That is why I don't have insurance...I wouldn't be able to afford mine and yours.
The day is coming when I'm going to have no choice but to drop hurricane coverage as well.
School me on solar
- Thread starter Plumber1
- Start date
The day is coming when I'm going to have no choice but to drop hurricane coverage as well.
03RubiPHX
Member
I'm literally having my solar panels cleaned this morning - something I haven't seen addressed often . My panels wont put out a close enough production rating unless they are pretty much clean as the day installed, and the most perfect angle of sun. I have 42 panels on the house and live in Phoenix - Everything here is covered in a layer of dust after a week or two. This month will be my first full month of production so I'm kind of wait and see at this point. The system has a monitoring app and I also have a Sense whole house monitor for load usage. Neither one makes complete sense to me.
Initially the system was sized bigger than my last two years of usage over a years time. Not sure that math makes sense when every year the misc. fees go up here and there.
My overall intent was to minimize the monthly outgoing bills and pay for things now while I can . I flat out purchased the system so we'll see what the taxes shake out for last year. Keep in mind the rebates are going to go waaaay down over the next few years as well. Each state has their own specific rebates as well.
The new roof and lifespan was an issue but I just redid mine after 22 years so that was honestly one of my biggest concerns.
I'm a commercial electrical contractor and It took me almost 20 years to even come close to making sense of the investment for me personally.
Initially the system was sized bigger than my last two years of usage over a years time. Not sure that math makes sense when every year the misc. fees go up here and there.
My overall intent was to minimize the monthly outgoing bills and pay for things now while I can . I flat out purchased the system so we'll see what the taxes shake out for last year. Keep in mind the rebates are going to go waaaay down over the next few years as well. Each state has their own specific rebates as well.
The new roof and lifespan was an issue but I just redid mine after 22 years so that was honestly one of my biggest concerns.
I'm a commercial electrical contractor and It took me almost 20 years to even come close to making sense of the investment for me personally.
Not an EC but been in Electrical Distribution for 40+ years. 42 panels at 400+ or - watts. That is a huge system. I have a 3000 watt system that is now 13 years old installed at the California home. Paid cash to avoid interest costs or long term agreements. It was intentionally undersized as the goal was to cut peak pricing in the middle of the day. Time of Day pricing shifted peak pricing to the evening, foiled that plan. On its best day, when it was new I saw 2600 watts at noon in May/June time frame. Typically the panels will start degrading about 2% per year after the fourth year. Yesterday my peak output at noon was 2050 watts. The system returned my initial investment at around 10 years. With ToD, they jack the rates up to .55 cents per Kwh at 4pm when the solar stops producing so the payoff would have been much longer. It only produces when the rates are cheap and I refuse to put a lithium fire bomb on the side of my house. Check out StachDtraining on YouTube. As the home is in a windy area, sits on several acres, and it typically blows late in the day, I am looking at adding a couple of wind generators. Noise is the biggest concern. At the end of the day, they still need to suck tax dollars out of us to pay for the green new deal. I just purchased another 8 panels that I plan on facing west to maximize afternoon ouput. I haven't even considered putting solar on the Flagstaff house as the rates are so much lower. Would love to hear how it works out at the end of your first year.
What do you believe the actual effective lifespan of that system will be? 15 Year? 20 at best?
03RubiPHX
Member
Life span is a huge variable. Mfg to mfg, amount of exposure , install methods, weather. The mfg. Has a 25 year warranty but I have yet to see a panel manufacture thats been around that long that lives in a residential market. If I'm alive in 25 years I'm sure I'll have way bigger issues to contend with
The panels are only half the system but should be serviceable for at least 30 years, they don't stop working, just produce less in time. Inverters have a 10 year warranty for a reason. Maybe the newer units are longer but haven't researched them. Placing them out of the sun and in a cool spot will increase their lifespan. The latest trend is micro inverters which are placed the individual panel but that puts them on the roof exposed to more heat. I have no experience with them. My inverter is the original but it is inside with lots of airflow around it. At 13 years it will need to be replaced sometime in the near future.
I installed Enphase microinverters for each panel and although I've only had the systems installed less than 2 years I'm hoping I can count on the warranty. 25 years is pretty good. Of course, that's assuming the company is around that long. Replacing each microinverter is actually pretty simple especially since I installed the system myself.
I was too cheap to install the monitoring system but the inverter shows immediate production and total kwh produced. I just check production mid day about once a week to make sure one of the fuses in the combiner box hasn't blown. I loose one every couple of years. Does the monitor give enough detail to show if you have lost a microinverter or only total output? If you lost a couple of them, might not notice the overall kw reduction. I bought microinverters for my additional panels but didn't look at the warranty.
I see production for each panel. I just had a look. It's low today since the weather isn't the best but you can see the generation for each panel. I only have 10 panels.
Thanks,
Cloudy at the Calif house today, won't be getting much production there either.
Looks Like I need to invest in a monitor when I go the microinverter route.
03RubiPHX
Member
03RubiPHX
Member
Nice,
Whose panels? Those are some great outputs. The panels I just bought are only 400w rated but it was a deal.
03RubiPHX
Member
KennethS
TJ Addict
Dang, that’s a significant increase. I have often wondered how dust accumulation affects output, and have not really seen where anyone talks about it.
Curious to know what the cleaning process is. Hosing off or something more involved?
03RubiPHX
Member
Funny story. I'm not a huge social media person ( outside of this forum of course ) . I recently got onto Instagram for some fishing info for the local fly shop here in town. And now all the new fancy off road stuff I cant seem to live without... The advertisement kept popping up on my feed, so I messaged him. Scheduled out about 3 days . Showed up with a long filter, hose and a pole and ladder. Jumped up on the roof started spraying and brushing - 45 minutes later done.
KennethS
TJ Addict
Interesting. My co-worker is an avid flyfisher who does a lot of rim area fishing / hiking (fly fishing involves a lot of stream hiking).
03RubiPHX
Member
I'm definitely not avid about it but I certainly do try - I have a great trip already booked for Big Sky Montana with the son in August. Should be pretty amazing.
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