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

[NJturtlePower]

The replaced 5 sheets (the first one was included, $50 extra for each additional), four of which were because of the removal of the attic fan and three static vents. The other was from where my attic furnace vents, which was a bit soft around the vents. It was just very slightly soft and not visibly rotted, so it seems the crew was pretty thorough in finding issues before laying the shingles. Damien did send over 5 sheets when they dropped off the supplies.

Wow you weren't kidding when you said vertical. I imagine that part will take significantly longer. I don't know what my pitch is but not too steep. The crew had no safety gears on. Two bits on Tesla when they came to my house to do a survey. The guy looked like a kid fresh out of college. When he took off the cover off my electrical panel to take photos, he put on the entire safety suit that resembled a space suit complete with the mask, and brought along a non conductive mat to stand on. Just to take some photos Also, he drilled my roof to attach his safety harness and tied his ladder before going up there. Now of course I'm concern for his safety, as I was watching the Costello crew up there with no safety gears, it just seemed very amateurish though it was probably company policy. A licensed electrician who lives in my neighborhood did my NEMA14-50 outlet, he did it all without shutting any power off. I was watching him do it and asked if he needed to cut power first. His reply was only if you want me to Was gonna DIY the 14-50 but he was cheap enough for me not to risk electrocution.

As thorough as the crew was in cleanup, there will be lots of granules all over your patio or deck. They moved my lawn furniture away from the house and onto the lawn and the table was still covered with debris. They did tarp around the entire house and covered my AC units. I disconnected my attic fan ahead of time since it was wired directly into an electrical box in the attic. I should've done a spot temp reading before, but as I said earlier it's pretty suffocating up there on a hot sunny day. It should be fairly obvious the effectiveness of the ridge vents next time I go up there.

Interesting how that 5 sheet count worked out, but you can't really object to having some nice new platforms for your roof and solar for the few extra bucks. Better safe than sorry for sure which is why I definitely wanted to do the roof now to outlast the solar system's life. Imagine what a disaster it would be to have to replace a sheet or section AFTER the fact with solar installed.

The rest of my roof is a typical 7/12 or 30-degree pitch where all the solar will be installed, but yeah, those sides must me fun to strip and re-shingle for sure. FYI your roof pitch can be found on your solar array engineering plan (the one that shows the strings A-B-C etc.) or also on the color coded "solar layout pdf" you approved with the design team early on.

Yes, same experience here with the Tesla crew site visit. Very by-the-book, over-the-top on the safety and compliance routine, this coming from someone who works in safety and compliance haha. At the same time, I use to work in the field (environmental/lab pack chemist) and know how the balance of PPE/safety vs efficiency is a struggle, so i can relate with both sides. Comes down to knowing what you're doing and having ample experience...... there's no guarantee there won't be an accident, but you'll be much better off than you or I with electrical for example.

Just put two thermometers in the separate attic spaces to get some data. The taller 2nd story attic has an attic fan, ridge vent and gable vents on either end. The lower garage attic has an attic fan, NO ridge vent, and only one gable vent on the driveway side plus two small soffit vents located on the front covered porch.

[sunpoweredev]

Just shot them an email as I could not find an answer online.

Per the link Butch sent back on page one, (http://njcleanenergy.com/renewable-e...projects-srecs) which states,
" The monthly kWh production must be reported to the PJM GATS SREC Tracking system to update your account. This meter does not need to be capable of transferring data electronically. While it is possible that your inverter is capable of displaying accumulated kilowatt-hours, the accuracy of the inverter meter does not meet the ANSI C12.1-2008 accuracy standards required by the NJCEP and therefore can not be used for the purpose of generating SRECs. The Market Manager has conducted an informal survey of several major inverter manufacturers and has confirmed that these inverter readings are not intended to meet revenue-grade meter accuracy requirements and are not ANSI C12 Certified.

This speaks to the RGM and typical inverter independently, not a combination RGM inverter unit and also does not specifically state that automatic transmission IS in fact an option either.

The folks over at njcleanenergy are quite responsive with my email inquiries. I knew that I'm not locked into the SREC program until the PTO is issued, which I thought is a bit of a gamble which I didn't like. So I sent an email over to ask about where the state stands as far as reaching the 5.1% cutoff. They quickly replied with a pdf with the 5.1% projection which is around May of 2020. It's still no guarantee but I was a bit less uncomfortable in moving forward with that information. You seem very resourceful but I'll attach that page in case you haven't seen it.

I'll just forget about the RGM inverter to minimize issues.

51.JPG

[sunpoweredev]

Looks like a productive day and some quality work! Did they need to replace much wood sheathing? Interested to see what the decking is like under my shotty 2 layer reroof the previous owner can take credit for.

My roof is a little challenging with two barn style almost vertical walls on the two-story side so I'm also interested how they handle that.

I'm nervous about all the nails and tarping on my back deck. I just spent hours powerwashing it recently AND built/installed a full new lounge patio set, so hoping they can redirect the trash slide off to the side in that area.

I currently have two attic fans with old fashioned mushroom vent tops, one on each roof section, and Damien mentioned the same plan as he did with yours. They will cap off the electric, cover the holes and cut the ridge venting in all roof peaks. I'm going to try and get some temp reading over the weekend maybe to spot check cooling they claim will be better, but in the end it' is what it is I guess, they're the experts. I'm also having my one and only skylight replaced and slightly oversized (30" X 30") rather than going custom to match the roughly 25" X 25" that is in place. It's an original manual pop up/crank open unit going on 38+ years, gas seal is shot (as shown) and will be replaced with a lower profile fixed unit.

Some pictures of the roof BEFORE the pending work after our recent chimney rebuild attached.

The replaced 5 sheets (the first one was included, $50 extra for each additional), four of which were because of the removal of the attic fan and three static vents. The other was from where my attic furnace vents, which was a bit soft around the vents. It was just very slightly soft and not visibly rotted, so it seems the crew was pretty thorough in finding issues before laying the shingles. Damien did send over 5 sheets when they dropped off the supplies.

Wow you weren't kidding when you said vertical. I imagine that part will take significantly longer. I don't know what my pitch is but not too steep. The crew had no safety gears on. Two bits on Tesla when they came to my house to do a survey. The guy looked like a kid fresh out of college. When he took off the cover off my electrical panel to take photos, he put on the entire safety suit that resembled a space suit complete with the mask, and brought along a non conductive mat to stand on. Just to take some photos Also, he drilled my roof to attach his safety harness and tied his ladder before going up there. Now of course I'm concern for his safety, as I was watching the Costello crew up there with no safety gears, it just seemed very amateurish though it was probably company policy. A licensed electrician who lives in my neighborhood did my NEMA14-50 outlet, he did it all without shutting any power off. I was watching him do it and asked if he needed to cut power first. His reply was only if you want me to Was gonna DIY the 14-50 but he was cheap enough for me not to risk electrocution.

As thorough as the crew was in cleanup, there will be lots of granules all over your patio or deck. They moved my lawn furniture away from the house and onto the lawn and the table was still covered with debris. They did tarp around the entire house and covered my AC units. I disconnected my attic fan ahead of time since it was wired directly into an electrical box in the attic. I should've done a spot temp reading before, but as I said earlier it's pretty suffocating up there on a hot sunny day. It should be fairly obvious the effectiveness of the ridge vents next time I go up there.

[NJturtlePower]

they do take automated reporting from several RGMs like locus meters, as well as SolarEdge.
You can deal with an aggregator like SRECtrade which knows how to set up each system for generation.

Yeah for a per REC fee of $10 and/or 7% in NJ? This RGM Inverter option is crashing and burning quickly...

Untitled.jpg

[ButchDeal]

I did ask GPE about the RGM option, briefly, back in 2017. At that time they said that I needed to have a physically separate revenue meter for SREC' -- I didn't know any better. I just agreed and didn't press the issue. GPE seems to prefer this approach (separate, external meter) and they use it on all of their installs.

I suggest you call or email the folks at GATS to confirm that they'll accept the data from the SE RGM option.
https://www.pjm-eis.com/

they do take automated reporting from several RGMs like locus meters, as well as SolarEdge.
You can deal with an aggregator like SRECtrade which knows how to set up each system for generation.

[macaddict]

Posted an earlier reply that seems to be in moderation...anyways, I did email PJM-EIS and got a response quickly, unfortunately not what I hoped to hear.

"There is no automatic data transmission that can be done with GATS.
Data from SolarEdge can be used to enter your generation.
I hope this information is helpful."

Darci R.
Customer Support Analyst
PJM - EIS Environmental Information Services Inc.

Well then.... threw the major appeal of the RGM inverter out the window.

How am I really benefiting from it without automatic reporting, anything extra in the SE portal? Just one less meter on the wall and some flack from GPE it seems overall.

Seems that way. Looking at the physical meter numbers, gives me another excuse to go to the basement to work out

[NJturtlePower]

I did ask GPE about the RGM option, briefly, back in 2017. At that time they said that I needed to have a physically separate revenue meter for SREC' -- I didn't know any better. I just agreed and didn't press the issue. GPE seems to prefer this approach (separate, external meter) and they use it on all of their installs.

I suggest you call or email the folks at GATS to confirm that they'll accept the data from the SE RGM option.
https://www.pjm-eis.com/

Posted an earlier reply that seems to be in moderation...anyways, I did email PJM-EIS and got a response quickly, unfortunately not what I hoped to hear.

"There is no automatic data transmission that can be done with GATS.
Data from SolarEdge can be used to enter your generation.
I hope this information is helpful."

Darci R.
Customer Support Analyst
PJM - EIS Environmental Information Services Inc.

Well then.... threw the major appeal of the RGM inverter out the window.

How am I really benefiting from it without automatic reporting, anything extra in the SE portal? Just one less meter on the wall and some flack from GPE it seems overall.

[NJturtlePower]

I did ask GPE about the RGM option, briefly, back in 2017. At that time they said that I needed to have a physically separate revenue meter for SREC' -- I didn't know any better. I just agreed and didn't press the issue. GPE seems to prefer this approach (separate, external meter) and they use it on all of their installs.

I suggest you call or email the folks at GATS to confirm that they'll accept the data from the SE RGM option.
https://www.pjm-eis.com/

Just shot them an email as I could not find an answer online.

Per the link Butch sent back on page one, (http://njcleanenergy.com/renewable-e...projects-srecs) which states,
" The monthly kWh production must be reported to the PJM GATS SREC Tracking system to update your account. This meter does not need to be capable of transferring data electronically. While it is possible that your inverter is capable of displaying accumulated kilowatt-hours, the accuracy of the inverter meter does not meet the ANSI C12.1-2008 accuracy standards required by the NJCEP and therefore can not be used for the purpose of generating SRECs. The Market Manager has conducted an informal survey of several major inverter manufacturers and has confirmed that these inverter readings are not intended to meet revenue-grade meter accuracy requirements and are not ANSI C12 Certified.

This speaks to the RGM and typical inverter independently, not a combination RGM inverter unit and also does not specifically state that automatic transmission IS in fact an option either.

[JSchnee21]

I did ask GPE about the RGM option, briefly, back in 2017. At that time they said that I needed to have a physically separate revenue meter for SREC' -- I didn't know any better. I just agreed and didn't press the issue. GPE seems to prefer this approach (separate, external meter) and they use it on all of their installs.

I suggest you call or email the folks at GATS to confirm that they'll accept the data from the SE RGM option.

https://www.pjm-eis.com/

[NJturtlePower]

the RGM inverter is definitely available in ALL sizes and can be purchased from most distributors including Allied, and Soligent. They some times take a few extra days to get depending on the distributor and inventory. I don't know why ALL installers in SREC states don't use them by default though.

The production meter is an add on and can be installed with any inverter as it is a separate line item.
The inverter failing is a silly argument as all the recording solutions have procedures to replace ANY meter, you get a final reading, then put in the new meter. The online recording ones will almost always have the final reading already pushed but even that can be manually done.

I figured as much (on all points you made), and in one of my replies said, "please put in an early request/order to the supplier for the RGM inverter being that we have a couple weeks until install", as a hint hint, get on it.

I'll bug them again next week if I don't hear anything sooner. Thanks for confirmation.

[ButchDeal]

I was in a back and forth a couple times with Mike S. VP of Operations at GPE about the RGM inverter option yesterday...... I told them why I wanted it, that I was consulting other owners/forum who HIGHLY recommend it, what the benifits were to me and kinda put up some resistance to his initial response which was, "I wanted to chime- in on the RGM inverter. Right now they are shipping 10kw , 6kw and i believe 5kw B series inverters. If the 11.4 becomes available we will certainly provide it for your install. In my experience of an inverter failing, sometimes all data in that inverter can be lost. Let's say an error along the lines of a thermal event for example. The information saved on the inverter may not be able to be pulled from the old to enter into the replacement. This is why we like to install a simple RGM SREC meter with every install (digital read out) The odds of the meter failing are almost non existent. It is also a great way to confirm production at a quick glance, not the only way but certainly helpful."

I wasn't really convinced by this so I persisted and questioned what data is lot if the whole thing goes down and is networked prior etc. and his next response was, "It is not my intention to talk you out of the RGM screenless inverter if available. If it is available you we certainly provide that to you. I am more hoping to get you to install the SREC meter as a fail-safe if nothing else from this convo. It is always better to be safe than sorry. I have seen some inverters fail and i am trying to avoid future complications with reporting your SREC generation to the state."

So in the end he left it at, "We will do our best to obtain the RGM inverter."

So now I'm playing with the idea again of adding the $800 consumption meter as an add-on and plan to go forward with it ONLY IF they can confirm the RGP inverter availability before our install week. We'll see how this plays out but I'm not giving up yet.

the RGM inverter is definitely available in ALL sizes and can be purchased from most distributors including Allied, and Soligent. They some times take a few extra days to get depending on the distributor and inventory. I don't know why ALL installers in SREC states don't use them by default though.

The production meter is an add on and can be installed with any inverter as it is a separate line item.
The inverter failing is a silly argument as all the recording solutions have procedures to replace ANY meter, you get a final reading, then put in the new meter. The online recording ones will almost always have the final reading already pushed but even that can be manually done.

[NJturtlePower]

BTW, my GPE rep said no to the internal revenue meter. They seem very resistant to any changes from their default configuration. Would've been great as ButchDeal mentioned that it has automatic reporting.

From the video you posted above, I really do wish I'll end up with the inverter with the display. It's great to be able to configure it and see stats right on the unit itself. If I do end up getting the screened version, I'll likely have it in the garage, and if possible everything else (revenue meter, etc) outside.

I was in a back and forth a couple times with Mike S. VP of Operations at GPE about the RGM inverter option yesterday...... I told them why I wanted it, that I was consulting other owners/forum who HIGHLY recommend it, what the benifits were to me and kinda put up some resistance to his initial response which was, "I wanted to chime- in on the RGM inverter. Right now they are shipping 10kw , 6kw and i believe 5kw B series inverters. If the 11.4 becomes available we will certainly provide it for your install. In my experience of an inverter failing, sometimes all data in that inverter can be lost. Let's say an error along the lines of a thermal event for example. The information saved on the inverter may not be able to be pulled from the old to enter into the replacement. This is why we like to install a simple RGM SREC meter with every install (digital read out) The odds of the meter failing are almost non existent. It is also a great way to confirm production at a quick glance, not the only way but certainly helpful."

I wasn't really convinced by this so I persisted and questioned what data is lot if the whole thing goes down and is networked prior etc. and his next response was, "It is not my intention to talk you out of the RGM screenless inverter if available. If it is available you we certainly provide that to you. I am more hoping to get you to install the SREC meter as a fail-safe if nothing else from this convo. It is always better to be safe than sorry. I have seen some inverters fail and i am trying to avoid future complications with reporting your SREC generation to the state."

So in the end he left it at, "We will do our best to obtain the RGM inverter."

So now I'm playing with the idea again of adding the $800 consumption meter as an add-on and plan to go forward with it ONLY IF they can confirm the RGP inverter availability before our install week. We'll see how this plays out but I'm not giving up yet.

[NJturtlePower]

NJturtlePower the materials and dumpsters were delivered on Tuesday, and the crew arrived yesterday ~8:30am and done by ~7pm. I hope they haul away the dumpster today as my mailman skipped my mailbox since Tuesday. Damien has been great to work with. Very responsive to my questions.

The crew (of 6) was great. Not much interaction with them, but I did tip them prior to them getting up on the roof, in case I step out and miss them, and also maybe then they'll give me their best work They were quite thorough in setting up protection around the house and my AC units outside, as was with the cleanup after. I walked my driveway multiple times after they left and found one single nail (it would suck badly getting a flat in the Tesla lol), which I thought was quite impressive given that thousands of nails must've been pulled out. The only damage I spotted so far was a corner of the gutter which was torn a bit. I pointed it out and next thing I knew it was already fixed, didn't even see them do it. Plus a block was knocked out from my paver steps (probably from them removing and dropping the attic fan), they offered to fix it but only had silicone. I told them I'll get the proper adhesive and fix it myself.

As part of the roofing job they removed the powered attic fan and 3 of those square static vents, and installed ridge vents in four areas. I took a peak up in the attic after they cut the slits off from the ridges, and it was definitely a lot less suffocating than it would've been in the middle of a sun drenched afternoon, as well upstairs in the interior. That was before they capped it off with the ridge vent though, so it remains to be seen how effective it really is especially on a super hot and humid day but I am optimistic that it'll be far more effective than a single powered attic fan.

They left with 10 bundles of unused shingles. Damien was quite responsive in telling me no to getting credited for it lol.

Looks like a productive day and some quality work! Did they need to replace much wood sheathing? Interested to see what the decking is like under my shotty 2 layer reroof the previous owner can take credit for.

My roof is a little challenging with two barn style almost vertical walls on the two-story side so I'm also interested how they handle that.

I'm nervous about all the nails and tarping on my back deck. I just spent hours powerwashing it recently AND built/installed a full new lounge patio set, so hoping they can redirect the trash slide off to the side in that area.

I currently have two attic fans with old fashioned mushroom vent tops, one on each roof section, and Damien mentioned the same plan as he did with yours. They will cap off the electric, cover the holes and cut the ridge venting in all roof peaks. I'm going to try and get some temp reading over the weekend maybe to spot check cooling they claim will be better, but in the end it' is what it is I guess, they're the experts. I'm also having my one and only skylight replaced and slightly oversized (30" X 30") rather than going custom to match the roughly 25" X 25" that is in place. It's an original manual pop up/crank open unit going on 38+ years, gas seal is shot (as shown) and will be replaced with a lower profile fixed unit.

Some pictures of the roof BEFORE the pending work after our recent chimney rebuild attached.

[sunpoweredev]

BTW, my GPE rep said no to the internal revenue meter. They seem very resistant to any changes from their default configuration. Would've been great as ButchDeal mentioned that it has automatic reporting.

From the video you posted above, I really do wish I'll end up with the inverter with the display. It's great to be able to configure it and see stats right on the unit itself. If I do end up getting the screened version, I'll likely have it in the garage, and if possible everything else (revenue meter, etc) outside.

[sunpoweredev]

NJturtlePower the materials and dumpsters were delivered on Tuesday, and the crew arrived yesterday ~8:30am and done by ~7pm. I hope they haul away the dumpster today as my mailman skipped my mailbox since Tuesday. Damien has been great to work with. Very responsive to my questions.

The crew (of 6) was great. Not much interaction with them, but I did tip them prior to them getting up on the roof, in case I step out and miss them, and also maybe then they'll give me their best work They were quite thorough in setting up protection around the house and my AC units outside, as was with the cleanup after. I walked my driveway multiple times after they left and found one single nail (it would suck badly getting a flat in the Tesla lol), which I thought was quite impressive given that thousands of nails must've been pulled out. The only damage I spotted so far was a corner of the gutter which was torn a bit. I pointed it out and next thing I knew it was already fixed, didn't even see them do it. Plus a block was knocked out from my paver steps (probably from them removing and dropping the attic fan), they offered to fix it but only had silicone. I told them I'll get the proper adhesive and fix it myself.

As part of the roofing job they removed the powered attic fan and 3 of those square static vents, and installed ridge vents in four areas. I took a peak up in the attic after they cut the slits off from the ridges, and it was definitely a lot less suffocating than it would've been in the middle of a sun drenched afternoon, as well upstairs in the interior. That was before they capped it off with the ridge vent though, so it remains to be seen how effective it really is especially on a super hot and humid day but I am optimistic that it'll be far more effective than a single powered attic fan.

They left with 10 bundles of unused shingles. Damien was quite responsive in telling me no to getting credited for it lol.