1st Sept 2011: this photograph from Flickr by Jim Easterbrook shows how NOT to do it!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim_easterbrook/5937685450/
Frankly, I am rather amazed.
Surely, the house owner, who must be a bit of a green technology geek should have made his own judgement that the arrangement in the photo would be 'dodgy' in the extreme.
He seems to be 'green' in more ways than one - allowing himself to be ripped off so very publicly.
Vertical panels are just about OK on a south facing facade on a high rise, but on a house that is shaded, No Way!
PS, Jim has sent me a follow up comment to report that the two panels between the chimneys are also PV, not solar thermal as I first thought. With PV, if just one of the panels is shaded, the entire string will not work correctly. Even the shadow from a TV aerial will affect the electrical capture!
This one above I found on a Twitter feed, thanks to Peter Searancke of @IES_homeuser for finding it for me. The trick here is that you, dear reader, gullibly assume that the installation is part-shaded by the chimney through most of the day.... Hahaha.... Not a bit of it!
Get this! The panels are all on the north slope, so the chimney is not shading the installation, the entire house is doing that!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim_easterbrook/5937685450/
Frankly, I am rather amazed.
Surely, the house owner, who must be a bit of a green technology geek should have made his own judgement that the arrangement in the photo would be 'dodgy' in the extreme.
He seems to be 'green' in more ways than one - allowing himself to be ripped off so very publicly.
Vertical panels are just about OK on a south facing facade on a high rise, but on a house that is shaded, No Way!
PS, Jim has sent me a follow up comment to report that the two panels between the chimneys are also PV, not solar thermal as I first thought. With PV, if just one of the panels is shaded, the entire string will not work correctly. Even the shadow from a TV aerial will affect the electrical capture!
Get this! The panels are all on the north slope, so the chimney is not shading the installation, the entire house is doing that!!!
The panels between the chimneys are also PV - view the original size photo on Flickr to check.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jim. Ive added another picture too. Jim, where is the photo you took of the vertical panels?
ReplyDeleteStoneleigh, near Epsom. The panels are, at least, on the south side of the house.
ReplyDelete