Our VW Golf has recently had a problem with the central locking where the key remote fob only unlocks the drivers door not the other doors or boot. You can open the rest of the doors using the switch on the drivers door so it is clear there is no actual fault with the central locking wiring.
Normally with a VW Golf (and indeed other VW cars such as the Passat) a single press of the key fob will remotely open the drivers door and a second press will open the rest of the doors and the boot. It appears that when the car battery is getting low a fault can develop where only the drivers door unlocks and the rest of the doors remain locked even when you press the key fob twice.
The suggested cure to fix the problem is to disconnect the battery for 10 seconds and then reconnect it. This should resolve the problem and get all doors unlocking together again. In our case the battery was nearing the end of its life and occasionally proving difficult to start the car so we also took the opportunity to replace the battery at the same time.
New battery fitted and the doors on the VW Golf are all now opening as expected with one or two presses of the key fob.
More info about the VW Golf TDi 130 available here
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Sunday, 20 November 2011
How to View Solar Panel Generation Data via Bluetooth from SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF Inverter
How to View Solar Panel Generation Data via Bluetooth from SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF Inverter
Having just had our Sungrid PV solar panels installed by Solar Advanced Systems we were keen to be able to monitor the production of electricity by the PV panels without needing to visit the Sunny Boy inverter each time to view the display.
SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF (as well as the 2500HF and 4000HF) inverters have the capability to display data using Bluetooth. SMA Sunny Boy supply a device called the Sunny Beam that will show the production from your solar panel system. However this costs around £175 in the UK and there are much cheaper alternatives to the Sunny Beam to show this data on your PC or laptop.
Step 1)
Firstly you need a laptop or PC that has Bluetooth capability. If your PC doesn't have this built in then you can buy an external USB Bluetooth dongle for approx £10. This is one such device from Ebuyer A class 1 Bluetooth adapter would probably be a better bet than a Class 2 adapter as it will give a much longer range than class 2. The difference between a Bluetooth class 1 range of 100m and class 2 range of 10m is very significant and would mean the difference between being to view the data from any room in your house to only being able to view from the room next to the inverter.
Step 2)
Once the Bluetooth dongle is installed you need to download the free Sunny Explorer software. This is available as a free download from the SMA website.
http://www.sma.de/en/products/software/sunny-explorer.html
Step 3)
Install the Sunny Explorer software, let it detect your system. You will need to enter its password which is set as default to 0000.
Step 4)
View your data and download the log files to your PC. By default these are stored in a folder called SMA under the My Documents folder.
Step 5)
Additional tools are also available to analyse and store the data from the SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF./2500HF/4000HF inverter range and I will cover those in another blog post.
Having just had our Sungrid PV solar panels installed by Solar Advanced Systems we were keen to be able to monitor the production of electricity by the PV panels without needing to visit the Sunny Boy inverter each time to view the display.
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| 14 Solar panel array - Sungrid PV installation with Sunny Boy 3000HF inverter |
SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF (as well as the 2500HF and 4000HF) inverters have the capability to display data using Bluetooth. SMA Sunny Boy supply a device called the Sunny Beam that will show the production from your solar panel system. However this costs around £175 in the UK and there are much cheaper alternatives to the Sunny Beam to show this data on your PC or laptop.
Step 1)
Firstly you need a laptop or PC that has Bluetooth capability. If your PC doesn't have this built in then you can buy an external USB Bluetooth dongle for approx £10. This is one such device from Ebuyer A class 1 Bluetooth adapter would probably be a better bet than a Class 2 adapter as it will give a much longer range than class 2. The difference between a Bluetooth class 1 range of 100m and class 2 range of 10m is very significant and would mean the difference between being to view the data from any room in your house to only being able to view from the room next to the inverter.
Step 2)
Once the Bluetooth dongle is installed you need to download the free Sunny Explorer software. This is available as a free download from the SMA website.
http://www.sma.de/en/products/software/sunny-explorer.html
Step 3)
Install the Sunny Explorer software, let it detect your system. You will need to enter its password which is set as default to 0000.
Step 4)
View your data and download the log files to your PC. By default these are stored in a folder called SMA under the My Documents folder.
Step 5)
Additional tools are also available to analyse and store the data from the SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF./2500HF/4000HF inverter range and I will cover those in another blog post.
Solar Panel Fitting Video - Time Lapse Video of UK Solar Panel Installation
This is a time lapse video taken of our solar panel installation being fitted by Solar Advanced Systems of Edenbridge Kent. The solar panel array is 14 solar panels of 215W capacity giving a total potential output of 3kWp.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ukxKHW6-c
The solar panels are now generating electricity and on 20 November generated a total of 6.46kWh of electricity, somewhat above the quoted average for November of 4.87kWh so it will be interesting to see how they perform over a longer period.
Review of Solar Advanced Systems panel installation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ukxKHW6-c
The solar panels are now generating electricity and on 20 November generated a total of 6.46kWh of electricity, somewhat above the quoted average for November of 4.87kWh so it will be interesting to see how they perform over a longer period.
Review of Solar Advanced Systems panel installation.
Friday, 28 October 2011
Solar PV Panel Installations - Feed In Tariff (FITs) to be cut?
It has been reported that Feed In Tariffs (FITs) for new Solar PV Panel Installations will be cut as of 8 December 2011. This is despite previous assurances that payments would be guaranteed until 31 March 2012 and potentially questions whether the government will reduce payments for solar PV installations already in place.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2011/oct/28/feed-in-tariff-change-homeowners?intcmp=239
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2011/oct/28/feed-in-tariff-change-homeowners?intcmp=239
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Choosing Best Position to install Solar Panels in Kent for Maximum FIT Payments
Are you thinking about installing solar panels in Kent to benefit from the FiT (Feed in Tariff) scheme? If you install solar panels you want them in the best position to get the most sun to generate maximum electricity and maximise your FIT payments for best returns.
We have had quotes for installing solar panels on our roof in Rainham Kent. We have two choices, the lower extension roof or the upper original house roof.
Installing solar panels on the lower roof would be cheaper as the access is much easier than the scaffolding needed for the upper roof. However we have checked the roof at different times of the day and the shading and sun levels are significantly different for the two roofs.
Sun on both roofs first thing in the morning but slight shading on the lower roof to the right hand side
You can see on the roof later in the day that the lower roof is almost totally shaded, there is some shade across the upper roof but most of the roof is still covered in sun. We had three options for the panels. With a 3kWp system we could have solar panels fitted on the upper or lower roof or a mix between the two.
From the photos above we have decided to have the solar panels fitted on the upper roof only. The cost is higher due to the difficult access to the upper roof but from these photos of the shading of the roof the payback should mean that the FiT (Feed in Tariff) payments are significantly higher which will more than offset the increased cost of installing the solar panels on the higher roof.
Panels are now ordered so check back for progress reports on how they are doing!
We have had quotes for installing solar panels on our roof in Rainham Kent. We have two choices, the lower extension roof or the upper original house roof.
Installing solar panels on the lower roof would be cheaper as the access is much easier than the scaffolding needed for the upper roof. However we have checked the roof at different times of the day and the shading and sun levels are significantly different for the two roofs.
Sun on both roofs first thing in the morning but slight shading on the lower roof to the right hand side
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| Solar panel in Kent positioning to avoid shade for best FIT payments |
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| Kent Solar panel positioning on upper roof to avoid shade on lower roof |
Panels are now ordered so check back for progress reports on how they are doing!
Sunday, 9 October 2011
VW Passat Sport TDI 140 Remap Tuning
The VW Passat Sport TDI 140 has sports suspension, sports seats, sports alloys but the same engine as the standard VW Passat TDI. There is a more sporty version that VW released with 170BHP but the standard Passat Sport looks the part but without the performance to match.
This is where Remapping or Tuning your VW Passat Sport TDI 140 can make sense. Without any modifications to the physical car the engine is remapped to give more torque and a smoother power delivery. Having had an Angel Tuning remap on my VW Passat TDI140 I can say that it truly transforms the car. Acceleration is far smoother and the economy improves as well if you drive with a cautious right foot.
Read a long term review of remapping the VW Passat 140 TDI Sport estate here
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| VW Passat Sport TDI 140 Remap Tuning |
Read a long term review of remapping the VW Passat 140 TDI Sport estate here
Thursday, 6 October 2011
The Wisdom of Steve Jobs - Stanford Address
I heard this quote on the radio today on an obituary for Steve Jobs and was a quote from an address he gave at Stanford University. It seemed a very fitting tribute to him and seemed to sum up why the products he produced at Apple were among the best ideas.
"Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle."
"Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle."
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