What AC output should be expected for a 4KW PV system in southern California?
jefflawrence
Registered Users Posts: 1
What AC output should be expected for a 4KW PV system in southern California?
I live in the San Fernando Valley. Mostly clear, sunny days. In full sun in summer, what should I expect the AC output to be? How much per day, in the summer?
Thanks.
I live in the San Fernando Valley. Mostly clear, sunny days. In full sun in summer, what should I expect the AC output to be? How much per day, in the summer?
Thanks.
Comments
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Re: What AC output should be expected for a 4KW PV system in southern California?
http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/calculators/PVWATTS/version1/
Go there and put your location and other data in. -
Re: What AC output should be expected for a 4KW PV system in southern California?
Welcome to the Forum Jeff.
You can use various programs to estimate the output of solar power systems. A very simple one that I like to use is called PV Watts. It has data for ~20 years of solar irradiance for various locations around the US and World.
Plug in a few assumptions, and away it goes. A 4kW solar array, fixed mount, tilted to latitude in Los Angeles CA, with 0.77 derating (solar panels lose power when hot, and a bit of losses in wiring+GT inverter gives you):"Station Identification"
"City:","Los_Angeles"
"State:","California"
"Lat (deg N):", 33.93
"Long (deg W):", 118.40
"Elev (m): ", 32
"PV System Specifications"
"DC Rating:"," 4.0 kW"
"DC to AC Derate Factor:"," 0.770"
"AC Rating:"," 3.1 kW"
"Array Type: Fixed Tilt"
"Array Tilt:"," 33.9"
"Array Azimuth:","180.0"
"Energy Specifications"
"Cost of Electricity:","12.5 cents/kWh"
"Results"
"Month", "Solar Radiation (kWh/m^2/day)", "AC Energy (kWh)", "Energy Value ($)"
1, 4.44, 401, 50.12
2, 5.35, 441, 55.12
3, 5.62, 506, 63.25
4, 6.06, 522, 65.25
5, 6.19, 548, 68.50
6, 6.17, 526, 65.75
7, 6.48, 567, 70.88
8, 6.68, 582, 72.75
9, 5.78, 487, 60.88
10, 5.43, 480, 60.00
11, 4.84, 420, 52.50
12, 4.46, 398, 49.75
"Year", 5.63, 5879, $734.88
So, on average (+/- 10% is very common from year to year) you would get around 398 to 582 kWH per month.
Or, 5,879 kWH per year for 365 days per year:- 5,879 kWH per year/365 Days per year = 16.1 kWH per day
There is also a Output Hourly Performance button (each 24 hour period is a "representative" average day) and put it into a spread sheet.
It is interesting to change tilt, try 1 and 2 axis trackers, etc...
-BillNear San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset -
Re: What AC output should be expected for a 4KW PV system in southern California?
Hi Jeff,
I moved your thread to the Grid Tied section of our forum.
-BillNear San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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