Driving on Sunshine

[mknox]

Does it have a battery buffer, or do you get a brownout if it gets cloudy? Just curious how it works.

In Ontario, grid connected solar has to have "anti-islanding" circuitry which cuts off the generation if utility power goes down. Grid connected gets you the premium feed-in-tariff rates, so it's the way to go financially but can't be used as emergency generation.

 

[scott2613]

We will have our 72kW system running within about two weeks. I'll post photos as it's installed. The system will provide the power to run our body shop as well as the HPWC and level two 75A Clipper Creek J1772 public charging stations outside.

 

[ecarfan]

The new Sunny Boy SMA LT ... system ONLY works if you have good sun AND you manually switch it on. It is not automatic. But for me it is a very nice option to be able to use at lest some of my power if the grid is down. It just did not seem right to have all those panels and not to be able to have any power. And to my surprise the Roadster was happy with the power it did supply.

SUNNY BOY 3000TL-US / 4000TL-US / 5000TL-US.SMA America, LLC.

dhrivnak, where do you live? I am in California. My understanding was that in California, PV systems that were grid tied were not allowed to be configured to have off grid capability.

I'm very interested in the new inverter you describe.

 

[dhrivnak]

You do need to manually throw the disconnect to the grid and switch on the option so it is not automatic. Then you need to reverse when the grid is back. But it is perfectly safe and legal. And it is UL approved.

 

[ecarfan]

Thank you! That capability makes so much sense to me. In my neighborhood power outages are rare but do happen every year or two. Duration can be minutes to hours (longest was maybe 8 hours).

Once I take delivery of my S85 in early December I will take a few months to see what my increased electrical usage is and then have enough data to properly size a PV system.

 

[rjcbox]

Article on the new inverters, which I'll be buying for my next PV system:

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com...r&utm_campaign=green-building-advisor-eletter

P.S. I think the electric grid (as least where I am) has only <0.1% downtime, however, being that these inverters will be cost-comparable, will be a great option - especially for situations like Hurricane Sandy when we lost power for several days, many were sunny days after the storm passed

 

[dhrivnak]

Wow 60% of Tesla owners have solar. Very impressive. I just received my first power bill since the install and used 17 KWh last month for a cost of $8.32. Going green is very sweet.

 

[Raffy.Roma]

Going green is very sweet.

Cool.

 

[dhrivnak]

Hoping to get a few more votes, how many Tesla owners have gone solar? My system has been on-line for 2 months now. Last month I fully covered the electric needs for the house and the car; The $7.20 fee is the connection charge. The reality of a sustainable future is here now!

 

[Tesla 940]

In Long Beach it has been 10 years 3 months - last month's charge was $0.95. Does that qualify me to be considered an "early adapter"? In New Mexico I purchase 15 panels (3.5kw) in a co-op 12 months ago. I may purchase a couple more to totally eliminate my monthly electric bill there.

 

[dhrivnak]

In Long Beach it has been 10 years 3 months - last month's charge was $0.95. Does that qualify me to be considered an "early adapter"? In New Mexico I purchase 15 panels (3.5kw) in a co-op 12 months ago. I may purchase a couple more to totally eliminate my monthly electric bill there.

You are absolutely an early adopter! Way to go and show the rest of us the future.

 

[dhrivnak]

Can we get to 100 votes? How many owners have solar or are planning on it. I would love a larger sample for an upcoming presentation at the East TN environmental conference. Thank you.

 

[Al Sherman]

Can we get to 100 votes? How many owners have solar or are planning on it. I would love a larger sample for an upcoming presentation at the East TN environmental conference. Thank you.

K. I voted hope to soon. I want solar badly and will probably do it. I simply can't make the numbers work. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Might just be the useable sunlight in Indiana, or the markup that the folks I'm getting quotes from are taking. Or, maybe because there are no incentives in Indiana. NONE. I know it's not all about numbers (dollars) but I'd be dead well before it became worthwhile to write the check. I keep hearing about the price of panels dropping drastically but I simply can't justify the dollars.
As I said, I'll probably do it anyway because I want it. BUT I'd like to be able to tell my neighbors why they should do it also. Let's face it; cost is the number one factor for most people.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Used to have a 2 kW PV system - installed by SolarCity in their early days back in 2007 - in my previous house before I moved last summer. I had about 5 months of driving on sunshine.

Contemplating a system for the new house but, given that my charging needs are met at work, not sure if my electricity usage patterns otherwise justify it.

All the same, I'm looking into this instead of a conventional large PV panel system:

DOW POWERHOUSE: Solar Shingle

Replace Your Roof And Generate Electricity From Solar Shingles - Forbes

Anyone have any deeper knowledge of these? I like how they are the roof themselves rather than be on top of one. Had a terrible experience with pigeons roosting between the panels and the roof tiles at my last place so, not too thrilled with the idea of a conventional install. Solar shingles are comparatively pricier but, I'd need a new roof soon anyway so, this makes sense.

 

[VolkerP]

solar shingles cannot shed heat as easy as a conventionally rooftop mounted solar module. You will see severe drop in output unless it's cool and/or windy outside.
Ask your installer for a reference installation to see. Check their output curves and compare them with similarly oriented PV arrays in the neighborhood.

Installing pidgeon defences is a major industry, OTOH. They should have a solution for you.

 

[dhrivnak]

As for the cost/payback of solar I was able to get my 7.1 KW system installed for $3.75/watt. The ONLY incentive was the 30% federal credit. With net metering and $.085/KWH I figure about a 5% return which is after taxes and indexed for inflation. Not a great return but one could also do far worse.

As for Dow Solar Shingles I tried hard to get them but they are in a VERY slow ramp up and they would not sell in my state. I think they only sell in CA, CO, and TX and even then through a very limited set of installers.

 

[Ugliest1]

In case the explanation will help: I voted no; I live in a condo so the approval process is far more complicated. Also I just managed to get two 60 amp EVSE's installed (live mid-Jan) so I don't want to immediately approach the strata council with another non-ROI idea. Especially because at the moment I'm the only one using the charging stations, plus an occasional visiting Volt. I have thought about it, and will continue, but I can't see the time being right in the foreseeable future.

 

[miimura]

K. I voted hope to soon. I want solar badly and will probably do it. I simply can't make the numbers work. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Might just be the useable sunlight in Indiana, or the markup that the folks I'm getting quotes from are taking. Or, maybe because there are no incentives in Indiana. NONE. I know it's not all about numbers (dollars) but I'd be dead well before it became worthwhile to write the check. I keep hearing about the price of panels dropping drastically but I simply can't justify the dollars.
As I said, I'll probably do it anyway because I want it. BUT I'd like to be able to tell my neighbors why they should do it also. Let's face it; cost is the number one factor for most people.

To me, the primary consideration as to whether it pays off or not is your current electric rates. I've heard of rates in the midwest that are flat at below 15 cents/kWh. At that price, I would not bother going solar. California has tiered electric rates that are so high that you're foolish not to put up at least a small solar system to get you back down to baseline prices.

 

[dhrivnak]

I was happy to lend a charge to a fellow EV who was passing through the area on his way to Washington DC. Too bad Tesla changed the charge connector as I can only offer Model S owners 48 amp J-1772 charging rather than the 64 amps available from my Roadster HPC. But my 12 KW is far better than the 6 KW you get from local J-1772 options in the area.

If you have not yet done so please list on PlugShare as you never know when you can lend a hand.

PS Yes the charge currents are quirky installing my own equipment one has more flexibility in design options.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Great shot with that snow in TN!