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  • Mono Black Panels

    In your experience are most mono black panels pretty much the same matching colors? I'm think for down the road if I want to add panels - some you need to buy a pallet...

  • #2
    I've never seen two different panels side/side of the same panels put in service at different times, or seen panels added to an existing installation, but an educated guess might be that like most other things that remain on a roof for any length of time, existing panels installed at the same time might change color a bit as they age, probably changing color more/less uniformly. That would make them a different shade with age than when new, or most likely a bit different in shade/color than panels not in the same environment or in the same environment for a different length of time.

    The surface reflection of the visible wavelengths by ARC coatings from one panel or glazing mfg. to another may be different as f(production methods, ARC formulations). If so, that might give panels of different mfgs. a different appearance.

    Going out on a limb a bit, I'd also wonder if most of any fading/color change, such as it may occur, might happen somewhat or relatively early on after installation, and be a somewhat asymptotic process, but that's no more than speculation on my part.

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    • #3
      Hi frankge,

      I've seen lots of posts on this board pining about expanding their arrays one day. I, too, had dreams of doing so one day. But after going through the reality of the process, paperwork, inspections, and approvals, I suspect that very few folks ever really add onto their existing arrays. Every local jurisdiction and power company is different, perhaps yours is different, but given the practical limitations of line versus load side taps, panel board bus bar overage limitations, and PoCo generation limits, i think you'll find that "adding on" in the future is far more easily said than done.

      From a matching perspective, not knowing how many different roof faces you are hoping to put panels on, I would plan to fill an entire roof face at a time (e.g. South). And then if time and money permits add on by populating other roof faces (East, West, etc.). This way it doesn't really matter if the panels match that closely and it keeps the install cleaner.

      Are you doing Solar Edge or Enphase? What size load center / breaker box do you have? How many MWh do you consume annually? 240V split phase?

      Which Mono black panels? Panasonic, SunPower, or something else? Also keep in mind that while Mono Black panels look nice, their efficiency and productivity suffer from their higher operating temperatures. If you live in a cooler climate this is less of an issue. But if you live in Arizona or somewhere hot, you might reconsider. The number of inches of air gap between your roof and the panels also plays a role -- though none of this matters as much as the azimuth and tilt of the panels (and of course shading).

      -Jonathan

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      • #4
        image_11878.jpgsmIMG_0656.JPG to answer a few questions;

        Tampa, FL - Southern exposure, minor shade on 4 panels to about 12:30PM
        SolarEdge SE10000H 11.310Kw (39 X 280 Jinko PERCs Mono Blk)
        200Amp Load Center Line Connected
        Installed last June so don't have accurate numbers just what PVwatts/PVOutput tells me but it looks like I'm breaking even
        Using PVOutput my best days so far 65KWh Average 42-43KWh
        I would do the work myself now that the main install is done, I used to build computer rooms and understand what needs to be done.

        Big thing is my last pup flys the nest in about a year and that should knock down my usage some (30min showers 24hr gaming, etc). I have an add-on HeatPump water heater I've been fiddling with and that should save some watts when I figure it out - it was working. I also added a minisplit to our bedroom so we pretty much can turn off the AC at night - Florida houses seem to be all windows and lousy insulation

        I was thinking about adding 3-4 panels in the future but they are not necessary right now - never know if a battery and/or EV are in the future.
        Last edited by frankge; 01-08-2019, 07:03 PM.

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        • #5
          Very nice! I'm surprised you don't get more shade from that tree on your front right (facing the house). I have a tree in a similar location (bit taller, but I have a two story house) and it casts a lot of shade in the morning in the Fall/Winter/early Spring.

          If you can just add on a few panels to your existing inverter this should be fairly easy depending on your existing string lengths. In some jurisdictions this will only require a local inspection. But in others you may have to revise / refile your interconnect agreement with the PoCo.

          My system is only slightly larger (12.2kW -- 37 * 330W w/11.4kW SE) but I routinely produce 60-75 kWH per day for most of May, June, July, August -- (in NJ) when it's not raining. I would have thought that FL would get more sun than we do.

          Not sure if these links will work for you or not.

          pvoutput.org/list.jsp?o=e&d=desc&id=58372&sid=52103&gs=3&nwb=1& v=0

          monitoringpublic.solaredge.com/solaredge-web/p/site/public?name=12kWPanasonicHit#/dashboard

          Of course you probably run your AC and dehumidifiers more than I do.

          -Jonathan

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          • #6
            Originally posted by JSchnee21 View Post
            Very nice! I'm surprised you don't get more shade from that tree on your front right (facing the house). I have a tree in a similar location (bit taller, but I have a two story house) and it casts a lot of shade in the morning in the Fall/Winter/early Spring.

            If you can just add on a few panels to your existing inverter this should be fairly easy depending on your existing string lengths. In some jurisdictions this will only require a local inspection. But in others you may have to revise / refile your interconnect agreement with the PoCo.

            My system is only slightly larger (12.2kW -- 37 * 330W w/11.4kW SE) but I routinely produce 60-75 kWH per day for most of May, June, July, August -- (in NJ) when it's not raining. I would have thought that FL would get more sun than we do.

            Not sure if these links will work for you or not.

            pvoutput.org/list.jsp?o=e&d=desc&id=58372&sid=52103&gs=3&nwb=1& v=0

            monitoringpublic.solaredge.com/solaredge-web/p/site/public?name=12kWPanasonicHit#/dashboard

            Of course you probably run your AC and dehumidifiers more than I do.

            -Jonathan
            Funny thing about Florida weather. While we should get a lot of sun being farther South we also get a lot of clouds due to the moisture from water on 3 sides of the state.

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            • #7
              Thanks, This is year 1 with PV so I would wait anyway and just add a few higher output panels as the tech improves in the future (I hope). I have 13 panels per string so I have no issues there. I'm considered Tier 1 which limits me to 10000Kwh but with the very little clipping I get I think I could add a few and gain on the shoulders. I added a wattnode myself with a wireless ethernet bridge so I get good reporting. We get pretty intense sun but also a lot of passing cloud cover. Like to see what I can get when spring gets here - that's our dry season with little rain. No dehumidifier byt I did upgrade to a 2-stage heat pump with a variable handler which keeps the humidity down.

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