Never mind the OAT…

Solar Photovoltaic (PV)

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Toodles

(@toodles)

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Joined: 3 years ago

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Topic starter 22/12/2025 5:16 pm

When checking the Met Office website to see what weather might be chucked at us in the next few days, my first thought is to ‘how much solar power might I expect?’ It never occurs to me to look at the expected temperature prediction!

Thinking about this, I think the sunnier outlook appeals to me far more than the proximity of Jack frost. A sunny outlook not only has those solar panels producing useful energy but my attitude to life improves no end with blue skies and sunshine; even to the extent that it could be freezing outside - we are still comfortably warm at a toasty 22.5 degrees C everywhere indoors.

I realise that the usual consumption of the heat pump will increase somewhat from the usual ~15 - 20 kWh per day but rarely have I noted more than 40 kWh being consumed in a day. Now the consumption is well above our average December daily solar production of ~2 kWh or so but.. if the sun is shining…

Come January, our solar production may rise to ~ 4 kWh or so per day and we can start thinking about the milder weather to come in a month or two.

Having a heat pump system that just gets on with the job of keeping us comfortable 24/7 was a very worthwhile investment and does no end of good for my outlook on life too!

So, am I an odd-ball in this regard, or have any other readers found themselves adopting a similar attitude please? Warm Regards, Toodles.

Toodles, heats his home with cold draughts and cooks food with magnets.

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JamesPa

(@jamespa)

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Posts: 3734

22/12/2025 6:09 pm

Posted by: @toodles

↑

Having a heat pump system that just gets on with the job of keeping us comfortable 24/7 was a very worthwhile investment and does no end of good for my outlook on life too!

So, am I an odd-ball in this regard, or have any other readers found themselves adopting a similar attitude please? Warm Regards, Toodles.

What I have definitely noticed since getting the heat pump is that I have almost no sense of what the outside temperature is; I have to look at the heat pump controller to find out(!). The only other tell tale signs are frost on the grass and a bit of misting at the bottom of some windows, if its both cold outside and for some reason very humid inside

4kW peak of solar PV since 2011; EV and a 1930s house which has been partially renovated to improve its efficiency. 7kW Vaillant heat pump.

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Toodles

(@toodles)

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Joined: 3 years ago

Posts: 2367

Topic starter 22/12/2025 6:52 pm

@jamespa I have found that it comes as a shock when we leave the house on a cold day to go shopping or whatever as we have been ‘cushioned’ from the cold without any conscious effort on our part. Toodles.

Toodles, heats his home with cold draughts and cooks food with magnets.

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