Solar is up and running

[moneymaker]

Really happy with the install-well sort of. He (solar guy)did a great job, but the roofer and electrician that he picked, not so good. So not really sure whether I should recommend him or not. He’s not a general contractor, just a C-46 contractor, but I still feel like he is the responsible party since the roofing and electrical panel upgrade where part of the contract. The electrician forgot to do 3 things (he came back later and did them),also took my old breakers,solar guy said he shouldn’t have. The roofer moved an exhaust vent and I was real happy with the price to do it ($200) however when I looked up into the attic he didn’t actually attach the vent to the roof exhaust jack, not good! I had to crawl up there and do it. Solar guy said he would give me a $50 credit because of that, then later reneged. I feel like all 3 suffered from ADD.

[joec]

Would be cool if there were club group install projects for solar. Everyone interested would get together to buy in bulk and help each other install the parts like when they do it for cars…

[moneymaker]

There is a habitat for humanity type outfit. It is http://www.gridalternatives.org , so for someone that just wants to make the world a better place or learn how to do it yourself this is probably the way to go. I have not done it yet.
The labor part of solar seems to equal the 30% tax credit, more or less.

[CA renter]

If you’re not comfortable posting your contractor’s name here, would you mind PM’ing me? I want to be sure we don’t hire the same contractor!

We’re about to pull the trigger on solar, but are still trying to decide between string inverters or microinverters. Seems there are pros and cons to both, though in our case, they are charging about the same price for similarly-sized systems.

Congrats on your new solar system! 🙂

[Navydoc]

We just lit ours up last Thusday and it has become an obsession of mine to look at the inverter to see how much power we generated during the day, and to see how much my electric meter has run down since the install. When I threw the switch the meter said 594 Kwh, now it reads 570. Can’t wait for my next electric bill. Strange, isn’t it?

[Hobie]

I too am working out to go with micro vs string inverters. String should be a bit cheaper and has been around longer. I have noticed RF noise in some parking lots covered with solar using string inverters. I would think these things would be shielded but just something to be aware of.

Big plus to the micro is smaller connecting wires and the ability to quickly and remotely diagnose which panel has failed. Strings require you to climb up on roof to isolate each panel for testing.

Let us know what you ultimately choose.

[an]

One big advantage and is the main reason we went with micro inverter is that you can maximize the usage of your roof. If you have limited roof space and wanted to add that extra 1-2 panel(s), micro inverter is your only option.

[NotCranky]

Congratulations to you solar people, I would be excited.
Did you already have electric stove and water heaters or did you do conversions.
Do all of you have a pool? Is that a big driver for solar, the pool pumps?

[NotCranky]

Congratulations to you solar people, I would be excited.
Did you already have electric stove and water heaters or did you do conversions?
Do all of you have a pool? Is that a big driver for solar, the pool pumps?

[an]

[quote=Navydoc]We just lit ours up last Thusday and it has become an obsession of mine to look at the inverter to see how much power we generated during the day, and to see how much my electric meter has run down since the install. When I threw the switch the meter said 594 Kwh, now it reads 570. Can’t wait for my next electric bill. Strange, isn’t it?[/quote]
Wow, how big is your system? Mine is a 3.8kWh system and peak summer months, it produces about 22-25 kWh per day. If your number is correct, that means your system is produce ~17.7MWh per month. Do you really use that much power?

[an]

[quote=Blogstar]Congratulations to you solar people, I would be excited.
Did you already have electric stove and water heaters or did you do conversions?
Do all of you have a pool? Is that a big driver for solar, the pool pumps?[/quote]No plan on switching to electric stove or electric water heater. Electric stove sucks at cooking. Electric water heater is not as efficient as natural gas water heater and natural gas is quite cheap. Even if I have enough roof space to power a water heater, that would be one expensive solution.

The pool isn’t as big of the reason as the AC. I like things cool and comfortable during the summer, so I have it set @72 degrees. Two days ago, when it was in the 90s, I have the AC running @72 degrees all day. My solar produced ~23kWh and I pulled ~29kWh from the grid. So, my total power usage was ~52kWh for that day, but I only have to pay for 29kWh of it. If that usage is the same for 30 days straight, the savings would be drastic. I would have been deep into Tier 4 without solar, but with solar, I would still be in Tier 3. But luckily, that’s usually not the case. Month to date, I’ve only used ~55kWh.

[Navydoc]

[quote=AN][quote=Navydoc]We just lit ours up last Thusday and it has become an obsession of mine to look at the inverter to see how much power we generated during the day, and to see how much my electric meter has run down since the install. When I threw the switch the meter said 594 Kwh, now it reads 570. Can’t wait for my next electric bill. Strange, isn’t it?[/quote]
Wow, how big is your system? Mine is a 3.8kWh system and peak summer months, it produces about 22-25 kWh per day. If your number is correct, that means your system is produce ~17.7MWh per month. Do you really use that much power?[/quote]

The system is 6.2 Kwh, 23 panels, but the panels are a bit bigger than industry standard. I must have a micro since they told me I can add panels if I need to. Has been generating 39-41 Kwh/day.

We noticed a big difference in our electricity bill after completing the pool in Feb, bill went from about $350 to almost 600, so the solar was a no-brainer. The biggest offender seems to be the hot tub. When we use it the pool pump runs and there is another dedicated pump for the auxillary jets. When we use it a lot we see a big differnce in the bill. I know the solar won’t do much for the gas portion, but I’m hoping it will generate enough to offset the gas a bit.

By the way, when do pools get warm around here? After 3 days of almost 100 degrees I expected my pool to be warmer than 75. I actually like it, but my wife’s family finds it a bit cold. Their calling us “The Resort”, and are wondering when the water’s going to warm up.

[an]

[quote=Navydoc]The system is 6.2 Kwh, 23 panels, but the panels are a bit bigger than industry standard. I must have a micro since they told me I can add panels if I need to. Has been generating 39-41 Kwh/day.

We noticed a big difference in our electricity bill after completing the pool in Feb, bill went from about $350 to almost 600, so the solar was a no-brainer. The biggest offender seems to be the hot tub. When we use it the pool pump runs and there is another dedicated pump for the auxillary jets. When we use it a lot we see a big differnce in the bill. I know the solar won’t do much for the gas portion, but I’m hoping it will generate enough to offset the gas a bit.

By the way, when do pools get warm around here? After 3 days of almost 100 degrees I expected my pool to be warmer than 75. I actually like it, but my wife’s family finds it a bit cold. Their calling us “The Resort”, and are wondering when the water’s going to warm up.[/quote]That makes a lot more sense. I miss read your post and thought your system is producing 594kWh :-). By the # panels and your total out put, it seems like you have the SunPower 270W panels. I have the Sharp 240W panels (15 of them).

You’re correct, the pool pump consumes A LOT of electricity if you have it running @ 2HP+ a lot. Heating shouldn’t cost nearly as much as the pump needed to push those water jets.

My water never got warmer than 75 degrees without heating, but I living much further west than you, so it usually doesn’t get that hot here.

[Navydoc]

Yup, sunpower 270’s is what I have. I wonder how much heating the pool to 80 would cost? My guess is quite a bit….

[an]

[quote=Navydoc]Yup, sunpower 270’s is what I have. I wonder how much heating the pool to 80 would cost? My guess is quite a bit….[/quote]
I had my pool @ 90 and last summer when I used to pool everyday for a whole week, my gas bill that month was ~$100. So, I assume ~$400 if you use it everyday for a whole month. If you get a solar blanket, it’ll keep the heat in the pool, so you’d need less gas on subsequent days as well.

[Author]

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