Just a hello!

System · January 2011

I am new to this forum, but I have been lurking for almost a year now, probably about the time I started my solar system journey. Our system is up and running as of December.

We've had a bumpy start. The problem here in Minnesota is that we have snow. Record snow. This year has been record setting all the way, with a 19" snow storm plus a few 9" storms, and then the rest of december had 2" every 3rd day. Made it very hard to see the justification of solar power when the entire month it didn't work much at all!

But today we finally reached some output. Our total system is 11 panels 2.5KW total. Our peak output today was 1.5KW because some panels still have snow / ice on them. And tomorrow we get more snow.

But I thought I'd introduce myself non-the-less.

Thanks!

Steve

BB. · January 2011

Re: Just a hello!

Welcome to the forum Steve!

How did your install go? I hear you have something called snow and ice that is not inside the kitchen refrigerator--How do you manage the snow and ice dams (if installed on roof)?;)

Any other issues? Many places still require an AC lockable switch for Grid Tied installations... Did your local building department?

What about billing--1 year net metering or some other setup?

In California, we have progressive power rates that run from $0.09 to $0.60 per kWH, depending on plan, season, and how much power we use (the more we use, the more we pay).

How about conservation around your home? Do you have electric heat/hot water or propane/natural gas, etc...?

Do you see yourself saving money from your installation?

-Bill

niel · January 2011

Re: Just a hello!

welcome aboard and i hear you on the snow as last year we came off of a record year and placed i think 3rd all time. this year we're exceeding the pace over last year so far by 14 inches. last year we had 2 major back to back snow storms in february that put us over the edge.

i think we have had 2 or 3 days of sun in the last 2 months too.:grr

one consolation is that it doesn't last forever even though it seems like it.

System2 · February 2011

Re: Just a hello!

Our install was done by IPS solar and they did a great job. The only one glitch that came up was that one panel wasn't fully connected so that it didn't initially show up on the envoy. When they came back out to check things out, we had 18" of snow. The poor guy got up on the roof and was checking inverters, found one loose connector and just tightened it up.

As far as lockable switch for grid-tie, we have a switch, but I can pull the switch off at any time. The net metering base has the company tamper proof thingy hanging on it, as well as the production meter. For some reason they always put a separate production meter. Then we also have the disconnect switch with no tamper proof thingy.

We have net metering for 20 years. But we only generate 63% (by design) of our electrical needs. So our energy meter usually will be running forward. We have taken steps to not use a ton of electricity, and will try to reduce consumption so that we get to 75%. Our average annual consumption is approximately 5600 kwh with production of approx 3500 kwh.

There are 4 scales of net metering, but since we are not producing more than we use, we'll never realize that. Our net metering is paying us between .05 and .09. Our electric rate is pretty much fixed at about .08 to .11 depending on if you have the saver switch on your a/c or not.

We do not have any electric heat in our house. All is natural gas (furnace, water heater, stove, and dryer). A/C is of course electric, as well as the usual fridge, washer, dishwasher, and lights (mostly cfl in our house).

I built a specific computer to be low power to run as a family room computer, netflix to the projector, and file server. It has a 2T drive in it and a dual-core atom processor. It draws about 40 watts running. It isn't on 24x7 either. This replaces a 150w tower.

We're on our way, altough we got about 5 inches of the fluffy stuff today which means of course, almost no power production

As far as the snow and ice goes, I did get on the roof and sweep the snow off the panels once so far this winter. The ice dams from the solar system are not that major of a concern yet, although I can see them in the gutters. We have other ice dam issues not from the PV system to worry about.

But thanks for the hellos back! I'll be on here more and more.

System2 · February 2011

Re: Just a hello!

So this past week we finally hit our peak generation for our array. This is due to much needed warmth (40+ degrees f) along with the melting of all snow off our roof and panels. Every panel hit the maximum, 199w (after inverter losses).

Now, for the 12" of fresh white stuff predicted for tonight...

jcgee88 · February 2011

Re: Just a hello!

steveho wrote: »

So this past week we finally hit our peak generation for our array. This is due to much needed warmth (40+ degrees f) along with the melting of all snow off our roof and panels. Every panel hit the maximum, 199w (after inverter losses).

Now, for the 12" of fresh white stuff predicted for tonight...

Steve, welcome to the forum, and to the community of
solar array owners!

The snow is an occupational hazard for those living up there
in the Great North! You'll just have to console yourself with all
the cross country skiing you can do while your array is covered
up.

It looks like you have an excellent site for the array, pointing
exactly due south and with no shading it appears . Your Enphase
inverters hit their theoretical maximum (199w), which is
outstanding! In comparison, I'm 30 degrees off from due south,
at 150 degrees, and the best I get is in the 180-ish watt range.

We had a snowy year here in Missouri, too. Fortunately, my
roof is easily accessible and I was able to brush the panels
off. My wife wasn't too happy to see me up there, though,
fearing I was going to slip and fall! So I sympathize with
your snow, but be aware that snow is a lot easier to brush
off than 2 inches of frozen sleet, which is what the last
storm left us with.

John

Just a hello!

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