EV+PV - Who Has It?

[waidy]

Just stick to your guns and hopefully, you'll be able to get a "high tech" Enphase based system at a truly incredible price! :mrgreen:

Yes, I suggest you use $/kWh produce, instead of $/kW. This way, the efficiency of the system and the location of the system (south facing, SW facing, et. al.) will be included to the equation.

 

[ravisekhar]

Thank you all! Great advise to go shopping with.

Just got a call from the PetersonDean estimator asking why I specified microinverters... I told him shade issues... I said the homeowner (girlfriend), when ask if her palm tree could be cut down... without hesitation she said "well NO SOLAR then" Not negotiable. She is the boss, even with me paying for it!

With the info from Dsinned, I also looked at petersebdean as an option for my solar installation. Paul was very helpful and gave me a quote with enphase inverters after i insisted i want to go with micro-inverters but in the end i didn't go with them as i wanted different panels than canadian panels. In the end i went with local solar installer (http://www.yelp.com/biz/your-energy-solutions-pleasanton). They offered me 3.12KW ( 16 * 260W) 260 W Mitsubishi( Japanese Made top of the line) with enphase micro inverters for 12576 before CA and federal rebates. If you are interested tell them you want the same quote as (Ravi Menta). I hope they can install at ventura .

 

[AvLegends]

Thank you all! Great advise to go shopping with.

Just got a call from the PetersonDean estimator asking why I specified microinverters... I told him shade issues... I said the homeowner (girlfriend), when ask if her palm tree could be cut down... without hesitation she said "well NO SOLAR then" Not negotiable. She is the boss, even with me paying for it!

With the info from Dsinned, I also looked at petersebdean as an option for my solar installation. Paul was very helpful and gave me a quote with enphase inverters after i insisted i want to go with micro-inverters but in the end i didn't go with them as i wanted different panels than canadian panels. In the end i went with local solar installer (http://www.yelp.com/biz/your-energy-solutions-pleasanton). They offered me 3.12KW ( 16 * 260W) 260 W Mitsubishi( Japanese Made top of the line) with enphase micro inverters for 12576 before CA and federal rebates. If you are interested tell them you want the same quote as (Ravi Menta). I hope they can install at ventura .

Thanks Ravi! I will look them up!

 

[TonyWilliams]

Here's the Enphase link to my system:

http://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/Ukwf22392

That's a pretty awesome system you got there. How much of your production supports household use vs the car? Where a bouts in SD are you?

Poway Road at the 15 freeway, on top of the northeast hill.

 

[TonyWilliams]

My salesman told me that they typically don't recommend microinverters since they were such a "new" technology, and definitely not for small systems like mine (3-4kW). Since the other 4 companies that I got quotes from had no issues with recommending Enphase for my system, I assume he may not know what he is talking about.

I got that line from a couple venders myself initially until it was clear to them from further discussion that I had a solid technical grasp of the tradeoffs and they were blowing smoke.

It’s important to note that string inverters WILL need to be replaced in 10-15 yrs, which reduced the perceived initial cost advantages. Beyond that, I did not want a noisy, hot, eyesore sticking out from the side of my house calling attention to itself, nor the unsightly conduit runs for high voltage DC.

My system is completely hidden in terms of conduit and componetry outside of the PV panels on my roof which was an important factor for me. All you see at the breaker box is a little additional warning label that it is back fed with solar power.

Mine is done the same way. Conduit runs straight through the attic into an interior wall all the way to the garage, where the conduit is surface mounted to the interior to the breaker box.

All 240v AC safe power running through the walls. No garage heating from big, ugly inverters inside the garage. No 10-15 year replacement. No total loss of the system if the inverter fails (any one of my 35 Enphase inverters failing only affects 1/35th of my system).

 

[TeCKis300]

Poway Road at the 15 freeway, on top of the northeast hill.

Nice. It was easy to find as the solar layout is like a signature that stands out like a sore thumb in the aerial shots. Looking from there air, there are a number of solar installations, but the majority turn out to be solar pool heaters on closer inspection.

I'm pretty close by. Just southeast of you in the Stonebridge community of Scripps Ranch. I've seen another RAV4 EV (blue) driving through Stonebridge a couple times thinking it might be you. Must be yet someone else that has one nearby.

 

[ravisekhar]

Thank you all! Great advise to go shopping with.

Just got a call from the PetersonDean estimator asking why I specified microinverters... I told him shade issues... I said the homeowner (girlfriend), when ask if her palm tree could be cut down... without hesitation she said "well NO SOLAR then" Not negotiable. She is the boss, even with me paying for it!

With the info from Dsinned, I also looked at petersebdean as an option for my solar installation. Paul was very helpful and gave me a quote with enphase inverters after i insisted i want to go with micro-inverters but in the end i didn't go with them as i wanted different panels than canadian panels. In the end i went with local solar installer (http://www.yelp.com/biz/your-energy-solutions-pleasanton). They offered me 3.12KW ( 16 * 260W) 260 W Mitsubishi( Japanese Made top of the line) with enphase micro inverters for 12576 before CA and federal rebates. If you are interested tell them you want the same quote as (Ravi Menta). I hope they can install at ventura .

Thanks Ravi! I will look them up!

Sorry for the mix up. I mean to say 12 * 260W = 3120 W instead of 16 *260W.

 

[TeCKis300]

This graph from my utility companies online tools is quite satisfying.

Charge at night at super off peak rates. Produce and return energy back to the grid during the day.

 

[Dsinned]

TeCKis300, very cool!!!

The only thing that really jumps out at me looking at your graph is it appears you are getting up at 2am to initiate a charge on your EV. Also, ~2.5kWh is all the output power your charger produces? I'm guessing but that probably corresponds to a modified OEM charging cord (220V at 12A).

That upside down "half moon" must be very satisfying to say the least! :mrgreen:

 

[TeCKis300]

TeCKis300, very cool!!!

The only thing that really jumps out at me looking at your graph is it appears you are getting up at 2am to initiate a charge on your EV. Also, ~2.5kWh is all the output power your charger produces? I'm guessing but that probably corresponds to a modified OEM charging cord (220V at 12A).

That upside down "half moon" must be very satisfying to say the least! :mrgreen:

Thank goodness for a solid charge timer Actually, I will say it's been working quiet reliably as of late that I've not even thought about it.

The graph is somewhat misleading in that the bars are actually quarter hour increments, so I'm actually pulling 10kWh, which corresponds to my Leviton 40amp unit.

 

[pchilds]

 

[miimura]

When I was getting my quotes for PV systems, I also had some installers tell me they don't do Enphase. From what I can gather, there is quite a bit of FUD among installers because they're new. However, the real reason may be that Enphase does warrant the product, but does not pay the installer to remove the failed unit and install the new one. The installers are familiar with the low failure rate of string inverters like SMA, so they only do those because they don't want to risk having to come back to the site for warranty work.
With that said, I have an Enphase based system but I would not get an Enphase system without the Envoy monitor. Their system will e-mail you and the installer if there ever is a problem - otherwise you may never know that an inverter went out. I also thought that CSI (California Solar Initiative) rebated systems were supposed to have monitoring - but that requirement may have been eliminated.

 

[Dsinned]

The system I had installed, based on Enphase micros, has several warranties. First, the "whole system" is under the Installer's (Petersen Dean) "workmanship" warranty. That warranty is for 10 years; presumably it covers "failures" caused by improper installation of all related PV components and wiring used in the system. Also, all panels and microinverters each have their own manufacturer's warranty. Those are covered for 25 years and provide repairs or replacements for any defective or failed units.

The manufacturer's solar panel warranty includes a so-called, "performance" level guarantee, which means they will meet a specific DC output level, which is allowed to degrade slightly from year to year, linearly, by no more than 20% over 25 years of their original rating. PV Modules that degradate beyond that limit will be replaced under the panel OEM's warranty.

Failed microinverters are replaceable under warranty from Enphase up to 25 years.

I don't think either of component manufacturers' warranty actually covers any "labor charges" to remove bad units or install replacements. Here's an excerpt from the Enphase website regarding the M215 Warranty:

"The Limited Warranty covers a replacement unit to replace the Defective Product, but does not include labor costs related to (1) un-installing the Defective Product or (2) if applicable, re-installing a repaired or replacement product. To the extent applicable, the Limited Warranty also covers the cost of shipping a repaired or replacement product from Enphase, via a non-expedited freight carrier selected by Enphase, . . "

Miimura, I agree, "monitoring" is absolutely essential in order to increase owner awareness that a system is operating properly and producing reasonably expected power levels and conversely, not degrading prematurely, with periodic preventative maintenance, like cleaning the panel surfaces of a "dirty" array.

Also, I believe the "CSI" Rebate only requires output monitoring for systems over 30kW. Most residential systems are not even 10kW. There are TWO rebate programs. For over 30kW systems, the rebate is called "PBI" and for smaller systems, its called, "EPBB". These rebates decrease in value over 10 steps. In PG&E's operating region, the incentive has already reached Step 10, the lowest level, which is $200/kW. In order to be eligible for the larger system rebate (PBI), the system owner has to meet a Performance Monitoring and Reporting Service (PMRS) requirement. This means the system output must be monitored very accurately, usually by a qualifying "RGM" (Residential Grade Meter). I believe the accuracy has to be at least +/-2%.

Enphase Envoy ENLIGHTEN monitoring is only accurate to within +/-5%, so it does not meet the PMRS requirement for a PBI rebate. However, Enphase has an optional "RGM" to satisfy this CSI requirement. Unfortunately, it is quite expensive due an accuracy of +/- 0.2%. I'm in the process of adding this dedicated Enphase RGM to my solar system's output. Although not required, since I am a small residential solar generator, I just want to have the best possible accuracy recorded by ENLIGHTEN of my total system output.

 

[TeCKis300]

Like Dsinned, I've decided to expand my system. I was finding that my PV system would only support ~70% of our usage. This really speaks for how good the RAV4 is, as we are using it more than we originally anticipated. It's now our go to car for anything and everything. Whether commuting for 1 person, taking the whole family out, or even running errands to the plant nursery or Home Depot! Things that I always thought I'd resort to our large LX470 ICE car for.

I upsized the system by 2 more panels (10%), to 5.28 kW. Milholland was able to accommodate the upgrade, from request to install withing two weeks! I also invested in some LED lighting though out the house, now that they've come way down in price, and partly because I disliked CFL bulbs - warmup and poor dimming characteristics.

I'm hopeful these changes will set us up nicely going forward.

 

[Dsinned]

TeCKis300, you have a beautiful house there and nice looking "tile", solar roof!

Unfortunately, I have been waiting 2 months to dd only three more panels for a total of 17. Hopefully, I'll get this done sometime next month. Because of this, I have not yet installed my new Enphase RGM either. Nevertheless, the "best" solar production months are coming up, so my system will be producing quite substantially all during the Summer.

I just got my utility bill from PG&E for the 30 day period ending April 24th. My PV system wasn't even operating for 12 days during that period, but my electic bill was only $4.67!!!

GAWD, I love this going "green" stuff!!! :mrgreen:

 

[jspearman]

Tech, your system is nicely hidden. My south facing roofs all face the street, but my house sits off the street a fair bit, so they are not terribly noticeable, but definitely not as neat as yours.

If you need more LED bulbs, check out the new CREE models at Home Depot. Lumens per watt are really great, and the cost is ridiculously cheap for LED.

 

[Richard C.]

Beautiful home, Tec. I love that it's one level too.

I'd really like to get solar panels, but I live on a golf course and I can't get any solar provider to warrant panels for damage from wicked hooks. Does anyone know if panels are rugged enough to withstand something like that? Too much money to risk if not.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Beautiful home, Tec. I love that it's one level too.

I'd really like to get solar panels, but I live on a golf course and I can't get any solar provider to warrant panels for damage from wicked hooks. Does anyone know if panels are rugged enough to withstand something like that? Too much money to risk if not.

Is using a simple screen too simple? Yes, the panels will lose power.

 

[Dsinned]

Good quality panels can withstand "hail" storms, within reason. Maybe not, golf ball size hail! :mrgreen:

You should check with your homeowner's insurance. Stray golf ball strikes are more likely to break windows, and/or cause personal injuries to the occupants of a house. Check with your insurance carrier to see if you have coverage that includes damage to your "roof" (i.e. a solar system) as well.

 

[TeCKis300]

I appreciate the kind words all.

DSinned, it sure is great to be untethered so to speak, from the utilities and gas stations, and to watch the financial benefits play out. On the metering, have you perhaps considered a whole house electric usage meter? Milholland was suggesting that I look into the G-Meter (http://www.greennet.com/consumer/gmeter/), which taps into the house at the panel, and allows you to monitor all circuits live via a web portal. Actually, they proposed that they will install one for me as a beta trail for their company so long as share access to the portal.

Jspearman, I was fortunate that the house has plenty of direct south facing roofline without any chance of shading issues. This allowed me to maximize system ROI and avoid paying too much of a premium for higher efficiency panels that would be necessary on more space constrained installation.

Richard, I can’t imagine any company assuming that liability. Though from my research, Sunpower panels seem to be the Cadillac of panels in terms of build quality and efficiency.