New to Grid Tied Home Solar...

[Jim Nelson]

Our system has the Enphase mini system and we are very pleased with them so far. I think we are in the 5th year with our system.The theory that sold us, as much as anything, is that if one panel or inverter goes bad you only lose that panel rather than the whole array like you would with a single large inverter. I can check what the system is doing any time on the computer and they send a monthly statement showing production. Another nice feature is that when I go to their web page it shows the whole previous year on the screen and you can use your cursor to check any days production for the past year.

 

[ultrarunner]

Can I ask what panels you are using and how many?

Sizing is kind of series of what if questions... for years Mom used 360 kWh per month... year round.

Now she has started using closer to 500 kWh and since the home is 4 bedroom I would want to get a realistic number.

 

[Jim Nelson]

We have 14 panels they are Solarworld 275's. We bought our system through a company named Natural Energy based on the recommendations of several neighbors who had used them. They were 1of 4 that we got quotes from and were somewhere in the middle of the pack price wise.
Because we paid cash we got pushed through pretty quickly, one of the inspectors said he had never seen one completed that soon.The biggest complaint I've heard is length of time to get all the permit and inspections done in a reasonable time.

 

[ultrarunner]

Thanks Jim... panels on my home were made in 2009 and 160 kW... 36 of them.

The ones I am looking at for Mom are Canadian Solar 300 which means a lot fewer panels to get the same output.

Several around here are going with Costco Sunrun... home next door signed a 20 year contract to buy power and the day of install all the tiles were breaking under the weight of the installers...

He still wanted Solar so roofers came to pull up all the tile roof on the side where the panels are going and replaced it with Comp Roof and then the panels go on top of the comp and then the tiles will be put back around the new panels for aesthetics… when down the panels will be nearly flush with the roof... will try and get a couple of pictures... they are LG premium panels from what I was told but the homeowner was not that sure.

 

[Jim Nelson]

I'm sure that there are better and less expensive systems than ours considering it's going on 5 years now.When we had ours done all the people we talked to insisted on re doing at least the part of the roof under the panels.Our roof is concrete tile so they took them up in the area and put down new tar paper then replaced the panels and it seems to have worked. One of our neighbors has the red clay round tiles and they broke several of them but replaced them and said that was to be expected.
At the time we did ours there were probably more scam artists than legitimate dealers which is why we went with neighbor recommendations.
I've read good things about the LG panels and one neighbor used them and is happy.

 

[dmccarty]

...
He still wanted Solar so roofers came to pull up all the tile roof on the side where the panels are going and replaced it with Comp Roof and then the panels go on top of the comp and then the tiles will be put back around the new panels for aesthetics when down the panels will be nearly flush with the roof... will try and get a couple of pictures... they are LG premium panels from what I was told but the homeowner was not that sure.

Are the solar panels directly on the roof? My understanding is that solar panel efficiency drops when they over heat and that there should be an air cap under the panel to cool the panels.

I looked at the Enphase panels years ago and they do seem to be a good solution for a solar panel system that does not use batteries. The only thing I did not like was having the system connected to the Internet which I assume was not required. Seems like there was at least one other company doing inverters on the panels.

Later,
Dan

 

[ultrarunner]

I know manufacturer monitors panels over Internet... could be an issue as not everyone has Internet.

Checked last night an comp roof down... no panels yet.

The SF Bay Area here does not often get the high heat of other locations... they are doing an energy purchase contract.

 

[Redneck in training]

We have 24 kW of PV on the property installed right after the cost of the panels collapsed in second half of 2012. We still have room for about 30 panels on the racking. Panels are Canadian Solar 250W with Enphase microinverters. We don't have net metering contract therefore we sell excess for $0.035 and buy it back (when sun not shining) for $0.113. Break even point is about 11 years. Installed DIY between December 2012 and February 2013. Since the loan interest was low we financed it through small local bank. We also got zero interest $25000 loan from the state. Total cost was $54000 before the tax rebate $19200.
We have 100% electric house. 2400 sqft that is occupied is heated and AC to 70F. About another 4000 sqft is heated to 55F when unoccupied and 70F when occupied. So our property is energy hog. Estimated electric bill without PV could be anywhere between 400 and 500/month. Withe the PV it is 120/month.
I was looking at the battery but so far couldn't find any that would work for us. The one that would last many cycles was very expensive and the cheaper one would have to be replaced after certain time. One option I was looking at was to buy used Nissan Leaf and use it as energy storage but couldn't find a source of controller. I was hoping somebody would hack it.
Canadian Solar is actually Chinese company. I think it is number three in the world by size of production.

 

[ultrarunner]

24 kW is the largest residential I have come across...

Your retail price .113 is fantastic compared to the SF Bay Area... at work my cost per kW last month is 16 cents and 17.1 for residential at my home.

Few all electric homes here... most have natural gas for heat and hot water... some also for cooking.

There are limitations on how big a residential system can be... one key is historic use... another for new owners is a formula based on Square Footage and Heat Source...

I have heard a home owner can say they intend to purchase and electric vehicle to upsize the system...

 

[Redneck in training]

If we owned electric vehicle the system would be paid off already because of round trip to the city is about 90 miles just to get there. Chevy Bolt would work just fine. Wife wanted heated seats and steering wheel and that why she drives ICE. I personally drive a car worth about $500. I should buy the Bolt or similar before the incentive goes away.

I don't think there is a limit on size in Iowa. The large utilities are regulated by the state and have to offer net metering. Our rural electric coop is too small to be regulated thus no net metering. Iowa is #4 in sunny hours per year in the country so the PV makes a sense. Our PV generated 212 MWh or 35000 kWh/year or 3000 kWh/month so far. People ask me how fast it will pay for itself. Then I ask when his 45000 truck he uses as his daily driver will pay for itself.