I have a 9.6KW system that produces 6KW on the sunniest day. I would like to add more panels without losing NEM 2.0.

Can I add panels in a way so that I limit my export to 9.6KW only, and the rest charge powerwalls with? For example, if the sun is generating 16KW with the new panels, the system would send 9.6KW to the grid and the rest to power my home and powerwalls, and if there is any excess then I guess it would do nothing with that. Is this possible?

Hi everyone not sure if this is the right sub for technical analysis on how solar effectively does what it does. I understand photovoltaic cells and how they work and simply converting that to ac is what powers your home. Well understood. My point on the matter is that I’ve recently been installing solar arrays for homes and I understand the procedure of installing but my understanding drops once I get to the combiner box and battery storage. Note ive only had experience with enphase and their newest line of solar equipment. For example the enphase combiner box has a string pair for one array. #10 thhn (blk/red/G) going to a double pole breaker 30a from my understanding the micro inverters on the roof turn the dc from the panels to ac from there and come to the combiner. The breaker shares a bussing that also gets ac to power it… ? My confusion lies in how having two power sources share essential the same conductor I.E. panel bussing? Is it charging the batteries at that low of a current and then the stored energy in the batteries transferred into usable power to run a house?? I’m sorry if this comes off confusing I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around how this works. I assume my fallacy falls with thinking the power produced from the panels directly powers the home in this example. Thanks for reading!

Hi.

I recently had a solar system installed, using SolarEdge optimizer and inverter. The system seems to be working and reporting well, I can see production and consumption using the SolarEdge monitoring app.

I am not currently at the house and have been looking at the data. I noticed that when the system is producing power, the measured consumed power is going up, more or less proportionally to the produced power. As measured, the house is consuming roughly 150kW constantly during the night (nobody is there now, no A/C on/off etc), measured consumption increases when sun comes out, maxes out when production is max during the day and starts dropping again back to 150kW or so by the evening.

Is the monitoring system measuring consumption by the inverter? If that’s the case, would you expect the inverter to consume roughly 8% of what it is producing? I was wondering if that is normal and expected or something is wrong with the wiring of the production/consumption measuring meters.

Appreciate your help and feedback.

https://preview.redd.it/ido9v38cxcdd1.jpg?width=1216&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b140b02d049523f08c2c1ce046bc381167692545

I bought a house with 22 solar panels on the roof, and it's in serious need of a re-roof. The system is fully paid for and was installed about 10 years ago (when the roof was about 25 years old). It appears that the roof penetrations from the solar system caused some leaks that the previous owner tried to (unsuccessfully) resolve - which resulted in a massive amount of mold.

After a significant mold remediation/reconstruction project, I'm now ready for the re-roof. However, the additional cost to reinstall the panels has me questioning their worth.

I can make rough estimates for projected energy savings, but the big unknown is how long the roof will go without leaking. Location is southern California, roof is tile, and re-roof company also handles solar.

So, if you've had solar installed (or reinstalled) during reroofing, how successful has it been with regard to leaks?

I've seen a worrying number of people on here mention that they have been sent letters by the IRS requesting more information about the systems for which they have claimed for the solar tax credit. I've even had an installer that we are looking to buy through that has mentioned the large number of people being audited this year.

Have you been audited? If so, what type of audit was it, how deep did it go, and what info did you have to submit? Did the agent in charge decide to change the scope of the audit?

How would you say that things went and has your audit been closed successfully?

Just wanting to know as I am looking to have a system installed by the end of the year and what I am seeing is concerning.

Thanks.

reddit barfed when I tried to answer this in the thread from 10 days ago. This is for r/tucknrobin

Jeez, sorry that nobody answered your post. Maybe reddit was bugged and others were also prevented from posting in that thread - idk. Not an expert, just another SMA inverter owner. My guesses:

• because you (probably) have a "string" inverter, you don't get to monitor panel-by-panel.

• but you can get information for the array to ensure it's producing at/near expectations (start with ennexos.sunnyportal.com/). For that, you should use the SMA app. Suggest that you get all the numbers off your inverter (serial etc) and call SMA to see if they can transfer ownership to you and get you credentials for the app. Guessing this happens all the time. You might have to run some CAT-5 from the inverter to your router to enable all this to happen (not sure).

• bonus territory: once you've got access to the inverter, consider installing SBFSpot and feed your data to pvoutput.org

• note: be aware these inverters have a finite lifespan (something like 5-10 years) and only a 5 year warranty. Maybe find out whether prior owner purchased a warranty extension and whether you can transfer that coverage to yourself during your call to SMA. Good luck!

I'm setting up a project wh where I'm using a constant load off a 12v battery of about 2 amps during the day. I am planning on connecting a 215w panel to charge it. It puts out 37v open circuit voltage and just over 7amps. I want to larger panel for the overhead so it will hopefullly start producing at least about 60w early in the morning and late in the day. Also because they are better designed to cope with the elements than many higher w rated panels more designed for 12v batteries.

Currently I have a PWM controller which is known as a pr3030. Marketed Different brands but chinese in origin. The spec sheet is very poorly written. In one place it quote a "voltage range" for 12v batteries of up to 17v but then it also states max input voltage <47v. I'm not sure if it will work or not. My options seem to be to put a step down dc buck before the controller which are cheap or buy a different controller. Should i be using an mppt controller rather than pwm for this application?

My wife and I are buying a new property and will be adding solar. This is in central Florida. I was thinking of 30-40kW of solar PV plus 10 IQ 5P batteries. Looking at the specs, I believe this can be accomplished with a IQ Combiner 5C and an Enphase 3C. There will also be pool equipment which I would love to shed in a power outage. It looks the IQ Load Controller could do this.

My questions are: Is my understanding of this correct? In the app, would the system show up as two separate systems or a single system?

What's your opinion on this?

Hey guys, here are probably some investors in SUNL, so I guess this might be useful info for you. It’s about the scandal Sunlight Financial had a few years ago with its financials.

For those who don't remember: back in 2022 Sunlight Financial announced that one of their installers couldn't make the payments, so they wouldn't be able to meet their economic goals for that year either. With this news and after the stock drop it caused, investors sued them.

The good news is that they recently agreed to pay shareholders $3.5M to solve this scandal. So, if you were an investor back then, you can check it out and get payment.

Anyways, has anyone here had $SUNL during this scandal? If so, how much were your losses? Or do you still hold?

The NPR article and podcast discusses recent developments and controversies surrounding rooftop solar panels, specifically the economic and regulatory challenges faced by consumers and the solar industry.

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/12/1197961036/rooftop-solar-panels-energy-bills-marketing

In Arizona, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) approved a rate increase for Arizona Public Service (APS) customers, which includes higher charges for those with rooftop solar panels. This move has been criticized for being discriminatory and potentially discouraging solar adoption. The ACC's decision follows a reduction in net metering rates, making solar less financially attractive for consumers. Critics argue that these changes could harm the solar market and are not supported by sufficient data on the actual cost-shift implications

Meanwhile, in California, new legislation aims to reassess the value of distributed solar energy and provide more substantial battery rebates to cushion the impact of reduced solar export credits. The bill seeks to ensure that the benefits of rooftop solar are fully recognized and to support energy storage solutions that can enhance grid reliability and customer savings.

Additionally, Michigan has enacted a law preventing homeowners' associations from banning rooftop solar panels, reflecting a growing trend to support residential solar installations and energy independence. This law addresses outdated HOA bylaws that have previously hindered the adoption of modern energy-saving technologies.

These regulatory and market changes highlight the complex landscape for rooftop solar, where policy decisions significantly influence the growth and viability of solar energy for residential consumers.

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to make sense of this. It's very complicated. I currently pay about $325 per month for electricity. To make matters more confusing, they just changed the generation, transmission and public benefit rates this month, and I haven't even seen that bill yet.

Either way, I do think long-term, solar is the way to go. I have a big south facing roof and another eastern face where we will add a few panels. I've figured out that leasing is not the best option. I also need to replace the south facing roof (about $7K) because the detached garage roof is 25+ years old.

I have a quote for a 11.48kW system with a Year 1 production of 13,011kWh which is $64,000. The numbers seem to work, but the lower the cost of the system, the greater the financial benefit, obviously.

So my simple question is, is $64K reasonable for this system? That's the gross cost, but does not include the roof, nor does it include the 30% tax credit. Everything else seems to line up, but if this price is way high, then I may have to shop around. If it's within 10-20% of other prices, I may just pull the trigger.

Thoughts?

I'm a disabled veteran who gets the bulk of my income from nontaxable VA disability. Currently working 10 weeks over the summer at $28/hour, roughly 35-36 hours per week. That puts my taxable income for the year somewhere between $9.8k and $10k

The way I understand it is this is a rebate, so it can only pay out what the amount you paid into taxes, right?

SoCal, 10kW system (25x400W). Clearly need to put that excess to use. Any advice on that?

Putting up road sign ad. Very simple. One high bill, one low bill. I picked numbers arbitrarily. Do I need to have some sort of disclaimer that not everyone will see this exact result? I mean, common sense, but never know these days about someone suing for only dropping their bill from 200 to 5 instead of 3.50 shown on sign

Church is obviously non profit. Do they qualify for the direct reimbursement from govt instead of tax credit?

Hey, I live in South San Jose and have 2 story house at 2300 sqft. Planning on install solar this year and need an idea on weather I'm overestimating or underestimating the system size. I don't have an ev at this moment and live with my wife with no immediate plans to have babies. Use AC every day.

I'm thinking of getting a solar system with 6.8KW capacity and 2 powerwalls. I'm a little concerned with the generation capacity as any changes like ev or baby will immediately make the system not enough (though I have free charging at work). Also I mainly use ac at night and in summers it's easily above 13kwh of use so I think ill definitely need 2 powerwalls.

Some rough estimate for pricing after incentive 6.8kw - $25911 7.2Kw - $27558 7.6kw - $28381 8.0kw - $28644

Just had a storm roll in so was thinking of this. As you know, Florida is the lightening capital of the USA. I have a background in electrical and computer engineering but really wanted to get second opinions.

I once lost a 30 foot palm tree to a lightening strike along with a pool robot on the opposite side of the house. You can never have enough surge protection here.

I know lightening (general rule) is trying to get to the ground, so wouldn't grounding be a bad idea? I don't want to have a strike go through my system which consists of some strung wires in the trees, buried wires, inverters and charge controller in a shed mounted on wood on the wall.

The other option I was thinking of is to put up a long high pole somewhere near by to catch the lightning. I found one behind the shed.

Curious of anyone's thoughts on this.

Hi all,

So I'm in the market to buy a house in Texas. One that I really liked has solar panels already installed, and so we requested Terms & Conditions from seller. (Side note: seller is the son of the owner, who recently passed away). My realtor says she recommends looking for other houses as the T&C doesn't mention anything about transferring the warranty. I've tried to do my own research on Google, and immediately found the mess that this solar company is. Zenith became Deca, which then became Lumio?

Should I stay away from this house like the plague? Anyone who could share any thoughts/experience, I would greatly appreciate it.

System Size: 9.6660 KW

Solar PV: 28 Mission

Inverter: 28 Enphase - IQ7

Energy Monitoring: 1 Enphase

In the planning phase and I'd like to charge my PHEV using solar, but I charge overnight on level 1. Are there any standalone battery storage and EV charging solutions? Maybe 3-4 kWh of capacity? Or is a whole-house battery system just easier to work with?

Hey all, interested in going solar for our home and got a quote the other day. I wanted to post here and get people’s thoughts and see if this is good pricing.

The quote claims we’ll save $68,000 over 25 years with energy costs rising about 7% per year. We lose power often in our neighborhood for some reason and really love the idea of having the battery as a backup and source of power during summer peak hours since we both work from home.

The panel type is “Meyer Burger Black - MB_B120AyB - 390 (390 Watts)”. We’d have 12 of them.

Wife and I are both planning on EVs at some point in the near future, but our driving isn’t too crazy since we don’t have a commute.

What other info could I provide without posting the quote? I could maybe block out company and address info on it but wanted to avoid posting it if possible.

Our average bill is $110, and told average new bill will be $18. This system is expected to cover 108% consumption output. We would only “grid import” in January and February.

This system will cost $21947 after tax rebate, which I will receive in full next year when I file taxes since I have a side job that doesn’t take out taxes and expect to owe $10-15k. We’d be financing this and paying off in about 3-5 years.

We're looking to build a garage and I'd like to expand our solar footprint. I currently have 2 Powerwall 2s with a solar array.

I'm just checking: is there any way to combine a non-Tesla battery with our current system? I don't believe the Powerwall 3s are directly compatible with the 2s anyways so I am just trying to maximize my options and spitballing ideas (understanding this would create some kind of Frankenstein system)

• I'm retired, 77, in Florida. Florida Power and Light customer.
• I get hounded by solar sellers wanting to install panels. I usually am rude to them when they come to the door and tell them to "get off my lawn."
• Spouse loves the idea of solar and gets all kinds of spam email and texts. We went all the way with one installer who promised no out of pocket... but it was a lease deal on the system. They owned it!
• We own the house. Electric is $180/month budget bill.
• She keeps telling me all the sweet deals she gets offered.
• AITA? I just don't trust the whole solar on my roof industry. I'm old. I don't want to screw around with it. So what's your advice?
• I guess I'm inviting more spam... but... here's goes (hits post)

Hello,

I have a few questions.

First, what is the formula for calculating amperage of a module based on measured irradiance and temperature data? Our electrician gave us a formula that makes no sense and doesn’t include module efficiency, inverter clipping, etc.

Second- the temperature coefficient on most modules is something like ‘0.36%’. The way I read that is 0.36/100 which equals 0.0036 per degree Celsius. They’re saying that it is 0.36- who’s right here?

Thanks for any help offered

TL;DR: Should I get solar now and if so will I be safe with the tax rebate?

Looking for some advice on going solar. I am a good candidate for it. I am 1. In Colorado 2. large south facing roof. 3. Decently heavy electrical load with my new EV.

I spent a good amount of time piecing together some systems and checking my current usage with a Rivian now in the mix and wanting to add home built sauna to my house in the near future. Currently with my usage im looking at around 30 400w panels and some batteries to offset nightly usage or be for backup (still deciding).

I dont want to make this political, but I have a strong feeling about the outcome of this coming election in November and worry about the support for solar and ev subsidies. It isnt the end of the world, and I think subsidies at some point need to end, but I want to make the best decision for 2024 knowing that my ROI for solar should be pretty quick and the 30% rebate on my DIY system will shorten it by...30%. Keeping things in this realm, I am curious if I get solar in 2024 will I still be guaranteed to be able to take advantage of the tax incentives if the incentives arent there in 2025?

One of the other issues (maybe not an issue to some) is that I am in the military and my federal taxable income, may actually take a few years to recoup that 30% because I tend to max out my federal refund. My income actually didnt even let me get all of the ev $7500 credit in 2023 for the Rivian.

In the end very little is actually guaranteed, but if I can purchase and install solar myself in 2024 do yall highly recommend doing it sooner than later?

If they call you, hang up. If your are in sales and are looking for leads, don’t give them your money. This company is a scam. Based out of India. STAY AWAY FROM US SOLAR EXPERT

I'm working on a utility scale PV design and I'm currently looking at our modules/string calculations. There are a couple of different metrics that can be used to determine the extreme minimum temperature for a location. Currently, I am comparing the minimum temperatures from SAM and ASHRAE. Neither one matches the coldest recorded day.

ASHRAE n =50 Extreme Min (DB): 7.4°F (-13.7°C)

SAM: 0°F ( -17.8°C)

Lowest Recorded Temperature: -6°F (-21.1°C)

My questions are,

1. What temperature do you typically use in your designs? I have seen both ASHRAE and SAM used in designs.
2. If Voc exceeds the rated value for a short period of time, does the inverter just not start or is there the potential for other damage?
3. Factoring in the poor incident angle (single-axis tracker) and the fact that the lowest recorded temperature typically occurs at sunrise, is there really any concern that overvoltage will happen?

Vmax Calculations

So i just installed solar in my home and the first electric bill showed up with some off peak on peak nonsense. Aka i produced 2x and still have to pay them. So im thinking about getting batteries even if in the end i pay more I just do not want to pay them at this point. My question is if i get batteries can i make it so they only charge from the solar panels and the only electricity i use first comes from the batteries only then once the batteries charge any excess can be sent back to the grid? Btw im not getting off the grid just in case i need more power so thats not an option for me at this point. Thank you