Coming Soon to NJ - 12.35 kW Hanwha DUO-G5 + SolarEdge Inverter/Optimizers by GPE

[ButchDeal]

Just saw this box which wasn't on the packing list. What does this electric meter do? I saw the spec sheet on SolarEdge website which says this is an "energy meter with ModBus connection" but still unsure what its function is.

Edit: wait a minute, does it function as the consumption meter? ButchDeal may we pick your brain once more please
https://www.solaredge.com/sites/defa...umption_na.pdf

SE.JPG

That is a consumption meter. make sure they install it correctly (some installers are lazy and will just leave it in the box).

[ButchDeal]

Is that not the RGM add-on for the Inverter? Guessing it doesn't come pre-installed? ButchDeal


You didn't add a Consumption meter did you?

No it is not the RGM, the RGM is part of the inverter (though a similar looking part inside of it).

[J.P.M.]

Yeah, because 100 out of 130 have leaks?!

Maybe not yet, but my guess is the probability of future leaks is greater than a lot of homeowners may believe or would feel comfortable with. Just relating what I've seen.

[funguy11]

Greetings all, my name is Tony, a.k.a "NJTurtlePower" on this and many other forums, and I'm excited to share the details for our soon-to-be installed solar system here in Flemington, NJ.

I've been lurking here for a few weeks/months during my initial solar research phase and now that our system design is finalized, financing is settled, and the utility interconnection plans are approved, it's time to share all the juicy details and how this all came to be.

First, I would like tag a few forum members that I discovered browsing and searching the forums here that are from my area (NJ) and/or are related to our installer Green Power Energy. In some way or another I may have used your solar experiences, system advice or comments in my own planning, so thanks!

J.P.M. jordgubbe sunpoweredev JSchnee21 flowing macaddict


I guess you can say I've been interested in solar for many years now and even did my senior thesis on the subject during my undergrad at NJIT. Last year kinda got me thinking hard about solar again after the long awaited delivery of my Tesla Model 3, as well as the deadline and changes to the NJ SREC program. So, I started where many of us do, Google...which led me to EnergySage and eventually a few site visits/consultations with a handful of local vendors as well as Tesla Solar, and as they say, the rest is history.

Over the course of my journey I dealt in detail with Tesla, Sun Run, Evoke Solar and Green Power Energy. As the title suggests, I settled with GPE in the end, but in one way or another tried to use all the quotes, system designs and Q&A sessions, etc. from all the vendors in some way or another in the decision making process. If anyone has any specific question about the OTHER vendors or their quotes feel free to reply, but for sake of time and boredom from reading my lengthy drawn out posts, I'll just keep my focus here on GPE and our soon-to-be-built system.

As many others have already attested to, both here and on other mediums online, GPE has been top notch in all phases of this project to date. My initial and main contact at GPE has been Tim DeSevo, but I also dealt a bit with Sara Thorpe from the Design Team. Basically all my communications have been via EnergySage messages or direct email besides the site survey (Mark Taylor) which I prefer overall. Tim's responsiveness and patience (in all my endless questions/concerns) has been all I could ask for as he would literally respond within 2-5min of every exchange. GPE's partner roofer (we'll get into that later) is C. Costello Roofing out of Ventnor City, NJ and they have a very similar reputation as GPE, and so I'm told, the reason they have decided to partner up on projects as needed. Damien Correa has been my contact at Costello and has also been super helpful, honest and again very patient getting back to me on anything I asked of him and I'm very much looking forward to dealing with their end of the project hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks to get the ball rolling.

Energy Usage:

• Utility Provider: JCP&L
• Current Utility Rate: $0.1506 per kWh ***UPDATED June 19' rate***
• Pre-EV Charging Annual Usage / July 2018 Data: 9,385 kWh
• Current Annual Energy Usage (Estimate): 13,850 kWh (EV charging for about 10-months via NEMA 14-50 outlet / Approx 10K miles driven per year)

Solar Design, Details & Specs:

• Nameplate: 12.350 DC kW (STC)
• First Year System Output (Estimate): 14,354 kWh
• Lifetime System Output (Estimate): 273,850 kWh
• Solar Panels: 38 X Hanwha Q-CELLS Q.PEAK DUO-G5 325w Modules
• Optimizers: 38 X SolarEdge P400
• Panel Layout: 3 Arrays - 20 Panel (South) / 12 Panel (East) / 6 Panel (West) *See Attached/Below
• String Layout: 3 Strings of 13/13/12 *See Attached/Below
• Inverter: 1 X SolarEdge SE11400H-US
• Mounting/Flashing Hardware: IronRidge XR10 Rail / Quick Mount PV (QMLM/QMLM-2)

SOLAR ONLY - System Cost & Financing:

• Total System Cost: $36,590
• Price Per Watt (Pre-Incentives): $2.96
• Financing Partner: Sungage Financial
• Financing Terms: 18-Month 0% APR for FTC Portion / 2.99% APR for 60-Months on Loan Balance
• Monthly Payment: $460.01
• Return on Investment (ROI) Estimate: Approx. 6-Years

Roofing Project:
So this was not a part of our original plan, but unfortunately a reality of our current situation. As the more recent owners of an early 1980's home (approx. 2,400 sq ft) we knew little about the history of the roof besides the current condition explained to us by GPE/Costello as well as the other guys who conducted physical site surveys. After a little further digging I was able to find a Sellers Disclosure document that listed the age of the re-roof (2nd layer) and by adding the time we have now owned the home puts it at approx. 21-years. The re-roof workmanship/install is also questionable at best, so to eliminate the concerns and to avoid potentially spending several thousand in extra labor to remove and reinstall the solar system a few years down the road; we are tackling this project head on with help from Costello Roofing. They will be installing a new 30-Year Tamko architectural shingle roof in preparation for the GPE solar system, all rolled into the existing Sungage Solar loan which is super convenient and affordable given the 30% Federal Tax Credit. Costello's roofing pricing was already highly competitive regardless of the FTC based on others who have looked at the roof due to the added expense of the near vertical "barn style" sections of our 2nd story.

Current Timeline:

• We were given the green light to our solar design and permits last week (3rd week of May 2019) by JCP&L.
• Costello Roofing Roofing Install: *** COMPLETE - 6/14 & 6/15 ***
• GPE Solar System Install - Date TBD
• Utility Inspections / PTO: Date TBD

Well, that's the plan as it stands guys.... feel free to comment, question and critique. I'm interested to hear updates from recent GPE install owners and/or any last minute details to be on the lookout for with my install coming up soon as well. If I left out any pertinent details let me know, as I will be updating this thread as the project evolves.

Thanks again all!

6 year payback period is awesome

[NJturtlePower]

BTW if I'm clogging up your thread please do tell. I just thought maybe you find this informative.

No issue at all. I tagged all you local/GPE guys for a reason and it's been great going back and forth, sharing info and working through our questions and concerns.

Plus since your system is basically the same size and equipment (besides the panels) and by the same installer it's all relatable in my book.

So about that magnet roller from Amazon...just got it today and took it out for a quick spin in the rain (front walkway, driveway and back walkway) and look what I found!

IMG_1257.jpeg

Highly recommend for anyone with a recent or pending roof job...as clean as it might look to the eye you'll be shocked what this sucker will pick up right under your nose. Spots that seem to hide the most treasure were the walkway edges and my stone beds in the front of the house. 2-3 nails were on the driveway around the dumpster they pulled this morning.

Master Magnetics - Magnetic Sweeper with Wheels, 14.5"

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[nwdiver]

FWIW, one thing of many I learned while watching (mostly from the ground) the ~ 130+ arrays that have so far been installed in my HOA is how many holes get drilled in roofs that seem to go "thump" about 3-5 seconds after the drill starts, with another hole immediately drilled and located in a place that appears to be immediately adjacent to the hole just drilled. If folks knew how much daylight and empty space is being created in their roof deck, or its longer term consequences, they might be concerned. I always suggest that my neighbors sit on their roofs, out of the way during installs and watch, and then bitch when they see what goes on (or doesn't go on) during an install. Of course no one does. Of all those installs, there's probably ~ 100 roofs with ticking leak problems.

If the installers are even ~10% competent they're using flashfeet. The flashing is ~12" wide so even if they miss the rafter by a few inches and have to drill another hole all the holes are covered. You could probably cut a hole under the flashing and it still wouldn't leak. The bolt penetration is raised AND sealed. The solar anchor may actually be LESS likely to leak than the rest of the roof since it's somewhat reinforced.

I've mounted >300 solar feet... no leaks. Several extra holes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qN5dwEumCM

[NJturtlePower]

If the installers are even ~10% competent they're using flashfeet. The flashing is ~12" wide so even if they miss the rafter by a few inches and have to drill another hole all the holes are covered. You could probably cut a hole under the flashing and it still wouldn't leak. The bolt penetration is raised AND sealed. The solar anchor may actually be LESS likely to leak than the rest of the roof since it's somewhat reinforced.

I've mounted >300 solar feet... no leaks. Several extra holes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qN5dwEumCM

Correct, GPE spec'd my (and I'm sure sunpoweredev the same) system using Quick Mount PV's L-Mount Flashing Foot which are 9" x 12" aluminum. As it was explained to me the installers also apply gue to the underside of the flashing panel before laying it down as an extra failsafe so 1 hole or 10 I don't see water working its way back under the flashing AND glue on top of being already protected from direct driving rain do to the panel above it.

https://www.quickmountpv.com/products/l-mount.html?cur=0#resources

LM-OOB.jpg

[sunpoweredev]

No issue at all. I tagged all you local/GPE guys for a reason and it's been great going back and forth, sharing info and working through our questions and concerns.

Plus since your system is basically the same size and equipment (besides the panels) and by the same installer it's all relatable in my book.

So about that magnet roller from Amazon...just got it today and took it out for a quick spin in the rain (front walkway, driveway and back walkway) and look what I found!

IMG_1257.jpeg

Highly recommend for anyone with a recent or pending roof job...as clean as it might look to the eye you'll be shocked what this sucker will pick up right under your nose. Spots that seem to hide the most treasure were the walkway edges and my stone beds in the front of the house. 2-3 nails were on the driveway around the dumpster they pulled this morning.

Master Magnetics - Magnetic Sweeper with Wheels, 14.5"

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wow quite the treasure trove lol. Damien did tell me to look where the dumpster sat on the street after they hauled it away and I didn't find any. I looked several times in all my paved areas (driveway, paver patio and side paver walkway) and found just a single nail. I did not comp through the grassed areas though, although the crew did that with a similar looking magnetic sweeper.

[sunpoweredev]

If the installers are even ~10% competent they're using flashfeet. The flashing is ~12" wide so even if they miss the rafter by a few inches and have to drill another hole all the holes are covered. You could probably cut a hole under the flashing and it still wouldn't leak. The bolt penetration is raised AND sealed. The solar anchor may actually be LESS likely to leak than the rest of the roof since it's somewhat reinforced.

I've mounted >300 solar feet... no leaks. Several extra holes...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qN5dwEumCM

My installer did use this Ironridge mounting system, per the spec sheet my rep sent me when he presented my design. So I guess they're at least 10% competent lol.

iron.JPG

[sunpoweredev]

NJturtlePower Are you planning on having the conduits on your roof or inside your attic?

I think the crew will be running the conduits today. He told me their preferred way is inside the attic, to which I was a bit surprised since it seems to me more work is involved. I did tell him that I didn't mind having it outside since it's in the back of the house and not visible from the front anyway. My attic has horrible access, one has to be quite a contortionist to get around up there and I just didn't want the crew tortured too much. I'm too nice lol.

Other than aesthetics, what are the pros and cons of running the conduits on the roof vs inside the attic?

[NJturtlePower]

NJturtlePower Are you planning on having the conduits on your roof or inside your attic?

I think the crew will be running the conduits today. He told me their preferred way is inside the attic, to which I was a bit surprised since it seems to me more work is involved. I did tell him that I didn't mind having it outside since it's in the back of the house and not visible from the front anyway. My attic has horrible access, one has to be quite a contortionist to get around up there and I just didn't want the crew tortured too much. I'm too nice lol.

Other than aesthetics, what are the pros and cons of running the conduits on the roof vs inside the attic?

I mentioned to GPE that I would like to keep my runs internal wherever possible, and they said it shouldn't be an issue...to be discussed with crew the day of install.

My feeling is that any component you can keep out of the elements (sunlight/animals/water) the better, and in my case my attic spaces are easily accessible and completely empty, so on top of it being more aesthetic from the outside that's the route I'll be leaning.

Cons might be an extra coupe roof penetrations and possibly harder to troubleshoot IF anything were to go down due to everything not being "on deck" and visible at one level.

[NJturtlePower]

My installer did use this Ironridge mounting system, per the spec sheet my rep sent me when he presented my design. So I guess they're at least 10% competent lol.

The racking is spec'd as IronRidge XR10 Rail, the mounting hardware/flashing is spec'd as Quick Mount PV shown in the GPE engineering diagrams...one of the last pages.

***Post with mounting hardware/flashing details pending Moderation in response to nwdiver 's post #96 above ***

[sunpoweredev]

I mentioned to GPE that I would like to keep my runs internal wherever possible, and they said it shouldn't be an issue...to be discussed with crew the day of install.

My feeling is that any component you can keep out of the elements (sunlight/animals/water) the better, and in my case my attic spaces are easily accessible and completely empty, so on top of it being more aesthetic from the outside that's the route I'll be leaning.

Cons might be an extra coupe roof penetrations and possibly harder to troubleshoot IF anything were to go down due to everything not being "on deck" and visible at one level.

My attic access sucks horribly. Just climbed up there to cleanup a bit after the Costello crew (huge mess up there from them cutting for the ridge vent), got muscle cramp twisting my body getting up there. If you haven't cleaned up after them already, you might want to. Huge mess falls onto my floor each time I open the attic access.

The Tesla dude (tall!) was up there for an hour when he came to do my site survey. I don't know how he survived up there for so long lol.

Edit: yep same rail and mounting hardware.

Edit: a shot of the mount:
mount.JPG

[JSchnee21]

Yeah, I don't think mine were flashed like that (GPE in May 2017). I'm not sure which rail system my install used. Seems like GPE has upped their game.

[nwdiver]

Yeah, I don't think mine were flashed like that (GPE in May 2017). I'm not sure which rail system my install used. Seems like GPE has upped their game.

Hmmm.... flash feet have been around since ~2012? They were fairly standard by ~2017. I wouldn't even consider not using them today. I didn't mean IronRidge specifically... there are several different brands and from what I've seen they're all great. The feet just need to be flashed...