Our Solar Electric Panels: Done!

We have two facets, one populated with five
panels on our southern-most facing roof,
and one with eight panels, inclined 10 degrees
upwards, on our northern-facing roof. The
house is L-shaped, and the PV arrays sort
of follow the house's plan-view. We didn't
put the eight panels currently on the north-
facing roof onto the south-facing roof
because they would be too visible from the
street.

The panels themselves are Sharp's "black
on black" style, designed to be more
esthetically pleasing for residential use.
There's an Enphase inverter attached to
the underbelly of each solar panel.

 

Too visible from the street should be a point of pride! (especially if it gives a better harvest!) Nothing looks better from the street than walking in from the mailbox with a less than zero power bill.

Icarus

PS Congrats on the array

 

Thanks for your comments, Icarus!

I have mixed emotions about solar panels' visibility.

On the one hand, being in a very conservative* area,
I wanted the arrays to be minimally intrusive from a
visual perspective for my neighbors and for eventual
future resale value. While site location was a primary
consideration (good sun exposure, no shade, etc),
the way the house sits on the land enabled us to
minimize the view of the 5-set array from the front
of the house. Basically, the front of the garage,
which sits 5' above street level, obscures the view
of this array set. The 8-set array sits far enough below
the roof peak so that you can't see it at all from the
front of the house. Thus, you really have to work
at it to be able to see my PV array.

On the other hand, you are right, pride of ownership
and knowing how this is helping the environment
are reasons I want to be able to see it!

*For some reason, Missourians are proud of being
suspicious of progress, that's why it's called the
Show Me State. <sigh>

 

I only got that real pleasure for about a week, until the electric company replaced the old spinning meter with a new digital one. You can still see it going backwards, but the kw/h readout doesn't move too quickly.

I wonder how many people here on PC have a PV array and how much electricity we are generating combined. Once my enginer plug-in kit gets installed (we've been waiting due to the balancer/charger issues that have been around to clear out), I'll be in a way using clean energy to charge the battery pack. Although, since I do not produce what I use, nor have excess to use, so I'm just using the "dirty" electric to power other items at the house. I will say, though, that having an electric bill of around $25-50 during the summer months is VERY nice! It sure beats the $200/month I was seeing. Then again, it flips back higher in the winter, esp if I'm using the heat pump to heat the house. I am curious what it would do with the pellet stove running, as I had this past winter (pellet wasn't installed previous yr with heat pump going).

 

Jcgee88,

"On the one hand, being in a very conservative* area,"

Please don't feel that I am beating up on you, and in fact I am very supportive of your efforts.

That said, to everyone, the only way we are going to solve our problems is to be bold in our actions. The problems facing the planet, due to our (collective) over consumption of resources, including energy are huge. From CO2 emissions, to Peak oil, to political strive and war, to the current disaster in the gulf, the way we solve these issues is by changing our personal behavior, but also by convincing others that that behavior isn't exotic, isn't overly expensive, isn't draconian, and in fact is mainstream. So, in the "show me state" go ahead and show 'em!

It just bristles me when I hear of zoning and HOAs that try to ban PV or Solar hot water, or even hanging laundry out to dry without the aid of fossil fuel! What century are these folks living in, and what legacy do they expect to leave for future generations?

As for resale, if you show a house with a zero energy bill, it is going to be way more valuable than the house next door with out PV on the roof.

Once again, don't take this personally, as it is indeed directed at others.

Icarus

 

Icarus, I don't see any criticism in your comments about me,
so there is nothing for me to take "personally" anyways! In
fact, I agree with you that we need to be bold. That's why I
wanted to lead by example by being one of the first in my area
to have a PV array, and also why I didn't let just economics
sway/delay my decision.

It kind of peeves me when I get asked the price of the solar
array, or more frequently, what the payback time is. People
never asked me this question when we remodeled our two
bathrooms...and EACH bathroom cost $2K more than
my solar project.

As for future resale value, that is not a primary concern
for me...we've been in the house for 30 years and have
no plans to sell any time soon. But, I also didn't want
to do something that looks dorky, even for just my tastes.

I did have to go through the HOA for project approval,
which turned out not to be that tough to get. The HOA
trustee was very forward looking. I have friend who is
a Trustee at a different HOA, and he believes that his HOA
would have been much more difficult to get approval from.

Right now I have to admit it is really fun to see the meter
run backwards. :-D

 

Nice looking install - I haven't seen many systems mounted against the angle of the roof, but looks like it was necessary to achieve your objectives. Got any pics of how the panels are mounted on the tilt-up array?

Here's a link to my Enphase install with 18 ET-solar 180w panels that I installed with the help of my brother, his friend and my dad:
https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/xM8R3368

Is your system viewable? Only see 2 in MO on the Enphase site, and none with 13 panels or in your city.

 

Here's my viewable system, I just enabled it for public viewing
a couple of minutes ago. Enphase hasn't gotten the panel ID's
yet, so it will be another few days before you get the panel by
panel status view.

Enphase Energy - Enlighten | John & Anne's 3.055kW system

Attached are some additional installation pictures, including some
of the type you asked for.

 

Nice looking install - hopefully that big tree visible in the back of the first picture won't provide much shade in the winter when the sun is lower.

Forgot - Enphase won't show the system in the public system list until it generates 100 kWh - should take about a week for a 3kW system in the summer.

 

The picture is a bit misleading. The oak tree looks closer
than it is. It's worse case shade, as measured by that
bulbous instrument they use, falls about 12 feet from
the lowest part of the 5-panel set. While that shading
doesn't affect the panels in their current location, it
did prevent us from putting the panels at the foot of the
5-panel set. That was our originally selected location (with
the plan being I trim the top of the tree). At the last
minute, we switched to the north facing roof, which
completely eliminated shading/tree-trimming.

 

The thoughtfulness shows. One powerful aspect of your approach is (silly) objections of PV solar being a neighborhood distraction are disproven with your approach. No way your solar capability will ever be a secret, but the subtlety makes it clear that you must be getting a real benefit. Nothing bothers some neighbors more that having someone nextdoor getting a good deal while the're not. (Hopefully you have smart neighbors.) Additionally, you have more available PV mounting real estate once the EV charging needs arrive.

 

I hope those panels do not trap the snow? The snow may build up once it slides off of the panel?

Cacti

 

Cacti, I was born and raised in upstate New York. We got
lake effects snow all the time. I've seen it snow there in June.
Seeing that you are from Mass, I can see how snow would
be a concern for you. Here in St Louis, it snows once in a
blue moon, and we usually get only an inch or two.

The sad part is that even with that small of an amount,
which completely melts away in a day, they run around
like a chicken with its head cut off and always cancel school.

Anyways, snow is the last thing I worry about. Now I
*do* worry about bird poop. ;-)

 

Yes, we also have a problem with bird poop! We have a 5.28 kW ground mounted array. My mom was also raised in upstate NY. Glad the snow will not be an issue with your array.

Cacti

 

Sounds good that you have done with your solar electric panels..

Upon expert advise i've also done with my solar panels too..

Solar panels will also raise your home's home energy efficiency rating helping in raise your home's value. Solar panels are the renewable energy system of choice for most homes because installing a wind turbine is totally out of the question.

 

An update to this May 21 post, #33: Tucson Electric approved my application. The system is expected to be installed in late August or early Sept.

Tucson Electric is now trying to reduce the rebate from $3 per watt to $2.25 for rebate applications received after July 7, due to lack of funds. 1,100 homeowners have taken advantage of the program this year (which is more than the number of homeowners over the past nine years).

TEP urges solar rebates be reduced

 

I have a 3 bedroom raised ranch in northern new jersey, I have been thinking about going solar for a long time, can anyone give an around about estimate of what kind of money I would have to come up with for this. Just for piece of mind, i know it would depend on a lot.

 

Getting off-topic, but you can probably expect $5.50-$8 a DC watt installed in New Jersey.

1BOG is currently running a campaign there for a base price of $5.45/watt:
New Jersey Solar Power Group Discounts | 1BOG.org in NJ

 

Delmarva Power did the same kind of thing last year. It went from 50% of the installed cost, down to 30%. It's a shame that it happened. Guess they underestimated the popularity of some of these programs. I'd love it if I could complement with a small wind turbine, but in a neighborhood, that's a little tough to pull off!

For anyone that lives in an area that gets snow in the winter, be careful if they're roof mounted above your front door. Once a corner of the panel gets uncovered, it'll start to warm up pretty nicely, resulting in chunks of snow possibly coming flying off your roof. I actually watched this happen a few times at my house, and was just glad that I wasn't under it at the time. Those with a steeper pitch to the roof, probably won't have to worry so much, but my roof is a very low pitch so it doesn't easily slide right off in the beginning.

I'm closing in on the 10k kwh production mark in just under 2 years on my 5.2kw system. Last summer slowed production out here, but this summer is making up for it. I figure a 3-5 yr running avg would be beneficial. I can't recall if my production is close to what PVWatts predicted with the orientation of my house, angle of panels, etc. I think I'm just about dead on, though.

I've also done NO maintenance to them.

 

Your production is half what I am estimating. Either I am *way* off, or New Mexico is quite a bit sunnier than Delaware.