New to Grid Tied Home Solar...

[ultrarunner]

Yep... have to pay as billed because it measures every kW sent to the house.

The problem is the NET offset for power produced and sent to the grid doesn't count...

I will need to pick up where the original owner left off...

Only monkey wrench is PGE just filed for Bankruptcy so adding new solar producers is off the grid...

Reached out to a solar contractor that I know professionally... explained the situation and he said consider the kWh generated a gift to the utility...

This answers a lot of questions... why the widow had high bills and she was also paying for the neighbor's well pump and irrigation pump with the though she had excess solar and would get water in exchanged.

Sucks when you die because it takes time to get it all sorted out for those that come after... but confident of getting it done... worst case is I generate off grid with my 6 kW array...

Always something to learn.

 

[ultrarunner]

Update... I submitted a brand new application for Net Metering today in my name...

After going over the pros and cons decided to start with a clean sheet.

I did have a solar contractor come over to look over the install and said he could not find any problems... which I was glad to hear.

 

[ultrarunner]

Good News... received my approval to operate today from PGE

Never would have expected such a quick turnaround so I will count my blessings.

Really appreciate everyone's help on this... I was in uncharted territory here.

Glitches are part and parcel of buying a home as-is from an estate... it was kind of fun sleuthing out all the facts from a stack of notes I found in the furnace closet, neighbors, online research and you guys.

 

[coldsteelva]

Fantastic news. If you are gifting the excess production, how will the future billing work? Can you have a bill of zero usage (as opposed to negative usage) and then only pay the connection fee? I think you said they don't pay for excess.

 

[ultrarunner]

End of year reckoning is how it works now... also Time of Use can impact.

Overcast and rain this week and production really impacted.

Also, PGE filed Bankruptcy so who knows long term.

Some advantageous Net Meter options went away 2017 best I can figure out.

At least I got the green light with documentation.

Buying as-is always comes with glitches and I am new to Solar PV

 

[ultrarunner]

I have a new morning routine which is checking solar production from the previous day...

So far it has been anywhere from 1 kWh on a day of non stop rain to 25 kWh on a day of Sunshine and a high of 50 degrees.

I can see where it could be addictive...

I have no historical usage data available but I think the 6 kW array is probable sized about right and summer isn't here yet.

With the 30% Federal Tax Credit set to sunset this year... I have done a little analysis for solar at other properties including Moms... she only has South East and South West exposure... nothing due South... also, penetrating the roof gives me some pause.

My array is ground mount so the tile roof is not in the picture.

 

[ultrarunner]

Fantastic news. If you are gifting the excess production, how will the future billing work? Can you have a bill of zero usage (as opposed to negative usage) and then only pay the connection fee? I think you said they don't pay for excess.

The end of year surplus production is credited at the wholesale generation rate... a few pennies per kW

If I ever did find myself with lots of excess production it would be simple to swap the gas water heater for electric...

 

[Jim Nelson]

It is addictive watching daily production, clear weather this time of year is fun but later when it gets up near 100F I see my production drop off slightly and it's disappointing. Our system is only rated at 3.4 KW, as I recall, and was perfect when we first put it in.Our first year they owed us about $4 which is what we wanted. Since then they have been steadily raising rates to where we have been paying from $175-$225 per year so we need to get more panels. My concern, like yours,is that ours is roof mounted and I feel we got lucky with no leaks the first time but I'm hesitant to gamble again.

 

[NorTracNY]

I use to check my solar, but once I learned what it was like I stopped. I get an e-mail summary once a month now. Mine is SW facing so I get my peak later in the day. I learned that getting it the right angle for your latitude is more important than being due South. I suspect that SE is optimal since the panels will catch more sun earlier in the day when it's often cooler. Panels will produce less as they heat up. My peak for an hour is a sunny day in March when it's still cold. My best day is obviously later in the summer when the daylight is longer.

 

[ultrarunner]

Good point about angle...

We have to go Time Of Use for new solar... and the cost per kW increases in the afternoon... sometimes in summer the morning has a marine layer so I was wondering how much of a detriment that would be.

South West might also have shading from the Chimney which is another negative.

I really like Enphase Mini Inverter System...

Does anyone here care to comment on Enphase?

I don't own any yet as my home has a Sunny Boy Inverter.