Whooo hoo! Up and running!

CyberDyneSystems Power Division - SOLARIS

Congratulations!

A little context, please?

Pictures, this thread needs pictures....

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That's great, Jake!

Cougratulations!

But, umm.......what is it? I clicked the link and looked at the page that opened up, but I don't really understand what I see there. If you'd like to tell us something about it, I would be interested in learning more.

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We connected 29 solar panels to the grid two weeks ago.

After a little over a week, despite mixed weather with rainy and foggy days, our meter is down in the negative numbers,. less than zero (the new meter was installed about 3 days before the panels went live)

The link is supposed to show us the power that's been generated, but it seems to have stopped reporting after the 2nd .. but that's just the website.. here at the house I can see it in real time.


It's really exciting at this end!

On a bright day, @ peak sunlight, we have generated 8,410 watts an hour @ 240 volts. (which is the absolute max capacity of the system) As the Sun moves more north, as the months progress, that number will be more common and last longer during the day.

The system is comprised of 29 Solarworld Sunmodule Plus SW 290 panels. 18 square feet each. (38" x 66" )

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #18295958
On a bright day, @ peak sunlight, we have generated 8,410 watts an hour @ 240 volts. As the Sun moves more north, as the months progress, that number will increase.

Excellent stuff Jake, doing your bit for the planet!

Very cool Jake!

how much area do 29 solar panels take up...i'm doing an addition for someone...i think they put up like 5 panels... on a ~13X20ft roof

Jake,
What city are you in (or what latitude, if you prefer that your whereabouts remain mysterious to the riff raff)?

We looked into solar, both in terms of a lease or in terms of outright purchase. Our power utility is approaching the limit of number of households which can be paid for surplus electricity put back into the grid, and there are some changes regarding fees imposed to simply be connected to the grid as well as amount of credit per kW put back into the grid. But when I first investigated (about 7 years ago), it would have taken about 20 years simply to recoup the cost of adding solar panels, at our Latitude 38N location (saving $100 per month in electricity purchase)...for someone in their 30s or 40s, that might make lots more sense. But for someone already in retirement, it seems a somewhat questionable expense. Yes, the reduction of dependence upon fossil resources for power is beneficial, but one household counteracting the effects of China seems a drop on the bucket, so the personal 'investment' return is a key consideration to make. I may live in a state of Treehuggers, but I myself am not so strongly enrolled, and I have to convince my wife, too!

joeseph wrote in post #18295951
Pictures, this thread needs pictures....

http://solaredge.com/u​s

joeseph wrote in post #18295951
Pictures, this thread needs pictures....

http://ei.marketwatch.​com …d5-11e5-9939-0015c588e0f6

Ivanpah

DreDaze wrote in post #18296050
how much area do 29 solar panels take up...i'm doing an addition for someone...i think they put up like 5 panels... on a ~13X20ft roof

Average solar panel 18 sq. ft.

Wow, yes, kind of pathetic I don't have pics yet!?

Drive won't let me upload from work, Annoying I can't use drive without wifi, so stupid.

It's a big section of roof with a steep pitch, maybe 12-14 feet by 60 feet.

I am in Providence RI, it should say that to the left of this panel.

House runs at an angle to true north, the roof is facing South-Southwest. West enough that the sun does not get to it until around 8:30 AM this time of year,. by 1:00 it's perfect. I'm getting over to 8,000 watts at that time, at 9:00 this morning just under 4,000.

Don't lease, don't enter into any agreement,s buy outright.

Paypack varies from state to state, but you don;t have to sell your power back if you can't for some reason, instead you can send it back for credit. If you do that, you look to install enough power to zero out your bill, but not more.

The incentivies are you can either do what I mention above,. or sell it back. Plus a big tax break.
If you go the credit route rather than sell the power back, you get a HUGE percentage off the cost of install up front instead. (about 1/3rd)

I will also get about the same amount back in tax credit. So the final outlay after the credits is only about 1/3rd the actual cost. Now I get free power, in 7 or 8 years the 1/3rd I paid out of pocket will be paid off in free electricity. If I were selling power back, it would take longer to recoup as i would have paid 2/3rds out of pocket, but after that I start making money.

I hired a local company, Newport Solar, and I have to tell you, as a former contractor myself, and a home owner that has dealt with the entire range of reliability for contractors fo various types, Newport Solar has been without question the BEST most professional and caring contractor I have ever dealt with under any capacity.

http://newportsolarri.​com …JD3vNiLytICFcKL​swoddIIFOQ

^^^ House on page two above is not mine, but it has for reference 24 panels on a relatively small roof. Not sure if they are as large as mine are though.

P.S. I looked into the problem with the reporting, and the damn power converter in the basement is working fine, but the LAN is totally down, so it's not reporting since March 2..

To me it looks like a hardware issue too, not just LAN configuration. Oh well, it doesn't keep me from generating power, but it would great of the darn website bells and whistles actually worked.