ke4pymPremium
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| reply to guppy_fish
Re: I've gone and done it ... solar install said by guppy_fish:That "small" roof sure has allot of shade in the picture you posted, If that is typical your wasting money putting solar there
Also, no way that run from the roof is to code, you can't use "flex" more than 6ft to meet NEC rules
The small roof does get some shade during the winter. Lasts about 2 hours. I'm going to fix that problem soon enough. 
If the flex tube isn't to code, then I'm sure the master electrician and the city inspector and the Duke energy field inspector will have something to say about it. If it gets past all of those folks, then I'm not going to worry about it. |
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ke4pymPremium
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Rails! | 
Lag side down! | 
Bolt side up to L bracket. |
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ke4pymPremium
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1 edit | reply to ke4pym
 | 
Sunny side up! |
 - not good). The trunk lines for the inverters were setup. The last of the rails were installed.
The inverters need to be placed, and then the panels can go up. The panels were delivered to the job site yesterday. Pretty neat.
If there's no/limited rain today, then the master electrician will be on site to install the connecting cables from the disconnect switch to my panel. Maybe some panels will get installed. We'll see.
I did ask about the shading on the cells. Apparently, it's bad news if the bottom cells of the panel get shaded. A lot of energy is lost that way. So, they're installing them in portrait orientation to limit that possiblity on the shadier roof.
The panels are about 4 feet wide. About the same long. The frame is probably 6 or 7" thick. But the panel in-and-of-itself is probably only 1-2". Weighs 35-40 pounds.
Update --- they got 5 panels in, all inverters are installed and wired up. The external circuit breakers are in. The disconnect (fused) is installed and wired to my house's electrical panel.
They should be done tomorrow. |
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 djrobx
join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
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| reply to Jack_in_VA
said by Jack_in_VA:9504kWh would be about $950 worth of electricity for me. Would not come close to paying the loan payment on the 33,000 system that would only provide at best 1/2 of my requirement.
I found an excel spreadsheet that can calculate Edison's tier prices. I entered my total usage, and it looks like I would have paid around $2143 to the utility, with solar, it was $330. So, my first year savings is around $1813.
If the cost of power remains stagnant I'd need a bit over 7 years break even, however Edison is pushing for a 20+% rate increase. CPUC decision is imminent.
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 Jack_in_VAPremium
join:2007-11-26
Mathews, VA
kudos:1 | You are paying $0.23/kWh for electricity? That's double what I pay. |
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ke4pymPremium
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| reply to ke4pym
Disconnect, external load center. | 
4 panels, small roof | 
19 panels, main roof |
All panels in, all wiring in. Have room for 1 more panel, too!
Inspections next week (electrical, mechanical). Then Duke comes to inspect. Then they come again to change the meter. THEN I can turn the switches on (breakers outside, disconnect outside, breakers inside). |
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djrobx
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Valencia, CA
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| reply to Jack_in_VA
said by Jack_in_VA:You are paying $0.23/kWh for electricity? That's double what I pay.
Or more, depending on my usage. The first 320-400kwh (depending on season) are relatively cheap, but then it escalates to over 30 cents quickly. And guess what, the CPUC just ruled - it's going up!
»www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-e···47.story
"The 5% increase for 2012 — providing the Rosemead company with $5.7 billion in revenue — is less than the 16.6% the company had sought. Rates, however, are estimated to rise an additional 6.3% for 2013 and 5.9% in 2014 under the PUC order"
I think I made the right choice buying solar!
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ke4pymPremium
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC | reply to ke4pym
Woohoo! Panels are currently ON! The little Enphase dongle is looking for inverters.
County inspector is on his way to check out the install. |
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ke4pymPremium
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Woohoo! All inverters reported correctly. Shut the system down. Got it inspected and PASSED! Yay.
Inspector said it's the nicest system he's seen in months.
There was some well, disagreement on where the disconnects should go. But the installer and inspector worked it out (read: scratched heads, consulted books) and now I'm ready for Duke to come out and replace the meter. Not sure when that'll happen.
Oh, the little reporting jobbie - it takes data from the inverters and sends it to the web. That guy didn't like being in the computer room. So, I grabbed a wireless bridge, and hooked it up to an outlet that was a straight shot to the indoor load center. Fixed it right up. Not thrilled about having to give up a bridge, but, oh well. |
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 TA63ST215WPremium,MVM
join:2000-11-23
there
kudos:2 | Think of it as a bridge over troubled waters.
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 jack bGone FishingPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-08
Cape Cod
kudos:1 | reply to ke4pym
said by ke4pym:I'm ready for Duke to come out and replace the meter. Not sure when that'll happen.
Is that a strap-on energy monitor on your electric meter? Chances are your new meter will be electronic with no spinning disc for the optical pick-up to "see".
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ke4pymPremium
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| said by jack b:said by ke4pym:I'm ready for Duke to come out and replace the meter. Not sure when that'll happen.
Is that a strap-on energy monitor on your electric meter? Chances are your new meter will be electronic with no spinning disc for the optical pick-up to "see". Yes it is. And most of the electronic ones (according to the manual) have a little IR output eye that it can see. I may be giving it to the parents.... |
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ke4pymPremium
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| reply to guppy_fish
said by guppy_fish:Also, no way that run from the roof is to code, you can't use "flex" more than 6ft to meet NEC rules
Guess what .... that run from the roof is to code (so sayuth the code inspector, anyway). I asked the inspector about it, in front of the installer.
The conduit is called Liquid (liqui??) tight. And it's approved. Now the stuff they used to run from the small roof to the attic - had that been used, then they'd have had a problem.
Interestingly enough, for all that the inspector was focused on the disconnect issue, he never looked at the load center in the garage.
I found the whole process rather interesting. And I sure thought we were sunk when I heard the inspector tell my installer "I've been reading that book for 12 years!".
I was like, he just called my installer a whipper-snapper! We're sunk! But my whipper-snapper wouldn't let go of the issue. Heh. |
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ke4pymPremium
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Sorry for all the posts this morning. I wanted this one to be an individual question.
I want to put a lock on the disconnect panel to prohibit anyone from opening it (and thus, perhaps, electrocuting themselves because wiring and fuses are exposed).
Inspector said it was okay, and highly recommended since there is exposure.
The lock hole seems kind of small. Would a master lock fit in there? Or is there a better lock suited for this?
DO note, that I'm not proposing I put a lock on the on/off switch. But on the smaller tab below the disconnect switch itself to keep anyone from opening the panel. The switch will remain fully functional. |
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jack bGone FishingPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-08
Cape Cod
kudos:1
2 edits | A 50# cable tie-wrap through the cover clip should make it difficult enough to open and after trimming the tail, is pretty discreet. You could also put one on the disconnect if it turns out that someone who is unauthorized to do so, decides to operate it.
As far as your "next energy monitor" is concerned, I would recommend getting a TED5000.
I have two sets of CT's, one configured for "adjusted load" on the main line breaker and the second set on the solar generation breaker.
This way I can see exactly how much power is being consumed and generated.
It's totally overcast here today, hence the low solar production.
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ke4pymPremium
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Outdoor breakers (array strings get combined here). | 
You don't want to touch this. | 
Old meter. Kinda boring. | 
Shiny new meter! With IP address obscured. |
I'm happy. And glad all is said and done. Until next year when I add the 24th panel.
Hope you found this thread helpful. Sure was an interesting journey for me. From the moment the idea popped into my head until today was about a year. |
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Jack_in_VAPremium
join:2007-11-26
Mathews, VA
kudos:1 | Your posts have been excellent at describing your Solar Project. Thanks. It's been very interesting. |
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JoelC707Premium
join:2002-07-09
West Point, GA
kudos:5 | reply to ke4pym
I've been following this thread, lurking really, since page 1. Though I do that with a lot of these kind of threads
It's been an amazing journey that's for sure. Oh BTW, while it's a good habit to be in, you didn't need to obscure your meter's IP address. The part you left visible tells me it's local only. 10.x.x.x IP's are local only, the entire block. You would have to be on the same network as Duke to even be able to possibly access it. But still, as I said it's a good habit to be in anyway. |
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ke4pymPremium
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Alrighty gang.
1 week in. Out of the past 7 days, 3 of them have been overly cloudy. Go figure. We got 3 months without nary a drop of rain. I turn the array on and ... clouds and rain. Freakin' a.
Anyway, here are some stats:
As observed by the utilities' meter:
I have consumed 215kWh.
I have delivered to the grid 37kWh.
The maximum energy received at one time is 7.05kWh.
The maximum energy I have sent to the grid at one time is 2.85kWh.
I have consumed 0 Kilovar-hours.
I have delivered 86 Kilovar-hours to the grid.
Now, as observed by the inverters in the past 7 days:
I have produced 83.4kWh.
Today, I produced 14.7kWh.
Minimum produced in a day - 2.26kWh.
Maximum produced in a day - 16.3kWh.
Oddly enough, the panels you see in the pictures with tons of shade, are actually making the most energy. The 4 of them have produced 733, 726, 729, and 714wh, each.
I think, in the summer, I'll see the main roof light up like a Christmas tree. They're not tilted as much as the panels on the small roof.
If you'd like to observe what the array is doing, check it out here:
»enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/publ···XD138452
Oh yeah - what's a kilovar-hour? The book for the meter says it is how they figure the derate-factor (or some such). But in engrish, what does it mean? |
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 nunyaWho is John Galt?Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
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| Volt Amps Reactive. VAR is also called "phantom power". VAR is the wasted power on an inductive (or capacitive) load that isn't doing any work. Capacitance will cause the current to lead the sine wave (voltage), Inductance will lag the sine wave.
Snake oil salesmen often use this term when selling their magical "power saving" devices. It confuses people.
Residential and most Commercial rate payers don't need to worry about VAR, as we are billed in Watts.
Some industrial and heavy commercial rate payers are billed by the utility for kVAR. Most places hire a qualified electrical engineer to come up with a solution so they don't have to pay the penalty to the utility. Not some stupid capacitor box some scammer is selling on a website.
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