I thought it was going to be a the new record day for me as well (which isn't hard granted when you only have 7 of them) but nope, it was just under. I came to the same conclusion - heat. The LG300's I have have a .42 panel coefficient and it was 11C above 25C for the high yesterday. That works out to 11C * .42 = 4.62 percent less efficient at peak.
I just got my Rainforest Eagle installed and inputting energy consumed into PVOutput. All kinds of fun being able to monitor production vs consumption.
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Here's a great, "real world" example for you all....
Yesterday was a beautiful, cloudless, 12+ hour generation day. Output should have been huge.... right?
Wrong. It was also hot!
I barely made it over the 40 KwH mark, and peak production was barely 5KW, where it should have been 5.5. And look, no clipping either.
I have the monocrystalline style panels, that are supposed to be a little more heat tolerant... Poly's would have felt the heat effect even more.
Heat is not your friend ....Leave a comment:
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2015
Jan. PV Watts Est. 725 / Actual Production 706 / Ave. Daily Usage -2 KwH's / SCE $ Credit $9
Feb PV Watts Est. 625 / Actual Production 856 / Ave. Daily Usage -7 KwH's / SCE $ Credit $31.50
Switch from Domestic service to TOU-D-T service
March. PV Watts Est. 1003 / Actual Production 1080 / Ave. Daily Usage -8 KwH's / SCE $ Credit $67
Apr. PV Watts Est. 1027 / Actual Production 1100 / Ave. Daily Usage -9 KwH's / SCE $ Credit $60
May. PV Watts Est. 974 / Actual Production 1020 / Ave. Daily Usage -10.3 KwH's / SCE $ Credit $87
Total SCE charges saved in 2015 : $855
Total Generation Credits : $255
Total Solar Value to Date: $1110
For this month ( June) The TOU-D-T rates have changed to the "Summer" schedule, which should provide further advantages for me.
solar109.JPGLeave a comment:
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May was a cloudy, poor production month last year, but 2015 was much worse. HOWEVER the
new heat pump has drastically cut consumption for April/May 2015. My reserve built up last
year (for winter) was 1713 KWH; 2015 its 3345 KWH. I'll run a curve when I have more data
points. Bruce RoeLeave a comment:
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I'll pull the exact numbers up when I get home.
PVWatts estimates are very close to my actual generation numbers, but I'm way ahead on SCE Net Metering credits, due to the advantages that TOU billing is providing me.
It will be interesting to see where the Month 12 numbers end up...
Leave a comment:
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May wasen't a great month for solar generation, only got 1 full day of sun... on the 10th.
BUT.... thanks to TOU, I still managed a nice credit for this month...
solar108.JPG
I'm currently in month 8 of my net metering cycle... Months 9 ( July) 10 (Aug) and 11 (Sept) should start to consume all this credit with A/C use, then start all over again.Leave a comment:
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I think we are all responsible. I remember when Bob was getting his system installed I was standing in a dry creek bed when the flash flood warnings went off. First day of installation for my system it rained (and had to be postponed) and then it rained again right after I got it. Sounds like we have all had similar experiences.
For those who haven't lived in south orange county this probably sounds like a ridiculous conversation but you have to understand how little it rains here. That and the 3+ year drought without significant rain makes the timing very suspicious.
<dons tinfoil hat>
Thanks! I can't stop refreshing the numbers. It's also flipped my perspective on the weather - I used to love cloudy, rainy days but now I like watching numbers and graphs.Leave a comment:
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I just went live on the 2nd at 1pm, had 30.4 on the 3rd which was nice, not so good today with 20.0. Lot's of clouds today, no sun until late in the day. Our system is 6.0kW with 21 m250's and SW 285 panels.My system just came up on the 1st so its only been running a few days. Pretty sure I live across the valley from Bob so we should be close to identical location wise.
7.8kW system with 26 enphase m250's and the LG 300 panels.
Here is my output on June 3rd, which had rain in the morning. But yeah, the sun doesn't really come out till noon at this distance from coast.
Had 52 kWh on the 2nd, which was super exciting (for me). Today was also kind of bad, was worried I wouldn't even hit 20 kWh but it wasn't a problem, still cleared 30 kWh easily.
Oddly enough I am on SDG&E and not Edison but they have been decent to deal with. Will be sticking with the 4 tier system for awhile till I get a grip on usage. I did order a Rainforest Eagle so I can tie it into the new smart meter that was installed. That way I can use pvoutput.org to compare solar and energy usage directly in real time.
I think I am the cause of the clouds, just my luck with things.Leave a comment:
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My system just came up on the 1st so its only been running a few days. Pretty sure I live across the valley from Bob so we should be close to identical location wise.
7.8kW system with 26 enphase m250's and the LG 300 panels.
Here is my output on June 3rd, which had rain in the morning. But yeah, the sun doesn't really come out till noon at this distance from coast.
Had 52 kWh on the 2nd, which was super exciting (for me). Today was also kind of bad, was worried I wouldn't even hit 20 kWh but it wasn't a problem, still cleared 30 kWh easily.
Oddly enough I am on SDG&E and not Edison but they have been decent to deal with. Will be sticking with the 4 tier system for awhile till I get a grip on usage. I did order a Rainforest Eagle so I can tie it into the new smart meter that was installed. That way I can use pvoutput.org to compare solar and energy usage directly in real time.Leave a comment:
Leave a comment: