Power in cold weather

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Jul 18, 2017
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The gas rings in my caravan never go up the side of the pots or pans.
If you are cooking with a Wok, you do need the flame to come up the side of it.

We had a wok previously for home, but not sure how well it would work on an induction hob as you state you need heat up the sides? We do have the camping stove, but think the wok is a bit big for it and can over balance.
 

JTQ

May 7, 2005
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We had a wok previously for home, but not sure how well it would work on an induction hob as you state you need heat up the sides? We do have the camping stove, but think the wok is a bit big for it and can over balance.

A case of getting the "right tool for the job", LINK
 
Nov 16, 2015
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I think that is the issue which is why we are reluctant to buy an induction wok.
We do have two Woks and they work fine on our induction hob, I am not the sort of cook that you see throwing around flaming stir fry noodles, but one Wok had a much larger flat base, maybe 10 inches across.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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We do have two Woks and they work fine on our induction hob, I am not the sort of cook that you see throwing around flaming stir fry noodles, but one Wok had a much larger flat base, maybe 10 inches across.
That is good to know. We only used the wok occasionally on our previous hob as it made a pleasant change from humdrum meals.
 
Jan 3, 2012
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We do have two Woks and they work fine on our induction hob, I am not the sort of cook that you see throwing around flaming stir fry noodles, but one Wok had a much larger flat base, maybe 10 inches across.
Well me been a chef i have use woks with a lid and have cook veggies, meat to perfection
 
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Jul 23, 2021
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A somewhat 'tongue in cheek' thought.

If everyone switched to gas for heating or cooking instead of electricity then not as much gas would be used to generate the electricity in the first place. Does it balance out?
Heating - no. If you switch from a gas boiler (60% - 85% efficient depending on lots of things) to heat pump (200% to 300%) efficient, there is less gas used than if used locally. (note this is efficiency - not cost).
Cooking - Electric vs Gas oven - Electric wins (esp with fan assist). Hob, induction wins. Here is the efficiency better overall - that's probably close. Combined cycle gas turbine is far more efficient than just burning gas for heat, but its still probably close. BUT with electric, you can use some renewables when they are available, so probably lower gas use in the long run.
 
May 7, 2012
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Our daughter who is with Octopus did try to reduce use during the first of these trials and had dinner cooked by 5 pm and switched everything electric off they could including lights. The saving was 80p, not sure how this compared with others though. They are still on a cheap rate tariff though so those who are on standard ones might have saved more.
We do not have the smart meter though so cannot indulge.
 
Jul 23, 2021
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Our daughter who is with Octopus did try to reduce use during the first of these trials and had dinner cooked by 5 pm and switched everything electric off they could including lights. The saving was 80p, not sure how this compared with others though. They are still on a cheap rate tariff though so those who are on standard ones might have saved more.
We do not have the smart meter though so cannot indulge.
The cash payback for the trials (which was more about grid carbon reduction) is in a different league to the new turn down events. There the saving can be far more lucrative, and is a good incentive if you have the option.
 
Jan 3, 2012
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Our daughter who is with Octopus did try to reduce use during the first of these trials and had dinner cooked by 5 pm and switched everything electric off they could including lights. The saving was 80p, not sure how this compared with others though. They are still on a cheap rate tariff though so those who are on standard ones might have saved more.
We do not have the smart meter though so cannot indulge.
We also did the reduce use in Octopus and the first trail we switch everything we could of and saved £5 up to now we have done 4 trails and it around £20
 
Jun 16, 2020
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We had a wok previously for home, but not sure how well it would work on an induction hob as you state you need heat up the sides? We do have the camping stove, but think the wok is a bit big for it and can over balance.

We used to have a 5 burner gas hob with a large wok burner in the middle. It worked well. but now we use an induction hob and have excellent results.

John
 
Mar 14, 2005
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I have 15 solar panels on my house in Weymouth right on the south coast. They do indeed produce power on overcast days, however..........

At the height of the summer they can generate in excess of 25Kwh.
Yesterday, with no snow on them, they produced 2.4Kwh and last Monday just 1.2Kwh. Scale that differential across all of the nations commercial solar farms and 5% of whats possible ain't much.

As for everyone plugging their EV's back into the grid to supply others that's all well and good but...........
How many EV's will need to be provide any significant amount of power? Are they actually going to do that as maybe they will be at work when there is a need for them to feed back into the grid, or it will rob them of the ability to either actually use their car (because its plugged in) or it will deprive them of range for the next time they wish to use it.

Things are never as simple as they first seem are they??
Further on the point of using EV's to help the grid, you might find this youtube video interesting and informative:-
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKTtERemK8A
 
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Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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We've just had the first quote for a Solar Panel system on our community hall which consumes roughly 4400Kwh per year

£20.5K which includes vat since it's only zero rated on residential properties.

System is:-

16 x 370w Panels - 5920W total
7.5Kwh Battery and Invertor
DC and AC Isolators
Meter and all fixings.

They estimate a payback they estimate at 9 to 10 years but this seems optimistic to me.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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We've just had the first quote for a Solar Panel system on our community hall which consumes roughly 4400Kwh per year

£20.5K which includes vat since it's only zero rated on residential properties.

System is:-

16 x 370w Panels - 5920W total
7.5Kwh Battery and Invertor
DC and AC Isolators
Meter and all fixings.

They estimate a payback they estimate at 9 to 10 years but this seems optimistic to me.

They are trying to sell the system so they will be optimistic. 😆
 
Jul 23, 2021
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We've just had the first quote for a Solar Panel system on our community hall which consumes roughly 4400Kwh per year

£20.5K which includes vat since it's only zero rated on residential properties.

System is:-

16 x 370w Panels - 5920W total
7.5Kwh Battery and Invertor
DC and AC Isolators
Meter and all fixings.

They estimate a payback they estimate at 9 to 10 years but this seems optimistic to me.
It would be interesting to know what your usage patern is for that 4400kWh per year. I assume it's lumpy based on occupation times? Is the orientation of the potential solar array south facing? Does the hall have the option of a smart meter? What are the highest electrical loads that would be placed on the hall? Single phase or three phase?
 

Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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The Hall has a 7.5kw output Air Source Heater. I don't have access to the seasonal usage of electricity but as you can imagine the heater kicks in, in the winter months. A small kitchen and toilets with localise water heaters at about 3Kw each turned on when needed. About 6 flourescent ceiling mounted internal lights about the same number of low energy wall ligths and couple of small led external lights. Large screen TV and audio sytem.

Its all single phase.

During winter months we have between 6 - 7 hours of daylight but how much the sun shines in these periods is not really known. Usage throughout the year is very variable and many days go by without any activity taking place.

(My own Hot Water Solar panel runs an average of about 5 hours a week in Nov/Dec but the input is minimal. It just needs a 6 degC difference between panel and tank to run.)

The orientation is 225 degrees and about a 20% pitched roof with no overshading. This is what the quote was based on. We may have the option to put the panels at the rear of the hall on the ground at the best angle and south facing.

One factor not taken into account is that the hall sits below a hill so while not technically shaded it does mean the rising sun is later than usual. Also at our latitude there is almost a 45deg difference from true west and east for sunset and sunrise. I'm not sure at what angle PV panels can produce an output

There is no Smart Meter at this point. The system requires an broadband connection but I have no information about why it needs this.
 
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Jul 23, 2021
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Thanks Sam. 4400kWh is a lot but the heat pump explains that if the hall has no other heating. I would say that 7.5kWh of battery is too small for both the proposed PV kWp and demand. On a sunny winter day (like yesterday Dec 19th) my neighbour with a south facing roof and 39degree roof angle generated 9.5 kWh from a 4kWp array. In summer he is generating in excess of 20kWh a day.

You not mention the size of the inverter / charger for the battery, but I guess it is 3kW? Also the size of the Solar inverter (4kW)?

If possible I would double the battery, and ensure the system had 6 or even 9kW of inverter / power supply for the them. In winter, you would have the option to store all the electricity you could from the roof to make it last as long as possible between sunny days - ideally being able to draw on the stored capacity without having to also import from the grid - would minimise the grid bill. In summer, having the potential to fully run any heating needed (water or space) from the batteries without also drawing from the grid, potentially for a couple of days would minimise grid cost. I would say payback is 10 - 15 years not including rising electricity costs, and not including revenue from selling excess capacity back to the grid.
 

Sam Vimes

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Thanks for the reply. These systems are subject to a number of unknowns in our case. How much the sun shines and what the usage will be. Plus we have to see how our grant will be structured. If its less than 100% then we'll need to consider the overall cost. Covid has cost us dearly over the last couple of years so we're still running at a loss.
 
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Jul 18, 2017
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It must be very worrying at present for people in the US that have EVs and no power as it seems millions are without power and no idea when power will be restored.

I think we got off lightly with our recent Artic blast even though our electric bills increased dramatically for that period. Hopefully we will not get a taste of what the US is currently experiencing.
 

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