New Solar PV System

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Thanks for posting Techman. I would be glad if I could put up a system half the size of yours. But I live in a coop that does not offer any subsidies. Our power cost about .09 if you take away the $22.50 base meter cost. My average usage is about 2500kWh a month.

 

[techman]

The panels are 230 watt Bosch monocrystalline. I did not go with micro inverters. I have a Fronius 10 KW. They have a unique system using 3 3.3 KW units inside and bring them on line as needed. This keeps efficiency up under varying loads. I have the panel strings set up in east-west configuration, so morning and evening shading will only knock out one or two strings. Individual panel shading seems not to be a problem, clear sky views.

Microinverters would cost me more money, with no clear advantage in my setup.

paul

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Nice. I was just pricing PV systems yesterday. Just the panels run around $20k, another $10K probably for the inverter, plus mounting and cables. For most of us that is a $40K system self installed. How does the renewable energy credits work? Where do you get the mounting rails?

 

[techman]

The mount rack is from Schletter. Cost was about $0.50/watt. Inverter was under $4K.

The credits are to help states meet renewable energy requirements. Look at srectrade.com I see you are in MD which is paying $200/MWatt. It is a monthly auction. You need to do some paperwork to register.

paul

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Thanks, would love to do a solar system if the price was right, but first I gotta get my geothermal system finished. The solar panels I looked at yesterday were between $400-$500 each, I see Bosch are closer to $600.

 

[sawduster98]

I had planned on putting in a solar system this year but after seeing the results of the geothermal on my electric bill I decided it was no longer worth the investment vs the payoff period. It would still be worth it if I were younger though.

 

[techman]

I guess I have a good combo. I put in geothermal 5 years ago, and now added the solar. The geothermal has been a real plus in the utility savings, and now I will cut it even more.

paul

 

[houstonscott]

Do the microinverters fix the problem where if shade gets on 1 panel, it limits the rest of the grid's panels output?

Yes, Mico inverters are the way to go.

HS

 

[techman]

Yes, Mico inverters are the way to go.

HS

Micro inverters have advantages, but for my system it would cost nearly 2x for the inverters, not to mention added wiring cost on the AC side. The biggest advantage is shading on a small number of panels. This may be caused by clouds, birds, planes, etc. All of these are usually fleeting in time and of little consequence. There is some more advantage with large scale shading by trees and buildings, but in my case that only occurs around sunrise and sunset, which are lower power phases of the day. For me the single inverter made more sense.

paul

 

[IXLR8]

Yes, Mico inverters are the way to go.

I am looking at installing PV panels now. Micro inverters are great if you have an obstical that might block some of the panels for a short while, or if you want detailed monitoring. For me, they would add over $2K to the system. I have nothing blocking where my panels are going and for that much money.. I don't need that level of detailed monitoring.