Martin's Blog
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Does solar have an image problem?
“Solar, solar, solar … out, out, out”—OK, so the group stood outside Solar Media’s large-scale PV conference in Truro last week weren’t actually chanting, but they were there with banners and placards to protest against solar.
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Answering your questions about the updated MCS PV guide
Following the publication of the updated MCS guide, I have been inundated with questions. On this page I will try to keep an updated list of the most common questions.
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Sun path diagrams and shade lines
In light of the new Solar PV guide, Martin takes a look at the various methods installers can record a horizon or shade line onto a sun-path diagram.
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Navigating the maze: a guide to grid PV regulations
“What regulations do I need to study when designing a grid connected PV system?” is a question I get asked fairly regularly. The answer isn’t completely straightforward, but the following documents are good places to start.
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G59 commissioning explained
So “what actually happens during G59 commissioning” is a question I was asked earlier this week. It came up, as we had been doing exactly that, deep in the bowels of Kings Cross Station.
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PV array testing: a shocking survey
I was horrified by the results of a recent survey which suggests many MCS Solar PV installers may be omitting some key PV array tests.
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Updates to the UK Solar PV Guide
The Solar PV Guide was originally written for those working in the UK solar industry in 2002, with the second Edition released in 2006. Over the last 18 months, since the UK solar market has progressed to more than 1GW of installed capacity, the MCS PV working group has been working on a new version which will be released over the next few weeks. The following article summarises the main changes occurring.
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Solar PV guide update
Ok so we really are nearly finished! The work depends on a lot of input from others – and while Griff and I can do so much, the peaks and troughs of the Solar PV market over the last few months has really impacted on getting all the various bits of information and feedback back to us. It’s been a very frustrating time for all concerned – but the end is in sight.
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IEC Solar PV meeting
I have the IEC TC82 solar PV meeting all next week. We will be mostly working on four main documents…
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Solar PV installation guidelines
Fairly understandably, I am getting a large number of enquires on the likely publication date for Edition 3 of the solar PV installation guide. The short answer is that I don’t know – but there is an MCS PV working group this Thursday that will hopefully provide the answer.
Sundog Energy, Founder, Chairman and Technical Director
Martin Cotterell is the Founder and currently Chairman and Technical Director of Sundog Energy. Founded in 1995, Sundog Energy has grown to be one of the leading PV companies in the UK, with clients from all sectors from housing to large public and commercial projects. Sundog has installed some of the UK’s most innovative PV systems, including currently a 240kWp glass-glass PV system on Kings Cross Station. Read more about Martin Cotterell →
