How was your May?

Ralph Day
Ralph Day Solar Expert Posts: 1,022 ✭✭✭✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
Hi all
Just wondered how everyone's month May was. My average solar harvest for May, with 2.1kw of pv through an MX60, for the last 8 years has been 227kwhrs. The month of May 2013 was 280kwhrs. I've never had such a dramatic above average solar month, have you?

Ralph

PS, can't wait to see the kwhrs harvested on the 10kw fit system:D
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  • Blackcherry04
    Blackcherry04 Solar Expert Posts: 2,490 ✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: How was your May?
    Ralph Day wrote: »
    Hi all
    Just wondered how everyone's month May was. My average solar harvest for May, with 2.1kw of pv through an MX60, for the last 8 years has been 227kwhrs. The month of May 2013 was 280kwhrs. I've never had such a dramatic above average solar month, have you?

    Ralph

    PS, can't wait to see the kwhrs harvested on the 10kw fit system:D
    If someone has it good, someone else probably has it bad. 2013 as a whole is over 700 kwh's behind the last two years production average to this point. January and February weren't to bad, but the last 3 months have been killers.
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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: How was your May?
    Ralph Day wrote: »
    Hi all
    Just wondered how everyone's month May was. My average solar harvest for May, with 2.1kw of pv through an MX60, for the last 8 years has been 227kwhrs. The month of May 2013 was 280kwhrs. I've never had such a dramatic above average solar month, have you?

    Well are you off grid? If so does this just show an increase use in May, since you need enough to waste energy once the batteries are charged?

    If so it just means you consumed more energy in May.
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: How was your May?

    This may was slightly ahead of last year on our Grid Tie.
    This year we produced 2148 kWh and last year it was 2214 kWh.

    May is our best month, cooler temps and longer days.
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  • Ralph Day
    Ralph Day Solar Expert Posts: 1,022 ✭✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: How was your May?

    Thanks for the nudge PW. May was hot and cold, when cold I'd have a little electric heater going as a dump load (mostly for wind). Maybe for just charging and life loads it would be closer to average. The heater as dump has always been there though.

    Xantrex 4048 doesn't have any consumption metering but today I'm picking up one of the metering systems (Canadian) for the whole house (mentioned in another thread). Be interesting to see how close I am to 7kwhr per day like when I first went off grid 2004.


    Ralph
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  • ChrisOlson
    ChrisOlson Banned Posts: 1,807 ✭✭
    #6
    Re: How was your May?
    Ralph Day wrote: »
    Hi all
    Just wondered how everyone's month May was. My average solar harvest for May, with 2.1kw of pv through an MX60, for the last 8 years has been 227kwhrs. The month of May 2013 was 280kwhrs. I've never had such a dramatic above average solar month, have you?

    Ralph - we had a record May here also. However, my numbers are a little skewed from previous years because we installed more solar capacity in March and early April. But the kWh/kW installed capacity was above normal. April was also very good here. We produced well over 1,000 kWh for the month of May (wind and solar combined). We could've produced a lot more. Our turbines were shut down roughly 50% of the month because we didn't need them. And the solar was throttled back with the controllers in Float Mode most every day, so we could've produced more there too.

    There was one week in early May when our bank floated for the entire week and never got cycled at all. We got good sun during the day, the wind was blowing at night so I'd let the turbines go and they would carry the loads the hold the bank at float, then the next day I would just force Float on the controllers because the bank hadn't been discharged at all.

    Most of us that live in the North have over-capacity systems for this time of year, though, and just throttle them back. We need the RE capacity in winter to keep the gen hours down in winter. So you're probably about like us this time of year - we turn stuff on and leave it on just because we can. And it is still not indicative of what we COULD generate if we had enough loads to run our system balls-out (to borrow an old steam engine term) like grid-tie systems do.
    --
    Chris
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #7
    Re: How was your May?

    using the XW Gateway logging for my XW, and the web interface for my MS MPPT 60, I've compiled the following:

    harvest used generator (WattHours)
    march xxxx 178600 9270
    april 418520 197711 5011
    may 473070 231280 7280

    Jan & Feb, I'd not done much logging, other than generator hours.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • inetdog
    inetdog Solar Expert Posts: 3,123 ✭✭✭✭
    #8
    Re: How was your May?
    ChrisOlson wrote: »
    Most of us that live in the North have over-capacity systems for this time of year, though, and just throttle them back. We need the RE capacity in winter to keep the gen hours down in winter. So you're probably about like us this time of year - we turn stuff on and leave it on just because we can. And it is still not indicative of what we COULD generate if we had enough loads to run our system balls-out (to borrow an old steam engine term) like grid-tie systems do.
    --
    Chris

    When your PV is producing plenty during Summer, do you keep your turbines spinning or do you shut them down to reduce wear? Or just take them out of service for awhile for maintenance?

    I never, until now, realized the origin of "balls out". Thank you! I now have an image of a governor in my mind which will pop up every time I hear the phrase.
    SMA SB 3000, old BP panels.
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  • ChrisOlson
    ChrisOlson Banned Posts: 1,807 ✭✭
    #9
    Re: How was your May?
    inetdog wrote: »
    When your PV is producing plenty during Summer, do you keep your turbines spinning or do you shut them down to reduce wear? Or just take them out of service for awhile for maintenance?

    On good solar days they are shut down and not running. At nightfall we'll let one go (or two or three, depending on how much wind there is). But they spend most of their time parked in the summer.
    --
    Chris
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  • RandomJoe
    RandomJoe Solar Expert Posts: 472 ✭✭✭
    #10
    Re: How was your May?

    May was tough here as well. Started out the month with a dying cell in the battery bank, went easy on it until I got the new bank purchased and installed. Then had a long run of bad weather. We'd get a couple days of clear skies, then several more overcast and often stormy. Throw in the monster tornados running around much too close to home...! At least I only got one or two waves of fairly small hail instead of the softballs they had in other areas.
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