Grid-tied solar

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That all sounds iffy to me. I would shy away from that dealer from what you have said.

Some research on RI's net metering is needed. There are sites like this one:
Rhode Island Net Metering
But I would certainly talk to your utility directly after you pre-educate yourself a bit about the issues and terms.

One problem is net metering agreements can change, so part way into your system life and costs based on current conditions, things can change. In general, I would expect them to change not in your favor.

I'm not sure of the federal tax CREDIT status since the current 30% credit expires in 2016. That would be another thing to understand about limits and time frames.

Thanks Dave. Helpful site. Buy back for overage from NGrid is "discretionary" but at this point I do not have enough info. When I asked the company rep if these were crystalline or amorphous panels, he couldn't tell me. Seems to me that is a basic question anyone in panels should know. From pictures in their brochure, they looked crystalline. Ultra's suggestion of "leasing" the panels and paying the solar company a reduced electrical rate sounds intriguing.

 

[dave1949]

A general discussion solar PV options and of where batteries do and don't make sense.

Solar + Batteries: The Right Thing to Power my Home? - ReVision Energy

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^ thanks for posting the story...

I've made some minor adjustments at the hospital to minimize the demand factor such as staggering start time for the HVAC systems... so not everything starts at 5 am in the morning causing a peak for power usage during a 15 minute interval.

 

[Redneck in training]

Thanks Dave. Helpful site. Buy back for overage from NGrid is "discretionary" but at this point I do not have enough info. When I asked the company rep if these were crystalline or amorphous panels, he couldn't tell me. Seems to me that is a basic question anyone in panels should know. From pictures in their brochure, they looked crystalline. Ultra's suggestion of "leasing" the panels and paying the solar company a reduced electrical rate sounds intriguing.

In principle the life span and reliability of Poly or Mono crystal panels is about the same. The actual quality and reliability depends rather on manufacturer. There three basic groups of manuafacturers:
1.) Big established manufacturers with good quality control and substantial R&D.
2.) Established manufacturers with good quality control and some R&D.
3.) Assemblers of panels from parts sourced from the two above.

Considering reliabilty and warranty the best bang for the buck are usually panels from group 2. Here are manufacturers sorted by size: Panel Statistics and here are manufacturers of inverters: Inverter Statistics

 

[ultrarunner]

Who makes the best panels in terms of quality, output and reliability for residential applications?

 

[Redneck in training]

Who makes the best panels in terms of quality, output and reliability for residential applications?

I would guess top 5 sorted by size. Top manufacturers give you 25 years warranty and positive wattage tolerance of the panels. In other words the specified wattage is the same or better than specification.

 

[houstonscott]

When I investigated panels I liked SolarWorld and LG panels. They seemed to have the highest performance, best glass, and heavy strong frames. I choose the LG in the end, they have some new frames that self clean better, and are two sided, and are 18,6% efficient. The best in the industry right now. I did read the Mitsubishi panels have a good reputation for being rugged and are popular in remote areas like Alaska. HS

 

[houstonscott]

HS - we have the same 21LG300 with solar edge optimizers and this is the first six months - Jan and Feb this year we had 9' of snow so abysmal performance. Then in March-June we hit pretty decent numbers 1042KW the highest. It looks like we will make about 7800KWH this year.

What's the most one day production you've gotten yet this year. I'm hoping to break 40kwh today for the first time. HS

 

[Carl_NH]

45 kWh in May - you will see higher output once the sun angle changes in the spring and fall

Today we have exceeded 40 kWh and in Monday too do a good month so far

 

[houstonscott]

45 kWh in May - you will see higher output once the sun angle changes in the spring and fall Today we have exceeded 40 kWh and in Monday too do a good month so far

Wow, 45, that's really humming along. HS