Grid-tied solar

[dave1949]

Results for July 3-31, 2015.

About in line with previous July's considering July 1-2 are in June's reading.

*********************************** Model Prediction ***********************************************
OLD
_______388____412____509_____374____353____308____ 341___383____394____369____283____331____4,447

NEW Waterville, ME
_______273____322____491_____449____417____375____ 438___542____443____408____350____319____4,827

NEW Portland, ME
_______453____486____523_____452____448____409____ 444___464____466____461____351____368____5,325


GENERATION
Year___Jan____Feb____Mar____Apr_____May____Jun____ Jul____Aug____Sep____Oct____Nov____Dec____Total

2012____NA____NA_____NA____NA_____NA_____NA_____NA ___461_____481____378____400____297____NA
2013____440___375____462____487_____375____379____ 377___470_____476____453____414____278____4,986
2014____360___446____577____525_____361____390____ 395___453_____489____380____295____299____4,970
2015____431___456____612____473_____440____407____361


Values are AC kilowatt hours.
Model source: NREL PVWatts Calculator

 

[dave1949]

Energy Storage and Actual Reality | The Energy Collective

Interesting perspective on where and how batteries fit into the scheme of things in California which has mandated a move toward utility grid storage.

 

[3930dave]

Energy Storage and Actual Reality | The Energy Collective

Interesting perspective on where and how batteries fit into the scheme of things in California which has mandated a move toward utility grid storage.

Cali often leads in these areas..... will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Follow the money is good advice...... consumers like grid-tie since sophisticated inverters are maintenance free, and much cheaper to buy than batteries. Some utilities may be interested in distributed power, but they want consumers to pay for the batteries..... always comes back to who pays.

I'd like to see advances in these areas deployed, but one thing that will have to change is utility culture/mindset. As was pointed out in the article, most utilities aren't oriented towards managing small assets at that level.

The people I've talked to here weren't happy with early attempts at network controlled load-shedding. Hopefully that is performing better today.

Rgds, D.

 

[houstonscott]

Cali often leads in these areas..... will be interesting to see how this plays out. Follow the money is good advice...... consumers like grid-tie since sophisticated inverters are maintenance free, and much cheaper to buy than batteries. Some utilities may be interested in distributed power, but they want consumers to pay for the batteries..... always comes back to who pays. I'd like to see advances in these areas deployed, but one thing that will have to change is utility culture/mindset. As was pointed out in the article, most utilities aren't oriented towards managing small assets at that level. The people I've talked to here weren't happy with early attempts at network controlled load-shedding. Hopefully that is performing better today. Rgds, D.

California is broke and doesn't lead in anyway, or anything, anymore. It's seen as one big mistake now... What not to do... The butt of jokes now... Been almost two decades since bust... The folks who built Santa Clara county and its industry are long gone, retired, or dead. What's left are the artifacts of what was... HS

 

[dave1949]

Cali often leads in these areas..... will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Follow the money is good advice...... consumers like grid-tie since sophisticated inverters are maintenance free, and much cheaper to buy than batteries. Some utilities may be interested in distributed power, but they want consumers to pay for the batteries..... always comes back to who pays.

I'd like to see advances in these areas deployed, but one thing that will have to change is utility culture/mindset. As was pointed out in the article, most utilities aren't oriented towards managing small assets at that level.

The people I've talked to here weren't happy with early attempts at network controlled load-shedding. Hopefully that is performing better today.

Rgds, D.

Yes, it will be interesting to see how the negotiation process of reducing the global carbon budget works out. I don't think I will be around to see that. It is going to be a complex blend of market forces and policy mandates with a fair amount of public will applied it seems. What people are happy with is going to change as the "compared to what alternatives" realization sinks in.

That's not to say that more elegant and acceptable technology is not needed. Perhaps once the public's willingness to address the carbon issue matures, the real debate between expending resources on wind, solar and nuclear will happen. There are folks like Hansen who say nuclear is an imperative in any scenario where carbon is greatly reduced.

We didn't build the interstate highway system before we had the vehicles that needed it, and once built it acted as a use multiplier. I see similarities in low carbon energy development but we are definitely still in the early days stage.

 

[Got2BTru]

According to the PVWatts calculator (using Lynchburg,VA weather data) you would need a 20 DC kW system to produce 29,250 AC kWh per year. At 300 DC watts per panel that would require 67 panels. That is using 180 degree due south orientation at a tilt angle of 37 degrees (your latitude).

You can try out the generation and $ value calculations here:
PVWatts Calculator

If your weather is significantly different from Lynchburg's, you can change the location too.

Not sure how I use this calculator, but by punching in my ZIP and using most defaults, it shows I would get 4,928 kWh per Year. I use an average of 1.1k per month (12k per year) in my EXISTING 120 year old house. We plan on building next year and I hope to have it considerably lowered. I'd prefer to go OFF GRID though as the local utility (National Grid) wants $25k to run electrical 1300 feet from the road to the house.

 

[Beltman60]

$25k buys a lot of batteries :thumbsup:

 

[Got2BTru]

I don't want to hijack the thread since it's GRID-TIED, but yes it does buy a lot of batteries, but the life span is not that long from what I am reading. That's why I was intrigued by the Tesla Home batteries that guarantee 92%+ for 10 years & the cost is very reasonable. If I'm understanding all of this technology correctly, I use an average (now, in this OLD house) of 1.2kwh per month or 11,000kwh per year (according to my last National Grid bill). That equates to 36.67kwh per day so I'd need 6 of their battery packs which are 7kwh batteries. Just gotta find someone in NY to get more information, costs, etc. Then look at the panels themselves to see who makes a better panel, etc. If I can do it for the same 25k, I'm sold...I think... ;o)

 

[dave1949]

Not sure how I use this calculator, but by punching in my ZIP and using most defaults, it shows I would get 4,928 kWh per Year. I use an average of 1.1k per month (12k per year) in my EXISTING 120 year old house. We plan on building next year and I hope to have it considerably lowered. I'd prefer to go OFF GRID though as the local utility (National Grid) wants $25k to run electrical 1300 feet from the road to the house.

Unfortunately the calculator is a one-way thing, you cannot enter the desired result and have it back figure the DC KW system size needed. I just try several DC sizes to home in on the desired result.

For general planning using the defaults except for Tilt (deg) should be okay. The optimal fixed tilt degree is your latitude. If you plan on roof mounted solar it helps to have a roof pitch that comes close to that +/- 15 degrees.

I assume AC would be a big portion of your electric usage in TX. You can favor afternoon solar power by turning the panels somewhat to the west. An Azimuth of 180 deg. is true south (not magnetic south). Using the calculator you can see how turning the panels would affect your annual output versus getting the most power when you need it the most. The various choices depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

It's going to be hard to nail down a very accurate electric need for a house in the planning stages. Lighting is not hard to estimate and you could use the Energy Star usage rating on some appliances like washer/dryer, dishwasher, frig, etc. Heating and cooling are more difficult. It is generally cheaper to buy better efficiency than more solar equipment--especially if you go off-grid.

A $25K charge to get power is cause for some thinking for sure. Your first goal should be to get a reasonably accurate energy budget for the new house calculated.

 

[Got2BTru]

Thanks...the house we're building next spring is in Central NY (in between Syracuse and Utica). More concerned about HEAT in the winter than A/C in the summer, but they're both drains on the system. We'll either be using SIPs or 6" spray foam insulated walls. My *assumption* at this point is that even if I can get the system installed (off-grid) for $25k and it lasts 10 years, the battery costs should come down during that 10 year span so that when I do have to replace them in 10+ years, it will be less.

$25k spread over 120 months (10 years) is $208 per month, but right now I'm averaging about $150 per month, so it's a bit higher.