Solar Power System Installed

[hk blues]

3 hours ago, jimeve said:

Exactly, our utility pay half of the solar electric going back to them. At the moment it's about 10 p KWH  then the solar power  owner gets 5p KWH fed back into the grid.

Not the other way round. If it was me I would keep a record of all the meter readings . Then when all the Application has been processed show them the meter readings.

I thought it strange but he did seem quite specific about that point.  It makes no sense to generate electricity you don't need and then pay the power company to take it off your hands - that's why I said I'd stop generating excess and turn off the system and simply pay for any power used rather than pay double effectively. 

[intrepid]

The reason you are paying the electric for your excess is because your current meter only runs one direction even if power is going out.  Your current meter has no way of telling the direction of the current.  After your application is approved the power company will install a "Net Metering" meter.  They are now electronic and show several readings.  Total  power inbound.  Total power outbound.  They do not subtract one from the other.  You will pay the inbound and they will credit you the outbound at the lower rate.  After this is done if you want to find your true total consumption you will have to add the inbound from the meter and the total generated by your system minus the excess you exported.

Edited May 17, 2020 by intrepid

[carbpow]

My Meralco meter which is not a net metering meter reads 'delivered' and 'received' Received being what I am feeding back to Meralco.

Between 8AM and 10AM the reading is .20 to .40 KWH received. Then it jumps to 1.25 + as the sun gets higher until about 4PM when it goes back down to about the same as the morning reading. At night it reads 1.25-1.5 delivered.

Back to my original question. Does anyone have any experience as to how long it takes for Meralco to approves a net metering application?

I appreciate the help.

[Mike J]

6 hours ago, carbpow said:

My Meralco meter which is not a net metering meter reads 'delivered' and 'received' Received being what I am feeding back to Meralco.

Between 8AM and 10AM the reading is .20 to .40 KWH received. Then it jumps to 1.25 + as the sun gets higher until about 4PM when it goes back down to about the same as the morning reading. At night it reads 1.25-1.5 delivered.

Back to my original question. Does anyone have any experience as to how long it takes for Meralco to approves a net metering application?

I appreciate the help.

I do not know the answer, but here is a FAQ from Meralco that may help?  I would not be surprised if the quarantine has slowed a lot of non emergency operations for them.  

https://company.meralco.com.ph/advocacies/solar-net-metering/faqs

[carbpow]

There is now a guy working on this net metering deal with Meralco. It seems the hold up has been acquiring the needed paperwork from the city due to  ECQ which Meralco needs but this will be completed this week. I'll keep folks informed as to the progress. Based on my experience thus far with the PV system my electric bill should be very small even with a multi split AC once the  net meter get installed.

[Viking]

On 5/18/2020 at 7:00 AM, carbpow said:

There is now a guy working on this net metering deal with Meralco. It seems the hold up has been acquiring the needed paperwork from the city due to  ECQ which Meralco needs but this will be completed this week. I'll keep folks informed as to the progress. Based on my experience thus far with the PV system my electric bill should be very small even with a multi split AC once the  net meter get installed.

I am thinking of installing a multi split AC in our house but I have not got much info from people having them, if they are happy with their choice or not?

Would you do it again if you moved to a new house? Have you noticed any downsides compared to single splits?

Any advice about this will be much appreciated 

[carbpow]

I am thinking of installing a multi split AC in our house but I have not got much info from people having them, if they are happy with their choice or not?

Would you do it again if you moved to a new house? Have you noticed any downsides compared to single splits?

I would absolutely use a multi split again. Only one condenser/compressor to buy and with an inverter unit you only utilize the amount of electricity actually needed. I have 3 evaporator units one each for two of the bedrooms and one for the living/kitchen area. If I only use one unit, example the bedroom unit, the compressor and the condenser fan slow down to just supply that unit. I previously lived in an apartment with a small window AC in one bedroom and it used more KW than this multi split while cooling two bedrooms. OF course this house is better insulated but still...

A word of caution. The biggest problem I had buying this system was the AC suppliers all wanted to sell me much more capacity than I needed. I think that is why many people shy away from the multi split, expense. The problem is none of them do any heat load calculation they just measure your room and say X is what you need based on a chart given to them by the national supplier. If the house is made of uninsulated metal or 15 cm insulated walls and ceiling is of no concern to them. I had 3 different suppliers tell me they would not warranty the installation unless I installed what they said. As an engineer I found it to be frustrating but eventually got a supplier to agree to take my money based on my heat load calculations. Properly evacuating the unit to the manufacturers specification was a new experience for them too but we got it done and I have been happy.

[Tommy T.]

9 hours ago, Viking said:

I am thinking of installing a multi split AC in our house but I have not got much info from people having them, if they are happy with their choice or not?

 

 

34 minutes ago, carbpow said:

I would absolutely use a multi split again. Only one condenser/compressor to buy and with an inverter unit you only utilize the amount of electricity actually needed. I have 3 evaporator units one each for two of the bedrooms and one for the living/kitchen area. If I only use one unit, example the bedroom unit, the compressor and the condenser fan slow down to just supply that unit. I previously lived in an apartment with a small window AC in one bedroom and it used more KW than this multi split while cooling two bedrooms. OF course this house is better insulated but still...

 We do not have multi-split system. We are installing single split air/cons in the new home. One reason is that there would have to be a lot of piping set in the walls to reach all four evaporator units. That's a great opportunity for failure along the way.

However, the main reason for our choice stems from my long association with all things electrical and mechanical. I am concerned that if the single compressor should fail or be down for maintenance or repairs, then you also have multiple rooms without a/c. If each room unit is separate from each other then, typically only one might fail at a time? And if one fails, you can still get at least some residual cooling from the remaining functional unit(s). I guess I am always looking for redundancy and do not like to rely on only one system if two can be used.

The drawbacks of following my logic, that I see, are cost of extra compressors and cabling and the basic simplicity of having just the one system. You also would have more ugly compressors on the outside of your home to look at.

[carbpow]

10 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

 

 We do not have multi-split system. We are installing single split air/cons in the new home. One reason is that there would have to be a lot of piping set in the walls to reach all four evaporator units. That's a great opportunity for failure

In our case we used continuous copper tubing [no joints] from the compressor to the evaporators. Of course each room has its own separate supply and return line to the compressor so a leak  would only affect that unit and is easily isolated. They were insulated and enclosed in PVC pipe within the walls. I rarely have had AC rated tubing fail, it's tough stuff.

Yes, having one compressor does make for a single point failure but it was a trade off for me money wise. I have a survival window unit from the old apartment for emergency use . I am spoiled and like my creature comforts.

[intrepid]

4 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

I am concerned that if the single compressor should fail or be down for maintenance or repairs, then you also have multiple rooms without a/c. If each room unit is separate from each other then, typically only one might fail at a time

Our home has six split units.  The main floor is large open space. Dining, kitchen, formal living, and family room.  There are two 2.5hp units on opposing  walls.  Almost never do we need to use both at the same time.  The other four are in bedrooms.  Last year a compressor went bad in the one of the 2.5hp units on the main floor.  Lucky we had  the other one we could uses since the summer months was coming.  The usit was under warranty but took the company 4.5 months to complete the repair.  Without the second unit I'm sure a lot of time would have been spent in the bedrooms.  I considered also the multi- split but the cost difference was not too much difference and for the reason above, glad we did not go that route.