6Kw going in soon in Aliso Viejo

[Alisobob]

SCE TOU.jpg

Thats Bad A$$.... love the color coding!

I hope to report good news next month!!

[silversaver]

I don't mean this as damning with faint praise but compared to a lot of people I speak with face to face, you are sophisticated, believe me.

Be careful on changing back. SCE may limit you to one change, or limit how often you can flop between tariffs. Check the tariff rules and fine print. What you are told verbally is worth no more than the paper it's written on.

The info is online too as well. You can move to other plan anytime, but after that you are limited to 12 months. Depends on who you talk with on the phone, some are more useful than others...... If the person you talk with isn't helpful, hang up and call again later and you might be surprise.... My friend change his plan 3 times last year...... he has little 4.5kW system and he is trying hard to make his solar 100% eff. errr.... he had to pay SCE $500 at trueup and he is crying not having a larger system.... too bad on his SP lease system.

[silversaver]

Oh... believe me JPM...I'm about as un-sophisticated as they come , concerning rates.

Thats why I'm throwing the dice on this, and will report the outcome.

SCE said I can change back to "Domestic" at any time, no charge, if it doesnt work out.

They said .."You can switch back... any time. Then, you must wait 12 months before switching again."

I just recently switch from standard Domestic to TOU-D-A. I received the same info from SCE Net Metering department. I can try it for few months, if I don't like it I can switch back when ever. BUT, if I do switch back, then I have to wait 12 months before I can do any changes again.

Bob, you will love the TOU-D-A screen with all the detail on hourly interval. You can get total, peak, off peak and super off peak total usage.

[Alisobob]

They said .."You can switch back... any time. Then, you must wait 12 months before switching again."

[J.P.M.]

Oh... believe me JPM...I'm about as un-sophisticated as they come , concerning rates.

Thats why I'm throwing the dice on this, and will report the outcome.

SCE said I can change back to "Domestic" at any time, no charge, if it doesnt work out.

I don't mean this as damning with faint praise but compared to a lot of people I speak with face to face, you are sophisticated, believe me.

Be careful on changing back. SCE may limit you to one change, or limit how often you can flop between tariffs. Check the tariff rules and fine print. What you are told verbally is worth no more than the paper it's written on.

[Alisobob]

Bob, since you only replaced the south facing roof areas did you notice color/material differences in the old and new roof areas?

I have concrete roof tiles. They took them off, replaced all the paper underneath, and a few flashings... then put it all back.

It looks the same.

[Alisobob]

However, that may lead someone less sophisticated than you about rates and usage to incorrect, or less than optimal conclusions.

Just a thought.

Oh... believe me JPM...I'm about as un-sophisticated as they come , concerning rates.

Thats why I'm throwing the dice on this, and will report the outcome.

SCE said I can change back to "Domestic" at any time, no charge, if it doesnt work out.

[J.P.M.]

Well... I have two months of "Domestic" rate billing under my belt... and for next months (March) billing period I will be on "TOU-DT".

I've read the pro's / con's.... ups and downs.... its all too confusing for me.

I'll let you know my real life experiences.

The SCE rep feels it will benefit me.

Who knows!!

I'll keep you all informed.

My basic parameters... Solar replaced 100% of prior use.... no EV... No heavy electrical demands before 6pm on weekdays.

T.O.U. may benefit you, especially if your peak loads are low (and stay that way). I'd only suggest remembering that every situation is different for many reasons, known and unknown, and also that T.O.U. schedules will probably change more easily and more quickly than rates, particularly as POCO loading as f(time) changes as more users opt for T.O.U. and other reasons. If/when you report favorable bill reductions relative to prior use, that's great. However, that may lead someone less sophisticated than you about rates and usage to incorrect, or less than optimal conclusions.

Just a thought.

[OftheSeven]

Nice.

Ugh, waiting for the roofing estimates is killing me...especially on these nice sunny days.

Bob, since you only replaced the south facing roof areas did you notice color/material differences in the old and new roof areas?

[Alisobob]

Well... I have two months of "Domestic" rate billing under my belt... and for next months (March) billing period I will be on "TOU-DT".

I've read the pro's / con's.... ups and downs.... its all too confusing for me.

I'll let you know my real life experiences.

The SCE rep feels it will benefit me.

Who knows!!

I'll keep you all informed.

My basic parameters... Solar replaced 100% of prior use.... no EV... No heavy electrical demands before 6pm on weekdays.

[Alisobob]

To say you beat PVWattsor any estimating tool is about equivalent to comparing the weather for some Feb. in the past to the Feb. just ended. It says nothing about the accuracy of PVWatts or the possible performance of your system. Next Feb. you could be a goat. Who's off then ? Would that mean your system is malfunctioning ?

I was careful not to use the "beat" word in my post. I understand that numbers the PVWatts site generates are purely hypothetical, and may vary widely, month to month and year to year.

Thats why I posted this... While Feb 2015 appears to be abnormally good, what comes in March .... remains to be seen.

[J.P.M.]

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Feb was a good month. At one stretch, I had 19 days in a row over 30 KWH's...

856 KWH's generated vs a projected 625...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5945[/ATTACH]

37 KWH's off 6.4 KV nameplate... not too bad for Feb.

Onwards into March, and hopefully sunny days...

PVWatts and other tools are estimators of long term performance. What you are actually comparing is estimated performance based on some prior year's Feb. weather to your actual performance based on the weather for the Feb. just ended, which may or may bear any resemblance to the weather for the month PVWatts used for it's long term estimate. To say you beat PVWatts or any estimating tool is about equivalent to comparing the weather for some Feb. in the past to the Feb. just ended. It says nothing about the accuracy of PVWatts or the possible performance of your system. Next Feb. you could be a goat. Who's off then ? Would that mean your system is malfunctioning ?

Suit yourself, but I'd respectfully suggest a reading of the PVWatts help/info screens and a reading of the NREL TMY information would clear u a lot of confusion.

Take what you want of the above. Scrap the rest.

[silversaver]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5943[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5944[/ATTACH]

Feb was a good month. At one stretch, I had 19 days in a row over 30 KWH's...

856 KWH's generated vs a projected 625...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5945[/ATTACH]

37 KWH's off 6.4 KV nameplate... not too bad for Feb.

Onwards into March, and hopefully sunny days...

try SAM, better tool. you can watch the video there

https://sam.nrel.gov/content/downloads

[Alisobob]

Sun has to come out sooner of later... hang in there Bruce.

[bcroe]

Here in cloud land, the Feb output per day was 2.3 times the Jan output per day. Bruce Roe