How many of you were able to activate your sun power panels on your own?

[oregon_phil]

Minor point, but did you realize your pictures are posted upside down?

Ok then, the only thing left for Sunpower to do is to hook your PVS6 to your home network and prove that they can talk to it. The small amount of kWh's on channel 2 is puzzling to me however.

[Lil12002]

Minor point, but did you realize your pictures are posted upside down?

Ok then, the only thing left for Sunpower to do is to hook your PVS6 to your home network and prove that they can talk to it. The small amount of kWh's on channel 2 is puzzling to me however.

When I upload the pictures from my phone it flips them somehow.... now I need to decide if I stay with my power company or go with something called central coast community which pays me 7 cents per KWH as opposed to 2.5 cents from PG&E.... I don’t know if this company has hidden fees....

[oregon_phil]

Others on the forum might be able to help you. I only have one choice where I live.

[oregon_phil]

so after your post I decided to call the power company and they stated i AM producing power and sending it back to the grid daily. Apparently im producing alot daily.

One last thing. When SunPower comes out to complete your setup, make sure you ask SunPower to explain everything to you such that you understand all of your system components and how they work.

Also, have them explain to you how to access your SunPower account.

Sidebar: If you access your Sunpower PVS6 through a local IP address (i.e. 192.168.1.xx), realize that this address might change when you reboot your router. You could lock down your PVS6 IP address by using DHCP reserve through your router. Static IP would work but is not as easy to manage as DHCP reserve.

Good luck!

[Lil12002]

One last thing. When SunPower comes out to complete your setup, make sure you ask SunPower to explain everything to you such that you understand all of your system components and how they work.

Also, have them explain to you how to access your SunPower account.

Sidebar: If you access your Sunpower PVS6 through a local IP address (i.e. 192.168.1.xx), realize that this address might change when you reboot your router. You could lock down your PVS6 IP address by using DHCP reserve through your router. Static IP would work but is not as easy to manage as DHCP reserve.

Good luck!

yea i think i'll wait for the tech to come out and do all the sun power account the router and modem stuff confuses me, im not really a tech person. Thanks a bunch for the help tho.

[Lil12002]

One last thing. When SunPower comes out to complete your setup, make sure you ask SunPower to explain everything to you such that you understand all of your system components and how they work.

Also, have them explain to you how to access your SunPower account.

Sidebar: If you access your Sunpower PVS6 through a local IP address (i.e. 192.168.1.xx), realize that this address might change when you reboot your router. You could lock down your PVS6 IP address by using DHCP reserve through your router. Static IP would work but is not as easy to manage as DHCP reserve.

Good luck!

We bought a 5 KWH system from our builder. thats the second to last highest model, and its a 2000 sq ft home and its just me and my wife so we will be producing extra power daily... i WAS considering a power ball so i didnt get any power from the grid but we are producing so much power it will be pointless except for power outages which dont tend to last long around here...

[Ampster]

.... now I need to decide if I stay with my power company or go with something called central coast community which pays me 7 cents per KWH as opposed to 2.5 cents from PG&E.... I don’t know if this company has hidden fees....

I answered that question on your other thread. No decision needed, you are automatically opted in and can opt out any time. Give it a year and see what you get after True Up.

PGE will continue to do the billing and you will see separate charges for distribution (PGE) and generation (3CE). Don't be confused by the term "generation" on your bill. It refers to the energy supplied by 3CE. You solar generation will show up Net as negative numbers in kWhrs on both the distribution and generation sections of your bills.
There are no hidden fees, but there is a charge known as PCIA (Power Charge Indifference Adjustment) which PGE charges on their portion of the bill. Even after that charge your cost and your benefits from solar should be better if you stay with 3CE. I have been with Sonoma Clean Energy for over 3 years and have no regrets.
PGE and the other utilities in California lobbied against the CCA legislation and my anti monopoly mindset led me to conclude tha CCAs must be good if monopolies are opposed.

As I mentioned in the other thread there are other benefits to staying in a CCA. I can elaborate in that thread. Glad your system is working. Hope you get to see system results soon.

[Lil12002]

One last thing. When SunPower comes out to complete your setup, make sure you ask SunPower to explain everything to you such that you understand all of your system components and how they work.

Also, have them explain to you how to access your SunPower account.

Sidebar: If you access your Sunpower PVS6 through a local IP address (i.e. 192.168.1.xx), realize that this address might change when you reboot your router. You could lock down your PVS6 IP address by using DHCP reserve through your router. Static IP would work but is not as easy to manage as DHCP reserve.

Good luck!

Another side question, i produced 435 KWH in the month or February, initially i was thinking of getting a Tesla powerBall. Would it be worth it for me with the amount of power i produce?

[oregon_phil]

If it is "worth" getting a battery? This question is probably worthy of starting a new thread. You will get tons of comments.

In my case the answer is NO because I wanted a backup system that could take me through wildfires and long power outages.

And Tesla recently announced they will only sell PowerWalls with their solar. ie.not as a separate line item that you could buy.

[Lil12002]

If it is "worth" getting a battery? This question is probably worthy of starting a new thread. You will get tons of comments.

In my case the answer is NO because I wanted a backup system that could take me through wildfires and long power outages.

And Tesla recently announced they will only sell PowerWalls with their solar. ie.not as a separate line item that you could buy.

So whats your setup like?

[oregon_phil]

I have a GT 10.2kw DC system on an unoccupied outbuilding with an SMA 7.7 string inverter using TIGO TS4-R-O optimizers. You can search my user name to see why I chose a backup generator for my application in a dedicated thread on wildfire backup power.

Another side question, i produced 435 KWH in the month or February, initially i was thinking of getting a Tesla powerBall. Would it be worth it for me with the amount of power i produce?

I understand the enthusiasm for solar. I would suggest reading up a lot on solar power, batteries, your rate structure, etc. You might be making 435kwh solar power in February, but what how much power did you buy from your power company? What did it cost you? Can you explain everything on your power bill? what are your power usage habits? what will they be in the future? If you are putting that much power back on the grid, how come channel 2 on your power meter only says -1.3 kWh? How does the Sunpower reporting app compare to your power bills?

In summary, what problem are you trying to solve? A powerwall (battery) may or may not be a cost effective solution.

My problem definition: What is the best solution for electric backup during wildfire season (no sun) and seasonal storms ("once in a decade" ice storm)?

[Lil12002]

So the sun power guy came a few days ago while i was at work but my wife was able to let him in. Here is the screenshot of the app.

[oregon_phil]

Thanks for following up with your status.

[Lil12002]

Thanks for following up with your status.

now i gotta find a way to clean them, they are only producing a max of 4.5 KW at mid day and they are rated for 5.25, there has been some construction by our home for the last few months so i think they are dirty now, i wonder if its worth cleaning them to get that extra .75 kw

[J.P.M.]

now i gotta find a way to clean them, they are only producing a max of 4.5 KW at mid day and they are rated for 5.25, there has been some construction by our home for the last few months so i think they are dirty now, i wonder if its worth cleaning them to get that extra .75 kw

You do know that under normal operating conditions a system will rarely if ever produce it's STC rating for more than a couple of minutes. Under clear skies this time of year a shade free system will likely produce ~ 80 - 90% of STC rating or so, right ?

4.5/5.25 = 0.86 or so. Sounds about right to me. Cleaning, while always a good idea, will probably get you a few % more unless they're super fouled up.