solar panels?
 

Any views on getting a small solar panel installed? How much is a very basic one going to cost, and how much am I going to save with it?

Re: solar panels?
 

It's not like that. What sort of solar panel are you asking about PV or hot water? Where do you expect it to be installed, on the ground, house roof, camper van, block of flats? how many hours of full sun does the site enjoy? Are you looking for a tracking system? 12VDC 24VDC 240VAC of some other? What storage capacity will you require? etc etc

Re: solar panels?
 

Thanks. Probably PV. On a south-facing roof in Algarve. No idea about voltage I'm afraid, or what a tracking system is.

Re: solar panels?
 

To be honest - if you cannot say what you want/need then on one will be able to give you a realistic solution as to what is available and prices to fit your requirements - there are just far far too many variables.
If you look on sites like OXL or Ebay you'll find solar stuff and even complete systems so you can compare some possibilities THEN ask someone local to you for a price for fitting. You'd also need someone to check where ever you think you want a panel etc installed as roof fitting involves access to the structure of the roof and this is not always possible or sensible.

Re: solar panels?
 

Solar water heating is a given, if it's possible for you..... but personally, I'd forget retrofit solar electricity unless you have a way to use the generated power straight away. It's good for pumps, etc. (during the day)..... but domestic use, less so. Panels are cheap, but batteries and storage are an expensive game.

Re: solar panels?
 

Thanks! Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking too. Not even sure it's worthwhile for hot water, as I don't use it on a daily basis.

Re: solar panels?
 

If you already have a gas water heater installed and want to go solar hw it's a long pay back time, plus our area you need anodes fitting quite regularly, I calculated we're much better off buying a few cylinders per annum.

Otoh I heard that grants are available to recover 70% of the cost of green energy applications on property built before 2006, but trying to find out how possible it is to achieve is somewhat elusive....

Re: solar panels?
 

Contact EDP, they have a sales team for this.
They install and wire it up for surprisingly little money. They'll also give you a simulation stating what you'll supposedly save on your energy bill.
Just west of Lagos, you can see a HUGE solar farm being built just inland from the A22.
HUGE.

Re: solar panels?
 

Look very closely at the EDP small print, the terms and conditions. I completed the simulation and was very disappointed. EDP did not recommend enough PV panels for my requirements or storage batteries. The discount they quoted on future consumption of electricity was time limited as well. Also, there is no feed-in tariff, so unless you are going to consume all the electricity your panels produce during daylight hours, you don't gain much at all.

Re: solar panels?
 

Batteries aren't practical if you have grid connection. They cost more than the power they will ever store.

Yes, there is no feed in tarrif; you give it free and then they charge you when you draw it back.
That's why I didn't go for it either; but if you want PV panels on your roof you either need EDP or batteries.

Re: solar panels?
 

Thanks. So looks like the EDP option is the only practical possibility for me. Not sure how much so for a small town house with fairly low consumption?

How big would a panel need to be in such a case?

Re: solar panels?
 

Usually you'd get the info for property consumption vs time over a period of months from your existing supplier or by taking readings twice a day or a clamp on logger then you know how much you use and how much the panels will need to produce to cover this, that is if your aim is to produce power to match your consumption during daylight.
Panel are rated approx 80W, 100w, 150w, 200w, 250w etc but that's the max output so you have to factor in a percentage for shade, sun direction, etc. The sensible way is to use a small test panel in the place/direction/slope you want the installation and log the output over time to find if a full installation would produce what you want or if it'll all be a waste of time and money.
We tend to use this type of item (I have no connection with this company and have not used their specific products)
https://www.energyhive.com/content/products

Re: solar panels?
 

It's sad that the more I research and look at solar the less it financially makes sense.
Even in NY, usa where the feeding is the same rate as you pay to draw from the grid it took people 12yrs to reclaim the cost of their initial set ups.
I dred to think the time line needed to recoup in Portugal!

I'm certainly not anti Solar... Far from it, I just suffer from logical brain calculations rather than the emotional appeal of self sufficient environmental factors.

Most people on here seem rather unimpressed with solar electricity viability in Portugal, but how are people finding solar water heating?

Re: solar panels?
 

Sorry for the slight tangent question but does anyone know how you find out the distance/accessibility to mains gas?
I've bought 2 properties here, 1 in a historic village, 1 in a rural environmental area so both currently mains electric for everything... Sighhh

Re: solar panels?
 

Thanks again. It would be south-facing, and should get sun most of the day. It would be attached to a wall, though, rather than to the roof (the azoteia is quite small), so maybe the angle would also affect power generated?

My consumption is going to be fairly low, I think. One person, pretty tight in general terms ;)