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

[sunpoweredev]

Yeah, that's been my feeling from the start about the consumption meter, so you see how much you use, when you use it, and where the draw is coming from, but so what..... Unless it's something you might replace with a more efficient one, what you use is what it is and I already know what my biggest single draw is currently my Model 3 which I track via TeslaFi. If you haven't already tried it, and want to get an extra 2-week trial (full month total) use my username here (NJturtlePower - CASE SENSITIVE) at sign up.

So yeah, if it's not there I definitely won't be adding it.

Paul my foreman is the GPE electrician (or at least one of them) so he'll be doing most of that part of the install planned for tomorrow.

I already prepped my basement with an ethernet switch and moved a few devices to hardwired while I was at it to clean up my WiFi traffic. I have an inverter dedicated ethernet cable ready to plug-n-play when the time comes.

Right now I don't really know if what I'm looking at is provided because I have the consumption meter. GPE only granted me very limited access, but as it is now, production and consumption numbers are continually updated in realtime on the phone app and on the web browser. If that realtime capability is provided by the consumption meter, then I'm happy to have it. I only even brought up the consumption meter when arguing with my rep about trading in the cellular option for something more useful. I'll update you once GPE gets me full access to see all the info.

I started another thread as not to clog up yours, and posted some very preliminary production numbers, in case you're interested in seeing.

[J.P.M.]

As far as linking the S/N's to the arrays, dunno about that but isn't any of that info already tagged in the SolarEdge portal?

I don't know. One of the many things I'm ignorant about, but it won't hurt to have the info as a backup.

[macaddict]

You can see the serial number of the optimizers but not the panels.
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[NJturtlePower]

So to update, GPE has been at it with the racking, rail and wiring install over the past two day... 76 mounting points total for my 38 panel system spanning 3 different roof faces.

Some progress pix attached below....

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PTO can't come soon enough after getting our latest and LARGEST electric bill to date.

JCP&L July 2019 Bill = $305.32 for 2,069 kWh used including EV charging which I estimate at about $50 (including efficiency losses) via TeslaFi for the close to 800 miles driven in the month.

[sunpoweredev]

NJturtlePower so this is the progress over 2 full days of work? Your crew moves a lot faster than mine then, although my install is perhaps more complicated than yours. IIRC it was day 3 before they got to put up the optimizers.

Wow $305, yeah hope you get your PTO ASAP. GPE was on top of everything every step of the way. Hope it's smooth sailing with your town inspection and JCP&L

Our highest electric bill ever was probably $200, before adding the Tesla (or the new roof). Last month it was $180. We average 1500 miles a month on the car. Comparing apples and oranges here but those are our numbers. With second full day of solar production, per the new JCP&L electric meter, we used 19kWh in the past 3 days, since I first noticed the meter was first put on Monday morning. The 19kWh figure will go up since the car is being charged right now. If we have another day tomorrow like it was today, I expect to be at a surplus

73kWh generated today. Peak output I saw was 11.4kW. Wait.. that is the max output of my inverter didn't hit me until now, that I'll never see the full 12.21kW output because the inverter is 11.4kW. I actually never expected to even peak at 11.4kW because my panels are all over the roof and face different directions. I am happy with what I saw today.

Those are good stats that TeslaFi keeps. I do keep a mental record of my daily drive, daily miles driven and efficiency. I've been this way since my very first car.

BTW, you might as well get the ball rolling now and request for full admin access to your inverter. At first they gave m the most basic which is just the dashboard. Couple of emails later now I have panel layout. I sent another email requesting full admin access. Let's see how that goes..

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[NJturtlePower]

NJturtlePower so this is the progress over 2 full days of work? Your crew moves a lot faster than mine then, although my install is perhaps more complicated than yours. IIRC it was day 3 before they got to put up the optimizers.

Wow $305, yeah hope you get your PTO ASAP. GPE was on top of everything every step of the way. Hope it's smooth sailing with your town inspection and JCP&L

Our highest electric bill ever was probably $200, before adding the Tesla (or the new roof). Last month it was $180. We average 1500 miles a month on the car. Comparing apples and oranges here but those are our numbers.

Those are good stats that TeslaFi keeps. I do keep a mental record of my daily drive, daily miles driven and efficiency. I've been this way since my very first car.

BTW, you might as well get the ball rolling now and request for full admin access to your inverter. At first they gave m the most basic which is just the dashboard. Couple of emails later now I have panel layout. I sent another email requesting full admin access. Let's see how that goes..

You're telling me! So ready to start banking some SREC's too.

You have your PJM-EIS GAT's account all set I'm guessing.... GPE coordinates that?

Yeah, before the Tesla our highest bill was about $220, but I definitely drive a lot more than I did before partially just because I enjoy it so much and the rest is getting into the grind of multiple kid drop off spots and events. I use to average about 8,500-9,500mi per year, but I'm on track for about 12k in my first full Model 3 year.

What department at GPE have you been in contact with to get the inverter access freed up? Any explanation why they restrict so much off the bat?

I don't think they can do much for me YET since the inferter was only tested but not configured but I'll have it on my list of to-do's.

[NJturtlePower]

So here she is....The system was completed yesterday with the panel install and electrical both inside and out.

IMG_1372e.jpgIMG_1373.JPEGIMG_1375.JPEG

Little annoyed that I was receiving emails by mid-day from Sungage Financial to release my initial payment to GPE stating, "Green Power Energy informed us that construction of your project is complete". Come on guys..... email came through at about 3:30pm and meanwhile the crew was still onsite and wrapping things up after 6pm.

During my final walk around I did have to point out some trash in the yard (cut rail ends, wire clippings, wire ties) to the foreman/electrician Paul, as well as a water bottle I could see under one of the arrays. He seemed kinda annoyed at his two "helpers" for not being more thorough and proactive.

Anyways, I know how it is having run crews in the field years ago. Sometimes you rather just do everything yourself rather than babysit. So much thanks to Paul, as he was very receptive to me and any request or question I had for him. On my request he took his time to hide the wire runs from the lower garage roof through the attic vs on the surface and also carefully mounted the inverter/meter/disconnect on my prepped mounting board centered on my custom very "Green" basement wall. He also corrected our main panel grounding situation with an extra ground rod and noted that the main service lines were lacking bushings coming into the panel which the town inspector obviously missed as well.

I guess I'll have to follow up the company who charged me a good chunk of change to swap the whole thing out just about a year ago.

IMG_1370.JPEGIMG_1371e.jpgIMG_1368.JPEG

So now the wait begins again for our final inspections and PTO..... To be continued.....

[macaddict]

So here she is....The system was completed yesterday with the panel install and electrical both inside and out.

IMG_1372e.jpgIMG_1373.JPEGIMG_1375.JPEG

Little annoyed that I was receiving emails by mid-day from Sungage Financial to release my initial payment to GPE stating, "Green Power Energy informed us that construction of your project is complete". Come on guys..... email came through at about 3:30pm and meanwhile the crew was still onsite and wrapping things up after 6pm.

During my final walk around I did have to point out some trash in the yard (cut rail ends, wire clippings, wire ties) to the foreman/electrician Paul, as well as a water bottle I could see under one of the arrays. He seemed kinda annoyed at his two "helpers" for not being more thorough and proactive.

Anyways, I know how it is having run crews in the field years ago. Sometimes you rather just do everything yourself rather than babysit. So much thanks to Paul, as he was very receptive to me and any request or question I had for him. On my request he took his time to hide the wire runs from the lower garage roof through the attic vs on the surface and also carefully mounted the inverter/meter/disconnect on my prepped mounting board centered on my custom very "Green" basement wall. He also corrected our main panel grounding situation with an extra ground rod and noted that the main service lines were lacking bushings coming into the panel which the town inspector obviously missed as well.

I guess I'll have to follow up the company who charged me a good chunk of change to swap the whole thing out just about a year ago.

IMG_1370.JPEGIMG_1371e.jpgIMG_1368.JPEG

So now the wait begins again for our final inspections and PTO..... To be continued.....

Interesting that they still installed the separate production / SREC meter even though you got the inverter with the revenue grade meter built-in. What happens if they don't match?

[NJturtlePower]

Interesting that they still installed the separate production / SREC meter even though you got the inverter with the revenue grade meter built-in. What happens if they don't match?

Yup, they insisted on the meter redundancy and I just went along with it since the RGM inverter did not cost any extra to me. If they don't match...ummm I pick the higher number right? Guess we'll find out haha

In other news. GPE just called and have my final township inspection set for 8/12, so the ball is rolling!

[sunpoweredev]

You're telling me! So ready to start banking some SREC's too.

You have your PJM-EIS GAT's account all set I'm guessing.... GPE coordinates that?

Yeah, before the Tesla our highest bill was about $220, but I definitely drive a lot more than I did before partially just because I enjoy it so much and the rest is getting into the grind of multiple kid drop off spots and events. I use to average about 8,500-9,500mi per year, but I'm on track for about 12k in my first full Model 3 year.

What department at GPE have you been in contact with to get the inverter access freed up? Any explanation why they restrict so much off the bat?

I don't think they can do much for me YET since the inferter was only tested but not configured but I'll have it on my list of to-do's.

Below is the email I received from GPE informing me that PTO was granted. Yes GPE handles the final paperwork submission to NJCEP. It says that 10-20% of the time NJCEP will come do a physical inspection of the system before approving our SREC account creation.

" Great News! We received the Permission to Operate your solar system from your utility company, it is now up and running! Within the next few weeks, you will receive the following emails from us:

The first will provide information regarding your Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC). It will include your account number and information on how to manage your account.
The second will be asking if you would like to schedule an In-Home meeting with one of our consultants to review the specifics of your new system, this is optional.

Regards,

The Operations Team at Green Power Energy
(908) 713-9055"

I'm still unsure whom to contact for what at GPE. I usually start with my salesman, from there I usually get a response from the correct person. In requesting access to SolarEdge, I emailed Kevin Marceski since he's handling fixing or replacing my SREC production meter (it somehow went dead when the system went live). My guess is their default access for the owner is the bare minimal which is just the dashboard, and if requested they bump it up one baby step at a time. I definitely want access to the admin tab to see all details of my system as well as handing the API key.

Yeah they can't do anything yet as far as setting up your access, but knowing what I know now, I would've stated earlier on that I want to have full admin access to my system.

[sunpoweredev]

So here she is....The system was completed yesterday with the panel install and electrical both inside and out.

IMG_1372e.jpgIMG_1373.JPEGIMG_1375.JPEG

Little annoyed that I was receiving emails by mid-day from Sungage Financial to release my initial payment to GPE stating, "Green Power Energy informed us that construction of your project is complete". Come on guys..... email came through at about 3:30pm and meanwhile the crew was still onsite and wrapping things up after 6pm.

During my final walk around I did have to point out some trash in the yard (cut rail ends, wire clippings, wire ties) to the foreman/electrician Paul, as well as a water bottle I could see under one of the arrays. He seemed kinda annoyed at his two "helpers" for not being more thorough and proactive.

Anyways, I know how it is having run crews in the field years ago. Sometimes you rather just do everything yourself rather than babysit. So much thanks to Paul, as he was very receptive to me and any request or question I had for him. On my request he took his time to hide the wire runs from the lower garage roof through the attic vs on the surface and also carefully mounted the inverter/meter/disconnect on my prepped mounting board centered on my custom very "Green" basement wall. He also corrected our main panel grounding situation with an extra ground rod and noted that the main service lines were lacking bushings coming into the panel which the town inspector obviously missed as well.

I guess I'll have to follow up the company who charged me a good chunk of change to swap the whole thing out just about a year ago.

IMG_1370.JPEGIMG_1371e.jpgIMG_1368.JPEG

So now the wait begins again for our final inspections and PTO..... To be continued.....

Wow that's fast. Even the electrician did his part, all in two days? Very clean looking your panels layout, unlike mine which is quite messy, but the roof is how it is nothing can change that. At least mine is completely invisible from the front, and the crew did a fantastic job with running the conduit along the gutter and below the siding. Can't even tell if you weren't looking for it.

I'll give GPE a bit of credit in that they already got you scheduled for your inspection right away, so they did their part and understandably they wanna get paid lol.

macaddict I also got the RGM meter, but GPE by default will install a separate meter. I don't even know if the RGM in the meter is doing anything, the more reason I want admin access to see the revenue tab in SolarEdge.

[NJturtlePower]

Below is the email I received from GPE informing me that PTO was granted. Yes GPE handles the final paperwork submission to NJCEP. It says that 10-20% of the time NJCEP will come do a physical inspection of the system before approving our SREC account creation.

I'm still unsure whom to contact for what at GPE. I usually start with my salesman, from there I usually get a response from the correct person. In requesting access to SolarEdge, I emailed Kevin Marceski since he's handling fixing or replacing my SREC production meter (it somehow went dead when the system went live).

Thanks for the info.....

Kinda amusing in a way you're dealing with an SREC meter replacement since that was GPE's argument about ONLY using the RGM inverter option...they said they never fail unlike the inverters.... proved them wrong!

[NJturtlePower]

Wow that's fast. Even the electrician did his part, all in two days? Very clean looking your panels layout, unlike mine which is quite messy, but the roof is how it is nothing can change that. At least mine is completely invisible from the front, and the crew did a fantastic job with running the conduit along the gutter and below the siding. Can't even tell if you weren't looking for it.

I'll give GPE a bit of credit in that they already got you scheduled for your inspection right away, so they did their part and understandably they wanna get paid lol.

macaddict I also got the RGM meter, but GPE by default will install a separate meter. I don't even know if the RGM in the meter is doing anything, the more reason I want admin access to see the revenue tab in SolarEdge.

3-days total, Tues & Wed. they worked about 9am-3:30pm, Thurs. 8-6pm....Paul was there every day overseeing and working his electrical magic.

The only part of my system that is really visible from the road is the 6 panel string on the lower garage roof if passing the home from North to South...moreso once the leaves fall from our HUGE maple in front. That's the tree casting the shadow in those late afternoon (6:30pm) pix. The upper Southern roof is perpendicular to the road so you wouldn't really notice unless you were looking for it.

The bits of conduit that are exposed and currently silver I do plan to paint black in the fall when things cool down to blend them in better.

As far as GPE getting paid, sure, I get it, but a call first to see how everything went (and that is was actually finished) might have been a bit more tactful IMO.

[sunpoweredev]

Thanks for the info.....

Kinda amusing in a way you're dealing with an SREC meter replacement since that was GPE's argument about ONLY using the RGM inverter option...they said they never fail unlike the inverters.... proved them wrong!

Sure did, didn't I. They did say they will input into the replacement meter my production as recorded by SolarEdge so I wouldn't lose what I've generated so far. My assumption here is that my production since going live will count towards my first SREC, even though my SREC account has not bee finalized yet. The system already made nearly 1/4 of an SREC.

My guess is GPE has all this stuff automated - they press a button at a certain milestone to move to the next step (in your case scheduling for town inspection), emails and payment reminder are sent.

Somewhat expectedly, they're refusing to grant me admin access. This is seriously annoying me at the moment, and will seriously piss me off if I don't end up with it. Up until this point I would've given them the most glowing review, but if they refuse to give me full access to a system I fully paid for, it will seriously change my sentiment. I should not have made my final 10% payment so quick.. If you want admin access, you can withhold that final 10% until they give it to you lol.

[ButchDeal]

Somewhat expectedly, they're refusing to grant me admin access. This is seriously annoying me at the moment, and will seriously piss me off if I don't end up with it. Up until this point I would've given them the most glowing review, but if they refuse to give me full access to a system I fully paid for, it will seriously change my sentiment. I should not have made my final 10% payment so quick.. If you want admin access, you can withhold that final 10% until they give it to you lol.

They are NOT going to give you admin access, no installer ever will. That would give you access to all of their systems.
NOTE there really isn't an "admin" access level. There is installer and owner.
What you should be asking for is Owner access.