Last Updated: 12-JAN-2020
After many years of research we figured it was time to make the jump and begin our solar generator adventure. We decided to go with a BrightEye Solar over in Lancaster, PA to do the majority of the work as there is considerable paperwork with setting this up.
The company was ok but had some issues with staffing & technical knowledge so will leave it at that. Happy that being retired I could keep an eye on daily progress.
Our house is mostly electric and our average electric bill is around $300 a month. This system should give us a 55% reduction in bills at the current Kw price. I had the line from the array to the house sized for a 2nd array that we may install next year and that would reduce our bills to zero if we remain at our current consumption.
Technical specs are 13.5Kw array solar panels with a 12.1 Kw inverter. (with our limited sun here it's designed to give us more power in the middle intensity) So, at full power we get 220 Volts 51 amps which is some serious power. We are grid tied so it will run our meter backwards on days we produce more than we need. We use the grid as a battery.
Money wise this was not cheap. We get 30% back from the feds (2020 it will fall to 26%). With the bill reduction, we should see a $150 a month average savings and yet to figure this all out but, we sell SREC's (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) to the state of PA and this can be lucrative. When you do the math with the low interest rates today on savings, this pays out at a good rate.
On 11-JAN-2020 I went over my first megawatt of power. Very cool.
Time will tell.
Click on photo to make it larger
04-NOV-2019 - Project start
I had to use my truck to pull the pipes off the truck. 14 foot long galvanized pipes are very heavy! Like I said staffing issues.
05-NOV-2019
Cement time.
The sonotubes where higher on some of the holes because of the giant rocks under my fields. Not a problem as we were 4-6 feet down on most of the supports.
Mary playing with the brand new rental bobcat that did not get fully utilized during this project.
06-NOV-2019
Trenching the 300 feet back to the house at a average depth of 3 feet. Many more rocks were found.
Looking down from 200 feet at the house / trench line / array location.
18-NOV-2019
Mary happy that we are getting panels installed.
We debated on each panel having a micro (its own) inverter or a string inverter. We went with the cheaper system for the main reason that the array won't not be shaded. So, each row is a "string" but if a single panel is shaded the entire (9 panel) string will shut off. I tested this today (11-DEC-2019) when we had 2+ inches of snow. The array was producing 600 watts thru the snow but when I cleaned the tow two rows off the system jumped to 4,000 watts. Then by cleaning off the bottom two rows it jumped to over 7,500 watts. The panels are black and get hot even in the winter so the snow melts off quick. Another disadvantage is that its harder to tell if a single panel has an issue as I have to look at the sum of the string vs. single panel reporting with a micro inverter system.
21-NOV-2019
Mary filling in the trench hole. The inverter is installed just under the array. (we filled in the holes as we did not want more delays)
Only 2 panels to go that they "said" were damaged in shipping
Ken working too.
22-NOV-2019
The "Rapid Shutdown" mess. Ken asked why they were installing this and they said it was "code". I said only on a roof. Funny, 2 days later they removed it as I was right. This caused more delays
Middle panel is for the 2nd array if we choose to install one
05-DEC-2019
All done
36 installed TrinaSolar TSM-380DE14 panels 380 watt each at 40.3 volts DC. Amazing these put out over 9 amps each. Amazing technology.
Inverter telling me that we are producing over 7.5kw on a overcast day
Photo from across the valley. Was wondering how noticeable this was. Will plant some trees behind it to block the view.
06-DEC-2019
Final drone shot of the system from 200+ feet up. The house is shading it... Time to move the house.
11-DEC-2019
The inverter (Made by Fronius) has a number of monitoring options that are web and phone application based. I can run this in a browser to give me real-time monitoring of the system. So far today I have produced 36.05Kwh and its currently pushing 6.18kw back to my house or the grid depending on my usage.
