A Look at Solar in 2016

It should be an interesting year ahead for solar.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-holli ... sting-when

They still have'nt built that proverbial "better mousetrap"

I did an in depth ROI on solar and concluded that I breakeven on Sept 1, 2067 provided nothing breaks in an ice storm. New information on solar Maunder Minimums extend that break even date to 2099. So I am going to celebrate that on my 178th birthday with all the liberals on my street. Meanwhile, as they freeze to death in winter I will invite them to huddle around my new Glenwood #8 that I bought for $1850 and one week later is worth $3500 and by 2099 it will be worth $150,000 and I will have saved $230,000 in fuel costs (that will not survive an ISayre scrutiny but it is close enough). By 2099 solar will be at 40% efficiency and fuel cells will rule the earth and the EPA will class old solar panels as toxic and charge $100,000 for each panel removal. The earth will have warmed up 0.000001 degree and liberals will still be stupid.

behold

I read a news article the other day that said a California homeowner was forced to remove their solar panel installation because it produced too much electricity. The power company claimed that due to that, they were a supplier, not a consumer.

This morning being foggy and cloudy make that 2KW. Soon foggy, cloudy, snowy and it's only daylight from 8 until 4.

About a year ago I looked a the cost vs payback and it looked like 22 years for what I planned vs our electric rates. I check every couple years to see if component cost has dropped enough for the effort.

franpipe...just curious if there was something special about 9/14/2014 and the array that day?

the systems makes 12kwh per day on a day with no direct sun but full clouds ,of course in a dark dreary rainy day it make make 5kwh
it will make 33kwh per day on a brilliant non hazy day

this day is just a day a kept picture of the productivity as a example

when you sign up for a net meter grid connected system you ARe a cogenerator with the utility . WE performed our own labor used scrap yard steel .We get better production in the winter
1. because the air is clearer
2. the arc of the sun is lower so we get around the same exposure time
3 site is in woods and the trees have lost their leaves and we get the same exposure time as in summer

EarthWindandFire wrote: The power company claimed that due to that, they were a supplier, not a consumer.

There is very generous incentives in California to over produce if you have a residential sytem. California law caps that 125% for residential installations and after that they fall into a less lucrative business category. It was also a lease, the solar company leasing the panels is the beneficiary of those generous "residential" incentives. You can bet they are pushing the envelope to as close to that 125% as possible.

Fran, I'm looking for software program just like what you show.
Is it proprietary to your equipment?

Looking for RS-485 communication link to PC

Some brilliant minds here are chasing this one, so I need to work harder to understand. CA I get it. We are entering a massive deflationary environment and there is no escape. Cash is king so a 3-5 year ROI is a must in my book.

This equipment is in Connecticut. My site as much as I would like , is not solar friendly due to township regs, and trees and shade that I like. My son has 11 acres and cut one acres of trees down for a playing field lawn , he heats with wood, hence harvested wood for the three winter and created a solar path . The panels are manually tilted three times a year and are nearly vertical for winter so the snow almost immediately is shed and for proper sun orientation. the software is proprietary to the micro inverters. Connecticutd government is solar friendly as it also has state tax credits if you use licensed installer but since we self installed were not eligible. Some states will not allow a homeowner to get monetary credit for producing more than you use. Connecticut does but in my sons instance he may make enough to pay for the mandated connection fee of 19$ a month just have a meter and be connected to the grid as every user does. My son can have up to a 10kw system currently it around 5kw.. I think my son may have a surplus of 500kwh now I'm not sure , and it does get cloudy in the winter below are a good solar day and a not so good one

a dramatic sun day

A couple of months ago I nearly got hooked on NRG solar. They were running ads all the time, so what the heck. Mistake! They wanted a bit of information on where I was and before long there were way too many phone calls trying to get me to commit. Finally told them to stop calling and take me off their list. Felt too uncomfortable about their pushiness. Checked on them on a couple of comment forums and found that they are not the best in town.

All I want is an inexpensive Solar Generator to keep a few lights and especially my Pocono going in the winter. I do have a 5000 watt generator, but if the grid goes to hell or we have huge power failure I still will not be able to get gas. Look what happened in Jersey and NYC.

Still reading up on Solar Generators, but if anyone has one in use, please chime in with your comments.

Thanks,

Joe