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

[J.P.M.]

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 I've seen they're all great. The feet just need to be flashed...

For my money, I'll stick with double flashing. I'd also be concerned about how only one lag bolt would handle the cyclic moment loading from wind if I needed a reasonable standoff like >= 6" or so.

[sunpoweredev]

Crew is just about done with the racking and mounting the optimizers. They'll be running the conduits and the panels should be going up today. Tuesday they will come tie the whole thing together and do the line tap.

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[NJturtlePower]

Crew is just about done with the racking and mounting the optimizers. They'll be running the conduits and the panels should be going up today. Tuesday they will come tie the whole thing together and do the line tap.

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Looking good!

So how many panels/arrays will you have facing different directions and count on each?

Mine is 20 X South / 12 X West / 6 X East - ZERO shade during usable hours.

It will be interesting comparing our output once we're up and running being our system size is nearly identical and the only measurable variable will be panel brand.

[J.P.M.]

Looking good!

So how many panels/arrays will you have facing different directions and count on each?

Mine is 20 X South / 12 X West / 6 X East - ZERO shade during usable hours.

It will be interesting comparing our output once we're up and running being our system size is nearly identical and the only measurable variable will be panel brand.

If you are close to one another, compare PVWatts runs and then see how the outputs compare. The PVWatts way will not consider shading but with input that reflects reality, it'll probably give a reasonable approx. of the ratio of annual outputs due to different orientations. For one array with two or more orientations, do a run for each orientation and sum the results.

Or, another/additional option: Check out something called PVOutput.org. Sign up and your output will be online for the world to see.

[sunpoweredev]

Looking good!

So how many panels/arrays will you have facing different directions and count on each?

Mine is 20 X South / 12 X West / 6 X East - ZERO shade during usable hours.

It will be interesting comparing our output once we're up and running being our system size is nearly identical and the only measurable variable will be panel brand.

Four arrays. Array C will have some shading in late afternoon. All others zero shade.

In Tesla's design, my entire roof is covered with something like 48 panels.

Crew is mounting the inverter in the garage right now. I hope they set me up with that consumption meter

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[NJturtlePower]

Four arrays. Array C will have some shading in late afternoon. All others zero shade.

In Tesla's design, my entire roof is covered with something like 48 panels.

Crew is mounting the inverter in the garage right now. I hope they set me up with that consumption meter

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Oh Wow! That install looks a little tricky...panels here, and there, and at different orientations (landscape/portrait) on different roof faces. A lot more labor I'm sure for the racking and wire runs around all those vents. Mine would be a day at the playground compared to that with only my Southern array broken up between the skylight/vents.

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Yes, interested to see how that mystery meter ends up haha.... Maybe it'll be a make me a deal kinda thing being it's already onsite.

[sunpoweredev]

Yes, interested to see how that mystery meter ends up haha.... Maybe it'll be a make me a deal kinda thing being it's already onsite.

Not promising. The crew says they haven't seen that box before.

[macaddict]

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 requested to have all my conduits in the attic and GPE had no issues with it. Even though my system is in the back of the house (south facing), you don't see a single conduit. 100% cleaner than my neighbor down the street that has metal conduits running across his roof (installed by another installer). There is also a DC junction box in the attic that I'm sure is a lot easier to tap into if any testing needs to be done than going up on my roof.

[macaddict]

It will be interesting comparing our output once we're up and running being our system size is nearly identical and the only measurable variable will be panel brand.

PVOutput dot org is perfect for that as it allows you to compare 2 systems. Once your monitoring is setup, you need an API key from your system to set it up in PVOutput. Take a look at the link in my signature.

[NJturtlePower]

PVOutput dot org is perfect for that as it allows you to compare 2 systems. Once your monitoring is setup, you need an API key from your system to set it up in PVOutput. Take a look at the link in my signature.

Yup, account and signature already set up, just waiting on some data. I've checked out your system and searched for a few others in my area to save as favorites.

[sunpoweredev]

I requested to have all my conduits in the attic and GPE had no issues with it. Even though my system is in the back of the house (south facing), you don't see a single conduit. 100% cleaner than my neighbor down the street that has metal conduits running across his roof (installed by another installer). There is also a DC junction box in the attic that I'm sure is a lot easier to tap into if any testing needs to be done than going up on my roof.

The crew insisted on running it in the attic. It comes down along a gutter down spout and below the siding. Looks quite clean although I just noticed that it didn't come down along the spout perfectly straight and that does bother me just a bit lol. I'm a sucker for symmetry. GPE engineering told me that if I relocated 3 of the PVC pipes on the roof, they could've rearranged the panel such that it gives me the same output with one less panel, but that throws off the symmetry of the panel layout on another array (plus I didn't want the hassle of having to coordinate a plumber with the roofer to do it).

I thought outside conduits have to be metal. Is that not the case? The conduits connecting the arrays on the roof are metal.

The crew took longer than expected on Friday. One of the guys was in the attic for quite a while running the conduit so the panels will go up Monday instead.

ButchDeal2 can the consumption meter be a DIY, or this is an electrician's job? I'm not sure if the crew will install it for me. They told me they haven't seen it before, although this crew is mostly the install crew. The electrician is coming on Tuesday to do the actual electrical work.

I'm also still not sure if they're be using the inverter's internal RGM or will they install a separate one adjacent to the inverter as the install crew kept saying. I do not see another box containing a separate meter.
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[macaddict]

ButchDeal2 can the consumption meter be a DIY, or this is an electrician's job? I'm not sure if the crew will install it for me. They told me they haven't seen it before, although this crew is mostly the install crew. The electrician is coming on Tuesday to do the actual electrical work.

I installed it myself. You can see my pictures here: https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/forum...239#post364239

Here is a post of my looking for info about it: https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/forum...ter#post354490

[macaddict]

ButchDeal2 can the consumption meter be a DIY, or this is an electrician's job? I'm not sure if the crew will install it for me. They told me they haven't seen it before, although this crew is mostly the install crew. The electrician is coming on Tuesday to do the actual electrical work.

I did it myself. I just replied with another post with the links to my install but it is unapproved because of the links. Once the mods get to it, you'll see how I did it. If you have added a circuit to your main panel, it should be easy for you.

[ButchDeal]

Anything can be DIY it depends on the technical level of the "Y"? A consumption monitor is not all that had to add but does involve getting into areas with high voltage ( often some that can not easily be turned off like the incoming lines to your MSP)

[JSchnee21]

I paid GPE to procure and install my consumption monitor. The GPE electrical sub installed some/most of it -- certainly the AC side of it. I think the low voltage/coms side was done by one of the GPE installers -- as well as the necessary portal/inverter config which, at the time, took about them about an hour on the phone with SE corporate (mostly waiting on hold).

The only little wrinkle was the fact that the consumption monitor needs AC power itself to run. So the electrician was needed to install an additional 2-pole supply breaker in the main AC disconnect to feed it.