Solar Panels
- Thread starter tml
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What application? Stand alone - isolated - cottage, e.g? OR sell-back to grid? OR domestic hot water heater?
I can provide experience with 1st option.
wasabi
I can provide experience with 1st option.
wasabi
The panels would face south and be unobstructed.
Multiple panels in a string, of the sort you use to sell to utilities will be power limits if even one in the string is in the shade.
I am a ham radio operator, and one of the guys in my club works in solar and is currently an importer of Chinese panels. He has prior lived on a few continents and so has seen these products used for all sorts of things.
I am tempted, but have a big maple that shades a lot of my roof. The tree shade saves me a ton on summer air conditioning expense, as the longest axis of my house, with most of the windows faces almost exactly south
Oh, and I am pretty sure the microFIT that set the high initial feed in tariff rate back in the McGuinty days is no longer in force. So the pay out from the utility is a lot less than it once was, so re-check the financial cash flow, and confirm as much as possible before outlaying any cash other that design fees.
I am a ham radio operator, and one of the guys in my club works in solar and is currently an importer of Chinese panels. He has prior lived on a few continents and so has seen these products used for all sorts of things.
I am tempted, but have a big maple that shades a lot of my roof. The tree shade saves me a ton on summer air conditioning expense, as the longest axis of my house, with most of the windows faces almost exactly south
Oh, and I am pretty sure the microFIT that set the high initial feed in tariff rate back in the McGuinty days is no longer in force. So the pay out from the utility is a lot less than it once was, so re-check the financial cash flow, and confirm as much as possible before outlaying any cash other that design fees.
I always wondered which would be more efficient to sell power back to the grid in a bush property:
Solar or Hydroelectric?
If you had a running stream on your property a small enclosed turbine would be easy to run. Don’t have to cut down any trees either.
However, with solar you have to cut down trees and keep the way clear year round. Also, less moving parts.
Anyone have any thoughts?
Solar or Hydroelectric?
If you had a running stream on your property a small enclosed turbine would be easy to run. Don’t have to cut down any trees either.
However, with solar you have to cut down trees and keep the way clear year round. Also, less moving parts.
Anyone have any thoughts?
My first thought is you might have more control over the situation with the trees.
If it’s on your roof, the cost to remove and reinstall if you need to replace the shingles should be considered into the payback calculations.
True. I figure before I get the panels I might update the roof. Maybe get one of the cool roofs that reflect light instead of aborbing it.
Solar - regularly sweep snow off.
Water turbine - hassles of freeze up and thaw, or if stream runs year round, keep the turbine house warm which suck off some of the output. Plus how to deal with extra water in the spring melt. So yes maintenance
Utilities are a natural monopoly and its the reason why they are regulated same as gas and water.
What most people don't understand is that your utility bill is mostly the cost of electricity that "big utility" buys to sell to consumers without margin. They make their money from the distribution charge, same for gas utility. It's like 15-20% of you monthly bill, depending on how much electricity you use of course.
all true, but when you sell you are committed to the utility's standards, of course, so choice of Inverter and other matters is their book.
Know of a sell-back up on Burlington Heights - many panels on a tracker. Real nice. Come Ice Storm and power outage - no electricity in the house
cause it's on the G
Not true on the utility standards, it's standards set by the regulations in the industry.
Second no matter if you on grid or not, ice storm is going to cut you off, but depends on your setup, if you have storage then you can live off that for a short period if time. But if electricity is from the grid then of course you are like any other household. But with solar FIT you benefit from lower electricity bills, as you offset your usage by your solar generation.
