2012 DFW Solar Home Tour October 6, 2012 Reference Solar PV

Transcription

1 October 6, 2012 Reference Bill Neukranz /6/12 Bill Neukranz

2 The Basics Grid Tied, No Batteries Power grid Solar panels Electric meter AC loads DC to AC Converter Circuit Breaker Box 10/6/12 Bill Neukranz

3 Fundamentals House load reduced (meter spinning forward more slowly) Full house load (no solar avail) Using power from grid Exporting to grid 7:30 AM Solar output 7:30 PM House load eliminated ( meter spinning backwards ) 10/6/12 Bill Neukranz

4 Details Overview Commissioned: Feb., 2010 System Type: Grid-tied, batteryless PV Mounting Location: Residential rooftop Location: Texas, 32.8 N, 97.0 W Solar Resource: 5.5 avg daily sun-hours (kwh/m²/day) Record Low / Avg High Temperatures: +1 F / 76 System Capacity: 8.1 kw STC Annual/Monthly Production: 10,300/860 kwh Efficiencies: Panels 14%, System 70% on annual basis Export to Utility Annually: 28% Utility Electricity Offset Annually: 32% System Components Panels: 36 Astronergy monocrystalline, 225 W STC, Vmp 28.7 V, Imp 7.86 A, Voc 37.3 Isc 8.48 A, 1.64 m² (17.7 ft²) Array: 59.1 m² (636 ft²); 4 strings of 9 series-connected panels each; each string: Vmp 258 V, Imp 70.7 A, Voc 336 V, Isc 76.3 A Junction boxes: Carlon Molded Nonmetallic 6P Rated Array Installation: Unirac SolarMount rails, oriented to 210 azimuth 35 tilt for 3 strings, and 285 azimuth 35 tilt for 1 string Rails Installation: Lag screw direct penetration to rafters, with adhesive caulk Inverter: SMA Sunny Boy 7000, 7 kw rated continuous output, 96.0% CEC weighted efficiency, 600 VDC maximum input, VDC MPPT operating range, 240 VAC output Energy Savings Monitoring: Web Energy Logger (WEL) Costs Financing: Leased system, 3 rd party owned, subsidized with ONCOR rebate, Federal tax credit and Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) Break Even: Immediate Cash Flow: currently $21/month positive 10/6/12 Bill Neukranz

5 Consideration Points Best investment? Efficiency and conservation almost always better ROI Winning strategy: unshaded Southerly exposure, substantial subsidies, net metering Strongly consider leasing if terms are favorable i.e. no up prepayment Availability of net metering and type (at wholesale or retail), along with grid retail kwh pricing strongly influence the subject Least expensive system type is gridtied, no batteries (panels won t work in sun w/o grid power though) 10/6/12 Bill Neukranz

6 Actual Design and Cash Flow Illustrations Design $21/mo net savings on rolling 12 mo. avg (pos cash flow) 10/6/12 Bill Neukranz

7 Long Term Leasing Economics Savings each year is about $250 annually /6/12 Bill Neukranz

8 How Much Electricity Is Being Produced, and Where s It Going? Solar production Consumed Put back onto grid (28%) 10/6/12 Bill Neukranz

9 How s the Performance? Monthly output performance as percent of theoretical 70% efficient last year (2011) Common industry default performance benchmark at 77% (PVWatts.org) Minimum Utility expectation at 62% (80% of PVWatts default since Utility contributed $19K) 10/6/12 Bill Neukranz

10 How s the Performance Overall? As compared to model for this location System Efficiency - Rolling 12 Month Basis 80% 75% 70% Highest influencing factors: Panel placement (shading, azimuth, tilt) String design Circuit connection Model is 77% Efficien ncy 65% 60% 55% Factors already accounted for: Weather (sunlight, temperature, humidity) Pollution Time of year Distance to sun Currently 67% efficient Minimum expected by ONCOR is 62% 50% Dec-10 Mar-11 Jun-11 Sep-11 Dec-11 Mar-12 Jun-12 Sep-12 Dec-12 End of Month PVWatts Default 77% (11,367 kwh) System Efficiency Min. Utility Expectation 62% (9094 kwh) 10/6/12 Bill Neukranz