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  • dunbar bear

    dunbar bear

      Select Solar - Installation of Solar power to light the sky of Dunbar Bear in Dunbar East Lothian. A steel sculpture of a bear in tribute to conservationist John Muir has been unveiled in Dunbar, East Lothian. Select Solar Limited (Upminster Essex) are proud to announce their part in the Dunbar bear project unveiled in Dunbar East Lothian 

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  • Arnia Beehives

    Arnia Beehives

      BEEHIVE PROJECT Select Solar was contacted by a company called Arnia who said that they had run into a problem using solar panels with their equipment. It transpired that they were merely being sold solar panels without any advice or engineering recommendations. Once they explained what their piece of equipment was, we were able to design and recommend a solar package that works for them and their customers. Arnia make monitoring equipment that attaches to Beehives. With the use of Wi-Fi connections, the equipment can monitor how many bees are in the hive, what the Queen Bee is doing, how much honey is being produced, temperature amongst other functions. 

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  • bat cave

    bat cave

      We were contact by Matt a solar engineer. His initial enquiry was for a charge controller that would be connected to 4 250watt solar panels. He wanted to run to heater to keep a building warm during the daytime. The location was at Anglesey North Wales near to a nuclear power plant. Matt explained that as a solar engineer he was used to working on large scale mega-watt solar systems and had limited knowledge of small off grid systems. We asked him to provide us with some information about what he was doing with the heaters and an overview of the project. 

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  • WW2 Bunker Job

    WW2 Bunker Job

      We received an enquiry from a customer who ran a business that provides outdoor pursuits for businesses who send their employees on motivational courses. They purchased a site in the same location as England’s football club in the north of England, which is also part of an airfield that was used in the Second World War. The site include WW2 bunkers that were constructed to withstand bombing raids by the Luftwaffe decided it would be a good idea to convert the disused bunkers into a prep room for laser gun themed game. There was no electricity supply and asked us to design a solar system that could be used to provide lights and charge up the laser guns. Also had a problem with the Local Authorities to obtain planning permission and asked if we could help. Select Solar Limited designed a system that was accepted by the local planning team and they then booked us to carry out the installation. 

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  • TRIFARM

    TRIFARM

      TRI FARM Bill and Jenny own a piece of land with a lake on it just outside of Chelmsford, Essex. They have 2 container portacabins which they use for classroom training, changing rooms and a shop. They run a business from the site which they call Trifarm. Basically it is a training ground for people who enter triathlon events involving cycling, swimming and running. They use the lake for swimming training and you can go along hire a wetsuit and swim round the lake. 

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  • 14W PowerFilm Solar Panel For a Liveaboard

    14W PowerFilm Solar Panel For a Liveaboard

      Choosing a solar panel for some liveaboard electrics 

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  • Buckhurst Hill

    Buckhurst Hill

      A customer contacted us from Buckhurst Hill. He had a solar installation completed a few years ago when tariff rates were reasonable. He decided to develop his property adding extra accommodation to his loft which involved taking the roof off and replacing it. 

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  • Bubble Tea Van

    Bubble Tea Van

      We were contacted by Calvic a Philipino lady and her Italian husband who is a qualified Chef. They purchased a large white van and set their hearts on a new business venture selling bubble tea from it. Calvic wanted to fit as much solar as possible on the roof to help run the equipment inside the van. We sat down and designed a system using all the roof space we could and she asked if we would carry out the installation as well. We were able to fit 1 x 400watt panel and 1 x 120watt panel. These needed to be wired separately due to the different amps and voltages the panels produce. After a successful installation Calvic asked us to install some 12volt lighting and sockets which we did via a 12volt fuse board. Calvic and her husband now attend many festivals throughout the UK and are looking to expand their business. 

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  • Baron Blake Job, work process for Victron Equipment maintenance

    Baron Blake Job, work process for Victron Equipment maintenance

      Baron Blake contacted us via a referral after his original installer had gone into liquidation. He had a battery backup system installed after his PV Installation, but it was not working. We arrived early in the morning in Kent with the intention of updating the firmware of the Victron MultiPlus, Color Control and ESS assistant. The first thing we noticed was that the Color Control was not displaying any information and did not recognize the ESS assistant. To check the connections of the Color Control, I removed it from the enclosure and saw 2 USBs, a VE.Bus connection, VE.Can connection and power cable which goes to a plug. The USBs were from a Wi-Fi adaptor and the communication feed from the nearby Carlo Cavazzi EM24 meter. 

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  • LED Lighting Brightness Guide

    LED Lighting Brightness Guide

      LED Lighting Brightness Guide Knowing what's Watt... Conventional lighting based upon incandescent filament bulbs is traditionally referred to as having an output in Watts. This allows us to have a good understanding of how bright it will be as there is an approximate correlation between power consumed by the bulb (Watts) and brightness. The problem with LEDs is that they use much, much less power than conventional bulbs for an equivalent light output, so using Watts as a measure of comparing brightness is no longer useful. 

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  • Mark Barmby First Visit - my objective was to get the Victron 48V, 3000VA MultiPlus inverter/charger running. As the battery was a BYD system, there was a 48V, 50Ah unit connected to a battery management unit (BMU).

    Mark Barmby First Visit - my objective was to get the Victron 48V, 3000VA MultiPlus inverter/charger running. As the battery was a BYD system, there was a 48V, 50Ah unit connected to a battery management unit (BMU).

      When we first arrived, my objective was to get the Victron 48V, 3000VA MultiPlus inverter/charger running. As the battery was a BYD system, there was a 48V, 50Ah unit connected to a battery management unit (BMU). The BMU is in control of monitoring the battery and making sure it is healthy. For the BMU to work through the Multi, there is a CAN type A cable that is required which has specific pins in use to make the BMU talk with the Color control panel. markbar1 The cable that was in use when we arrived was a standard ethernet cable which would not be adequate. We put in place the correct cable that we brought with us and attempted to turn on the Multi, it would switch on for a few seconds and then switch off. The color control would display a warning that the battery voltage is too low, showing 45.50V. To try and charge the battery up from the mains I changed the ESS settings in the Color control to force it to charge the battery from the mains. I tried to switch on again, but it did not charge and switched off. At this stage I thought that the mains connection might not be adequate, the mains connection went into the containment of the installed ET340 energy meter. After I removed the cover, I could see the issue straight away, the Multi AC connection was not connected correctly to anything. The customer had mentioned previously that the original installer had issues with the battery not charging and after 4 visits he was unable to source the problem. 

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  • Radha - Wrexham Road, Bow

    Radha - Wrexham Road, Bow

      Radha asked us to carry out an installation before the last feed in tariff rate cut. She was also interested in reducing her electricity bills and reducing her carbon emissions. She found Select Solar on the MCS installers database. We provided a supply and fit quotation along with an estimated performance assessment. As Radha had a flat roof, we also designed a bespoke mounting system. Radha accepted our quote and we got on with the job quickly as possible. We used our roofer to add additional timbers on the roof to provide extra strength and fixings for the Solar Panels to be attached to. 

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  • a beautiful fishing lake not far from the A120 turn off on the M11.

    a beautiful fishing lake not far from the A120 turn off on the M11.

      John an ex city trader realized his dream and bought a beautiful fishing lake not far from the A120 turn off on the M11. It had an old dilapidated solar system that didn’t work, and John wanted to convert the hut into a user-friendly place where fishermen could cook, shower and have enough night-time lighting inside and out. He asked us to start from scratch and design a system that would fulfil his objectives. During our inspection visit we found that the batteries were actually from a fork lift truck and not really designed for solar purposes, However since batteries were the most expensive part of the system we were able to bring them to life topping them up with distilled water and recommended using them for as long as possible. 

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  • These on-grid battery storage kits are designed to go alongside our solar panel on-grid kits

    These on-grid battery storage kits are designed to go alongside our solar panel on-grid kits

      The main purpose of this kit is to store your spare solar energy and use it during the evening when the sun has gone down. The size of the inverter/charger in the kit represents the AC output of the system, for example a 1200VA inverter is estimated to continually output 960 watts and double this value for peak demands. The inverters have been sized around the capacity of the batteries and will run at full capacity for 1.5-3 hours depending on the kit. 

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  • Breno runs a company called Granite SLABS WHICH IS JUST OUTSIDE Harlow

    Breno runs a company called Granite SLABS WHICH IS JUST OUTSIDE Harlow

      Breno runs a company called Granite SLABS WHICH IS JUST OUTSIDE Harlow. The site is an old disused airport runway but is perfect for storing Granite. Breno has a Portacabin on site which he uses as an office and was running the electric supply from a generator. He was interested in reducing noise as well as carbon emissions and enquired about our solar power kits. We designed a solar power kit on a bespoke basis which best suited Breno’s requirements and presented Breno with our energy solution. 

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  • 100w Fridge Job - Lady who is a professional TV Film extra and attends film shots all over the country.

    100w Fridge Job - Lady who is a professional TV Film extra and attends film shots all over the country.

      We received an enquiry from a customer who travels from job to job, using her van for work purposes. She is a professional TV Film extra and attends film shots all over the country. One particular program she has starred in several times was Downtown Abbey. You can see the property used for filming in the background of the photo below. Instead of paying for hotels she saves money by sleeping in her converted van. The customer wanted to run a small fridge, lights and install a 12v socket. 

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  • Stable Hut

    Stable Hut

      A Young couple from Kent were preparing to get married but could not afford to buy a house. Instead they found a stable hut that they could convert to living accommodation and live off grid which was much more affordable. They purchased a Solar kit and had it fitted and sometime later it failed to work. They asked if we would visit and we carried out some testing and offered advice which they had not received before. 

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  • Jamil Abdullah – 216c Tooting high street, SW17 0SG 9 panels on a flat roof

    Jamil Abdullah – 216c Tooting high street, SW17 0SG 9 panels on a flat roof

      Jamil from Tooting, South London is a property developer, he created a new development behind some shop in the high street. Before the build he had something called a SAP’s certificate. It is a predicted energy rating for the new property, and it recommend a solar system be installed of at least 2.5Kw. If carried out it would significantly improve the energy rating as well as reduce electricity costs and reduce carbon emissions. 

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  • OFFICE CONTAINER Jaswant

    OFFICE CONTAINER Jaswant

      We were contacted by a customer called Jaswant. He owned a cash and carry wholesale warehouse in Houslow near Heathrow Airport. The site also had an arrangement of containers at the rear, which were rented out for storage purposes. One of the containers was converted into an office. Jaswant sold the cash and carry but kept the storage facilities, but part of the arrangement didn’t include electricity supply to the office container. 

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  • Joydeep - Dartford in Kent He had an β€œOn-grid” solar system fitted and later a battery backup system.

    Joydeep - Dartford in Kent He had an “On-grid” solar system fitted and later a battery backup system.

      Joydeep from Dartford in Kent contacted us. He had an “On-grid” solar system fitted and later a battery backup system. The battery system had stopped working and both previous installers had gone into liquidation. Joydeep contacted Victron who referred him to Select Solar Ltd who are qualified and registered Victron dealers. 

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  • Powerfilm folding panel helps measure Greenland snow density

    Powerfilm folding panel helps measure Greenland snow density - Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge

      Professor Liz Morris from the Scott Polar Research Institute explains how she used a 30W Powerfilm folding solar panel on the Greenland Ice Sheet last year. 

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  • Pod Pads Solar Powered Festival Accomodation

    Pod Pads Solar Powered Festival Accomodation - Pod Pads

      Since 2005 Pod Pads' fabulously quirky festival accomodation has been powered by Select Solar's 40W DIY kits. 

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  • Rob Hague

    Rob Hague - Westcountry Recumbents

      My Quest is stored in the garage at home and is left outdoors at work during the day. The single panel proved to be sufficient, even in winter, to keep the battery charged from this daytime exposure and allow normal use of all of the vehicle electrics when commuting. 

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  • A solar-powered waterfall in the mountains on a remote Greek Island.

    A solar-powered waterfall in the mountains on a remote Greek Island. - Special Interest Holidays International

      We were intrigued when a solar kit was purchased for a fountain on a remote Greek island, so we enquired a bit further and received a fascinating tale from a published author! 

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  • Around The World on a Bicycle

    Around The World on a Bicycle - Jeremy Johnson

      Jeremy Johnson is a video blogger. Being at a loose end in 2011 he decided to cycle around the planet. He knew he'd have a bit of difficulty keeping his various mobile electronics charged up, especially as most of his time was to be on the move and his stopovers ranged from campsites to village greens and even a garden. 

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  • Carping around with Solar

    Carping around with Solar - Jake Langley-Hobbs

      Extreme carp fisherman, writer and Select Solar customer Jake Langley-Hobbs explains how he uses a 32W Flexi panel. 

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  • Q and A on Solar panels and photovoltaics

    Q and A on Solar panels and photovoltaics

      Essex solar panel specialists Solar installers in Essex and throughout UK Essex Select Solar Select solar in upminster essex Select Solar, 12v 24v panel 12v solar panel 24v solar panel solar panel kit solar panel kits portable solar products battery backup battery back-up for your existing installation renewable energy charge controllers solar lighting solar for caravans solar garden office conversions solar for motor homes solar for boats solar for motorbikes charger chargers victron products solar panel kits for off grid projects off grid specialists motorhomes boats marinas victron solar panel kits Victron products garden conversions Off-Grid Specialists we are able to supply power to remote areas or where power is unavailable top quality branded solar products backed by full warranties, complete technical specifications, and excellent uk customer service Off-Grid Specialists we are able to supply power to remote areas or where power is unavailable solar power Select Solar - The Solar Power Specialists in Essex and throughout the UK. Select solar limited Upminster Essex 

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