6.9 KW system now on line

Frxddy

Thanks to all that answered my dumb questions over the last couple of months. As of two days ago I am on line and making power! Thirty 230 watt BP panels using Enphase 215 micro inverters. I will post the Enphase link once it's up and running. They are running 2 or 3 days behind. So far I am very pleased. Thursday it made 43 KWH's & yesterday 47. Yeeehaaa! This is "prime time" for my area. I expect them to make less as the days get shorter, but it wouldn't surprise me if I saw a few days with a bit more production. I'm so excited I could pee! Home made rails, all aluminum & stainless steel. Total cost, after federal credit, ( I do not get the state credit as it was a self install): $2.63 a watt.

Cariboocoot

Re: 6.9 KW system now on line

It's always good when it works, eh?

43 kW hours - almost 2X what our all-electric house used in Winter here. What is with that? You starting your own electric company?

niel

Re: 6.9 KW system now on line

congrats on getting online.:D

do those trees in the 1st photo shade the pvs at any time?

autoxsteve

Re: 6.9 KW system now on line

Welcome to the new way to live.

Where are you located? From the green you must be on the east coast....

niel

Re: 6.9 KW system now on line

autosteve,
if you look in the upper right side of his post he shows he is in maine so no guessing is needed by the photos.

Ralph Day

Re: 6.9 KW system now on line

Frxddy,
Congrats on the system going on line. I, for one, really like the Enphase system, and now the monitoring is free:D.

What really caught my eye though, was the forklift adaptation on your backhoe bucket! What a cool idea. What's the weight limit on a lift? I think if I were to copy the arrangement I'd make sure the members on the bucket side were closer to the edges of the bucket...but all in all, a good looking work-around for lightweight work.

I'm waiting for quick attachment hardware for my JD loader...neighbour's have some of the attachments I don't have, I have some things they don't, so a good synergy there. They have really heavy duty adjustable fork attachment, so something like yours is not in the works (but I like what you've done).

Ralph

Frxddy

Re: 6.9 KW system now on line

Thanks for the comments!

I work at home & between lights on all day, sewing machines, air compressor & TV going, we usually use 22 KWH's a day. So the plan is, the hope is, the design is, that we can bank enough credits during the summer to get through the winter. I'm thinking the output right now is the highlight of the year. The days are getting shorter already so I expect production to see a steady decline. If I do manage to have extra, I know how to turn on an electric heater in January!

The trees.... zero roof shade now, and projected zero for the next 2 or 3 years. It will come a time I need to trim the tops.

The backhoe forks are home made. Yes, they are light duty. Tested to 900 pounds on a pallet....and that is certainly the limit. LOL I rebuilt the bucket some years back so the floor of it is sturdier than stock. It did not flex doing the load test. Did you notice the water level on the drivers side of the bucket? When the forks are low, I can not see them from the drivers seat so I built that level. Now I can get a visual on the forks and as I raise the bucket I can tell that the pallet is level.

Yup, Maine....the way life should be! Or, so our license pates say. I'm not sure why the almost highest taxes in the nation is the way life should be, but who am I to argue?? *smile*

Frxddy

Re: 6.9 KW system now on line

I got my Enphase array link. Good fun.

I have a TV antenna that is north of my panels, but this time of year near sunset, the sun get's "behind" the panels. From 16:45 to 17:00 O'clock a couple of my panels lose a few watts of output each day. It's not much loss, but interesting to see.

http://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/hg3n22712

This link should be in my signature too. I'll find out in 15 seconds!

PS. In one week my solar array has made more power than my 5.5K windmill made in any one year!!

Blackcherry04

Re: 6.9 KW system now on line

It seems to be working great. 1.33 kwh per panel on a 7 day average is hard to beat. Your getting 11 hrs a day of sun above 1000w, the more you bank now will come in handy this winter.

Just for reference, we have a similar system and I average 1.26 KWH per day.

Enjoy !!

Frxddy

Re: 6.9 KW system now on line

Blackcherry04 wrote: »

It seems to be working great. 1.33 kwh per panel on a 7 day average is hard to beat.

Ya! I'm happy as a clam at high tide. I do realize that these days are probably "as good as it gets". That's OK! I'll take 'em as they come.
It'll be interesting to get a year behind me & see how it looks then. Even at that, I don't know about other states, but here in Maine every 9 or 12 years we will have a summer that it seems to rain every day.


Take care.

ggunn

Re: 6.9 KW system now on line

Frxddy wrote: »

Ya! I'm happy as a clam at high tide. I do realize that these days are probably "as good as it gets". That's OK! I'll take 'em as they come.
It'll be interesting to get a year behind me & see how it looks then. Even at that, I don't know about other states, but here in Maine every 9 or 12 years we will have a summer that it seems to rain every day.

That sounds idyllic to us in Texas! At my house in Austin, I have gotten measurable rainfall just three or so times since some time in February.