by cepm-admin | May 9, 2017
Summary
Location
CK Contracts, Ayrshire
Estimated Annual SAP Production: 37871.40 kWh
Estimated ROI: 7 years
Actual Annual Production: TBC
Install Date: 21.12.15
Environmental Impact
Annual CO2 Savings: TBC
Products
System Size: 49.7 kWp
Panel Model: Sunpower E20 327W
Inverter Model: SolarEdge 2 x 16k 1 x 12.5k
The Project
CK Contracts are one of the leading providers of civil engineering services in Scotland, working in the construction, rail, renewable, utility & public sectors. They specialise in providing world class services in general civil and building works, provision of railway safety critical personnel and civil upgrades and remedial works on onshore windfarms.
CK Contracts approached Ceiba to provide a design and quote for a solar PV system for their new headquarters in Ayrshire. The aim for CK Contracts was to be as self-sufficient as possible, keep energy overheads as low as possible and to enhance their credibility further as a environmentally and socially responsible business. The mandate for Ceiba was to maximise the available roof space and have a high quality, reliable solar system that was going to work hassle-free for the long- term.
Given that mandate, Ceiba Renewables specified Sunpower E20 panels and demonstrated the benefits of Sunpower’s Maxeon technology to the Managing Director, Andy King. See “Demand Better” page for further details on the benefits of using Sunpower.
In order to minimise costs, CK Contracts provided labour for the roofing works under supervision of Ceiba Renewables and the solar panels were installed within 2 days.
The remainder of the installation was completed once the building was wind & watertight with the new three-phase supply brought in by Scottish Power. The system was connected online to the SolarEdge monitoring portal once CK Contracts moved in and just recently a SolarEdge meter has been installed to monitor the electricity consumption.
The Result
CK Contracts now have a cutting-edge solar PV system that is going to provide significant savings for decades to come. Having recently started monitoring consumption we can see that the PV system is covering the building’s day time consumption and the next phase is to look at battery storage to maximise savings further.
by cepm-admin | Oct 31, 2016
Home Hardware in Helensburgh contacted us after finding that their 51 panel solar PV system wasn’t producing the power that their now-defunct installer said it would.
Ceiba agreed to carry out an assessment of their PV system in order to identify any issues that could be limiting the power produced.
The initial finding found that some of the panels weren’t providing power to the solar inverter and at least 9 panels had been installed in permanent shading:
Ceiba proposed an action plan which involved fault finding to establish which panels were not functioning properly, tidying up of the DC cables and a re-design of the PV array layout in order to reposition the panels to minimise the shade.
After reviewing the report that Ceiba produced, Home Hardware were keen to get the problems fixed. Ceiba’s PV install team began by removing panels and mapping the string layout. It was discovered that poor crimping was responsible for a number of loose connections and every string connection was re-done and crimped professionally.
This fix ensured that all of the panels were now producing power to the solar inverter, later in the day when shading was less of an issue on the panels, the instantaneous power output of the PV array had increased by 36% by this measure alone.
However, Home Hardware wanted the job done properly and requested for the solution to re-designing the PV array layout be actioned.
Ceiba went to work, moving 17 panels to the north-west side of the roof which has now minimised the impact of shade across the entire system and the solar PV system has been recommissioned.
Duncan Crosthwaite, Director of Ceiba Renewables said, “With the original design shading occurred across 2 strings for more than 50% of the day. With our redesign we are confident that solar power generation at Home Hardware will be substantially improved.
We’re very happy that we could fix Home Hardware’s issues. Choosing your installer carefully is one of the most important things you can do when considering solar PV and even then you can get caught out as this case proves. Some key questions you can ask are: What components are they recommending? what are their warranty terms? Who do they use as their installers? Ask for references and do as much research as possible.”
Since undertaking the works Home Hardware have reported a major improvement in their PV system’s performance.
Having issues with your solar PV system? Contact us today and we’ll be happy to help.
Contact Us
by cepm-admin | Oct 31, 2016
Summary
Location
Scottish Maritime Museum – Irvine
Estimated Annual Production: 6319 kWh (Installed 10/05/16)
Estimated ROI: 10 years
Actual Annual Production: 7280 kWh
Install Date: 10/05/16
Environmental Impact
Annual CO2 Savings: 2,855.36 kg
Products
System Size: 8.04kWp
Panel Model: Sunpower X21 335Wp BLK
Inverter Model: Solaredge 8000W 3Ph Inverter G59
The Project
Ceiba Renewables were contacted by The Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine to help them look at ways of using solar PV to reduce their energy usage.
Following a consultation where a number of roofs were considered, the most favourable location was on the roof of the main office. A number of solar panels were considered but the benefits of Sunpower – superior warranties, higher output per m2, aesthetics, performance and salt-mist environments – were such that the Scottish Maritime Museum quickly opted for the X21 Sunpower panel.
The installation was featured in NICEIC’s Connections Scotland magazine which goes into more detail about the project.
The Result
The all-black X21 panels look fantastic on the roof and the PV system is exceeding performance expectations.
Customer Quote
Chris Woodland, Commercial Manager at the Scottish Maritime Museum said: “We are always looking for ways to minimise our operational expenses without impacting on the visitor experience and this is an excellent example of the Scottish Maritime Museum’s dedication to improving its energy efficiency”
NICEIC Connections Magazine
See the article about this project in the NICEIC’s Connections Magazine here.
NICEIC are one of the UK’s leading assessment and certification bodies for electrical and building works.
by cepm-admin | Oct 31, 2016
Summary
Location
Troon, Ayrshire
Estimated Annual SAP Production: 2837.86 kWh
Estimated ROI: 8 years
Actual Annual Production: 3380 kWh
Install Date: 23/06/14
Environmental Impact
Annual CO2 Savings: 1215 kg
Products
System Size: 3.924 kWp
Panel Model: Sunpower E20 327W
Inverter Model: SolarEdge SE4000-16A
The Project
Mr and Mrs Latter were keen to utilise solar for their family home in Troon to reduce their electricity bill and provide long-term savings.
Having limited roof space, some shading, rosemary tiles and different roof orientations were some of the main challenges we needed to address in order to design the perfect solar PV system for their home.
Sunpower panels were selected due to their superior performance, warranty and durability (especially in salt-mist environments in coastal areas) and maximising power for the area of roof space.
SolarEdge power optimisers were selected to minimise the impact of shading and to deal with the different roof orientations.
Schletter with Hookstop tiles (http://www.redtip.co/hookstop) were used
to mount the system and protect the rosemary tiles.
The Result
A fantastic, high performance solar PV system which is outperforming the SAP calculations by nearly 20% every year.
Customer Quote:
“First class fitting and service – I had a solar pv system fitted and it’s been installed now for over a year and never once have I had a problem with it or has the system not worked. The production of the system is far higher than the SAP values and has proven to be a very good system at the price it was installed at.”
by cepm-admin | Oct 30, 2016
Summary
Location
Fort William
Estimated Annual SAP Production: 6922.59 kWh (Installed 26/06/16)
Estimated ROI: 8 years
Actual Annual Production: TBC
Install Date: 26/06/16
Environmental Impact
Annual CO2 Savings: TBC
Products
System Size: 9.81kWp
Panel Model: Sunpower E20 327W
Inverter Model: Solar Edge 5000W Single-Phase G59 Inverter x2
The Project
Situated in the beautiful highland surroundings of Spean Bridge, this eco-house is served by a 9.81kWp Sunpower PV system, two SolarEdge inverters and a Tesla Powerwall integrated so that the house will be able to benefit from solar PV power at night. The house is heated by a ground-source NIBE heat pump (not installed by Ceiba).
Dr Giles, the customer, wanted his new home to be as self-sufficient as possible. With a SAP energy calculation of 7,022kWh for heating, hot water, ventilation and lighting the aim was to be net carbon-neutral – i.e. the solar PV system should generate more electricity per annum than the house consumes.
As a new build project, the initial design had been for an in-roof system over multiple roofs. However, after consultations with Dr Giles we agreed that due to the sliding roof and other factors that a ground-mount option would be better suited to this project – Ground-mount systems have the advantage of being able to be oriented to south and aren’t as restricted as a roof for space so we could increase the size of the system.
To enable use of some excess solar power at night we specified the 6.4kWh Powerwall from Tesla.
The Result – 2017 so far
The results so far have been very good. Visually the solar PV system looks great, seamlessly built into the hill at the front of the house.
Data for 2017 shows that self-consumption is sitting at 64% having generated 2,485kWh from 1st Jan 2017 to 6th May 2017. That means that 1,580kWh have been used in the house, while 895kWh have been exported.
The house electricity consumption has been 4,900kWh, with self-consumption of solar power standing at 32% (1,580kWh) and we’ll expect that percentage to increase in the coming summer months.
Since installation in June 2016, the solar PV system has saved 4.2 tonnes of CO2 and having used Sunpower panels with their Cradle2Cradle certification, the solar PV system itself is already carbon negative.
Overall, the solar PV system is making a significant contribution to the energy requirements of the house. With this data we’re building up a valuable picture and it’s clear that there is scope for more battery storage in the future to further enhance self-consumption and savings.
Customer Quote
“Simply the best! Ceiba Renewables worked with us to design the PV system for our new build house in the highlands. They provided a more comprehensive service than any other company we contacted about the project, from estimating its size, through design and specification to installation. This included implementation of new technology such as the Tesla Powerwall. They tackled a whole series of issues and no problem seemed too difficult. We used many contractors on our new build but in terms of knowledge, professionalism and service Ceiba Renewables were in a class of their own.”
