Solar power installation that I did

**siriusaudio** · 06-13-2011, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by OnlyNewKnives

Now can you come do mine please???????????

If you've got the money, I'm in.

If you're serious about it, shoot me a PM with your location and I can put together a little info on the potential rebates and incentives for your location.

**siriusaudio** · 06-01-2012, 12:09 AM

I'm necro-bumping this.

So in October of last year, we finally got the internet hooked up and have been gathering data since then. If anybody is interested in seeing it, here's the link: http://monitoring.solaredge.com/sola...tants%206.2011

It's not available on the public site, but we also now have a graphic layout available to our team and the home owner that shows us what each individual module is producing at any given time and allows us to track shading issues from trees or dirt buildup on the modules.

The total lifetime energy for the system is actually at 4.6MWh (Megawatt hours) since it fired up on June 3rd, 2011. We just can't force update the monitoring portal (although I keep pestering Solar Edge about it) with data prior to the inverter going online. We ended up using a cool wireless long range bridge from Radio Labs to establish a WiFi link between the barn and the house (300ft through dense foliage). We also had a couple of trees that were starting to die and had them removed last week, and are seeing a nice boost in energy production since then. One of the trees we took out was the tree closest to the west side of the barn (the one you see shading the modules in the picture). Our rough estimate is that we will see a 20% gain in energy production from removing that one tree. We really didn't know how bad the situation was until we got the graphic layout completed last month. We realized a while back that we forgot to match the serial numbers of the optimizer boxes to the layout on the roof when we did the install so I had to go up there with an inspection camera and crawl around to get the info. That was fun...

Close to one year later, the system has been running without a single hiccup, and with a couple of minor tweaks that we made a few weeks ago should actually generate more energy than last year.

There are now some cool options for public financial assistance in many states for renewable energy projects and the systems continue to get more efficient and come down in price. If anybody is interested in a simple online evaluation of what solar power could possibly do for you, shoot me a PM and I'll put together some data for you.

**Ninjaz7** · 06-02-2012, 12:49 PM

Totally cool...thanks for the input and the pics,you guys are giving me great ideas.

**McGyver** · 06-03-2012, 02:58 PM

Probably gonna be hitting you up sometime next year once I get my tax return. I'm about to move to Commifornia at the moment, and hope to purchase a home when I get out there. I've always been intrigued by the solar arrays, and the price has certainly become reasonable. What do you know using these IRT battery banks? I wouldn't mind being able to run entirely off grid day or night or when the power is down and save my generator for those special occasions.

**clockwork477** · 06-03-2012, 03:44 PM

Is this able to take you completely off the grid?

**siriusaudio** · 06-03-2012, 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by clockwork477

Is this able to take you completely off the grid?

No. Considering that the house is 5400 square feet and there is also a workshop/barn on the property, it would take a lot to take him off grid. You have to invest a lot of space and money in battery banks to have enough juice to run at night and it tends to not be worth the cost when all is said and done. Battery banks require regular maintenance and replacement adding to total system cost over time.

**siriusaudio** · 06-03-2012, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by McGyver

Probably gonna be hitting you up sometime next year once I get my tax return. I'm about to move to Commifornia at the moment, and hope to purchase a home when I get out there. I've always been intrigued by the solar arrays, and the price has certainly become reasonable. What do you know using these IRT battery banks? I wouldn't mind being able to run entirely off grid day or night or when the power is down and save my generator for those special occasions.

When you are looking at houses, and you want to install solar, there are some things you want to look for. You want a house with a true south facing roof. You also want as much continuous roof as possible like a ranch style roof. Dormer windows and hip joints take away from space you could be using for solar modules. Also, look for a house with a newer roof because you don't want to have to pay someone to pull.up your modules when you have to redo the roof. Anticipate having to pay an architect or structural engineer to spec your roof for weight loading when permit time comes for the solar project. Try to get arcitechts plans in the purchase. I'll think of more tips and post them.

**siriusaudio** · 06-03-2012, 05:35 PM

I should explain how the system in this thread works as far as what happens to the energy produced.

This system (and most PV and wind projects) is hooked into the grid through the electric meter that the utility company owns. When the system is generating, it first feeds the barn, then the house, and whatever is left over goes into the electrical grid to be used by his neighbors. The excess that goes into the grid gets credited to the homeowner in the form of Kilowatt-hours (which is the unit of power over time). When the homeowner is not producing, or using more than he is producing, the kilowatt-hours are deducted, and if in any given month he uses more than he produces, he pays the utility company at normal rate. Illinois does not currently allow for small scale projects to receive money for excess production on a yearly basis, so we currently try to size systems to meet roughly 95% of the client's needs on a yearly basis because anything over his needs is wasted investment money.

I hope this clarifies things.

**captainblowhole** · 06-03-2012, 07:35 PM

Nice! I work for the utility up here and I update the electric maps when these things get installed (assuming customers tell us), because its important to let the utility know, because of the possibility that these can back feed into the grid and hurt someone who might think that the wires are not energized. Often the utility will work with you as well, and you might be able to make some $ selling electric back to them through your meter. Contact your local electric utility for details, and most installers will help you as well.

**clockwork477** · 06-03-2012, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by siriusaudio

I should explain how the system in this thread works as far as what happens to the energy produced.

This system (and most PV and wind projects) is hooked into the grid through the electric meter that the utility company owns. When the system is generating, it first feeds the barn, then the house, and whatever is left over goes into the electrical grid to be used by his neighbors. The excess that goes into the grid gets credited to the homeowner in the form of Kilowatt-hours (which is the unit of power over time). When the homeowner is not producing, or using more than he is producing, the kilowatt-hours are deducted, and if in any given month he uses more than he produces, he pays the utility company at normal rate. Illinois does not currently allow for small scale projects to receive money for excess production on a yearly basis, so we currently try to size systems to meet roughly 95% of the client's needs on a yearly basis because anything over his needs is wasted investment money.

I hope this clarifies things.

Gotta. I have been interested in this idea for a while but everyone I talked to convinced me not to do it. I was told that solar technology is still in its early stages and smaller and stronger panels coming out in the future is the way to go. However, I was told the same thing about computers back in the day. Personally if it cuts my power bill in half it would be worth the investment.

**siriusaudio** · 06-03-2012, 08:25 PM

Originally Posted by clockwork477

Gotta. I have been interested in this idea for a while but everyone I talked to convinced me not to do it. I was told that solar technology is still in its early stages and smaller and stronger panels coming out in the future is the way to go. However, I was told the same thing about computers back in the day. Personally if it cuts my power bill in half it would be worth the investment.

They will get more efficient but probably not smaller because you want to maximize surface area. Lighter would be better...

**siriusaudio** · 06-03-2012, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by captainblowhole

Nice! I work for the utility up here and I update the electric maps when these things get installed (assuming customers tell us), because its important to let the utility know, because of the possibility that these can back feed into the grid and hurt someone who might think that the wires are not energized. Often the utility will work with you as well, and you might be able to make some $ selling electric back to them through your meter. Contact your local electric utility for details, and most installers will help you as well.

Pretty much all inverters have a sensor that switches the DC indeed off when the inverter does not sense AC power. This eliminates the risk of islanding automatically. I will also say that net met wring laws vary by state. Some states require the utility companies to pay out in $ credit instead of Kwh. I can find out about net metering laws and incentives in your state if anyone is interested in more info.