6Kw going in soon in Aliso Viejo

[Alisobob]

Here I see an abrupt improvement in Feb, with a combination of longer days and far
less clouds. . Bruce Roe

[Alisobob]

You guys lost me

On another note, you gotta be over-producing with those numbers, Bob.

Slightly...

solar52.JPG

For last month, I overproduced about 2 kwh's per day, and was credited $8 towards summer.

The $1.71 bill was for taxes, and line usage.

My 3 year running average for a January SCE bill was $238.

I happy with how its going..

[bcroe]

So, I just had me best generation week ever.... YAY!!!

Here I see an abrupt improvement in Feb, with a combination of longer days and far
less clouds. The increased generation trend will probably continue through June.

Some of us think there is no such thing as over producing. Bruce Roe

[josefontao]

You guys lost me

On another note, you gotta be over-producing with those numbers, Bob.

[sensij]

In addition to the factors you listed, shade can be one of the bigger factors that affect actual system output, and it can be difficult to predict accurately. Simple price per nameplate watt isolates what interests most of us the most when comparing installers, since it is looking at just the cost of equipment and the installation itself. A cost-effectiveness metric would be interesting, something like a simple year 0 only LCOE calculation, but is (based on the content of this, and other threads) unlikely to catch on.

[Alisobob]

solar51.JPG

So, I just had me best generation week ever.... YAY!!!

But this brings up a question to me?? It has to do with the REAL price per watt.

Follow my reasoning..

When gasoline octane is rated... its the "Research" octane rating , plus, the "Motor " octane rating added together, divided bu two.

15-0700.jpg

Now, with solar... everyone is consumed by the "Price per watt" stat.... but thats only nameplate pricing. It has nothing to do with generation or savings.

The East coast has cheaper installed pricing, and better rebates, but their systems under produce due to the weather.

West cost systems seem more expensive to install, have less rebates, but perform better due to the weather.

Should the "Price per watt" thread be changed to factor this in, much like the octane rating does??

It should be Dollar per Watt nameplate... plus... Dollar per watt generated ( from a PV Watts calculation) divided by two.

This would be more accurate...

Yes??

No??

Thoughts??

[josefontao]

Agreed....

It seems insane that here in the 21st century.... with all this computing power... that with a few simple clicks of the mouse, SCE cannot give you the outcome or a few different scenarios.

Its not in their interest.

[J.P.M.]

Agreed....

It seems insane that here in the 21st century.... with all this computing power... that with a few simple clicks of the mouse, SCE cannot give you the outcome or a few different scenarios.

It is not in the POCO's interest to provide any more information nor to make it more user friendly than is legally required. They have nothing to gain by educating the customer or making self education easier.

[Alisobob]

I would be skeptical that the SCE customer service agent on the phone is running the generation estimates and consumption calculations tightly enough to make a thoughtful recommendation either way.

Agreed....

It seems insane that here in the 21st century.... with all this computing power... that with a few simple clicks of the mouse, SCE cannot give you the outcome or a few different scenarios.

[sensij]

You're kidding? Alisobob has the baddest system in SoCal and he oversized...

I don't know, do I need to use emoticons to communicate in this thread? Others have pointed some of this out, but let's recap:

1) If the system is sized for 100% offset, the expected NET consumption at the end of the year is approximately 0. By the estimates shared earlier in the thread, 100% offset *will* be achieved, since kWh credits generated during this time of year through spring will be consumed in the summer by A/C and other cooling loads. If that is true, then the rate plan truly doesn't matter, there are no "savings" left to be had.

2) For TOU to make sense, the PV system needs to be small enough that it is unable to produce enough kWh to cover the full year's consumption. If this is true, there is at least the possibility that a TOU $ credit could come out ahead of a straight kWh offset.

3) Any TOU plan with 2-8 pm peak period is unlikely to be net negative during the peak period, if A/C represents a big portion of the load. That rules out the -A and -B plans. The -D plan is still 12-6 pm, so there is a chance that it will come out ahead. The on-peak credit for wintertime generation is 0.22 / KWh. The credit will get consumed at at 0.34 / kWh in the summer. Therefore, 100 kWh of peak generation in winter is only worth 65 hours of peak consumption in summer. If the customer is not net negative in peak periods during summer, that credit gets eaten up fast, before off-peak loads get covered.

In other words, the window in which TOU makes sense is narrow... in general terms, the system needs to be big enough that consumption is net negative during summer peak, but small enough that consumption is net positive for the year. I don't think enough information has been shared to know for sure whether this sytem would benefit under that plan or not. I would be skeptical that the SCE customer service agent on the phone is running the generation estimates and consumption calculations tightly enough to make a thoughtful recommendation either way.

[Alisobob]

I'm wrong about this. Its the EV plans that are phasing out.

SCE said today, " ..just renamed".

[Alisobob]

You're kidding? Alisobob has the baddest system in SoCal and he oversized...

I have a nice lil' system, that appears ( so far) to be correctly sized, at least to me.

I'll let you know in 11 months.

[silversaver]

Guys,

don't be to excite about the TOU-D plan. There is actually 3 different types of rates on TOU-D

1. TOU-D-A plan with 10 cents on your baseline allocation credit
2. TOU-D-B plan that charges $16 monthly base fee
3. TOU-D plan with 2 levels of off-peak and no super off-peak hours.

READ THE FINE PRINT!!!

[josefontao]

Where are you getting this info from?

I'm wrong about this. Its the EV plans that are phasing out.

[control4userguy]

Based on how you've described your consumption, it is hard to see how TOU will benefit you. In the summer time, you are a net consumer, and since you've said A/C is where most of that energy goes, it is likely to land squarely in the "peak" pricing period. In general, TOU makes the most sense for people who are net generators during peak periods. I would guess that whatever gain you might pick up from TOU this time of year will be quickly eaten up and end up costing you once your A/C starts running.

You're kidding? Alisobob has the baddest system in SoCal and he oversized...