Solar Panel Cyber Security


My friend Marc Rogers, the eminent security consultant, was quoted the Guardian talking about his predictions for information security and cybercrime in 2014. The ongoing development of the internet of things will continue to impact cyber security in 2014, as attackers now have more potential entry routes to sensitive governmental, corporate and personal data than ever. Mundane objects – such as thermostats and fridges – which were once completely unremarkable from a security perspective, have …

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FREE MONEY FROM THE SKY!


(With a little upfront investment). I've blogged before about our Solar Panels and how they're performing. Liz and I have recently moved house, and decided that it made sense to get panels on our new property. Basically, we're so capitalist that we can only enjoy the warm glow of Earth's yellow sun when it is enriching our bank accounts. We looked at several local installers, before settling on Sims Solar. Paul was able to produce a detailed set of measurements, understood my crazy…

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The British Summer Generates 1.5 MegaWatts Per Roof


A couple of years ago, we had solar panels installed on our roof. We based our power generation estimates on the Europa Solar Calculator which estimated that they would generate around 2,700 kWh per year. Every few months we take a reading and see how the panels have been performing. Our meter reading for the end of May was 4,271kWh - our reading at the end of August was 5,791. That means this summer we generated 1.5MWh! Let's put that into context. The average UK domestic household uses …

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Solar Update


Another in my occasional series of blog posts about our solar panels. We used both the Energy Saving Trust Solar Power calculator and the Europa Solar Calculator to estimate a generation capacity of between 2,500 and 2,700 kWh per year. We've just done a reading for 21 November to 21 February. Right in line with expectations, we generated 205kWh - netting us ~£96 from the Feed In Tariff. Over 15 months we've generated a total of 3376kWh. Again, totally in line with the top end of …

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Making Hay While The Sun Shines


One of the perils of being a reluctant capitalist is the cognitive dissonance. Normally, on a sunny day, I look outside and smile. Blue skies, warmth, chance for an ice cream, people smiling, lovely. Yesterday, I saw the sun was shining, I rubbed my hands together and let out an Mr Burns-esque chuckle of delight. Last November, we installed solar panels on our roof. The Government ensures that if you generate electricity, you get paid for it. There's also a payment for surplus energy you…

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Solar Panels and FIT


As I mentioned in my last post, we've just had solar panels installed! Because of Greg Barker MP's idiotic decision to scrap the Feed In Tariff with only six weeks' notice - we've had to get this done in rather a rush. Thanks to Angi and Philip at Sunny Future Solar, we were able to get our system installed before the deadline. Yesterday, we received confirmation that panels were installed and working and had generated their first 15W of electricity! Total cost of installation: £12,000. …

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