We will have to add the auto/rapid shutdown module to our system as well even though it looks like the fronius invertors themselves are rapid shutdown compliant per NEC 2014. Meter will calculate both solar production and grid use. Any overproduction gets a credit but not much. Around .02 to .03 cents a Kwh.
A newbies DIY solar install
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We will have to add the auto/rapid shutdown module to our system as well even though it looks like the fronius invertors themselves are rapid shutdown compliant per NEC 2014. Meter will calculate both solar production and grid use. Any overproduction gets a credit but not much. Around .02 to .03 cents a Kwh.
beowulf
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My solar panel system is in California. I have two separate meters on the property which were linked together (they refer to it as aggregated) - meaning whatever solar energy I generate is credited to the total usage from both meters combined. I understand that any excess energy generated by a solar panel system - at the end of the plan-year (what they call a True-up), can be sold back to the power company. However, I was also told that because I have an 'aggregated' system (the two meters) they will not buy the excess generation. Not sure why that is, but I confirmed it.
Anyway, my solar company told me not to worry about selling energy back because the power company only pays a few cents per kwh, even though they charge many times that amount for the KWh they sell you. I asked the power company about the discrepancy in what they pay and what they charge and they said they pay solar customers what it costs them to buy their energy from whatever source - and that the difference was the cost of delivering the power and maintaining their system and more.
And - as others have stated, when the power goes down, the solar shuts off - a safety feature to protect anyone working on the lines.
Anyway, my solar company told me not to worry about selling energy back because the power company only pays a few cents per kwh, even though they charge many times that amount for the KWh they sell you. I asked the power company about the discrepancy in what they pay and what they charge and they said they pay solar customers what it costs them to buy their energy from whatever source - and that the difference was the cost of delivering the power and maintaining their system and more.
And - as others have stated, when the power goes down, the solar shuts off - a safety feature to protect anyone working on the lines.
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CobyRupert
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orezok
Elite Member
I’m in SCE here in CA. Grid tied and net metering. Per the attached I am charged/credited $0.26 during solar charging hours, $0.37 during “peak” hours (4 to 9 PM) and $0.28 during the rest of the day. Difference for net metering isn’t too bad but rates are ridiculous.
Oh, and these are winter rates. Summer rates jump to $0.27 and $0.54. They like to screw us desert dwellers.
Oh, and these are winter rates. Summer rates jump to $0.27 and $0.54. They like to screw us desert dwellers.
ning
Elite Member
California, PG&E, EV2A rate :
bmaverick
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So glad I'm not solar connected to the grid. WHEW ! Your hard earned money, time and solar resources getting a few cents of investment and with a power outage you are in the dark too! Makes no sense.
ponytug
Super Member
Time to install batteries to shift the solar output to peak times, don't you think? 
It is what the PUC and SCE/PG&E are pushing us toward.
All the best, Peter
It is what the PUC and SCE/PG&E are pushing us toward.
All the best, Peter
bmaverick
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Time to install batteries to shift the solar output to peak times, don't you think?
It is what the PUC and SCE/PG&E are pushing us toward.
All the best, Peter
OMG, more investment with cents on the dollar for a return.
ponytug
Super Member
Depends on where you live. A lot.OMG, more investment with cents on the dollar for a return.
Here in northern California, PG&E territory, the financial payback is less than two years. Plus, there is the enhanced ability to ride through outages, which is the prime reason we have gone to batteries.
Definitely a "your mileage may vary". With a stable grid, reliable service, not much of a difference between off peak and peak electrical pricing, and no utility incentives, yes, the financial ROI is going to be very different. But early adopters often have atypical reasons for being there. Some folks have standby generators, some folks don't. Some folks have tornado shelters, and some don't. Individual decisions for individual reasons. A tornado came a few hundred feet from air lifting a close relative, and you can still see the path through the woods. Yes, I get why you might want a tornado shelter or basement. "Oh you are on dialysis." "Oh, you need oxygen." Very different view of how valuable water and electricity are.
I will point out that adding grid tied batteries anywhere the grid helps shift generation capacity to when the utilities need the peak power. Charging electric vehicles overnight helps, too, by keeping baseline loads up. Is it even more cost effective for the utilities to install mega packs of batteries near substations? Of course. But that isn't where we are here in the US. Australia has gone that direction for much lower cost. The UK has had their relatively large residential electric water heaters on off peak power for decades.
I hope, and think, that the next thirty years are going to have some big changes the way power is supplied in the US; more grid interconnections, more transmission lines, more solar, more batteries, more wind power. But also big changes in how energy is used; more electric vehicles, more electric heat pumps, more induction stoves.
GM says it will be 100% electric vehicles by 2035. I think we are in the early days.
Two thumbs up for @jk96 for putting in his own solar.
All the best,
Peter
Currently waiting on the electrical diagrams to come back. Ended up hiring this out and is the only thing I'm waiting on to complete the application for approval to our utility. Hopefully it's a fast approval so I can get the equipment order placed.
Orezok those rates are crazy. We are .13 cents year round with no peak or off peak and that's higher than most around because we are on the local coop. My business is with evergy and rates are .09.
