Thank you!

Indeed, I just hadn't set it up properly last night. All sorted for tonight and onwards. We're on a 7pp-khw overnight rate so makes a lot of sense.

Definitely do it if you can! I'm not plugging the firm but feel free to message me. The solar installers can do a site visit as part of the quote process, they can check out the roof. Ours is a pretty old slate roof but it was fine. The roofers are very nifty.

Nah, Somerset

This is just the app that comes with the battery, who are you with? There are lots of others though. People strongly recommend Home Assistant for Raspberry pi, I will try and get my head around that when I can

I'm pleasantly reassured that the battery firm has no idea what our house looks like

House with data markers - 3.9kw solar, 1.4kw home usage, 2.5kw going into the battery. Nothing from the grid

Lunchtime update. Getting nearly 3x as much solar power as our current consumption, so the battery is charging for tonight

Alas no. But vehicle-to-grid is an amazing concept

They'll start selling them in supermarkets soon once the regulations change to mean you don't need sign off from a sparky

*leans into microphone*

"AS YOU KNOW, I steered WELL CLEAR of Peter Mandelson when I became Labour leader"

That's interesting, thanks. Will check re insulation. Still a while off but it's on the wish list.

Speaking on Sky this AM about Mandelson, energy sec Ed Miliband says:

"Prime ministers make errors. Prime ministers are fallible. Prime ministers are human. As you know, I steered well clear of Peter Mandelson when I became Labour leader in 2010. But people make mistakes."

Free plug-in solar panels to be rolled out to some households The technology is designed to be a simpler and more affordable way of benefiting from renewable energy

"Low-income households will get [free] plug-in solar panels to cut their energy bills, the Government has announced."

This is how you do a just transition.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...

Rule change will help drivers without driveways charge EVs Motorists will be able to have a “gully” to run an electric cable as a permitted development, which can cost £1,000 under current rules

Lots of good green announcements from Miliband's department at the moment.

"Motorists will be able to have a “gully” to run an electric cable [for EVs] as a permitted development, which can cost £1,000 under current rules."
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

I'll try and write something on it for sure. Scaffolders came two days before, they took 2.5 hours to get it all up. No other prep except clearing out a cupboard to store it all in. And of course getting quotes etc.

Yes exactly, it would draw from the battery first.

Sadly heating is still gas but we weren't using it then anyway. Will be looking at a heat pump once we've saved up and probably got our draughty old house insulated first.

Temporarily negative, I guess, I haven't checked yet. Quite keen to get one of those hot water taps to even out the load at some point.

My wife bought it, she's the tech wizard, I'll ask. She got a new RP and an SSD, I know that

I'm going to try not to do these updates all the time because I realise it could get grating, but allow me in the first week. It's quite cool isn't it? (Again, appreciating my definition of cool is not most people's...)

PV providing 589 watts, 345 baseload usage, battery charging at 244 watts.

By 8:15am today solar was generating 70% more than our baseload usage.

On a cloudy day, in England, in April!

Government to propose electricity price changes in clean power push The war in the Middle East has brought renewed attention to Britain's vulnerability to energy price shocks.

More info here
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Politico: "Miliband and the Chancellor will announce steps to cut the link between electricity and gas prices — to ensure that even if gas prices soar, electricity prices don’t also rise if the cost of producing it doesn’t change."

Politico: Ed Miliband is set to announce today "plans to expand renewables across the public estate (including on brownfield land) … overhauling land access and grid connection processes … and announce plans to make it easier for renters to install heat pumps and EV chargers."

Yup, I'm not disagreeing. That's the real issue here: what it says about the PM's judgement. But that's arguably the same question from the day Mandelson was appointed.

I'm not too gutted about that

It's also complicated, meaning it's reasonable to argue the civil service was duty bound NOT to tell the PM about the vetting failure (as allies of Olly Robbins argue), as it would undermine the whole system. It's muddy.

I'm sure we'll get weeks more of frenzied argument either way...

I haven't got too involved in the Mandelson discourse as I think a lot of it is Westminster personality politics and theatrics. But:

It's possible to believe both that Mandelson was a terrible appointment AND that No 10 is fair to say they should have been told the Prince of Darkness failed vetting

Thanks Brian!

Yeah I think it's a mixed picture re whether it adds any value or not. It can add value to the right buyer, but not everyone. I've heard of some new buyers ripping out panels as they don't like them. Which is pretty horrifying ofc. Basically it shouldn't be the main reason people get solar.