Solar Panels

[greenleaf]

I am the OP of this thread. My 3.22 kW (DC) system, comprising of 14 x 230W Canadian Solar Panels is finally completed after a wait of three months.

The system was installed by groSolar. What I like about the crew was that they were willing to have the raceway (conduit) routed through the attic and directly into the garage (at my request). This avoids having any unsightly conduits on the exterior side of the house.

I can see that this is more work for them since having the wires run straight to the edge of the roof and then straight down was the easiest.

Now I need to wait for the city's inspection and PG&E's permission to have the system turned on.

 

[DaveEV]

Congrats greenleaf - how 'bout some pics of your install!

 

[cinmar]

I am the OP of this thread. My 3.22 kW (DC) system, comprising of 14 x 230W Canadian Solar Panels is finally completed after a wait of three months.

The system was installed by groSolar. What I like about the crew was that they were willing to have the raceway (conduit) routed through the attic and directly into the garage (at my request). This avoids having any unsightly conduits on the exterior side of the house.

I can see that this is more work for them since having the wires run straight to the edge of the roof and then straight down was the easiest.

Now I need to wait for the city's inspection and PG&E's permission to have the system turned on.

Congrats greenleaf! Our system was installed 2 weeks ago, and we got stuck with the ugly conduit running along the outside of our garage. I think the installers were lazy. The sales guy told me everything would be hidden in the garage from the point the trench reached the edge of the garage, but the installers were a bunch of pretty young guys who probably don't own their own homes and could care less about aesthetics. I left my dad to supervise them, and they told him that had to put the conduit on the outside, so he said okay.

So far, we've generated 202 kWh in two weeks, and that's with the last week being rainy and cloudy.

 

[mwalsh]

I'm the flip side of the coin....I wanted mine on the outside, and my guys are doing a pretty nice job of tucking everything right under the eaves. I may paint the conduit to match the stucco...I may leave it as is....haven't decided yet:

 

[greenleaf]

Here's some pics of the system. It was a little cloudy when I took the picture of the inverter display.

 

[greenleaf]

I'm the flip side of the coin....I wanted mine on the outside, and my guys are doing a pretty nice job of tucking everything right under the eaves. I may paint the conduit to match the stucco...I may leave it as is....haven't decided yet:

Mwalsh, looks like we have painted our houses the same color!

Your inverter looks double my size. What is the wattage of your system?

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

Nice clean install! Excellent.

I'm curious -- why put the inverter outside?

 

[greenleaf]

Nice clean install! Excellent.

I'm curious -- why put the inverter outside?

The inverter is on the shaded side of the house. It is much cooler than inside the garage in summer.

 

[mwalsh]

The inverter is on the shaded side of the house. It is much cooler than inside the garage in summer.

Same with me...temps in the garage get pretty brutal in summer...so outside on the shaded wall.

System is 6.2kw DC. Inverter is a SMA5000, good for 6.25kw DC peak. I tried to get them to give me a free upgrade to the SMA6000 unit - I didn't want a situation where the inverter was hitting peak input too much. But since they were already giving me an upgrade to the 230w panels from the 215s they balked. I suppose I could have ponied up for the upgrade myself, but they assure me that the SMA5000 will be fine and I'm inclined to agree that will probably be true most of the time.

BTW, here is a link to my install pics. If you want to follow along:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=704969843#!/album.php?aid=248474&id=704969843

 

[greenleaf]

The inverter is on the shaded side of the house. It is much cooler than inside the garage in summer.

Same with me...temps in the garage get pretty brutal in summer...so outside on the shaded wall.

System is 6.2kw DC. Inverter is a SMA5000, good for 6.25kw DC peak. I tried to get them to give me a free upgrade to the SMA6000 unit - I didn't want a situation where the inverter was hitting peak input too much. But since they were already giving me an upgrade to the 230w panels from the 215s they balked. I suppose I could have ponied up for the upgrade myself, but they assure me that the SMA5000 will be fine and I'm inclined to agree that will probably be true most of the time.

BTW, here is a link to my install pics. If you want to follow along:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=704969843#!/album.php?aid=248474&id=704969843

That's interesting.

My system is only 3.22kW DC. Technically the SMA3000 would be sufficient but they gave me the SMA4000 without me asking. I guess maybe they only stock the SMA4000.

But that's actually good for me since when I look at the efficiency curve in the specs, efficiency actually drops as it approaches capacity. Efficiency is highest at around 1/4 to 1/2 of rated capacity.

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

But that's actually good for me since when I look at the efficiency curve in the specs, efficiency actually drops as it approaches capacity. Efficiency is highest at around 1/4 to 1/2 of rated capacity.

Mmm, what? Inverter efficiency should be flat up through 100% capacity:

 

[greenleaf]

See page 2

http://download.sma.de/smaprosa/dateien/4776/SUNNYBOY34-DUS102720W.pdf

 

[DaveEV]

Lots of inverter efficiency test results here:
http://gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/equipment/inverter_tests/summaries/

Those independant results match up with the chart from SMA that greenleaf posted.

 

[cinmar]

I'm annoyed with PG&E. :x Have any of my California peeps had issues with having their smart meters swapped out in a timely manner after their PV install? My panels have generated 427 kWh since their start up date of October 28th, but PG&E is taking their sweet time in swapping out my smart meter with an old meter that actually runs backwards. (As mentioned previously, the smart meters are not able to run backwards for PV systems as of yet.) So, I'm basically giving PG&E free power, and not getting credit for it. My solar installer says PG&E has 6 weeks from the date they submitted the paperwork (Nov. 1st) to swap out the meters. I think it's really unfair that PG&E gets to steal my PV generated power for 1 1/2 months!! :evil:

 

[mwalsh]

I'm annoyed with PG&E. :x Have any of my California peeps had issues with having their smart meters swapped out in a timely manner after their PV install? My panels have generated 427 kWh since their start up date of October 28th, but PG&E is taking their sweet time in swapping out my smart meter with an old meter that actually runs backwards. (As mentioned previously, the smart meters are not able to run backwards for PV systems as of yet.) So, I'm basically giving PG&E free power, and not getting credit for it. My solar installer says PG&E has 6 weeks from the date they submitted the paperwork (Nov. 1st) to swap out the meters. I think it's really unfair that PG&E gets to steal my PV generated power for 1 1/2 months!! :evil:

LOL! You think you got problems...the electrician dropped my old meter, rendering it inoperable. Now SCE won't give me a Net Metering meter because the final inspection isn't done on my system and won't give me a standard meter because there is a PV system in. So now we have NO meter and temporary power. On the plus side, we're not paying for any electricity. On the minus side the whole house is running on only 60 amps at the panel and I have a PV system that is ready to go but that I can't use. :?

 

[cinmar]

LOL! You think you got problems...the electrician dropped my old meter, rendering it inoperable.

Oh man, that sucks!

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

Could be worse.. someone here with a PV had SDG&E accidentally replace their net-capable meter with a "smart meter" that only ran forward.

As in, all their generated sunshine electricity was COSTING them extra by being billed as forward/consumed energy. They turned their PV off in a hurry.

 

[DeaneG]

I'm annoyed with PG&E. :x Have any of my California peeps had issues with having their smart meters swapped out in a timely manner after their PV install? My panels have generated 427 kWh since their start up date of October 28th, but PG&E is taking their sweet time in swapping out my smart meter with an old meter that actually runs backwards.

I am in the same situation with PG&E (Cupertino), still waiting for a net meter 7 weeks after PV system installation.

 

[mwalsh]

I guess I should just be happy that I don't have PG&E, huh? :lol:

 

[DeaneG]

I guess I should just be happy that I don't have PG&E, huh? :lol:

I just called them again... after 7 weeks, they had no record of either of my two applications for an E9 (electric vehicle) rate which includes net metering for solar. Hope the third time is the charm.