007 RED

NO problem... glad to help. I'm not sure on today's prices of hardware, so give me a few days and I'll do a bit of research and come back to you with some info.

Going back to the original theme of the post. Those of us with grid tied system that is 'linked' to an old type meter which will merrily spin backwards when the system produced excess power are all to aware that they need to ensure that their system does not export on the day the meter reader cometh. This is OK if your meter is the only one on the pole. You have a fairly good idea what day the meter read normally comes and there is little chance of the local PEA turn up at the pole unless there is a fault. But what happens when there is more than just your meter on the pole? In my case, there are 5 meters on the pole outside our house. OK the meter reader comes on the designated day and reads all the meters. No problem. But what happens when a neighbour has a fault, or didn't pay their bill on time. Recently my wife and I were returning home from our weekly shop when as we pulled into our Moo there to my horror was the PEA man at the pole outside of our house disconnecting the neighbour's supply. I have to say my heart sank into my sandals anticipating that he would have spotted our meter spinning backwards. Obviously there was nothing I could do, or say. After I parked the car under our carport I immediately turned my 'patented' NO EXPORT switch on (located next to the gates) in the belated hope that it would stop any further surplus being fed back into the grid. As my wife and I walked back towards the house I heard the 'sweet sound' of the washing machine going through its spin cycle which hopefully would have drawn enough power to prevent my system from exporting prior to me activating the NO EXPORT switch. By the time I got into the house and turned on our CCTV, I saw the PEA man posting something in the neighbour's letter box and ride off on his motorbike. Looking at my system's monitoring facility, it was fairly obvious that at the time the PEA man was there, my small scale system was not really producing a lot of power due to the pollution haze that we were experiencing. I left the system in NO EXPORT mode and sure enough a couple of days later the PEA man was back and connecting the neighbour's supply. So the moral of this is you have absolutely no control of when the PEA will turn up unannounced at your pole. Be warned if you have more than one meter on your pole. Other than switching the system to NO EXPORT every time we leave the house, has anyone any sensible suggestions as to what I can do to minimise the risk of this occurring again.

@dinga Welcome to the Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum. Approximately 3 years ago I was inspired by @Crossy original post “How about a solar carport on a budget”. I appreciate that this post has expanded considerably since it was started ( now 23 pages), but I would suggest that you take the time to read through it as it will give you a wealth of information from various forum members who have ventured into solar, including myself. In fact I've just noticed that on page 18 of @Crossy original post, you asked me a range of questions about my system, to which I subsequently responded. FYI…. I only had a limited knowledge of electrical systems which was acquired when did my degree in control system technology, some 55 years previously. That said, DIY was inbuilt into my DNA, so considering such a project at my age (then 73 YO) presented a wonderful challenge and great learning experience, especially during the pandemic lockdown. Like you, our (my wife and I) electricity usage was relatively low, with an average usage of about 280 units/month over the preceding 2 years. I decided that we would go for a simple grid tied system with the aim of reducing our monthly usage by 75%. As a result, I opted for 4 x 415W half cut mono panels linked to a 2kW grid tied inverter. The panels would be mounted onto our carport roof, which is South facing and angled at approximately 15o, which was almost ideal for our location (24 km West of BKK). The inverter and breakers are mounted in the shade under the roof of the carport below the panels. The total cost of the hardware was 28,000 THB, give/take a few THB. It was a DIY installation, with basic tools, so no additional labour costs, just my time and effort. The system has now been running for 18 months and has saved us approximately 18,000 THB off our electric bills. I estimate that ROI will be approximately 2.5 years based on the cost of the electricity (4.2 THB/unit) when the system was commissioned. Not a bad investment when compared to the inept interest rates paid by banks these days. The major drawback with our gid tied system is that when the sun is shining brightly, with no clouds and we are only using minimal appliances within the house, our old type of electric meter spins backwards at a 'fair rate of knots' because the solar system is then feeding surplus power back to the grid. This is something that you don’t want your local PEA to see as it is in fact illegal. If they (PEA) discover you are back feeding, at best they will fit a digital meter which wont spin backwards. At worse they can demand that you remove/disconnect the solar system and/or pay a fine (10 x the estimated loss of revenue) and/or threaten to disconnect you from the grid. Many of us the have a simple grid tied system, with an old type of meter which can merrily spin backwards, are all to aware of the need to 'not to export' on the day that the meter reader comes or to go into a negative meter reading situation, that is to say the current meter reading is less that the previous one, as that will ring alarm bells with the PEA. In your current post you mentioned that a contractor indicated that feedback to the grid would not be available. This is because the contractor is well aware that they may well become liable if the PEA discovered your system was back feeding into the grid. For a solar system to be approved by the PEA to back feed, there is a complex set of rules/regulations which must be adhered to, coupled with a massive amount of paperwork, which increases the cost of an installation and ‘commission fees’ considerably. Please don’t be put off. If I can do a DIY set up at my age with limite electrical experience/knowledge, so can anyone else with a reasonable degree of applied common sense. Don't hesitate to ask questions, that's what the forum is for. Good luck.

@eddysacc FYI..... I've attached below an unofficial translation of the so called ERC Rules & Regulations on Thailand's Solar Rooftop Programme. Good bed time reading and will give you a good insight into what is required in order to get MEA/PEA approval to feed into the grid. The real nitty gritty stuff relating to 'hardware' is contained in Annex 5, which is from about page 49 onwards. The preceding pages deal with the basic application/approval process. As you will already be aware, the inverter must be on the MEA/PEA approved list, but unfortunately that's not the end of the story. Your panels and wiring must also meet the required MEA/PEA standards. If you are having the PVs mounted on your roof, you will need to have a licenced structural engineer certify that the roof will not collapse under the additional weight of the panels etc and that the proposed panel mounting structure will hold the panels in wind etc. You will then need to employ an approved (MEA/PEA) installer to actually do the installation. The installer must hold the of a minimum of a Batchelor Degree and be a licenced electrical engineer. The person supervising the installation must also be a certified electrical technician and must be onsite throughout the installation process. Once the installation is completed, the installer will arrange for an engineer from the Council of Engineers to come and inspect the installation. As you can imagine all these requirements will come at a cost (+++), above the cost of the hardware. Hence the reason why having a professional installation done is so expensive. As I think @Crossy has already mentioned, if your installation was a DIY job there is very little chance of you getting MEA/PEA approval to feedback into the grid. Best of luck. 20130918_giz_translation_solar_rooftop.pdf

Simple answer is YES. The open circuit voltage shown on the spec label (45.5V) on the back of your panel indicates the expected voltage under ideal laboratory conditions. That is to say with a very specific light source shining directly above the photovoltaic cells at a controlled atmospheric temperature of 25c. Because your panels are not mounted in a laboratory, they will loose some of their efficiency due to lack of direct sunshine and more importantly because the panels get very hot due to the heat radiated by the sun. It is quite normal to loose up to 30% of the rated value given on the spec label.

The meter reader has just been and popped our bill into the letter box. and like you the FT discount is still being applied as shown below. I thought that they were cancelling the FT discount. Not that I'm complaining.

Well our local PEA meter reader has just called and delivered his little piece of paper into our letter box. Good news. It appears from the bill that the FT discount is still being applied. As can be seen from the image below we got a discount of 72.71 THB. I don't know if this is because, thanks to our small scale GTI solar system, we only needed to purchase 79 units this month and maybe this kept us in a low user category. As several other members have commented in other posts, this has not been a particularly good month in terms of power produced v units purchased. As can be seen from the graph below, since the 7 April we have been purchasing more units per day because we have used our air cons to help lower the extremely high humidity and filter out some of the PM2.5 pollution that has been blighting us recently. That said, our small scale system has still managed to hit my original design target of producing approximately 25% of our household needs. FYI.... On the 4th April our system produced 7.64 Units, with fairly good sunshine and minimal clouds during the day. Because the panels were getting quite dirty due to the dust/pollution, I cleaned the 4 panels at around 06:30am on the 5th April. It will be noted that there was an appreciable increase in power produced that day to 8.86 units with sunshine and minimal clouds as per the previous day. However, the next day (6th April) we were blanketed by PM2.5 pollution and the panels hardly saw the sun all day, resulting in the system only producing 3.26 units that day and us having to purchase 6 units from the PEA to compensate.

Yes.... Both the original and new PCs have 250GB SSD for the operating system. All my data (docs, pictures, music etc are loaded on a separate 500GB SSD.

A few members have indicated that it is possible to get all the paperwork done and married within a day, possibly with the help of an agent or fixer. Sorry but that may have been the case a few (10+) years back, but today there is no chance of getting everything done within that time frame. I think that realistically you need to plan a minimum of 2 days, but to be more certain I would consider 3 days. Firstly you need to get your Affirmation from the embassy. To arrange this (if your British) you will need to make an appointment (online), and recent reports indicate that you could be looking at several weeks away. If your lucky in getting an early appointment (e.g. 9am) you should be clear of the embassy in about 30 minutes. Remember, that you may also need a certified copy of your passport (data page) for the Amphur and this will cost you extra in terms of both GBP and time. Once you have your Affirmation, and if required certified copy of your passport, you will need to get both translated into Thai. The British Embassy has a list of translators as per attached link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/thailand-translators-and-interpreters/list-of-translators-and-interpreters-in-thailand But read the disclaimer first. You will find that most translator service have 'templates' for the Affirmation document and for passport so it should not take them long to produce a translation for you e.g. a couple of hours. The most important thing is getting your name correct in Thai, and it is this which often causes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reject the certification of the translation. Note: some translations services will also offer to have the translation of the Affirmation, and certified passport certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but obviously this will cost you extra. If your doing it yourself, then the next step is to take the originals and translated copies to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular Office to have them certified. The main Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Bangkok is in Chang Watana district, but they now have a sub office in Khlong Toei MTR station and in the MBK centre. Up until Covid hit the world, you could walk in to their offices with your documents in the morning, pay a fee and collect the certified documents later in the afternoon. Unfortunately those day are now long gone. You need to make an online appointment as per link: https://qlegal.consular.go.th/ Again, reports indicate that you may be looking for a date/time several days, or even a week plus ahead. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs charges a fee for each document submitted. There is a regular service = next day, or express service = same day (submit before 11 am collect after 2pm) at an extra charge. Note: If there is a problem with the translation e.g. your name is incorrectly translated, then the document will be rejected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and you will need to go back to the translator to have it rectified which will take that much longer and incur additional costs to have the amended document certified. Hence, using an agent, fixer or the translator to have the documents certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may work out quicker and cheaper in the long run. Isn't life fun

@nomad2019 OP… not sure why so many members have given you information relating to the requirements of the America Embassy in BKK. They obviously missed your opening remark “my divorce in uk will be through 5th april 2023..ill then wait on decree absolute ...” If you go to the British Embassy website you will find a comprehensive list of obstacles (documents and procedures) you will need to jump through. For your ease, I’ve attached a link below to the relevant page. https://www.gov.uk/marriage-abroad/y/thailand/opposite_sex However, there are few things that you need to be aware of that may ‘screw’ your plan(s) up’. Firstly, when making your application for an Affirmation of Marriage you will need to provide the embassy with a copy of your decree absolute, so the question for you will be, will that come through before you come to Thailand? Secondly, appointments for you to attend the Embassy to swear your Affirmation are like ‘gold’ and you may well be looking at several weeks ahead for an appointment. Thirdly, once you have your Affirmation from the Embassy, you will need to get it translated to Thai and the translation then certified by the Thai the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in BKK. FYI.... It may well be advisable to get a certified copy of your passport done whilst you are at the Embassy as most amphur’s require a certified copy which has been translated into Thai and certified by the Thai the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in BKK. It is possible to get all of this done by yourself. Just allow plenty of time and don’t get too frustrated by all the hurdles you have to jump over. As someone above has suggested, it is possible to get an agent to help with the ’legwork’ at a cost of course. Hope this helps and good luck.

@PR3 Glad to hear that you're on the mend. Covid can knock you for 6, but then to get type A flue on top as well is shear bad luck. Take things easy. Sorry to hear that the CT is not doing what it should despite having tried all the combination that have been suggested. It is a possibility, albeit remote, that the CT is faulty. Hopefully Sofar can give you some additional pointers. Having a panel shatter is not something that happens every day. It is possible, as you said, that the downpour caused a thermal shock, but personally l think the odds on that happening are very slim. You didn't mention, but if the cracking/crazing is horizontal across the panel, it might have been caused by thermal expansion of the glass withe the retaining clamps being to tight. Lets hope the manufacturer arranges with your supplier to provide a replacement asap. As l said earlier, take thing easy, relax and have another beer. There's always tomorrow. Good luck.

This python is about 3 meters long and was found in a neighbours house. It put up quite a fight and it took four of us to subdue it . They are very strong and definitely not something that I would tackle on my own. The 'business end'. Its backward facing teeth can inflict some serious damage if it manages to bit you. Note: the lovely markings. Good news.... it was 'bagged' and I relocated well away from human habitat.

Just for clarity for the uninitiated. Tthe solar panels are not actually floating on (touching) the water. They are normally mounted on some form of pontoon which holds them above the water surface which allows air to circulate under them and helps reduce the heat that is generated by the photovoltaic process.

I'm not surprised. If you take a look at Google maps (satellite) of the campus, and zoom in, you will see that virtually every building roof is plastered with solar. https://www.google.com/maps/@13.7952948,100.3226212,1605m/data=!3m1!1e3

Looking at the 'Startup Apps', it indicates last BIOS time = 12 sec. FYI... I have disabled all the apps which are not required. However, the real time from turning on the m/c until the desktop appears on the screen was 33 sec. At that point clicking on any of the app shortcuts activates that app almost instantly. As I said in my original post, maybe its me being a little impatient in my old age.

My old faithful PC had been running Windows 8.1 Pro for a good few years. Main use has been processing my digital wildlife photos using Photoshop. Because Microsoft announced that they were ceasing security support for Windows 8.1 with effect from January 2023, I considered opting for their free upgrade to Windows 10. However, on running their upgrade tool I discovered that my hardware was not compatible for the upgrade. I, therefore, decided late last year that it was time to build a new PC with a high end spec and install Windows 11 Pro. All went well with the build, and the installation of Windows 11 Pro was a sinch. The only problem that I initially encountered was getting to grips with the layout of the operating system, namely, where everything was located and then modifying file locations to suite my needs. It was quite a learning curve for a 76 year old. That said, I’ve been using it now for about 5 months and so far I’ve found it a very reliable operating system. The only gripe that I have is that it seems to take somewhat longer to boot up than my old PC with Windows 8.1, but that is possibly just me being a little impatient.

Thunderbirds are Go.... 1965 edition.... Virgil, Alan, Scot. Jeff. John, Brains, Penelope and Parker.

@CLW my system is considerably smaller that those run by @Crossy, @Bandersnatch and @KhunLA. My small scale system comprises: 4 x 415W mono half cut panels connected in series to a 2200W Sofar grid tied inverter. No ESS involved. Old type meter spins backwards (naughty). The build was DIY, so no labour costs other than my time and effort. Total cost of hardware was 28,000 THB. I originally estimated a ROI of 2.5 years. As at the date of commissioning, the local PEA was charging us 4.2 THB per unit, and I've continued to use this figure to calculate my ROI, even though the cost per unit has recently increase. The system has now been running for just over 17 months and has generated approximately 4030 units, which at 4.2 per unit equates to a saving of 16,926 THB. Obviously if I took the recent price increase into account the ROI period would be reduced. So, yes even a small scale solar system can be a worthwhile investment.

Not wishing to sound paranoid, but not only will dust, dirt and bird <deleted> affect the output of your solar panels, atmospheric pollution will play havoc with your output. This morning started off with a good sunrise and blue sky. My system ‘kicked into life’ around 06:30 am as normal (as shown in the graph below). As the sun climbed above the horizon there was steady build-up of output power which is what I would normally expect. Then at about 10:30 am there was a dramatic fall-off in output from 0.97kW down to 0.25kW over the next hour. On going outside, it was evident that there was a high altitude haze which was obviously effecting the sunlight’s ability to get through to the panels. A quick check on my simple light meter gave a reading of 34,000 LUX. The previous day, at about the same time, with a clear sky, it was reading 60,000 LUX. Quite a dramatic drop. A further check on my PM2.5 meter showed a reading of 92 ug/m3 (as shown below), which indicates extremely poor air quality. As will be seen from the above graph there seems to be an initial improvement in sunlight getting onto the panels, followed by further sudden decreases. I assume this is because the density of high altitude pollution is moving about and decent sunshine is occasionally able to get through. I can’t say that I’m complaining. Since the meter reader came 20 days ago, my small scale system has produced 176 units and we’ve only needed to purchase the grand total of 19 units for our local PEA. At this rate our next bill is likely to be even smaller than the previous one (70.82 THB).

Many thanks. Last time I cleaned the panels was on the 26/02/23, at around 07:00 am, when I used my new ‘toy’ for the first time. They were quite dirty as you will see from the photo which I included in my post above dated 27/02/23. Since that clean, my better half tends to give them an occasional hose down from our balcony when she is watering the plants first thing in the morning. Bless her. I just checked the panels a few minutes ago and they’re not looking too bad, so I’ll leave for now until they look really dirty. I’ll also ask my better half not to hose them down in the morning. OK, looking back at the system’s monitoring facility, I can provide you with the following data: Date Total kWh Peak kW at 12:00 24/02 8.06 1.17 25/02 8.27 1.19 26/02 8.42 1.24 (Panels cleaned at around 07:00) 27.02 8.56 1.25 28/02 8.56 1.24 FYI…. I’ve just started measuring the sunshine at given times of the day using a very simple LUX meter to see if there is any correlation between sunshine and output power from the panels, particularly before and after cleaning. No results as yet as its early days and I will have to wait until the panels need cleaning to get a better indication.

Good test that shows there is a difference.... Obviously my system is much smaller than both of yours, but I'm happy to do the test with you if you let me know in advance of the date(s). As you are aware I'm approximately 24km West of you and suffer from a fair bit lot of industrial pollution.

Although my system is minuscule compared to yours, our production graphs for February is almost identical to yours, apart from the numbers that is. The 15th was a real strange day. It was as though someone upstairs forgot to 'light the candle' in the morning and turned the 'shower' full on instead. There was ZERO production between 08:30 and 11.30, as seen from the graph below, resulting in my small scale system only producing 1.75kW that day.

No problem... The supplier I used was Foshan Neexgent Energy Co. Ltd. Their Home page is- https://fsgxn.en.alibaba.com/minisiteentrance.html?spm=a2700.details.0.0.74b02051OpCg14&from=detail&productId=1600647586473 From the menu bar pull down the PRODUCTS list and then hover over "Solar Panel" to display another pull down list. At the bottom of that list you will see "Solar Panel Cleaning" if you click on that you will see their various brush products they have. You will see from their home page that they produce a fairly extensive range of solar equipment, including batteries etc. Many thanks for the the link to the Shera planking that is certainly something that I will need. FYI... I mentioned walkway, but in fact as I only have 4 panels I think it is more likely to be a platform that will allow me to access the panels without stepping on the concrete roof sheets. And yes, I intend to make the platform horizontal.

I have to say that was also initially sceptical about their 30% claim. That said, a google search on loss of solar panel efficiency due to dust/dirt will throw up similar figures from a variety of sources. Personally, I wouldn’t just dismiss the article as BS, as you put it. Bear in mind that MIT is one of the top universities in the world (#5 according to the Times Higher Education ranking) and I doubt that they would allow BS to be published under their name at risk of losing their reputation. Given the opportunity, I think that it would be far better to ask:- 1.... How/where did they conduct their test(s)? 2.... How did they maintain a constant light source during the test(s)? 3.... What density of dust/dirt was allowed to accumulate on the panel(s)? 4.... How did you measure the loss in panel output efficiency? As I mentioned in my post above, it is very difficult, if not impossible to determine with any accuracy what improvement cleaning the panels had made on the panel’s output as the sun strength and atmospheric conditions varies throughout the day. All that I can say is that comparing the maximum output recorded via the system’s monitoring facility, before & after cleaning, there was a slight increase from 1.19kW (for the 5 days prior to cleaning) to 1.25kW ( for the 3 days after cleaning), but this may well be subjective and due to better sunshine/atmospheric conditions.

As you will have seen from my original post over a year ago, it would appear that I live in a fairly polluted area which results in my 4 x 450W half cut mono solar panels mounted on my carport roof continually suffering from dust/dirt problems. Several members have suggested that this is not really a problem as the efficiency loss caused by dust accumulating on the panels is minimal, and that one should not become paranoid about cleaning them. However, according to a recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, accumulation of dust and dirt on solar panels is a significant issue and can reduce the output of the photovoltaic panels by as much as 30% in just one month, so regular cleaning is essential. https://news.mit.edu/2022/solar-panels-dust-magnets-0311#:~:text=But the accumulation of dust,is essential for such installations OK, so about every other month I’ve climbed up onto the carport roof just after dawn, hosed the panels down to loosen the dirt/dust and this is followed with a gentle soft ‘scrub’. I then give the panels a squeegee and final dry-off with a microfiber cloth to minimize any water residue. I have to say it has been difficult (well impossible) to quantify what the output improvements might have been achieved after cleaning the panels, mainly because sun conditions change throughout the day and from day to day. The one serious concern that I have is walking on the cement panel roof of the carport. If one panel was to crack it would mean a fall of about 4 meters onto the concrete drive below, and at 76 YoA that could be a very expensive trip to the hospital, or possibly a cheaper trip to the local temple. In an attempt to make the cleaning process possibly safer I am considering constructing a walkway next to the lower edge of the carport roof which would facilitate easier cleaning from a safer position. To complement this, I decided late last year to investigate the possibility of obtaining a ‘professional’ solar panel cleaning brush and after some investigation/searching on the internet, I decided on a single head electric power brush with a telescopic handle that will reach the panels from the potential walkway. Several companies offer such equipment and I opted to use Neexgent Energy Co. on Alibaba. The normal price of the kit is in the region of 14K THB, plus shipping and customs costs. However, after some negotiations with the company rep, I managed to secure a great deal for a kit for just 10K THB, including shipping and customs cost. I placed an order, and the kit was delivered to my door in about 10 days. No customs charge. The kit comprises: - a 35cm nylon brush assembly; a 24V DC motor; a control/connection box (incorporating a small DC water pump); an AC/DC converter plus adapters; a 2.1 to 7.5 meter telescopic handle; water hoses and connectors. Assembly was self-intuitive and extremely simple. On turning on the control box switches the motor spins the brush assembly (about 300RPM) and water is fed to the brush at a flow of about 18 L/M. My first attempt at cleaning the panels was from a tall ‘A’ type ladder placed by the lower edge of the carport roof. Using the telescopic handle fully extended (7.5 meters) I was able to access all surfaces of the 4 panels. However, control of the brush head was quite difficult because of the centrifugal force generated by the brush rotating at 300 RPM and I have to say that I felt a little uncomfortable not being fully in control. My second attempt was made using my original method, namely getting onto the carport roof. This meant that I only needed to extent the telescopic handle for 2.5 meters, and this gave me complete control over the brush head. The panels certainly looked very clean when I finished. Although the new ‘toy’ certainly makes cleaning the panels much easier, they still need to be dried off afterwards. I just wonder if something like a wet/dry vacuum cleaner (Mr Henry) would work? It may just be circumstantial but comparing the output of the system the day before against the day after cleaning, there appears to be a slight increase in power produced by the system, but as I said this may just be circumstantial. So next priority is to get a walkway constructed.