Driving on Sunshine

[Electricfan]

So Chipper how should I conduct a poll to find the percent of Tesla owners who have solar. And i am curious as th where you get your data to support only a minority of Tesla owners have solar. I do find it interesting that Tesla has sold almost double number of wall battery packs as they have cars.

I know I'm not Chipper, but here's my two cents. Sorry if its a closed conversation or something.

I don't think anybody not in the business of polling can do an accurate job. You'd have to hire a professional company to get a truly accurate number. I mean, the polls on forums like this are just for fun, right? I had a bunch of statistics courses in college and learned enough to know that getting an accurate picture of anything in the general population takes money, time, effort and experience. Look how bad they screw up the presidential polls - and those guys get paid massive quantities.

You could reasonably argue that the percentage of Tesla owners with solar is higher than the general population, just because of the fact that in general they are more affluent and also lean a little toward being environmentalists (although I've run into big oil fans on this forum). But I doubt the difference is too dramatic. I'd love to know the truth though. Maybe Tesla can add a question to some research they do sometime and get a clue.

 

[Robert.Boston]

I agree with @Electricfan: no poll on TMC is representative of the Tesla community. I think the results would be more representative if the poll were posted in the Model S subforum; my guess is that people who read this subforum have a particular interest in environmental issues and are therefore more likely to have installed solar.

 

[dhrivnak]

Here is an interesting article from Time that states EV owners are 6.6 times more likely to have solar panels than the average person. I agree the pole has some self selection but not wanting to pay for a commissioned pole I do not see many good options.

Electric Cars and Solar Panels Can Turn Home Into a Mini-Power Plant

And here is an article from the Washington Post that said 45% of people registering an EV has solar and again I would think the average Tesla owner is ahead of the curve.

How solar power and electric cars could make suburban living awesome again - The Washington Post

 

[JOEV1]

Initially I wanted to sell my electric power to the State Electric Co. But as the rate had dropped from 10 cent/kWh to less than 4 cent/kWh I decided to buy an EV... and never looked back. Really, it is the best motoring investment I ever made.

 

[gimmi80]

Initially I wanted to sell my electric power to the State Electric Co. But as the rate had dropped from 10 cent/kWh to less than 4 cent/kWh I decided to buy an EV... and never looked back. Really, it is the best motoring investment I ever made.
View attachment 93897

Wow! How big is that system (kW?)

 

[Discoducky]

You could use solar panels instead of roofing shingles with that coverage!

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

You could use solar panels instead of roofing shingles with that coverage!

I was gonna say the same thing!

In the spirit of Salzburg - beautiful city that I managed to do a Fräulein Maria bicycle tour through just a month ago - "The hills are alive with... Solar Panels"!

 

[JOEV1]

Wow! How big is that system (kW?)

Actually, I was forced to cover all because in winter snow would not slide off easy when I initially installed 2 rows of panels with 7,2 kWp. Now with 6 rows and 20 kWp the snow just needs a small push (with a broom on a telescopic stick) and all slides off.
That is... if it does not freeze to the panels. :crying:
Logically, one needs more energy in winter than during summer.
(This PV also charges a bank of batteries which supply an APC-UPS to run a CO2 geo-thermic heat pump system at night)

 

[AntronX]

Interesting method of pumping ground heat to the surface using passive CO2 termosyphon effect. What is the temperature of CO2 condenser canisters (in your last picture) during operation? Does it differ from deep underground temperature? What is the COP of your heat pump and what refrigerant it uses? Could you make a separate thread about your heat pump setup?

 

[JOEV1]

Interesting method of pumping ground heat to the surface using passive CO2 termosyphon effect. What is the temperature of CO2 condenser canisters (in your last picture) during operation? Does it differ from deep underground temperature? What is the COP of your heat pump and what refrigerant it uses? Could you make a separate thread about your heat pump setup?

Unfortunatly I can not provide reliable (scientific) data as my setup has no sensors installed along the heatpipe. Neither do I have an energy metering system (input/output). I only use a power meter at the heat pump 3-phase supply line.

Basically I live in an area with no vulcanic activity and it is regarded that here we have approx. a 3°C / 100 m temperature increase.
The COP varies considerably and is directly related to the output temperature of the heat pump. Rough observations have shown a COP of approx. 3,8 at 50°C output while at an output temperature of 35°C a COP is about 5,5 which varies also with seasonal temperatures changes (summer, winter)
(as a measure I used the electric power consumption of the heat pump related to the temperature gain in the boiler-vessel of 500 Litres)

At start-up, the injection has a temperature of about (minus) -15°C at the "spider" close to the canisters.
The refridgerant used in the pump (a HELIOTHERM modulating type) is R410a.

Sorry for not being able to provide better data. I am therefor not able to open a new thread in this regard. Perhaps someone else could?

 

[AntronX]

Thanks, no need for another thread. I was just curious if CO2 thermosyphon method of ground heat harvesting is more efficient versus glycol coolant and plastic pipe method (apart from no need for circulating pump). Did you use copper well pipes or steel? What is the KW heat output of your heat pump?

 

[beeeerock]

Finally! After months of waiting for the installation, my modest 5.2 kW grid tie system went live today. Yippee ki yay!

 

[Hugh Mannity]

right on beeeeeeeeeee! pix please :wink:

 

[Owner]

Yay!! For you and the planet.

Finally! After months of waiting for the installation, my modest 5.2 kW grid tie system went live today. Yippee ki yay!

 

[beeeerock]

right on beeeeeeeeeee! pix please :wink:

Here are a few:

Haven't generated any significant numbers yet - we've had heavy overcast and rain since it went live. The photos were taken at the end of the install, when the skies were clear... hit the switch and the weather turned to crap!

 

[Hugh Mannity]

ha ha that happened to me too, calgary is ALWAYS sunny in the summer...... nope not for the two weeks after i got my install DOH,

 

[Zaxxon]

Congrats, Beeeerock! If you have API-based reporting, consider joining our PVOutput team.

Link to the team.

 

[beeeerock]

Congrats, Beeeerock! If you have API-based reporting, consider joining our PVOutput team.

Link to the team.

My inverter is SolarEdge and I was given a link to the online page to view what it's doing. However, I suspect my installer hasn't opened up the account completely to me as there is literally nothing I can configure on that page! I was hoping the inverter would have a web interface to look at locally, but unless it's on weird port, the IP of the device isn't responding. If I can figure out how to add my data to yours, I'll be happy to join.

- - - Updated - - -

ha ha that happened to me too, calgary is ALWAYS sunny in the summer...... nope not for the two weeks after i got my install DOH,

And now that the days are getting shorter, I won't really know what it can do until next year...

 

[Zaxxon]

Not sure what access you need to get the API info, but the SolarEdge instructions are here.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

zaxxon I have enphase, okay to register on your site?