15 kw net metering array

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  • SunEagle
    replied
    Originally posted by bonaire
    Snow won't be a general issue. And, on snowy days, you have lots of clouds anyway, not as much of an issue. The only day you need them cleared early is a nice sunny day that follows the big snows. You can do a heat pump with propane burner us only when temps are lower. Also, check out those oil filled radiant heaters that you can position in the room you are in. Lots of ways to warm yourself up with the electric power.

    Consider an electric car now to use the power you are collecting. Volt, leaf, tesla, etc. I'd rather drive on that power than sell it back to the utility. I've got a volt myself and really love driving on electricity.
    I just saw a Ford Focus Electric yesterday. The guy just purchased it so has not put it through it's paces but did say it was supposed to get about 65mile on a charge.

    Nice to see more electric vehicles making the trip to the East Coast dealers instead of just California.

    Leave a comment:


  • bonaire
    replied
    Snow won't be a general issue. And, on snowy days, you have lots of clouds anyway, not as much of an issue. The only day you need them cleared early is a nice sunny day that follows the big snows. You can do a heat pump with propane burner us only when temps are lower. Also, check out those oil filled radiant heaters that you can position in the room you are in. Lots of ways to warm yourself up with the electric power.

    Consider an electric car now to use the power you are collecting. Volt, leaf, tesla, etc. I'd rather drive on that power than sell it back to the utility. I've got a volt myself and really love driving on electricity.

    Leave a comment:


  • bcroe
    replied
    Changing Slope

    Originally posted by russ
    Nice setup Bruce!
    thanks, I think the next problem is how to change the angle of the 12 racks, one at
    a time. Don't want snow piling on, need a steep angle. I haven't seen anything about
    how to leverage those support braces, could use some examples. There are some
    extra attachment holes to hook machinery; the vision here is something on the tractor
    to adjust & hold the rack while the braces are changed. Bruce

    Leave a comment:


  • russ
    replied
    Nice setup Bruce!

    Leave a comment:


  • SunEagle
    replied
    Originally posted by bcroe
    Here is my turnkey 15 KW grid tied (net metered) solar array. An
    NABCEP licensed local did the job in a few weeks. The annual
    output is expected to exceed 23,000 KWH. For perspective, my
    1977 Olds 88 is in the picture. The array is out of sight of my house,
    the neighbors, or the road. It is 200' to the nearest out building,
    and another 300' to the house.

    I have already gone through the wiring loss calculations. With my
    very long runs, DC losses peak at 1.4%. Even with oversize AC
    wire, AC loses could reach 3.3% around the 604' loop. But I have
    a total of 18 KW of panels feeding a pair of 7.5 KW of inverters, so a
    7.5 KW peak OUTPUT is actually possible for each inverter despite
    DC and inverter losses. And output will come up 20% on less than
    ideal sun times. That is a lot of the time, here.

    Coming alive just before solar noon, a lot of power was immediately
    generated. For the half day saw 63 KWH, and the peak power was
    14.93 KW at the AC line terminals. With that kind of daily sun, could
    make over 40,000 KWH a year; never happen here.

    After much studying the FORUM, I concluded this was about my
    best bang for the buck, following local rules. I also noted that rules
    vary widely from place to place; this meets all the LOCAL REGs,
    inspections, & all the things I was looking for. Every last permit &
    ground clip is in place.

    The primary goal is to eliminate home energy purchases from the
    electric & propane companies. The size is sort of fitted into the
    available space (only cut 2 trees. Since payback wasn't a serious
    consideration, some may choose to call it a SCIENCE PROJECT.
    However its less than $1.60 a watt after incentives; with the low
    maintenance of a PV system, it should add as much to the property
    value. Really, the turnkey price is only about double the price of
    just the panels. This would have been a lot more expensive a short
    time ago.

    My annual 5,000 KWH electric bill will be cancelled out. I'm adding
    another R50 to the simple 6" ceiling insulation, hoping the annual
    propane use might be reduced from 1050 gallons to 700 gallons,
    or 18,810 KWH. I am a little short trying to replace that with
    resistance heat. A year will get actual experience numbers, filling
    any gap with propane.

    If the gap is wide, a GEO THERMAL HEAT PUMP may be considered
    to zero out ALL my home energy purchases. The propane equipment
    will still in place as backup. If the power co goes out, a 4 KVA
    generator will run the propane furnace (same as before).

    The 1978 house was originally built as "all electric", and all the
    original wiring and junction boxes are still in place. Looks like its
    going back to all electric.

    Bruce Roe
    Impressive setup you have there Bruce. I wish you luck and good fortune.

    Leave a comment:


  • bcroe
    started a topic 15 kw net metering array

    15 kw net metering array

    Here is my turnkey 15 KW grid tied (net metered) solar array. An
    NABCEP licensed local did the job in a few weeks. The annual
    output is expected to exceed 23,000 KWH. For perspective, my
    1977 Olds 88 is in the picture. The array is out of sight of my house,
    the neighbors, or the road. It is 200' to the nearest out building,
    and another 300' to the house.

    I have already gone through the wiring loss calculations. With my
    very long runs, DC losses peak at 1.4%. Even with oversize AC
    wire, AC loses could reach 3.3% around the 604' loop. But I have
    a total of 18 KW of panels feeding a pair of 7.5 KW of inverters, so a
    7.5 KW peak OUTPUT is actually possible for each inverter despite
    DC and inverter losses. And output will come up 20% on less than
    ideal sun times. That is a lot of the time, here.

    Coming alive just before solar noon, a lot of power was immediately
    generated. For the half day saw 63 KWH, and the peak power was
    14.93 KW at the AC line terminals. With that kind of daily sun, could
    make over 40,000 KWH a year; never happen here.

    After much studying the FORUM, I concluded this was about my
    best bang for the buck, following local rules. I also noted that rules
    vary widely from place to place; this meets all the LOCAL REGs,
    inspections, & all the things I was looking for. Every last permit &
    ground clip is in place.

    The primary goal is to eliminate home energy purchases from the
    electric & propane companies. The size is sort of fitted into the
    available space (only cut 2 trees). Since payback wasn't a serious
    consideration, some may choose to call it a SCIENCE PROJECT.
    However its less than $1.60 a watt after incentives; with the low
    maintenance of a PV system, it should add as much to the property
    value. Really, the turnkey price is only about double the price of
    just the panels. This would have been a lot more expensive a short
    time ago.

    My annual 5,000 KWH electric bill will be cancelled out. I'm adding
    another R50 to the simple 6" ceiling insulation, hoping the annual
    propane use might be reduced from 1050 gallons to 700 gallons,
    or 18,810 KWH. I am a little short trying to replace that with
    resistance heat. A year will get actual experience numbers, filling
    any gap with propane.

    If the gap is wide, a GEO THERMAL HEAT PUMP may be considered
    to zero out ALL my home energy purchases. The propane equipment
    will still in place as backup. If the power co goes out, a 4 KVA
    generator will run the propane furnace (same as before).

    The 1978 house was originally built as "all electric", and all the
    original wiring and junction boxes are still in place. Looks like its
    going back to all electric.

    Bruce Roe
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