Most reacted posts

I think you can look at this a different way. Let's say you want to plan a 5 year payback. Multiply you annual cost and get the most value you can for that price (so 5*17.5k ~ $85k). You should be able to put a 100kw system together for that price and eliminate your bills. You should be able...

Every large roof looks like a lost opportunity to me now. I mean, why aren't they taking advantage of free energy? It's worse when I see large commercial buildings. Like WTH are they doing wasting all that great space.... I have to bite my tongue now when I'm in the car with my wife. I...

And suddenly, I want to be completely off grid even though that is not necessary (have net metering for 20 years). Cause, why should the utility get any money....

I ran the numbers at PVwatts using Spain as location, the difference in annual solar at 30° tilt, with 180° azimuth, and 10° tilt, with 224° azimuth is 6.6% (134° is the same by the way). So you lose 6.6% in power generation per panel, but you gain 100% more panels by optimizing roof space...

You need to add: 1) More sources. I know of at least 2 different sources with lower prices for the same products. And that's retail. Some of your products like Bluesun, should have the direct from manufacturer price, as that is how they sell it, as opposed to a reseller pricing. 2) Need to...

1) Get the electric line diagrams done online. Cheap, quick, and permittable. It should not cost more than $150. 2) Get the growatt 10k inverter (as others have said). Cheap and works great. 2 strings of 10 panels each. This inverter will accept up to 4 strings. I currently have 2 strings...

Based on my purchases there, not sure I'd call Greentech a low cost store, but never mind that. The flashfoot2 are about $15 each, you need 2-3 per panel, more in high wind zones (I had 16 for 6 large panels). Rails are about $4-5/foot ($51 for 11 feet, or $29 for 7ft), so for a single 42"...

I would oversize your inverter so you can add more panels later, or stronger ones, should you want to. I have a growatt 10kw and a 6kw inverter myself. The price difference is negligible (750 vs 1300) and affords a lot of future flexibility. Obviously you have to account for higher amps...

Normally when you buy a "kit" you get it all from one place. However, to optimize prices, you have to get components from 2-3 different places. That's what I meant. Panels are but one part of the cost, and maybe not even the largest cost now with new panels going for 32c/watt or less (I was...

So, that is better, but really you should have it sort by clicking the top columns, toggling between ascending or descending. Also, you should show the cost/watt in a column. Should be an easy fix. The kit pricing should really not be by store, but should be aggregated between stores, like...

The optimizers are like $45 each for panels up to 700w. They produce an extra 10-25% of power per day (real world results) vs a string inverter only. Actually, since you are in San mateo, you can still take advantage of net metering and opt out of the batteries. Double check with peninsula...

Yes I meant $1.63/watt. Grid tied, NEM 2.0 as I sent in PGE application prior to April 13 of last year. I have to switch over to electric for heat and water, but then the payback should be about 5-6 years. That's okay, not great. As I said, should have been cheaper and quicker. Inspection...

1 10 kw, 1 6kw, both from growatt. The 6kw was simple. For some reason the 10kw kept showing an arc error. After consulting with growatt, they do call back after a day or two, I was able to turn off the arc fault alert in the shine app and that made everything work. Apparently, that alert is...

I think someone mentioned it already, but the IQ8H microinverters have a peak output of 384w, not 550w. You'll be clipping your 595w panels for probably 4-5 months a year. A cheaper, better system would use optimizers with a string inverter. I assume you didn't catch NEM 2.0, so you will...

So, I followed the following advice and got it to work: (synchonization page, grid settings) Changed reconnection time to 5 sec, left connection time at 301 sec Increased voltage to 264.0 Increased frequency to 64.00 (frequency watt page, grid settings) Changed FreqHighDerate to 60.50hz...

Okay, go to PVwatts and punch in your numbers, you will be astounded how much 60kw makes. If you have a 30kw system, and install it flat or 10° East/West, you will get about 38000kwh a year. That's more than you need, by far. This assumes you have some sort of net metering. If you don't, you...

You can buy 530+ watt new panels for around $.50/watt, which reduces your microinverter/optimizer and racking costs, so unless you have unlimited roof space, why bother with the less dense panels at not much lower cost.

You do not need a south facing land. You just shouldn’t angle your panels north. Test it out on pvwatts, you will find that putting panels flat or slightly tilted only results in a 10-15% loss in production. If we had your latitude it would be easy to do. And unless you are only mounting in a...

Sure. I mean, if you want to pay extra for panels, racking, inverters or wiring, go ahead. Panels are only 20% of the cost, so if you aren't working on the other parts. then you are leaving a lot of money on the table. Local electrical supply houses are good for the last minute fixes, not for...

Yes it is. Both inverters are on grid and producing. Only problem is the clouds...

Unless you are going the microinverter route, which is more expensive and will likely reduce the max production from panels to 290-365w (the max output of the inverters), you might consider getting larger panels and having fewer optimizers, racking, and connections. EG, a 550 watt panel with...

you spend 500-600Eur/yr on electricity, why bother? If you must have solar, you do NOT need a 6kw system when using only 3000w/yr. Get a small growatt inverter, 6kw is more than you need. Normally I'd say get the 3kw version, but 6kw allows for future expansion and is about 700 Eur...

My system produced 48.84 kwh yesterday with 6.44kwh reclaimed and 42.39kwh as a base. That's about 15% extra from Tigo optimizers. The previous day was 13.1%, the day prior 21.4%. I've seen it as low as about 9-10% on rainy days, but most sunny days its 15-20%.

What is an appropriate PPA cost for a commercial installation I'm trying to determine the appropriate PPA terms for a solar PPA for commercial installations where a company may use the power, sell it to the companies' tenants, and/or supply power to the grid. Those are 3 different rates...

You have a 19.8kw DC system (panels). I'd make sure you have optimizers, I used tigo and they are only $45 or so each for up to 700w panels. Will add 10-25% power per day vs not having them. You only need 2 10kw growatt inverters to match dc to ac size. Do not oversize your panels to...

I have a friend with an interesting problem. They have a barrel type of roof with a bitumen covering. The arc of the roof is about 38 feet and the depth of the arc is about 5 feet, it is about 100 feet long. There is a parapet on the sides that is about 3 feet high. What solar mounting...

So, I have consulted several electricians and 2 solar vendors. The electricians say one thing, the vendors' electrical engineers say another. Here is the issue: I just bought a 225buss/200amp panel with 70amp solar ready...

So I have a flat roof, and I've looked at this product called Solar Stack which uses construction foam to attach solar panels to the roof. They passed engineering in California (and Florida). No holes in the roof, a lot quicker and a little cheaper. Am I missing something?

Okay, there are specific use cases for solar stack. If you have tiles, you'd have to cut into them to secure the pedestals to the roof, so your concern about tiles moving would really apply. But there are an awful lot of flat roofs that this should work better for then roof penetrations. At...

You have to consider several parameters: 1) Max density that fits your roof perfectly (it is not always the most dense panel) 2) Max density given a price/watt range. 3) Efficiency and reduction of output over time. Personally, I'd go with the largest panel that fits on your roof and try...