New to Grid Tied Home Solar...

[ultrarunner]

After 4 months of waiting I picked up the keys to the new place this evening...

The estate needed this long to sort and cart away a lifetime of personal property.

I called the local Utility PGE to transfer service and a lot has changed rate and tier wise since the last time I did... also, the regional government has taken over as provider but not the delivery of power...

The home has 6kW solar consisting of 3 separate arrays tied into the grid through a Sunny Boy Inverter...

I asked PGE questions about solar photovoltaic grid tied system and was told "Should" I decide to have solar there is a detailed application process that my contractor would guide me through???

Apparently the utility has no idea solar is on site... or maybe it is a non issue?

The entire system was done with city permit and signed off... I also know the previous owner owned the system and received State and Federal Tax Credits for it.

The "Smart" PGE meter has language that states meter operates both directions.

My first question is what happens when a home with grid tied solar changes hands as far as the Utility is concerned?

Should have a few pictures soon... the system was operated/controlled via a Personal Computer which is no longer there.

There is no one to ask about anything house related... and there are a lot of custom owner building features... light switches everywhere... walk in the front door and 8 or 9 in a row... will need to get the label machine going!

 

[vvanders]

I would imagine if everything was done to code and permitted it should just transfer over.

Not sure how it is w/ PG&E but lots of utilities are pushing back on rates for feeding back power. If I had solar I'd probably look at putting in a hybrid battery system so you can offset your rates and have something that works when the power goes out.

We had solar credits on some community solar and it was painless to transfer, I'd hope it's the same for you.

 

[ultrarunner]

Should know more when the first bill arrives... and it should be minimal as the home is not currently occupied.

The invertor is on and making power... although not many kW today... sun very low in the horizon.

 

[dmccarty]

..
My first question is what happens when a home with grid tied solar changes hands as far as the Utility is concerned?
...

I would expect the system to just transfer, but given where you live, I would not be surprised if they made you jump through hoops. One would think that the billing would need to be changed and that might require more paperwork since you are selling power back to the grid.

A few years ago I took a class for home owners looking to install solar power. I knew the technical stuff and was really interested in finding out about connecting to the grid issues. In NC back then, and I do not think it has changed, we do not get a dollar for dollar exchanged on the solar generated power. Furthermore, the power company makes the homeowner jump through hoops to sell the power back to the grid. The class instructor was a house builder who had put up dozens of solar power homes and his advice was to only install enough solar panels to generate MOST of one's power needs and do not try to sell power to the grid. It just was not worth the aggravation. If one was producing more than what one needed it just went to the grid and you gave money to the power company. Anywho, all of this stuff is dependent on state laws and the local power company.

As an aside, I was watching a YouTube video on the Tesla Power wall which has a pretty good price. The shocking, pun intended, information that was in the video was that the power wall has to be connected to the Internet, and if it is disconnected from the Internet, the battery turns off! :thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown:

Funny thing is that the wifey and I were again talking about solar power when you made this post!. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[vvanders]

Huh, that seems totally counter the the point of hybrid grid tied. Also doesn't line up with the FAQ:

Can Powerwall work without Internet?
Powerwall needs an Internet connection (over wired Ethernet or your home Wi-Fi) or a cellular connection to receive software updates and to communicate with the Tesla mobile app for energy monitoring. A reliable connection is required to provide new product features over time. If its connection is temporarily lost, Powerwall can continue to operate with its most recent settings, but it should not be installed in a location without Internet or cellular service

Have a source for that info? I know they are on v2 so that may have been for the old, non-hybrid versions.

 

[Jchonline]

They can look at the setup for the previous owner at the same address. You may have some new paperwork to fill out, but hopefully it is fairly straight forward. It is PG&E though...

Solar is scary for utility companies. Their biggest costs are line maintenance and employees. Someone that uses solar in a grid tied situation is purchasing FAR less electricity...which is where they make their money. They still have to maintain the same # of miles of lines whether you have solar or not.

There have been horror stories where folks have had liens put on their homes for trying to go off-grid when electricity is available. I know CA is very pro-renewables so hopefully no issues there. However it doesnt mean that PG&E still doesnt have all of the costs of maintaining the lines.

 

[Jim Nelson]

When we put our system in about 4 or 5 years ago I asked our local utility,San Diego Gas &Electric, if the net metering was transferrable if we sold. They said it was transferrable for 20 years but that was going to change but I can't remember the year, possibly 2016.
S.D.G.&E is one of the highest priced utilities in the state and keep dropping their buy back price as they raise their price per kWh. I think every utility co. is different.

 

[ultrarunner]

Per Customer Service Rep yesterday there is no Solar at address.

We also now have a new default set up were electricity is sold through a regional exchange but PGE is paid for transmission...

The new Regional Exchange is more restrictive when it comes to home owner solar.

The home had a small remote display panel in the kitchen back when I made my offer to the estate... the display is gone... which is kind of to be expected when so many are involved in a estate sale.

Seems most people here have a solar provider... in other words they have a contract for management and most simply lease the panels or simply buy per kW from the provider.

A nearby home has a huge roof top of panels... it went foreclosure and was bought at a trustee sale.

There was some wrangling because the solar company had no contractual relationship with the new owner and did not bid to buy the property to protect lien rights.

The solar company wanted to be paid $42k for the system... new owner told company they were not paying and would be responsible for a new roof should they trespass to remove...

In the end a deal was worked out and the panels turned on... new owner buys power at 8 cents a kW which is WAY less than PGE... maybe a third of the price... they now have electric car and replaced gas water heater and range with electric.

Again... lots of wrangling.

My home is owned solar and the homeowner did the install... he was a retired telcom engineer...

My first bill should be informative!

PS... the electric meter shows not much as far as lifetime kW usage...


PPS... the panels can be adjusted for the angle of the sun... neighbor came by this morning and said the previous owner would reorient the panels 2x a year to account for the seasonal sun variation...

 

[plowhog]

Perhaps the obvious, but it sounds like the solar system was permitted through the City, but with no coordination with the utility. If the "new" utility is restrictive about homeowner solar, this could be a little dicey since the system produces potentially lethal voltage. The first thing to ensure is that it will not "backfeed" power into the lines during a wide power outage.

I would consider discreetly checking to see how a non-compliant system can become complaint, or if that is for some reason not possible. I would think it should be possible?

Last I knew the Sellers were AWOL in the area of the Paradise fire. Did you learn if they are still around? And do you have an electrician resource for the solar questions and the Sunny Boy system operation?

 

[ultrarunner]

Been a quick 24 hours... so lots to research... owner builder with lots of components assembled... as mentioned... retired Telcom Engineer with many patents and also held a contractor license for Electrician and Alarm...

Right now the security system is at the top of the list... can't go into the shop without the horns and strobes sounding via motion detector... ear piercing inside and ringer outside.

Apparently it is part of the old hardwired system... one of the neighbors came over and said the house part had been converted to a Comcast Home Security but all I see are the wireless sensors and CC cameras... the neighbor said when the husband passed it was more cost effective for the widow to get a wireless package.

The old hardwired keypads are dead... it was getting late so if worse comes to worse I will disconnect power.

The mailbox down by the road is also wired so that when the drop is opened there is a chime in the house.

I miss counted the light switches at the entry... 16 is the correct number... two banks of 8 each.

Tons of can lighting... too much for me with an odd assortment of Compact Florescent, LED and Edison bulbs.. thinking of replacing all with retro LED with swivel... the cans do not point down as the living area has a cathedral ceiling.

One thing is for sure... there must be miles and miles of copper... multiple switches everywhere and legacy alarm is 100% hardwired on all levels...