Hardware·19,060 discussions

Solar Panel

Locked

Tags: Hardware

Hello and goodmorning
I was thinking of getting some solar panels installed on my roof, and I would appreciate everyone’s input and opinions on the topic.

Topic

Reply To: Solar Panel

In reply to Solar Panel

What are your reasons to be in doubt?

The rules!

In reply to Solar Panel

1. Know your consumption for the past few years.
2. Know your state/province and electric company’s rules on GRID-TIE systems and more.
3. MOST IMPORTANT. GET THREE QUOTES. If you didn’t you should not sign the contract.

Reply To: Solar Panel

In reply to Solar Panel

This is a very expensive and long term decision. If you plan on living at this home for a long time then it might be worth it.

I was arranging a Solar Installation before we took possession

In reply to Solar Panel

The basic solar setup of some PV Cells and a grid tied inverter is reasonably cheap but add in some LiPo Batteries and a suitable Inverted/charger and the price increases dramatically.

Then you have to look at the Laws from the Electricity Companies in your area most limit how much power you can feed back in per hour here it is 5 KW per hour so installing a 40 KW system and having 30 KW available to feed back into the grid will not be tolerated. You also have to look at the building and what it does if it’s a home different rules apply to Business Premises and you have to be aware if you are using Single Phase or Triple Phase Power this makes a big difference tot he size of the system you can have.

You also need to understand if a single PV Cell fails the entire array will stop producing power as they are In Series so one passing no or little power through it means that applies to the rest

If you are looking at a Business Installation where there is high usage of power Thermal Solar while being more expensive is the better option as it continues to generate power at night and when it is heavily overcast day or even during storms Then you have to look at what is around the building tall trees will cut the output down dramatically no matter which type of Solar Array you go with and the amount of sunlight will alter the power generated so if you mount the PV’s Cells in the optimum Position and only get 3 hours sunshine per day they can not produce anywhere near as much power as if you are getting 10 hours per day of direct sunlight. Same applies to Thermal Solar, Trees or shadows around the place drop the power generation and the duration of it when weather conditions are not ideal.

My system has had one PV Cell fail at a solder joint but because i read the electricity daily I picked it up immediately and got it repaired ASAP so I did not have 3 months of virtually 0 output.

Then there are things out of your control like Lightening Strikes which fry electronics all electronics and they do not even need to be plugged in but they are much more likely to die if they are plugged in.

If this is of any help the 5 KW system I had installed along with 6.6 KW of Battery back up has reduced our power bills by about $300.00 per quarter and during the 10 years we have had it 1 PV has failed as well as 2 batteries. Funny thing it was the same battery each time and the newest battery. The first time it failed it was replaced Under Garantee.

More as there is not enough space

In reply to I was arranging a Solar Installation before we took possession

The Second time it failed was due to a car hitting a power pole and taking a transformer out the insurance company demanded I tell what had gone wrong and all I could do was tell them it died during a power failure where a car had collided with a Lamp Post. I paid for that battery and got a 5.5 KW Battery to replace the 2.2 and increased my storage capacity for the same price I had paid for the 2.2 KW Battery.

I offered the failed battery to the Insurance Company to test but they where not interested as it may have lead to a valid claim being made against them and they also insisted that the rain water tank while being underground and made of concrete was actually a well not a rail water tank. This is despite the water running into it off the roof of the house and an overflow pipe that spills water when the tank is full. You’ll never win against a Insurance Company they have so much fine print to stop them paying out valid claims made.

Like a 3 year old Solar Hot Water System started to leak being on the roof and running into the rainwater tank no one had any idea of the leak but they refused to cover the Hot Water System because it didn’t comply with the Countries Law even though it was made here but they did replace the roof which had rusted several LED 4 foot Lights and the gyp rock ceiling and repainted the inside of the house as well as having a 30 liter temporary hot water system fitted. One channel of the corrugated iron roof had some small rust holes so they replaced 4 sheets of the iron but refused to replace the rusted guttering , I’m not even going to try to understand their logic on that but what caused the leak was the company who made it penny pinching and using Mild Steel Bolts to hold the Cover to the Stainless Steel Tank and as the local feral government had bankrupted them in the time between I had it put in and when it started to leak I had to cover the expense of a new one. Sometimes Warranties are not worth the paper that they are printed on.

The same applies to Solar Systems you have to carefully read the contract and see what is actually covered by the guarantee the less reputable companies do not cover their installations and components very well if at all but the better ones list the warranties periods for each component so when they say a 25 year guarantee that only means the PV Cells not the inverter or wiring that connects it all together.

Reply To: Solar Panel

In reply to Solar Panel

Make sure your allowed to put up solar panels and they’re many benefits money budgeting wise but putting up solar panels are very expensive and you will likely need a loan so watch out.

[Author]

Replies