Here comes the SUN- solar panels

[Smiley]

Signed contract Aug 2 nd and online connected to the grid today Sept 2 nd. 6.25 KW delivered through 26 Sun Power PV panels with 19% efficiency.

I feel like I just bought a Prius and stuck it on my roof :banana:

Now let it SHINE BABY

[geopedler]

Anyone remember the Cateye Solar cycle computer from back in the 80s? I remember giving up my Avocet 20 for the myriad of features offered by the new behemoth. First comp with cadence I owned.

Anyway, congrats on your solar panels, way to be green and make money doing it.

[NRRider]

What does the 19% efficiency refer to?

[Smiley]

What does the 19% efficiency refer to?


I am sure its about converting solar BTU's to electrical KW in some convoluted manner, NHAero could probably chime in best. I am a mechanical engineer and this would be my educated guess :)

[Mark McM]

What does the 19% efficiency refer to?

Yes, I'm sure it refers to ratio of electric output energy to solar light input energy (i.e., only 19% of of the solar heat and light is converted to electricity)

Compare that to, say, coal fired electric power plants, which are about 35% efficient, or gasoline engines, which are up to 30% efficient, or human power, which is about 25% efficient.

PV panels may not be as efficient as other power sources, but the 'fuel' is essential free, is much, much cleaner, and is almost inexhaustible.

[fogrider]

how much did the system cost you? and how much is it saving you on your bill? I got an estimate a few years ago, with rebates it would have come to about $12k. i can't see how that made sense when my bill is about 50 bucks a month.

[Smiley]

how much did the system cost you? and how much is it saving you on your bill? I got an estimate a few years ago, with rebates it would have come to about $12k. i can't see how that made sense when my bill is about 50 bucks a month.


I'll let u know :)

[AngryScientist]

good for you smiley, i think you made good move.

how 'bout some pics of the roof?

[Ramjm_2000]

Cool stuff! Congrats Smiley.

[toaster]

Sunpower PV panels each rated at 240 DC times 26 panels equals roughly 6.25KW at the roof. (I'm guessing.)

There is some loss in converting to AC and depending on the average hours of production, maybe 4 or 5 hours per day. This system probably makes on average around 30KW per day?

Out here that's like a $115 electrical bill before solar.

[oldpotatoe]

how much did the system cost you? and how much is it saving you on your bill? I got an estimate a few years ago, with rebates it would have come to about $12k. i can't see how that made sense when my bill is about 50 bucks a month.

Same for me. It would take about 18 years to recoup the $, even with the rebates and market savings, ETC. Plus the homeowner association knuckleheads wouldn't allow it anyway.

[Smiley]

Sunpower PV panels each rated at 240 DC times 26 panels equals roughly 6.25KW at the roof. (I'm guessing.)

There is some loss in converting to AC and depending on the average hours of production, maybe 4 or 5 hours per day. This system probably makes on average around 30KW per day?

Out here that's like a $115 electrical bill before solar.


6.25 KW is correct and within a cloudy 24 hour period between Friday at 6 pm and Saturday at 6 pm I generated 18 KWH ..not bad so up to 23 KWH so far at 11 AM Sunday morning with the sun out so from 6 AM today to 11 AM I generated 5 KWH and counting.
This may not be everybody's cup of tea but between my Federal tax deduction of 30% of the purchase cost, $5000 of the County future tax credit and $3120 state credit in check form I will be OK and LASTLY the s-REC of about $1800 per year too is the ICING on the cake. That s-REC credit is HUGE for the first 5-6 years of ownership. Smiley

[NHAero]

I have 20 of the same panels Smiley has. 1,878 kWh since June 11th. System will displace about $1,100/year of electricity, with the possibility of as much as $2,500 in SRECs next year.

[toaster]

So, your getting 30% federal tax credit and the county is giving you $5000 (property tax credit?) and a state rebate of $3120???

What is that, like $20K in rebates??

[Smiley]

So, your getting 30% federal tax credit and the county is giving you $5000 (property tax credit?) and a state rebate of $3120???

What is that, like $20K in rebates??


YES , almost stupid not to do it :)

[Smiley]

One cloudy day Saturday and one partial sunny day Sunday and 43 KWH in a 48 hour period........ I think NHAero and toaster have it right.

That is 18 KWH for Saturday and 25 KWH for Sunday

[Z3c]

Same for me. It would take about 18 years to recoup the $, even with the rebates and market savings, ETC. Plus the homeowner association knuckleheads wouldn't allow it anyway.

Welcome to the club Smiley; just think, there is a power plant out there churning out just a little bit less smog because of you. IMHO, solar panels are not just about the numbers, it is about doing the right thing for all of us. You might check your local laws if you are truly interested, in Az it is illegal for an HOA to block solar installations. We love ours; we have 4.2Kw system and in one of the hottest months in Az history we had a $180 electric bill for our house with 2 ac's + a pool pump running.. We didn't live in the house before the panels so we don't know the real delta but my son had a higher electric bill at a much smaller college house not to far from here..

Oh yea; we bought a Prius earlier this year and we love that too!

Treat the world as if it was your canoe; it is.

[sworcester]

(Sorry, just saw this)
We have a 9.35KW setup on our roof that we leased. Our monthly bill was about $300. Depends on cost of electricity in your area too, I think we are about $0.11 per KWH and we sell back at $0.07 for what we don't use. They pay us quarterly by check and not as a credit to the bill. My guess is so they can write it down as buying alternative forms of energy.

You can check it out on-line too.
http://solarguard.solarcity.com/kiosk/solarguard.aspx?share=1&ID=A65525B6-8B62-4344-92CC-68ABF31E6CB9

[Chance]

6.25 KW is correct and within a cloudy 24 hour period between Friday at 6 pm and Saturday at 6 pm I generated 18 KWH ..not bad so up to 23 KWH so far at 11 AM Sunday morning with the sun out so from 6 AM today to 11 AM I generated 5 KWH and counting.
This may not be everybody's cup of tea but between my Federal tax deduction of 30% of the purchase cost, $5000 of the County future tax credit and $3120 state credit in check form I will be OK and LASTLY the s-REC of about $1800 per year too is the ICING on the cake. That s-REC credit is HUGE for the first 5-6 years of ownership. Smiley
A total of 18 kilowatt-hours over a 24 hour period averages to less than 1 KW of power, much less that 6.25 KW peak capacity.

Obviously some of that is expected due to night, clouds, and other factors but it shows that "average" efficiency is very low when compared to "peak" measured efficiency. That's why solar remains so expensive and requires a backup in form of energy storage or the electrical grid.