Solar Panels

[mwalsh]

Stop me if I'm boring you.

Sun has quit trying and a big black cloud is currently overhead. - production has dropped to ~250w.

However, I did manage to catch the point where the PV battles the grid for supremacy and the meter stands still. In our house, when empty (ie: no lights, no TV, fridge compressor not running, etc...), that's right around 400w. Update: 675w with the TV and cable box on.

 

[greenleaf]

What is your strategy for days like today - do you turn your inverter on-and-off with prevaling weather or leave it turned on irrespective of?

I was, of course, excited about turning my system on for the first time, and waited for today because yesterday they said it was going to be partly cloudy following that small weather system. So I did, even though it's rainy and overcast, and the inverter managed to get up to operational voltage, but it's making a massive 50w right now and I'm wondering why I even bothered. :?

Wait a minute, are you saying you are switching on/off the inverter on a per-day basis? I would think everyone is leaving the system in the "ON" position all the time.

 

[mwalsh]

Wait a minute, are you saying you are switching on/off the inverter on a per-day basis? I would think everyone is leaving the system in the "ON" position all the time.

No, today was the first time I was allowed to turn it on. I was just wondering earlier about turning the inverter off and leaving it that way in times of very inclement weather. But I see the folly of that idea now electricites are freely flowing!

Update: Ooh, with a tiny bit of hazy sun I'm up to over 4000w!

 

[greenleaf]

By the way, the inverter (well tied-in inverter to be more correct) is supposedly designed to NOT output any power if the grid is offline or when there is an outage. It also has circuitry to detect "islanding" condition and shut down the power output.

This is to protect any utility workers trying to fix the grid. So, there is no need to switch off the inverter / breakers if there is an outage.

 

[mwalsh]

This is to protect any utility workers trying to fix the grid. So, there is no need to switch off the inverter / breakers if there is an outage.

Good to know! Thanks.

 

[greenleaf]

BTW, you can keep up with how my system is doing here:

http://www.sunnyportal.com/Templates/PublicPageOverview.aspx?plant=0f19afd5-0303-427c-9ef4-934a64228dde&splang=en-US

Your monitoring website does not appear to show any data?

 

[mwalsh]

Your monitoring website does not appear to show any data?

Yeah, I don't know what's up with that. But I'm not sure I'll have time to sort it today. I'll try though.

 

[greenleaf]

Your monitoring website does not appear to show any data?

Yeah, I don't know what's up with that. But I'm not sure I'll have time to sort it today. I'll try though.

Probably the port forwarding settings in your router are not set correctly.

 

[mwalsh]

Probably the port forwarding settings in your router are not set correctly.

Nah, it's the web interface provided on SunnyPortal...it's not very good. But I've found a few things to turn on and you should see a couple of new tabs - Plant Overview and Energy and Power. So that's a start, but it's still not where I want it to be.

 

[Gonewild]

My bill last month was $1.49 and this month it is TEN TIMES that. Still only $14.33 this month.

81% powered by Solar

 

[DaveEV]

However, I did manage to catch the point where the PV battles the grid for supremacy and the meter stands still. In our house, when empty (ie: no lights, no TV, fridge compressor not running, etc...), that's right around 400w.

So 400w of vampire loads - over 30 days that is 29 kWh - or enough to drive 100 miles in your LEAF (when you get it). Working to reduce that number will be useful.

The only time it'd be really advantageous to turn off/disconnect the inverter is when it's dark out - before or after sunset. The inverter does have a small vampire load itself when the sun isn't shining, but typically it's small enough that you don't worry about it.

For example - I think you have a SMA 5000, right? It's been measured to draw less than 1W when the sun isn't shining. That's only 0.26 kWh/month.

http://gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/equipment/inverter_tests/summaries/SMA-SB5000US-240.pdf

 

[garygid]

I disconected my SMA inverter from the Grid during work
to protect IT FROM the "workmen", especially for when
they turn the Grid Power back on.

Sometimes transients will blow out still-connected electronics,
and the SMA Inverter is too expensive to risk, if I can protect it.

 

[mwalsh]

Sometimes transients will blow out still-connected electronics,
and the SMA Inverter is too expensive to risk, if I can protect it.

On the other hand....if I can get it blowed up while still under warranty, maybe I can get them to replace it with the 6000 I really wanted! :lol:

 

[mwalsh]

Just to close this out for now....made 14.18kWh today. Not bad considering the morning was pretty crummy, and right in line with the 16kWh I estimated I'd make on an average sunny winter's day.

 

[cinmar]

Jealous! I only got up to 8.85 kWh today, but it's been rather cloudy on the verge of rain.

 

[Boomer23]

Just to close this out for now....made 14.18kWh today. Not bad considering the morning was pretty crummy, and right in line with the 16kWh I estimated I'd make on an average sunny winter's day.

mwalsh, just got online and read about your excitement about your first full day of production.

Lots of fun, isn't it?

I leave my system on all the time unless work is being done on my power panel, to protect the electrician.

Since we're geographically close, I'll share my output with you any time you want. My system made 13 kWh today.

My system doesn't have an online site yet, but I plan to tie Google PowerMeter into my TED system, and then I can see my numbers online and hopefully share them in real time. The TED is agreeing pretty closely to my inverter display for solar production. I still have some work to do on TED to get my total household usage to agree with SC Edison.

 

[LEAFfan]

Jealous! I only got up to 8.85 kWh today, but it's been rather cloudy on the verge of rain.

But cinmar, Michael's is larger than yours, so you're not going to be able to generate as many kwh as his, unless you are in sunny AZ! :mrgreen: Ours is supposed to generate a daily average of 24Kwh. I'll only need about half that for my LEAF.

 

[occ]

Hey guys, I just found this thread.

I got a 4kw system (but only half of the panels is facing south, the other half is facing north - not enough room on the south roof - so my system is not 100% "optimized"). Today I generated 10.38kwh.

Check out my output:

http://solarweb.fronius.com
username: public
password: public

Then click "PV Systems" tab, then "Tustin0 (QT)".

My archive data is not complete due to software/website/computer issues for the last 3 yrs.

 

[Boomer23]

Hey guys, I just found this thread.

I got a 4kw system (but only half of the panels is facing south, the other half is facing north - not enough room on the south roof - so my system is not 100% "optimized"). Today I generated 10.38kwh.

Check out my output:

http://solarweb.fronius.com
username: public
password: public

Then click "PV Systems" tab, then "Tustin0 (QT)".

My archive data is not complete due to software/website/computer issues for the last 3 yrs.

Hi occ. Actually, that's pretty darn good output for a system with half the panels facing north. Based on my system's output of 13 kWh today, that's right on target for the relative sizes of our systems, but all of my panels are facing south, or actually SSW.

Are you sure that they are north facing and not west? I know, stupid question. You know your own roof layout.

 

[turbo2ltr]

Got a quote for a couple different configurations. It makes financial sense, but the $20k out of pocket cost (before tax credit) is hard to swallow. Bank wont let me roll it into a refinance..