So I am now on-line with my solar panels/energy management.

[OAITW r.2.0]

http://postimg.cc/sQw7wvg3

I will never be able to justify my investment on what I currently pay for energy, but it is an investment in the future of energy self reliance,

[PoliticAverse]

1. Just hope the sun rises tomorrow! n/t

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. If it don't, I have 3 days of managed power control before The End.

Gotta go sometime.

[PoliticAverse]

9. A 3-day cushion is pretty good. n/t

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. Wow, when I click on the link, I see the EST 4D smoke sensor...something I was deeply involved with

back in 1995. People paid for this technology because it did not false alarm. It was a real time sensor that knew what a true fire signature was....and did not false alarm. For companies like Intel, this was a must have fire sensor. Losing millions of dollars in stopped processes was a huge financial problem that the 4D sensor addressed. We were a great manufacturing outfit in Pittsfield, Me back in the 80's through the early 2000's. World-class, in fact.

[Miguelito Loveless]

4. Bravo!

I see you have battery backup as well. Whose battery? I am guessing looking at the config a 5kW-6kW array?

As to justifying it economically, your ROI will improve if you add an EV to your mix, since using the electricity as fuel has a higher return than just using it for your house.

[OAITW r.2.0]

5. Will add a EV station later this year. Talked to the guy that put the system in today,

Insource Renewables. He got my app working. We discussed adding a EV station for recharge (built in), but - beleive it or not - there is no common connection interface between EV users! Unbelievable....seems like the most common sensical thing would be all EV manufacturer's would agree on a common electrical rechargeable interface.

[Miguelito Loveless]

6. Actually all US EVs

can use the J1772 connector for AC charging. It gets problematic when you move up to high power DC quick charging. For that, there are 3 connectors, CHAdeMO, CCS, and Tesla.

CHAdeMO is used with Japanese/Korean cars (Soul, Niro, Kona, Leaf) and currently tops out at 50kW. CCS is used by US cars (Bolt, Mach-E) and EU brands (VW, Volvo, Mercedes, and EU model Teslas). Power is generally in the 100-150kW range, with a few 350kW facilities. CCS is a superset of the J1772 AC standard (1.3kW-11kW). Tesla’s connector is proprietary to Tesla, and there are Level 1 home chargers that will plug into a standard 110v/15A socket. While this works, it would literally take days to recharge a completely depleted Tesla battery. Level 2 charging is 220v/30A-80A. Then there are the Superchargers, which range from 120kW (v1), 150kW (v2) and 250kW (v3). Tesla chargers are fairly common (1,000+ stations in the US), reliable, fast, and reasonably priced.

L1 charging can put about 3 miles per hour back in the battery. L2 depends on the amperage of the circuit. 30A will put about 15 miles per hour, around 25 miles at 60A and 45 miles at 80A.

Quick/Supercharging can restore 80% capacity in 20-45 minutes.

I am running 2 EVs and a PHEV, with a big array and Powerwalls. Please feel free to ask me anything.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

7. We installed panels and fed the grid.

At the time CA paid half the cost. Our share was about 10K and that was paid back in about 7 years. They were BP panels and a few burned out and I was always having to restart the machine by knocking on it. (a SunnyBoy), My installer called and said there was a BP recall, I checked it out and had all my panels replaced for free. Never a problem since then. Sonoma County went from PG&E to green power and now at the end of the year I am paid for excess power I produce.

I am now very happy with the situation.
ADW

[mac2766]

8. My system has been online for a little over 3 years not...

It's a 10.2kW system with a 10kW LG battery.

The only thing that I would have done differently would have been to add a whole home generator for backup instead of the battery. The battery is nice when the power goes out, but with it, I can't run my water pump or AC. I know... a generator isn't good for the environment, but I think the cost of the battery was excessive - looking back. It's a bang for your buck kind of thing.

I will never again have a home without solar on the roof. We pay the $20 grid fee monthly. We generate a surplus 3-4 months out of the year, and we pay upwards of $70 per month for the 3 hottest months of the year. Our average monthly bill is around $10 a month less the $20 grid fee... so approximately $30. We don't conserve any energy at all. We use it all without regret.

We also have a solar water heater. That was a great investment. I believe there should be federal legislation written to require all new homes be installed with a solar water heater, as well as a federal tax credit for any installations on existing homes. Solar water heating would save tons of energy in the US.

Anyway... Good for you. I'm extremely satisfied with my system. We haven't had a single issue in the time we've had it, but with the warranties, I feel really comfortable with it.

The system is SolarEdge with Q-Cell panels.

[OAITW r.2.0]

10. I have my water pump, furnance motor, fridge, some lights and the wifi

isolated and connected to the battery load.

[mac2766]

11. Water pump...

I had the pump on the battery. I've since moved it off of that group of circuits.

After hurricane Sally, the power was out for about 5 or 6 days. The first few days I used the battery. I only turned the breaker on for the water pump when I needed water. I completely discharged the battery doing that, which meant that the inverter lost power from the battery and powered off... no solar for about 3 days. Luckily I had a friend who had a generator that he let me use. I was able to run the fan and my laptop. I also cooked on a flat griddle with the generator. I hate using a generator, but sometimes it's necessary.

This year I'll make sure to get some water ready. I've got several food grade 5 gallon buckets that I'll use for toilet water, and I'll stockpile several containers for drinking water.

What kind of EV do you have? I'm an electrician and I'm thinking about buying the Ford electric van. I have access to a 240 circuit for my charging station. I'd like to add a bunch of panels to my West facing roof and add a Tesla battery for the charging station as well. Install both a DC and an AC charging port. Not sure yet. Not ready to fork out the money for it all yet I suppose.

[OAITW r.2.0]

12. Don't have an EV now and no plans for one.

My EV station will be for an E-ATV, once I can find what I'm looking for. I also figure that EV's will be future, so it makes sense to incorporate in my system. If I ever sell (most likely, I won't but my kids might when I am gone), it should be a selling feature.

[mac2766]

13. I think it will be a major selling feature.

We're forging our way toward the future. I'll be 57 in September. I've made it my last effort in life to be a part of the renewables movement. I quit my long time IT job 3 years ago and went back to school and re-trained in the Electrical field. I am moving toward getting a solar contractors license. I plan to install solar panels on as many roof-tops as possible before I go. It's such a necessary endeavor.

[OAITW r.2.0]

14. That's great! Tough to make a major career change, but I think this is going to be a huge growth

market over the next decades to come.

[mac2766]

15. for me...

it's seriously not about making money. I hope to sustain a living doing this, but since I put my panels on the roof, I've wanted to be a part of the movement. We need rooftop solar in America - in the world. it's the simplest way to stop our fossil fuel consumption. To put it to rest. It's also a way for us to gain control. Build a very energy efficient house, then put solar panels on the rooftop along with a solar water heater.

It's very simple, and the more of us who make the commitment, the cheaper it will become. The cheaper it becomes, the more of us that will commit to doing it. I had the means so I did it. So did you. We are forging the way. Good on you.

[hunter]

16. I can find my solar energy use here...

http://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/supply.html

As I write this post a little over 70% of my electricity is carbon free.

A lot of our neighbors, all the public schools, and many businesses have solar panels in our community so it's possible a higher percentage of the electricity I'm using now is solar.

That will change when the sun goes down.

Messing with my own solar panels and batteries doesn't sound appealing to me, but I don't actively loathe solar power installations built over land that's already used for other purposes. On hot days it's nice to park under solar panels.

I do loathe solar projects built on previously undisturbed land and most wind turbines. I think they are a false hope because they wouldn't be economically viable without natural gas "backup" power. In places where wind and solar power schemes are most successful, such as California, natural gas ends up as a primary power source.

Natural gas is a very dangerous fuel. It's worse than nuclear power, in both the number of people it kills and the environmental impacts.

[OAITW r.2.0]

17. Down in MA, in the town where my GF lives, they have installed panels on the landfill reclamation

when I first so it, I thought, what a marvelous location to put the panels. Nothing of substance can utilize this land, so this seems like an excellent location to site panels.