me finds it weird that the timing coincides with the advent of so many data centers. Maybe is a way to liberate some grid capacity or prepare people for higher bills?

Anyways, more solar is always good regardless.

[neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk]

@slothrop

> 2 panels + inverter for sale for 205€.

Nice!

[slothrop@chaos.social]

@radieschen Netto, I believe.

The supermarket chain hardly matters; I expect these things all come from the same 3 factories in China, regardless of the label on the box.

[julianlawson@beige.party]

@neil Thanks for the info.

Dumb question to more knowledgeable people: how does the "plug in" bit work?

Does it mean the solar panel has sockets that you plug your devices directly into (and your Xbox turns off if the sun goes in, assuming no battery), or that it plugs in to your domestic mains and reduces the power draw from the external grid?

[slothrop@chaos.social]

@neil 2-3 years ago, we paid 700€ for the same thing. Not sure we’ll ever break even.

On the other hand, it’s the least stressful technology I’ve ever used. Screw in the fasteners, hang the panels, plug them in, and you’re done. Takes an hour, if that much.

From then on, you just get a bit of free power whenever there’s enough sun. No further effort needed.

[slash909uk@mastodon.me.uk]

@neil very annoying this excludes battery storage! But finally some positive movement.. hurrah!

[neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk]

@julianlawson

Panels --> inverter --> plug inverter into a mains socket.

Quite incredible really, IMHO!

[christo_459@mastodon.me.uk]

@neil
We worked out it would take 8 years to pay back. Saving us £70 to £100 a year. We are late 70s early 80s in a listed housing estate

[srtcd424@mas.to]

@falken @neil I'm sure the Daily Mail has already pre-written this story as a template with blanks to be filled in

[srtcd424@mas.to]

@geoffl @neil https://www.cityplumbing.co.uk/c/product/renewables/solar-pv/plug-in-solar-pv/c/1870010/ - admittedly it's a pre-order, albeit with hopefully quite a short lead time.

[witewulf@cyberplace.social]

@neil @julianlawson of course the ideal solution would be to also have a battery between the inverter and mains socket, so you could store the energy you generate but don’t use. But those need to be installed and certified by a qualified sparky (and also benefit from higher capacity panels and inverter).

At least this means a much lower barrier to entry for many people, as it’s relatively safe to self-install with the 800W cap.

[geoffl@mastodon.me.uk]

@srtcd424 @neil

They claim 16 days for collection, 20 for delivery. Other cheaper sellers like https://www.electrical2go.co.uk (not a recommendation as I've never done business with them) are saying 2nd Oct.

[geoffl@mastodon.me.uk]

@MikeFromLFE @neil@scare.me.uk @neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk

Well that's another problem. They should be held accountable for all the dangerous stuff they allow to enter peoples homes. Amazon, Temu and AliExpress have all been selling cadmium laced jewelry through their platforms.

"In some laboratory tests, individual jewelry items were found to consist of up to 70% cadmium."

https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/analyteguru/cheap-trendy-and-toxic-high-levels-of-cadmium-in-necklaces-have-been-reported-lately/