estimating yearly production

[badwithusernames]

Yes, kwh
posting from a phone without glasses, always catches me..

[bcroe]

max of 200kw monthly.

You mean, 200kwHOUR? Bruce Roe

[RichardCullip]

Update:
I went with a max of 200kw monthly. Just received an email from PSEG that my interconnection application has been approved!
thanks for the advice that got me here!

Thanks for the follow-up. I hope you enjoy your new solar.

[badwithusernames]

Update:
I went with a max of 200kw monthly. Just received an email from PSEG that my interconnection application has been approved!
thanks for the advice that got me here!

[J.P.M.]

Whats confused me about this question is that every question on the form is about annual values, but this one seems only makes sense if it's monthly. I'm going to estimate my excess production for a sunny month when the AC isn't being used; I think it could be as high as a 200kw surplus. Or no surplus at all if it's cloudy. Stupid question.

Sounds (reads) like the question about excess production might not be well thought out or framed.

Some (most ?) POCO's - in CA anyway, and some others I've seen, tally net usage over small time increments (mine does it in 15 minute increments). Over any 15 minute period I can have net draw from the POCO regardless of net usage for the day/week/month/year.

If, for example, my PV system generates, say, 30 kWh in a 24 hr. period but my usage (not draw from the POCO, but what my meter would show for usage if I didn't have PV) for that same period is, say 20 kWh with, say, 8 of those 20 kWh of usage occurring when it's dark, my POCO will see me drawing at least 8 kWh for that day while the excess generation for that day was 30-20 = 10 kWh. At the end of the billing period, (~ monthly) I won't see a charge for account activity for that day, but I will have had an 8 kWh draw from the POCO billed at a time variant hourly rate if I was on T.O.U. (but that will be offset at billing by the (hopefully) excess generation over the entire billing period. It's a bit more involved than that for many CA residential PV users because of something called nonbypassible charges (NBC's), but that's the general picture.

Your POCO may also have other purposes - and not all of them nefarious - for asking such questions such as possible help in forecasting possible future peak loads or maybe something to do with possible future demand charges. For example, if you and a bunch of other folks nearby all plan to get EV's and get level 2 charges in your garages, that may put a large and new demand on the grid. That may be a not be a terribly far fetched scenario, at least in CA.

I'd still call them and ask for clarification.

[badwithusernames]

Whats confused me about this question is that every question on the form is about annual values, but this one seems only makes sense if it's monthly. I'm going to estimate my excess production for a sunny month when the AC isn't being used; I think it could be as high as a 200kw surplus. Or no surplus at all if it's cloudy. Stupid question.

[bcroe]

If your POCO wants you to limit you solar output to just cover your past yearly use, you can always build a smaller system to fit into their requirements.

This would not have worked for me. The plan was to generate enough to heat and cool, besides
the far smaller current electrical use. I see our plan as ideal for all, as no money changes hands,
they just credit me summer production for winter consumption. If I finish with a surplus, which cost
me nothing extra, they get to keep it that year for free, saving them generation and also transmission
losses. And I am helping to generally level their peaks. Seasonable variations are 3 or 4 to 1.

Guess I could have gone to electric heat a year earlier to demonstrate a big usage, before building
the PV solar. Not a good plan. Bruce Roe

[Mike90250]

isn't the timeline / banking accumulated over a year ? day to day, month to month will vary, summer you may export a lot, winter, more usage. As long as it evens out roughly over a year. The PoCo knows there can be 20% or more seasonal variation.

[Ampster]

To answer your question, you might produce more during the day but consume it during the night. Also seasonal differences could cause you to export during a sunny month and consume during a cloudy month. I don't think it is a trick question.

[badwithusernames]

update, and another question: I did recalculate my yearly electric usage to include this past June and July, which show my new AC system's usage. And then I read a bit more on shading, recalculated my production estimate using (maybe more accurate) shading numbers and exact panel angles. After all of that my consumption and production numbers are very close. I still completed the PSEG load analysis worksheet, which shows my consumption could be much, much higher, so hopefully this works.
On the form there is a section that I'm not sure how to answer, maybe someone can advise me?
Current consumption: 8212kwh
Estimated gross production: 8200kwh
Do you plan to export power Y/N
If yes, estimated maximum?
So, if they don't want production to exceed consumption, how would I export power? I know this is a question for the power company, but I forgot to call today and this will bug me all weekend. It's literally the last hurdle so I can resubmit the application. In other news, my plans and permit were approved by the township! Progress!
Thanks in advance. SD

[Ampster]

That used to be true. More and more utilities are now requesting panel brand, model, number, tilt, azimuth & shading. They are using this data to model system output over time for grid stability modeling

Yes, I can understand the reason to do that to estimate or verify capacity..Are they going as far as reviewing NEC compliance like Rapid Shut Down or buss bar capacity on sub panels? So far in California they have not.

[PVAndy]

Usually the Power Company is only concerned with the capacity and that anything that interconnects, like the inverter, meets UL standards. The wiring details behind the meter are usually the concern of the building department issuing the building permit, which is a prerequisite to getting the Power Company approval. Rapid Shut down is a recent requirement in NEC and it may be required by your building department. The only exception to the foregoing is in the case of a municipal utility which is part of the city issuing the permits. In that case the Power Company (municipal utility) may have been delegated that task.

That used to be true. More and more utilities are now requesting panel brand, model, number, tilt, azimuth & shading. They are using this data to model system output over time for grid stability modeling

Andy

[badwithusernames]

Well, the second call to PSEG here in south Jersey went much better than the first and I was given some clarification:
Regarding the DC system, they want the array total wattage listed in multiple places. I had it listed on the single line diagram, and filled out in the application, but they wanted it listed everywhere.
And about the production VS consumption. Apparently here PSEG doesn't want you to make more than you use, though that tidbit of info isn't listed anywhere. So; I explained that we have recently added 6 tons of central air and are adding a spa this fall, and basing my usage on last years bills wasn't accurate.Was told that I need to do an updated load calculation for our place with all of the new equipment. That in conjunction with my recent bills (show increased usage compared to last year) should be enough to push the system through.
I will likely increase the loss due to shading in my calculations, as when you pull up the property on google maps, you can see the trees are numerous.

[Ampster]

...........
Still curious was to what they want to see for the DC system. The panels are shown on the drawing, maybe they want the rapid shutdown added? I will have to ask
SD

Usually the Power Company is only concerned with the capacity and that anything that interconnects, like the inverter, meets UL standards. The wiring details behind the meter are usually the concern of the building department issuing the building permit, which is a prerequisite to getting the Power Company approval. Rapid Shut down is a recent requirement in NEC and it may be required by your building department. The only exception to the foregoing is in the case of a municipal utility which is part of the city issuing the permits. In that case the Power Company (municipal utility) may have been delegated that task.

[badwithusernames]

The simple solution is to tell them you are going to buy an EV. There is a guy on this forum who is very reasonable and he has been contemplating buying an EV as long as I have been on this forum.

I'm actually contemplating a spa, which would certainly set the numbers where the utility company would be happy. Thank you all for the input..
I'm not an advocate of fudging anything when it comes to electrical.. that said many of the points raised are hold true. My electrical consumption will probably increase, as will shading.... so at some point the system will not produce as much as I am using. I will call and make some more specific inquiries. The first call didn't get me anywhere, as the woman answering the phone was clearly not happy to answer questions.
About the tax credit. I have weighed several ways of doing this, and with some careful digging I did find deals that were good enough that I was saving even more than the tax credit would have netted me. And, at this point in time, with the way 2020 has gone, we may actually end up with a loss this year so a tax credit wouldn't really be any good. I'm under 4.5k for everything so far, and installing it myself; to have gone with a comparable system new would have been around 10k. As it is I have bought the inverters new, but deeply discounted, so there is something to claim if I wanted.
Still curious was to what they want to see for the DC system. The panels are shown on the drawing, maybe they want the rapid shutdown added? I will have to ask
SD