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Thread: Solar PV System One year review with some data

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    Default Solar PV System One year review with some data

    A year ago I had a solar system installed on the south roof of my home. It's a 20 panel Canadian Solar system with a maximum capacity of 6.3kw, though I've seen peaks above 6500w. I checked the meter today and also logged the reported solar production from the inverters. I'm sure you guys are interested in the numbers, so here it goes in kwh:

    Total solar production: 7978
    Total home consumption: 8094 (675/month)
    Solar power consumed: 2863 ($458 savings)
    Solar sold back to grid: 5115 ($409 refund)
    Bought from grid: 5231
    Record day production:~50
    Average daily production:~21.9
    Total cost after rebates: ~$13,830
    Yearly savings at status quo: $867
    Years to break even: 16

    The problem is that they only pay the cost of electricity when the grid buys the power back, but charge me the loaded rate for buying it. The panels have been very reliable is just set and forget.




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    Now I assume you got this before UCP scrapped the program? How much the system would be today without rebate?

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    About 30% more.

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    What was your worst month for production, and how much did it produce?

    Also, what's the pitch of your roof?

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    December was the worst at 103kwh. I'm not sure what angle the roof is exactly, but pretty standard for a 2 story built in 2012. It's not steep enough for the snow to slide off quickly, but also not so steep that I lose too much in the summer months when the sun is more in the northern sky.
    Last edited by JustinL; 11-07-2022 at 10:48 AM.

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    That's the crappy thing with my house. It's a bungalow with not much slope. I couldn't just put them flat on my roof, which would increase the cost a lot I think.

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    Hey thanks so much for posting this. Hard data is awesome. I'm a huge fan of solar PV as a technology and I have no doubt "personal" solar like this will be a big part of our energy mix in the future. Should help make the grid more robust too, in a small way.

    Have you changed the timing of your energy consumption habits at all to try to maximize use of your "free" electricity? Stuff like running AC harder in the afternoon than rhe evening or whatever?

    - - - Updated - - -

    My house is tall and has dark stucco, so it just soaks in the heat on these sunny days, and then I end up spending money to run my AC at night. It bothers me from an efficiency perspective. My house has a complex roof shape, so not sure if panels would need additional framing to catch more rays.
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    I try to consume when the sun is shining when possible, but I don't go out of my way to any kind of extreme. If I'm doing laundry, I'll start it in the morning on a weekend or program the dishwasher to run mid day instead of firing it up right after dinner. I like the house cool when we're sleeping so I still blast the AC right before bed, but that is also set to run a bit harder in the afternoon. A/C is one of the great ways because the hottest days are also the sunniest, so it runs more when the solar is producing more. A big battery I can charge during the day like a power wall or EV would really help burn the free stuff. Problem is that if I get an EV, charging is usually done when the sun isn't shining. I also wouldn't expect an investment in either of those to pay for itself ever in energy savings. A Powerwall I could justify as an uninterruptible power supply for the house instead of a generator.

    As far as the roof angles, obstruction is a far bigger problem than angle for generation. If a cloud comes over the power just drops, but being at a less than perfect angle might only take a few percentage off. Each angle will give a different shape sine wave. South facing gives the biggest area under the curve or total energy, but also peaks mid day. West facing panels will have the peak of the sine wave shifted a bit into the afternoon and have a longer tail into the evening. So blending west facing with south facing would be ideal for most people usage. East facing would be for morning people and north facing for those with money to burn on extra panels. There's a house near my with panels facing every which way and I'd be interested to see their output plots because they probably have a weird shape with lots of little peaks.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JustinL View Post
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    About 30% more.
    wow, so , 16 years +30%... 21 years, that's insane, even if you do stay in a house that long, surely it'll need some maintenance to increase that.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thaco View Post
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    wow, so , 16 years +30%... 21 years, that's insane, even if you do stay in a house that long, surely it'll need some maintenance to increase that.
    About the same savings as upgrading an old furnace to a high efficiency one, lol.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Thaco View Post
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    wow, so , 16 years +30%... 21 years, that's insane, even if you do stay in a house that long, surely it'll need some maintenance to increase that.
    It's not for everyone that's for sure. This is our forever (or for a long time house) and that timeline is at 2019 electrical rates. There are some variables that can change the payback period. I think they also add some value to the house for resale if it comes to that.

    For maintenance, I expect very little. There are no moving parts and the panels are warrantied for 20 years. They are pretty tough suckers that just chug away making electricity.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tik-Tok View Post
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    About the same savings as upgrading an old furnace to a high efficiency one, lol.
    No, the HE furnace will be perpetually in the red with breakdowns.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Darell_n View Post
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    No, the HE furnace will be perpetually in the red with breakdowns.
    Spot on, I've replaced the belt a couple of times and one motor on our old beastie from the early 80's - it just keeps chugging along.

    I'd consider some solar but I don't see us being in this house long enough to see the pay back and it wouldn't be attractive to any future home owners as most bungalows in our community are worth pretty much nothing, it's all land value now.
    Last edited by speedog; 04-25-2020 at 07:36 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Darell_n View Post
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    No, the HE furnace will be perpetually in the red with breakdowns.
    lol that's why i keep my 1979 furnace rolling.
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    Quote Originally Posted by JustinL View Post
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    They are pretty tough suckers that just chug away making electricity.
    I wonder how they survive hail storms and how home insurance deal with it. Will the prorate it like normal roof?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Xtrema View Post
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    I wonder how they survive hail storms and how home insurance deal with it. Will the prorate it like normal roof?
    they're mostly fine in hail, they've come a long way, i have panels (although flexible not rigid like home panels) on the RV and they've been fine for years.
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    I'm curious about how you replace the shingles on the roof with panels? Remove everything first, then re do the roof, the put everything back on? Also. How do the holes get sealed that mount the panels?

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    This thread delivers!!
    I've always thought that the payback period met or exceeded the life of the panels, so I'm glad to see I was wrong. I was also certain that jail would destroy these but I had researched that previously and was also surprised to see they are virtually immune to hail damage.
    I wish it was better than 16 years because that's not making me rush to the store. My house is apparently "already prepped for solar" so maybe my install would be cheaper in some way.

    I'll check my power bills and see how similar my consumption levels are to yours.
    Thanks again!
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    Quote Originally Posted by arcticcat522 View Post
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    I'm curious about how you replace the shingles on the roof with panels? Remove everything first, then re do the roof, the put everything back on? Also. How do the holes get sealed that mount the panels?
    Most the time they're installed over the existing roofing and they just fill and cover the fasteners with roofing tar.

    Me personally if i wanted a permanent setup i'd get a metal roof put on first, that way you know you wont have to ever rip up the solar to fix the shingles.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thaco View Post
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    Most the time they're installed over the existing roofing and they just fill and cover the fasteners with roofing tar.

    Me personally if i wanted a permanent setup i'd get a metal roof put on first, that way you know you wont have to ever rip up the solar to fix the shingles.
    Roofing tar will dry out eventually, no? I suppose the sun won't be hitting it, so I imagine it would last a while.

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