DIY Self-Install in San Diego - 7.84 kW for < $1.30 / W

[cebury]

QUOTE=cebury;n352978]My inverter is reporting 151 right now. https://pvoutput.org/intraday.jsp?id...08&dt=20170620[/QUOTE]

I'm not saying this is an acceptable range, but it was 111 outside at the time. Garage placement like yours, we'll ventilated but certainly hot.

Charlie are you on an older grandfathered plan? What imported power is required for non-bypassable may be different? I'm sure JPM might have caught it by now.

[CharlieEscCA]

Here's my chart from yesterday: https://pvoutput.org/intraday.jsp?id...34&dt=20170620

Note, temperature data is blank.

On a second note, TOU is proving to be quite useful to me. Until this week, I've been running a pretty good credit every day as peak has been negative usage and semi peak either negative or slightly positive and off peak positive during weekdays and negative weekends. Yesterday was the first day I actually drew upon my credit balance (though I still had a small negative peak usage, but not enough to overcome the positive off peak and semi peak costs). I'm pretty sure that I have enough production to cover having my thermostat set to 78 degrees during these hot periods (in the past we would only set AC to 81 on the hottest days with the house sometimes getting to 83 / 84 degrees before turning on the A/C). Note that except after several high 90+ days in a row, I get enough cooling in the house overnight by opening all windows and skylight once temp drops outside such that the house can be anywhere from 62 degrees to 70 degrees by 6 am. Then we close up the windows, and the house temp will then slowly rise through the day (significant shade on the roof from trees, hence ground mount).

Right now two months after PTO I have a $350 credit to use up in the hot months (June to Oct); and when it's not a hot spell it looks like I'm in an add to the credit, vs using credit did not happen until yesterday (i.e. after a number of warm days where the house did not cool off as much overnight). Overall, I think I might have overestimated what I needed to produce for full "more A/C use" -- but primarily because I don't think I fully understood the benefit of an 11 am to 6 pm peak time credit (i.e. why I switched to TOU so I can keep this favorable time period for five years).

[sensij]

Here's my chart from yesterday: https://pvoutput.org/intraday.jsp?id...mp;dt=20170620

Note, temperature data is blank.

In the auto-upload settings, you need to enable it.

settings.JPG

[sensij]

On a second note, TOU is proving to be quite useful to me.

Yes, existing TOU hours are fantastic for people who aren't home with A/C all day. Have you played around with setting the "tariff" in PVOutput? It will calculate the daily credit/debit for you.

[CharlieEscCA]

Charlie are you on an older grandfathered plan? What imported power is required for non-bypassable may be different? I'm sure JPM might have caught it by now.

No, I'm on NEM 2.0

In terms of my imported energy, I was using the SDGE "My Energy" data, and then summing everyday with Peak, Semi-Peak, and Off-Peak positive values -- i.e. this would be net energy for the day from the grid -- which I believe even when it's cost is offset by credits I have, I thought these positive (from the grid) values would incur non bypassable charges.

[CharlieEscCA]

In the auto-upload settings, you need to enable it.

settings.JPG

Ok, I changed it. Hopefully I have it right

I turned off Energy and turned on temperature and voltage.

What I'm not sure is I have a consumption meter (the WattNode) and left this as "energy" enabled.

[CharlieEscCA]

Yes, existing TOU hours are fantastic for people who aren't home with A/C all day. Have you played around with setting the "tariff" in PVOutput? It will calculate the daily credit/debit for you.

I'll have to go back and play with the tariff settings. My own spreadsheet using the data from the SDGE "My Energy Use" charts computed the exact $ amount of the monthly credit -- which it should!

But, when I look at my consumption jump about 6.5KW when the A/C has been on, I'm thankful that I can run it a lot more than I have in prior years and have a much happier wife -- which is a very high ROI on the solar investment in and of itself.

[sensij]

Ok, I changed it. Hopefully I have it right

I turned off Energy and turned on temperature and voltage.

What I'm not sure is I have a consumption meter (the WattNode) and left this as "energy" enabled.

Looks like you got it right, I'm seeing the data on your system now (146.3 deg peak inverter temp today). My inverter hit 144 deg today, too.

I wonder if Wattnode is why you are limited to 10-15 minute data? Or are you using the low bandwidth cellular card?

By setting the PVOutput status interval to 5 min, you are oversampling the data source, which is why you get all those steps in the chart and repeating values in the table.

[CharlieEscCA]

It looks like it now picked up the last 24 hours of temp and voltage. Temp peaked yesterday at 145.6.

Thanks for the "how" to enable it details.

[J.P.M.]

QUOTE=cebury;n352978]Charlie are you on an older grandfathered plan? What imported power is required for non-bypassable may be different? I'm sure JPM might have caught it by now.

It's a bit complicated, but if I'm correct in my understanding of how it works: For customers under NEM 2.0, the NBC's (non bypassable charges) which currently amount to $0.0174/kWh are charged for all kWh delivered by the POCO (note, not net kWh delivered) during each metered time interval (15 minutes) regardless of the monthly netting of the energy exported to the grid by the customer. In effect, that amounts to a reduction in the NEM rate by $0.0174/kWh. for a lot, or maybe all of the power produced by a residential array.

For the 900 or so hours/yr. peak that rates apply for DR-SES tariff = $0.50629/kWh - ouch ! (out of 8,760 hrs./yr.), with the other 7,860 hrs./yr. getting billed at something like ~ $0.23 - $0.25/kWh, if usage can be lowered to ~ 5,500 - 6,000 kWh/yr., it might make sense to stay on tiered rates as long as possible, especially if an all electric tariff is applicable. Or, if all/most use can be avoided for those 900 hrs. per year - after all, it is only and approx. 10% of the hours in a year, the remaining ~ 90 % of the year is close(r) to the tier one tiered rate ( ~ $0.20/kWh) take T.O.U.. But at that low usage, a PV system might be difficult to bring in at a cost effective price.

All this may be moot however, if/when T.O.U. peak times shift from the current late morning/late afternoon to the 4 P.M. to 9 P.M. time slot as proposed. Doing so will pretty much knock the crap out of NEM buyback rates and put another nail in the NEM coffin with respect to the sweet spot (~ $0.49/kWh net) buyback rate for T.O.U. NEM.

FWIW, I'm probably stayin' on tiered rates, with 16+ years to go on NEM 1, unless/until the rules change, which is probably a distinct possibility, and continuing to look for ways to reduce usage.

[sensij]

It's a bit complicated, but if I'm correct in my understanding of how it works: For customers under NEM 2.0, the NBC's (non bypassable charges) which currently amount to $0.0174/kWh are charged for all kWh delivered by the POCO (note, not net kWh delivered) during each metered time interval (15 minutes) regardless of the monthly netting of the energy exported to the grid by the customer. In effect, that amounts to a reduction in the NEM rate by $0.0174/kWh. for a lot, or maybe all of the power produced by a residential array.

This is how I understand it as well. I don't know how to explain CharlieEscCA 's observation that only 6 kWh were charged NBC despite several hundred kWh feed from the grid.

You can look forward to a detailed bill posting a month from now, since I don't think an Sdg&e forum member on nem-st has done that yet.

[CharlieEscCA]

This is how I understand it as well. I don't know how to explain CharlieEscCA 's observation that only 6 kWh were charged NBC despite several hundred kWh feed from the grid.

You can look forward to a detailed bill posting a month from now, since I don't think an Sdg&e forum member on nem-st has done that yet.

Here's the June bill. I guarantee there was energy fed from the grid.

June Bill.PNG

[sensij]

weird! I've having trouble with the numbers, though... looking at your PVoutput data suggests your net for the period should have been around -630 to -645 kWh. Are you not using an Eagle to upload the "net" data?

Have you been able to figure out where the 6 kWh came from, by downloading your interval data from their website?

[CharlieEscCA]

weird! I've having trouble with the numbers, though... looking at your PVoutput data suggests your net for the period should have been around -630 to -645 kWh. Are you not using an Eagle to upload the "net" data?

Have you been able to figure out where the 6 kWh came from, by downloading your interval data from their website?

The reason my net is less than one sees at PVoutput is primarily because the wattNode consumption meter is at the subpanel in my house where the SolarEdge breakers terminate. However this is fed from the main panel mounted at my detached garage, and this panel has several circuits that are not captured by the wattNode (including a freezer in the garage). Additionally, the wattNode I purchased on eBay for $27 (new, a steel of a deal) uses (per wattNode) CT's that are only about 97% accurate. And finally, everything I've read on SolarEdge states that it's reported production numbers might be a little on the high side.

And the numbers uploaded to PVoutput is production from SolarEdge and consumption from wattNode hooked into the SolarEdge (via an RS485 cable).

The first few weeks, I was tracking the reading at the meter and reported at the SolarEdge monitoring page daily, and then figuring out the daily discrepancy (a couple of kWh per day). Lately, I've just been tracking the SDG&E "my energy" and comparing with the SolarEdge numbers.

I have no clue where the 6 kWh came from. It certainly does not equal all the power pulled from the grid. It doesn't equal the +peak and +semi-peak and +off-peak numbers summed (that's what I was expecting based on what I read at the SDG&E FAQ webpage. The closest I got was the sum of days where the entire day way a +draw from the grid (though this was closest to 6 kWh.

I will say the credits from peak TOU (which I accumulated like crazy until this week) would have likely allowed me to downsize my installation, but it was terrific just having the thermostat set at 78 degrees this week -- before solar, last year, we would have likely only went A/C on at about 83 degrees in the house (we open all windows and the house gets into the 60's by morning). I also now now that my A/C is about 6 to 7 kWh per hour, which depending on how many hours the A/C is run, this can be 70 kWh per hot day or more -- i.e. I plan to use up as much of the credit I accumulate as I can while staying to the $0 bill (ignoring the $10 / month fee).

[J.P.M.]

The reason my net is less than one sees at PVoutput is primarily because the wattNode consumption meter is at the subpanel in my house where the SolarEdge breakers terminate. However this is fed from the main panel mounted at my detached garage, and this panel has several circuits that are not captured by the wattNode (including a freezer in the garage). Additionally, the wattNode I purchased on eBay for $27 (new, a steel of a deal) uses (per wattNode) CT's that are only about 97% accurate. And finally, everything I've read on SolarEdge states that it's reported production numbers might be a little on the high side.

And the numbers uploaded to PVoutput is production from SolarEdge and consumption from wattNode hooked into the SolarEdge (via an RS485 cable).

The first few weeks, I was tracking the reading at the meter and reported at the SolarEdge monitoring page daily, and then figuring out the daily discrepancy (a couple of kWh per day). Lately, I've just been tracking the SDG&E "my energy" and comparing with the SolarEdge numbers.

I have no clue where the 6 kWh came from. It certainly does not equal all the power pulled from the grid. It doesn't equal the +peak and +semi-peak and +off-peak numbers summed (that's what I was expecting based on what I read at the SDG&E FAQ webpage. The closest I got was the sum of days where the entire day way a +draw from the grid (though this was closest to 6 kWh.

I will say the credits from peak TOU (which I accumulated like crazy until this week) would have likely allowed me to downsize my installation, but it was terrific just having the thermostat set at 78 degrees this week -- before solar, last year, we would have likely only went A/C on at about 83 degrees in the house (we open all windows and the house gets into the 60's by morning). I also now now that my A/C is about 6 to 7 kWh per hour, which depending on how many hours the A/C is run, this can be 70 kWh per hot day or more -- i.e. I plan to use up as much of the credit I accumulate as I can while staying to the $0 bill (ignoring the $10 / month fee).

Charlie: FWIW, I can't figure it out either, except maybe some holdover from prior billing period. Anything to be gleaned from the rest of the bill ?
I've had pretty good luck calling SDG & E once I get someone knowledgeable on the other end. Haven't done it in a couple of years though.