Energy Matters Forums

[zzsstt]

39 x 175watts = 6.825kw

Very happy!

(This system was not fully operational until early April 2010 due to line voltage issues, so the total is slightly lower than it should be).

[karlajensen]

WOW talk about bragging rights,
daily avg call it 33KW/hr which is line ball with mine /kwhr
very nice figures indeed, your location?

I'm down 0.5KWhr a day as array 2 faces NW.

I was gunning for 6290W which is 34 x 185W panels, adding another 6 to the NW array,
doesnt enseem worth it now as you have more than me anyway

I'm guessing you're on the 0.68c GFIT and not moving for a few years now

[zzsstt]

That's the farm system. It was actually designed for 8kw, so there's free space on the ground mounts for another 10 panels which I can't fill without losing the 60c GFIT. However I installed it with 4 x 25mm2 cables to allow for either 3phase or 2 single phase inverters, and a household meter (different account, different name, and without solar) is co-located with the farm meter attached to that array, so.........

The system is located in the NSW Central West, zone 2 on the NSW solar credits map. Last year we had slightly over twice our average rainfall, so we may (?) have lost a bit compared to a more normal year!

[karlajensen]

So the next 10 panels (at least) will be on a different supply -the house and configured for
NET metering Great idea
10 panels works a treat with most 2KW TL inverters as they are right in the sweet spot for efficiency.
and at 10KW/day will cover the "offset" nicely.
Still eligible for 5x RECS as its a different meter should cost about $4-5K out of pocket which will pay back in
6.5 years with no feed in bonus whatsoever, just offsetting.

Perfect

[zzsstt]

Perfect

I thought so too!

I'm actually considering disregarding all the REC's and so forth. I suspect that it is not strictly "legal", though I've been unable to find any information about non-REC non-FIT grid connect systems, but these days it is possible to purchase "approved" grid connect panels and inverters from eBay at far lower prices than through the approved installers. For this system I have no interest in a FIT, and to be honest the REC's won't repay the difference between eBay prices and installer prices especially after June when the multiplier ends. Add to that the problem that nobody seems interested in installing a small rural system at the moment, and the eBay approach becomes more attractive by the day!

"3*250W panels plus an inverter, about $2k on eBay. Shove a plug on it, plug it in and watch all your background load disappear... Priceless!"

I wonder how many other people are thinking the same thing?!

[karlajensen]

I did my whole system that way.
Intent was to use the spark we were useing at the time and he had said yeah no problem $500.
When he arrived to see 28 panels he said that will be $2K and I told him to p!ss off.
The system was ready to run!

I found another spark through the guy who wholesaled me the panels and handed over the $500.
"couldnt have done it better myself"

"why did you use such heavy cable everywhere?" -I've done the math! extra cost in cable repayed in months
(however the dufus at bunnings did not realise the 6.0mm cable he was selling me at 2.5mm price anyway, so I did alright there too)

DOH -there is a thought, I'll have to upgrade that when I go to 10 panels per string as cable voltage rating is 450V. Ahh, 10m of cable wont break the bank!

I cant help but think the QSE250's on ebay for peanuts (including freight) would be a reasonable choice given NU energy has installed 10's of thousands of them.

CMS is now selling direct to the public and a CMS 2000 is under $1500, and given it will outperform an Aurora every day of the week pretty good value. (based on the fact the Aurora gets too hot running at full load and derates itself -I tried one when I had issues with one of the CMS units and it was down 5KW /day which was worse than the faulty CMS )

EM will be soon supplying a whole new range of SMA Sunnyboys so looking forward to that,
Quality Manufacturers in the 1.5-2KW inverter range is somewhat lacking at present -my opinion
kind of pot luck.

[karlajensen]

Today was better, used 4KWhr and fed in 34KWhr again
and vacuumed the whole house during sun hours (normally forbidden)

I love it when the wife is away, saves me a fortune

[bazzle]

@Karlajenson please keep to the post topics

I use a Wattson.
For a normal guy who doesnt want to brag about everything I do it works very well.
With the Holmes software and 2 clamps I can see what I am generating and what I am using from the network.
I also use Powometer software with it that shows continuous powere usage over various time frames.
This was usefull when I was trying to0 track down an intermittant power usage fault.
Accuacy may not be 100% but Im not that anal.

Bazzle

[zzsstt]

@Karlajenson please keep to the post topics

The thread is perfectly fine, it is all within the bounds of monitoring energy use/production and using those results to reduce grid usage.

It is the nature of conversations (this is, after all, a conversation) to incorporate related subjects every now and then. If every post that was not 100% dedicated to the subject was instead given its own thread, we would have a million threads with two posts in each, which is not very efficient. So when we start talking about baby formula, or composting lawn clippings, then tell us the thread is off topic. But when we are discussing monitoring energy and have a couple of posts about PV systems, just let it go!

[karlajensen]

Bazzle
I'll concede that one, topic was drifting I'll give you that!

All of the various types have their pros and cons
My advise for anyone is get one
They have the ability to help you identify a wasted 10% of your hard earned cash on "phantom" loads
where we use power and gain nothing.
If everyone in australia had one and paid a little attention to it for a few weeks, we could reduce our emissions significantly

Karl