Tesla Solar....well.....solar, but not Tesla.

[EchoStache]

Regarding the separate issue of vehicle to house: I think Ford is the furthest along in this, with Volkswagen close behind (at least in Europe). The issue will be the output of the onboard inverter, and how that will get into the house. I don't think you can supply enough power, even through a 240V circuit, to power the entire house. Thus, it'll more like you park the truck in the garage and run a cable to your fridge (or more intelligently have the 240V circuit the truck plugs in also include your kitchen, etc). Currently it's at the level of a very large charging station for various peripherals. A direct plug into the main panel is some ways away for various technical reasons.

Is 9.6 kW insufficient for whole-house power?
https://insideevs.com/news/631587/ford-f150-lightning-backup-power/

9.6kW (essentially what you can get out of a 50amp circuit) is fine for doing a lot. A big heating load like an electric water heater or dryer will commonly pull around 4.5kW. But my refrigerator pulls just over 0.1W, and my LED lightbulbs are a rounding error.

My personal house will be tricky when I get to this, as I’ve electrified everything. My heat pump water heater typically draws about 0.4kW, which is easy. But if the backup heating elements kick on that jumps to about 4.5kW (this happens maybe twice a month). On a warm summer day my variable speed heat pump will draw about 1kW. But it can draw over 7kW when the temperature really drops.

So most homes with gas water heaters and furnaces are incredibly easy, particularly if you cut out your dryer circuit or even an electric oven circuit.

But it gets more complex with an electrified home. Even though my home has only drawn over 9.6kW briefly for 4 times in the month of February, it would be incredibly difficult to isolate that to specific circuits.

The other issue is the gauge of the wire carrying electricity from the truck to the house (and the amp rating of the breaker protecting it). I don’t think the f150 has a way to plug into the main panel of the house, so it’ll be limited to whatever the amp rating of the circuit is.  Assuming a 240V output and 20 amp breaker, that’s 4.8kW. So yes, most non-HVAC appliances you could probably power in theory, but it’s not as straight-forward as one would like. In the future there’ll probably be a plug that connects the EV straight into the main panel, but not yet.

Perhaps this technology can be incorporated with the right type of EV charger. 

https://enphase.com/ev-chargers/bidirectional

[Just Joe]

We have a house backup generator with automatic transfer switch.

We have three breaker panels - two for street power and one is a sub-panel for the circuits that the generator can power. If those circuits pull more than the generator can supply, it will kick the sub-panel breaker.

Is this not how the EV backup power design work?

Do the solar/wind with batteries designs have transfer switches or do the inverter(s) handle isolating the house power when the street power drops? 

Just installed a HPWH. Our's allows me to choose heat pump mode only. I believe this locks out the electric heating elements. Our heat pump is not on the generator circuit, the upstairs would need to do without heat in a power outage. Nothing is powered up there. Just a couple of bedrooms that we could temporarily abandon. Moving towards a heat pump on the main floor with gas backup which will be generator friendly. Want to wear out what we have already.

If yours is like my AO Smith unit, "Efficiency Mode" will prioritize the heat pump, but the backup elements will still kick on if a lot of hot water is being used at once.  It draws about 400W in heat pump mode, but 4,500W when the backups kick on (albeit for a short time).  There is no way to disable the backup elements.  My backup elements kick on a few times a month.

As an efficiency tip, the backup elements will kick on less frequently if you set the temperature higher, which means you'll mix more cold water in your showers.  I talked to an installer, and they prefer setting the temperature to the maximum available, then plumb in a mixing valve to reduce the temp at the tap.

Same. Love it so far.

[Just Joe]

On my HPWH, I can choose heat pump only, or hybrid to allow the spendy pants electric 4800 or 9600 watt coils or whatever, to come on.  I have mine in heat pump mode only.  If my family burns through 50 gallons of hot water, they need to conserve better, or finish what they are doing (i.e. shower) with cold water.  I don't want to accommodate wastefulness.

Same.

First night the heat pump water heater was on our teenager complained that the shower went cold. Explained that means they used over 50 gallons of hot water for one shower. Amazing how quickly that behavior has changed. Enjoy a good hot shower of a reasonable length kid...

The propane powered instant hot water heater we have works great but how expensive is it with $5 propane? I don't want to think of how many luxurious teenage showers were taken in our absence. "Oh, I guess I forgot to get out of the shower..." or something like that... ;)

Propane is going away. Tank is empty, guy is coming to plumb in from the meter to the appliances. Of course I still need to remove the tank from the ground. Buried six inches below the surface of the yard and Suburban Propane wants $800 to remove it... Thanks, I'll do it for free.

[Just Joe]

I hope someone will correct me if im wrong but I believe a heat pump will extract the amount of heat that it produces from the surrounding air. So,if you're running one in your house during heating season without special ducting to heat with outside air and exhaust the cool air it produces outside they will be LESS efficient than a traditional resistive heat tank hot water heater. The external ducting sounds simple but its not,  its expensive (a few hundred dollars for a kit, require large ducts, requires some additional large holes in your house, and then you're limited to certain outdoor temperatures and if its too cold it may not operate in heat pump mode at all or may not be more efficient than a traditional electric hot water heater.

It is a tool - use it in the best way you can. We put our's in the basement garage. I don't care what it does to the temp in there. Mostly it drops the temps about 10F. The best benefit is that it also removed about 4.5 gallons of moisture from the room over the past week or so. I haven't run the condensate drain and I'm using a 5 gallon bucket to see how much water it is removing.

Added benefit, our dehumidifier in the finished portion of the basement is running a little less but I can't quantify that as easily.

It is directly under our bedroom and sounds like the faucet is running somewhere far away or the central heat/air blower only is running. No intrusive at all in our opinions.

Our HPWH was twice what an electric water heater cost - on sale. It is rated at $113 per year in running costs compared to about $450 to run a traditional electric water for a year according its Energy Star sticker. It cost me about $450 to install but then gas, electric or HPWH would have cost us something to switch away from the instant water heater we were using before.

[EchoStache]

Update:

I've been dragging my feet just a bit, taking my time to really think things through.

Made the $2,000 deposit today that is required to get the project moving forward.

As a reminder, it is a 10.53kW system for $30,762

We stopped to eat at one of our super budget eat out spots...just a local diner.  The paper place mat had a $500 coupon for our solar installer.  They are going to send a refund check after the job is complete and paid in full so that I can get the 30% tax credit on the full price.  They offered to take it off the purchase price also, so I thought this was a pretty beneficial thing to suggest!

So the net cost is $30,762*0.7 = $21,533.4-$500=$21,033.40

Solaria PowerX390 panels x 27
Enphase IQM8-72-2 inverters
12,777kWh/year production

[TomTX]

Awesome! That dinner sounds like a big financial win! Spend $20 on a cheap dinner, get back $500!

[GilesMM]

That's $2.92/kw full price which is ok but not great.  I paid $2.88 but my system included an entire ground mount frame plus 300-foot bored tie-back to my garage (in the spendy PNW).  I thought that was a fair price but nothing special.


The fact they gave up $500 so easily may be an indication of how much margin they have baked into their costs.  Don't give them a penny more!

[EchoStache]

Crap, I *assumed* we were still at $2.80/watt when we reduced the system size a bit from 11.7 to 10.53, but didn't actually do the math.

I sent a message to my installer to see if we can get back to the original $/W.  The deposit just cleared Friday so we'll see if I still have some leverage to bargain with!

[mistymoney]

Update:

I've been dragging my feet just a bit, taking my time to really think things through.

Made the $2,000 deposit today that is required to get the project moving forward.

As a reminder, it is a 10.53kW system for $30,762

We stopped to eat at one of our super budget eat out spots...just a local diner.  The paper place mat had a $500 coupon for our solar installer.  They are going to send a refund check after the job is complete and paid in full so that I can get the 30% tax credit on the full price.  They offered to take it off the purchase price also, so I thought this was a pretty beneficial thing to suggest!

So the net cost is $30,762*0.7 = $21,533.4-$500=$21,033.40

Solaria PowerX390 panels x 27
Enphase IQM8-72-2 inverters
12,777kWh/year production

Wow! I think that is the best dining out bargain in history! Leastwise, that I have ever heard of!

[mistymoney]

Crap, I *assumed* we were still at $2.80/watt when we reduced the system size a bit from 11.7 to 10.53, but didn't actually do the math.

I sent a message to my installer to see if we can get back to the original $/W.  The deposit just cleared Friday so we'll see if I still have some leverage to bargain with!

oh - that seems disappointing. Not too surprising though, as most job are cheaper per unit with higher volume? Especially with a big install where they are there and adding a few extra is super quick vs the whole getting to the install/cleanup part of the job. I hadn't been following the maths on your thread too closely so don't have the figures of all the quotes and permutation of job specs in my head.

Good luck getting back to 2.8!

[EchoStache]

Wouldn't budge on price, but they are offering $300 off for putting a little yard sign up. Also, by refunding the $500 coupon at the end, we get an additional $150 tax credit.  Now to see how quickly things progress.

[EchoStache]

Update:

June 8:
Installer informed me that all permits are approved.  They requested payment of ~$18,000 to order the equipment(as outlined in the original agreement).  I'll ask them what the ETA is for the project now.

Sidenote....we were going to switch to induction stove from gas but the models we like are around $3,000.  I'm tired of spending money so probably going to scour FB Marketplace for a good used normal electric and kick the induction can down the road.  Thinking net cost should be ~$0 once we sell our 1 year old gas range.

Wow, time flies.  I made the initial $2,000 deposit on 3/16!

[mistymoney]

Update:

June 8:
Installer informed me that all permits are approved.  They requested payment of ~$18,000 to order the equipment(as outlined in the original agreement).  I'll ask them what the ETA is for the project now.

Sidenote....we were going to switch to induction stove from gas but the models we like are around $3,000.  I'm tired of spending money so probably going to scour FB Marketplace for a good used normal electric and kick the induction can down the road.  Thinking net cost should be ~$0 once we sell our 1 year old gas range.

Wow, time flies.  I made the initial $2,000 deposit on 3/16!

Thanks for update!

that would hurt with a 1 year stove....did you spend a lot? top model? or just average?

[EchoStache]

Update:

June 8:
Installer informed me that all permits are approved.  They requested payment of ~$18,000 to order the equipment(as outlined in the original agreement).  I'll ask them what the ETA is for the project now.

Sidenote....we were going to switch to induction stove from gas but the models we like are around $3,000.  I'm tired of spending money so probably going to scour FB Marketplace for a good used normal electric and kick the induction can down the road.  Thinking net cost should be ~$0 once we sell our 1 year old gas range.

Wow, time flies.  I made the initial $2,000 deposit on 3/16!

Thanks for update!

that would hurt with a 1 year stove....did you spend a lot? top model? or just average?

Appliances came with the house when we bought it last year.  If I buy a cheap or used electric stove and get all or some/most money back by selling the gas stove...it's a win win win win win scenario.  Improved indoor air quality.  Stop paying for gas to cook.  Cook for free with solar electric.  Stop dumping heat into the house with gas cooking.  Stop cooking with an open window wasting A/C and letting hot air in.  Better for environment.  Many wins.

Only way it hurts is if I spend $$$ on a new expensive induction stove.

[grantmeaname]

I got the Frigidaire Gallery, Consumer Reports's #2 fave induction stove for like $1050 or $1100. It's been fantastic for everything we've asked it to do. Are you looking for a specific characteristic that you can't get from a cheaper model?

[LennStar]

From all I have heard, induction stove are better. They certainly dumb less heat into the house than electric. It's a lot harder to burn something (including yourself), they start up faster and switch off faster.

If you want to use it a long time, paying a few bucks more might well be worth it.

[grantmeaname]

They certainly are better. The question is whether a $4k one does something that a $1k one cannot.

[EchoStache]

They certainly are better. The question is whether a $4k one does something that a $1k one cannot.

I took a close look at the base model Fridigaire induction stove as I do feel they are good quality and a good value.  The design and finish would be a close enough match for the rest of our appliances, but the deal breaker is burner size.  All of the cheaper induction stoves seem to have only one large burner and the rest are quite small at 7" or smaller.  Wife is unwilling to buy a stove without two fairly large burners for cooking.  The GE seems to offer the best burner sizes of all the inductions stoves I see, but price puts it out of consideration for now.

So I ordered a countertop induction burner which should greatly reduce the amount we have to use the gas stove.  Not a permanent solution but a low cost temporary solution if nothing else.

As far as solar, we didn't want to put an $18,000 check in the mail so we will drop the check off in person on Monday.  After inquiring about a timeline, I was a told as soon as 6/19 for install.

[grantmeaname]

Interesting. The 7" burners do fine for an enameled cast iron pan, or a 10.25" cast iron skillet, so I only own one pan big enough to need the largest burner.

[EchoStache]

Interesting. The 7" burners do fine for an enameled cast iron pan, or a 10.25" cast iron skillet, so I only own one pan big enough to need the largest burner.

I was thinking about this....even if only the inner 7" of a 10" pan are directly heated with induction, the heat should spread to the rest of the pan?  Just wondering if it would cook unevenly?  I think that is the wife's concern...uneven cooking if only part of the pan is heated.

[grantmeaname]

If you have a really thin nonstick with no real heat capacity then you could have an issue. With my cast iron or stainless steel I have never had a problem and I assume copper clad or other nice pans would also be fine.

[EchoStache]

Update:
Solar to be installed Monday.  Or maybe tomorrow.  Got an email while at work asking if next week was ok, I said sure, they said ok, on the schedule for Monday.  Another email at 1:45 pm that I didn't see until about 6 pm; a crew is free tomorrow if that works.  I replied yes but of course its after hours so we shall see.

[EchoStache]

Saturday 6/24/2023

Solar company came out this morning and did all the inside work tying into the electrical panel and installing components on the side of the house.  Work looks good and clean.  Install will be finished Monday and Tuesday, could spill into Wednesday. 

Was told system will be operational right away but won't get credit for excess production until utility inspects.  They will schedule inspection right away upon completion, and they will be on site for the inspection so that if anything needs addressed, they can handle on the spot.  He expects this to be less than one week, at which time net metering will go into effect.

[RWD]

Awesome!

[GilesMM]

Saturday 6/24/2023

Solar company came out this morning and did all the inside work tying into the electrical panel and installing components on the side of the house.  Work looks good and clean.  Install will be finished Monday and Tuesday, could spill into Wednesday. 

Was told system will be operational right away but won't get credit for excess production until utility inspects.  They will schedule inspection right away upon completion, and they will be on site for the inspection so that if anything needs addressed, they can handle on the spot.  He expects this to be less than one week, at which time net metering will go into effect.

Sounds good. I didn't pay the final bill until about a week after the system was commissioned, working as per design, approved by the utility, and showing on the internet daily metering.  If anything whatsoever seems odd, work with the installer to resolve BEFORE the final payment.   You may have a lot of questions.  There is also significant chance for "infant death' on some of the components and it will show up the first week or two (dead panel, dead inverter, etc).

[RWTL]

Saturday 6/24/2023

Solar company came out this morning and did all the inside work tying into the electrical panel and installing components on the side of the house.  Work looks good and clean.  Install will be finished Monday and Tuesday, could spill into Wednesday. 

Was told system will be operational right away but won't get credit for excess production until utility inspects.  They will schedule inspection right away upon completion, and they will be on site for the inspection so that if anything needs addressed, they can handle on the spot.  He expects this to be less than one week, at which time net metering will go into effect.

What company did you end up going with?

[EchoStache]

Bright Eye Solar.

[EchoStache]

This thread has gotten rather spread out and convoluted.  In an attempt to summarize the timeframe, here is a synopsis of events:
Tesla solar:
12/04/2022: Paid $250 deposit to request Tesla solar.
01/06/2023: On-site inspection.
01/25/2023: System redesign posted based on inspection.
02/05/2023: 2nd Re-design posted based on my request.
02/05/2023: Order placed for Tesla solar.
02/22/2023: Cancelled Tesla solar order.

Bright Eyes Solar:
03/16/2023: Paid $2,000 deposit to move forward with solar from local company.  Was given a 4 month estimate for completion.
06/08/2023: Notified that all permits are approved and installation will move forward as soon as 2/3 payment is received.
06/13/2023: Payment mailed
06/24/2023: Interior electrical work completed i.e. tied in to panel and equipment installed near meter.

Remainder of install scheduled for M-W 6/26-6/28

10.53kW for $29,962 gross, $9138 federal rebate:
$20,824 net cost.
12.78 MW annual production estimate, net metering, ~$500/year SREC's.
1,134 kW average monthly consumption for past 11 months, or 13.6 MW/year
 

Solaria 390X panels; 25 year manufacturer power, parts, labor warranty.
Enphase micro-inverters; 25 year manufacturer warranty
Installer: 10 year warranty.

[GilesMM]

Cool stuff. What's your annual electricity cost and resulting breakeven years (net solar cost / electric cost per year pre-solar)?

[EchoStache]

Yearly electric cost is roughly $2400.  $20,800/2400=8.7 years.  I ran a more detailed analysis that included opportunity cost, conservative inflation, SREC's, etc, and it still comes out around 8 years.

I signed up for a super cheap short term rate to tide me over until solar gets installed of ~12 cents/kW, but current rate with utility is ~16.6 cents.

With current living arrangement i.e. 5 adults, 2 EV's and a PHEV, I might fall just a little short of annual use with my solar production.

The reason I'm not having a larger system installed is that we will be traveling away from home frequently and for extended periods in upcoming years.  This will reduce electric use especially since there will be almost no EV charging while we are gone.

The other reason is that my three young adult children will move out at some point which will again reduce our consumption.  I think I will end up with more than I need as configured.

[monarda]

I was thinking that 10.5 kW is a large system. We have a 4.3 kW system for our rental - providing electricity for 3 adults. But we have no EV charging.

How does your net metering work in the future years where you might be producing much more than you need? Around here, the rate you get for power sent back to the grid really plummets if you are a net producer.

[GilesMM]

Eight years isn't bad.  Californians can get it down to 5.  Hawaiians even less.  I think 10 years is about average.

[EchoStache]

I was thinking that 10.5 kW is a large system. We have a 4.3 kW system for our rental - providing electricity for 3 adults. But we have no EV charging.

How does your net metering work in the future years where you might be producing much more than you need? Around here, the rate you get for power sent back to the grid really plummets if you are a net producer.

Net metering is great here...I get the same rate either way...whether pulling from the grid or sending.

[EchoStache]

Monday 6/26

Looks like all of the mounting brackets, inverters, and wiring are in place.  I haven't spoken to the installer but from my perspective, it looks like all that is left is putting the panels in place, which would seem to simply be plugging them in and clipping them in place.  I assume installation will be complete tomorrow.

A very nice detail of the install is that they ran the conduit that goes from the meter/electronics area right up alongside the gutter at the edge of the house which really helps the installation look clean rather than a conduit running up the middle of the wall of the house for two stories.  I've seen quite a few solar installs done that way.

The conduit runs across the roof for just a few feet over to the solar panel area and is a light grey on dark shingles.  I requested that they spray paint(or whatever) that portion charcoal or black so it will blend in better with the dark shingles. 

Hopefully more news tomorrow evening.

[monarda]

I was thinking that 10.5 kW is a large system. We have a 4.3 kW system for our rental - providing electricity for 3 adults. But we have no EV charging.

How does your net metering work in the future years where you might be producing much more than you need? Around here, the rate you get for power sent back to the grid really plummets if you are a net producer.

Net metering is great here...I get the same rate either way...whether pulling from the grid or sending.

In the short term, we do, too. But if we are a net producer for 12 straight months, the rate plummets. Worth checking the fine print.

[EchoStache]

Tuesday 6/27/2023

Looks like about half the panels went up today.  A storm hit early afternoon, so possible completion tomorrow if weather holds.

[Villanelle]

I was thinking that 10.5 kW is a large system. We have a 4.3 kW system for our rental - providing electricity for 3 adults. But we have no EV charging.

How does your net metering work in the future years where you might be producing much more than you need? Around here, the rate you get for power sent back to the grid really plummets if you are a net producer.

Net metering is great here...I get the same rate either way...whether pulling from the grid or sending.

In the short term, we do, too. But if we are a net producer for 12 straight months, the rate plummets. Worth checking the fine print.

Interesting policy. Wouldn't that mean it probably makes financial sense to crank up the a/c and leave on all the lights (or whatever) after 11 months of net-producing, to make sure your 12 month clock resets?  Paying for a modest use (over your production) for 1 month should be less than the drastic reduction in rate you'd otherwise see, it seems. 

[monarda]

I was thinking that 10.5 kW is a large system. We have a 4.3 kW system for our rental - providing electricity for 3 adults. But we have no EV charging.

How does your net metering work in the future years where you might be producing much more than you need? Around here, the rate you get for power sent back to the grid really plummets if you are a net producer.

Net metering is great here...I get the same rate either way...whether pulling from the grid or sending.

In the short term, we do, too. But if we are a net producer for 12 straight months, the rate plummets. Worth checking the fine print.

Interesting policy. Wouldn't that mean it probably makes financial sense to crank up the a/c and leave on all the lights (or whatever) after 11 months of net-producing, to make sure your 12 month clock resets?  Paying for a modest use (over your production) for 1 month should be less than the drastic reduction in rate you'd otherwise see, it seems.

I suppose that's a workaround. The utility  (for some reason) wants you to size your systems "just right" without too much overproduction. There's probably a political reason why. Who knows. So my electric bills are negative in summer and positive in winter.

[EchoStache]

Wednesday 6/28/2023

System is complete and producing.  Cloudy today, so its been making in the 1.3-4kW range so far.  No net metering until utility inspection is complete.  Haven't spoken with installer yet as I'm at work and got a notification to setup the app.

[EchoStache]

Arrived home after work.  Installation looks good.  The panels and roof are nearly the same color so they blend in very nicely.  As we drove up to the back of the house from the adjoining neighborhood, they are actually easy to overlook unless you look directly at the roof.  They cover roughly 90% of the roof and are laid out in a nice, uniform pattern.  Looking at neighboring houses or even our yard, you don't *notice* the solar panels.  Really have to look right at the roof to see them if that makes sense.  So I'm happy with the appearance. 

The 2ish foot run of conduit from the edge of the roof to the panels was light gray.  The installer agreed with no issues to paint this section...it is all but unnoticeable now without looking really close.

Inspection is scheduled for TOMORROW at 3 pm.  Wow!  AFAIK, once this is done, we will have net metering in place.

Today was full clouds all day and was very hazy due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires with an air quality index of above 150.  In these conditions, the panels have produced right at 20 kWh of electricity for the day at 5:30 pm.  System was powered on around 11:40 am.

Sun just popped out for a brief moment and production spiked up to 6 kW.  Not bad for late in the day, hazy conditions, etc?

Tomorrow is expected to be full sun so I'll update with production on a full day with better sun.

[mistymoney]

Arrived home after work.  Installation looks good.  The panels and roof are nearly the same color so they blend in very nicely.  As we drove up to the back of the house from the adjoining neighborhood, they are actually easy to overlook unless you look directly at the roof.  They cover roughly 90% of the roof and are laid out in a nice, uniform pattern.  Looking at neighboring houses or even our yard, you don't *notice* the solar panels.  Really have to look right at the roof to see them if that makes sense.  So I'm happy with the appearance. 

The 2ish foot run of conduit from the edge of the roof to the panels was light gray.  The installer agreed with no issues to paint this section...it is all but unnoticeable now without looking really close.

Inspection is scheduled for TOMORROW at 3 pm.  Wow!  AFAIK, once this is done, we will have net metering in place.

Today was full clouds all day and was very hazy due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires with an air quality index of above 150.  In these conditions, the panels have produced right at 20 kWh of electricity for the day at 5:30 pm.  System was powered on around 11:40 am.

Sun just popped out for a brief moment and production spiked up to 6 kW.  Not bad for late in the day, hazy conditions, etc?

Tomorrow is expected to be full sun so I'll update with production on a full day with better sun.

sounds great! any chance of a pic?

[EchoStache]

Arrived home after work.  Installation looks good.  The panels and roof are nearly the same color so they blend in very nicely.  As we drove up to the back of the house from the adjoining neighborhood, they are actually easy to overlook unless you look directly at the roof.  They cover roughly 90% of the roof and are laid out in a nice, uniform pattern.  Looking at neighboring houses or even our yard, you don't *notice* the solar panels.  Really have to look right at the roof to see them if that makes sense.  So I'm happy with the appearance. 

The 2ish foot run of conduit from the edge of the roof to the panels was light gray.  The installer agreed with no issues to paint this section...it is all but unnoticeable now without looking really close.

Inspection is scheduled for TOMORROW at 3 pm.  Wow!  AFAIK, once this is done, we will have net metering in place.

Today was full clouds all day and was very hazy due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires with an air quality index of above 150.  In these conditions, the panels have produced right at 20 kWh of electricity for the day at 5:30 pm.  System was powered on around 11:40 am.

Sun just popped out for a brief moment and production spiked up to 6 kW.  Not bad for late in the day, hazy conditions, etc?

Tomorrow is expected to be full sun so I'll update with production on a full day with better sun.

sounds great! any chance of a pic?

Lazing on the beach in Cape May NJ this weekend.  I'll try to remember to upload one Sunday/Monday.

Production update.  A day of full sun, BUT very hazy conditions due to Canadian wildfire smoke.  Not sure how much this affected production, but peaked a little over 8 kW, produced ~60kW for the day.

Did not pass inspection Thursday afternoon, not sure why.  Installer is going to follow up with inspector Monday; they feel like the system should have passed and are going to try to discuss Monday.  So system is off until further notice.  :(

[EchoStache]

Pics:

Can't quite figure out how to post full pics, maybe these links work?

[EchoStache]

Production:
7/6: 55.5 kWh
7/7: 42.3 kWh

I'm guessing that on a perfect, full sun day with no clouds, I'll produce 60-70 kWh.  Couple of full sun days showing for next week.

Edit:  woops, looks like I forgot to mention that I got ahold of the head electrician for the installer on 7/5.  Inspector did not pass the system because he wanted a 2nd manual disconnect switch inside the house, and that the system is safe to operate, so I turned it on.  They are seeing if they can get the inspection result overturned but will make changes if necessary.  Their follow up/communication on this issue could have been better as I had to call to find out what is going on.  Granted, inspection was the Thursday before the long 4th of July weekend so I imagine lots of people were off 7/1-7/4. 

[EchoStache]

Production update.

7/4 - 7/21:. (7/4 & 7/5 were partial days)
879 kWh produced
762 kWh consumed
117 kWh exported

~49 kWh/day produced.

Best day has been 61.4 and was not a perfect full sun day.  Based on that graph, I estimate ~65 kWh for a perfectly clear day.
Worst day was 26.5

I'll update again at the end of the current billing cycle 8/4 or so.

[EchoStache]

July: 1.4MW produced.  Would have been ~1.6 but system was off first few days of the month.

Unfortunately, net metering did not go into effect for July.  Solar reduced the amount of energy I pulled from the grid, but did not get any credit for excess energy produced.  So August will be the first month with net metering in effect.  Will be a good month to analyze performance since will be hot and won't be gone for vacation as we were in July.

I'll update in a month.

[NorCal]

The system looks good, and it sounds like it's working like it's supposed to!  Congrats on a good setup.

I'm still hopeful to get my tiny 2.3kW system upgraded soon, but the roof only has a few years left, so it doesn't make sense now.  Although maybe it's for the best, as I'm finalizing my full home electrification, and it will be good to have some history with a full electric setup before sizing a solar system. 

[BORN SAVER]

Hey just saw this post I worked for tesla for 5 years doing solar and running solar pannals crews/ solar roof crews. Just wanted to put in my 2 cents.

I love the idea of the company and hope the best for the and currently hold 151 shares from stock bonuses from there.

Read through there customer reviews. You get what you pay for.
There customer service is abysmal. You will need to stay on top of them. They a majority of the time there workers are unskilled at what they do cause then over is super high. Usually 80% of staff doesn't make it more the 2 years. Make sure you know the fine print 2. Photograph everything before the come to install. Roof and the inside of you house.

With that being said there are some good crew but there few and far between. As far as solar roof goes it's super cool but honestly I would probably wait another 5 years or so till they refine it more there will probably be some issues do to rsd failing and how there system is designed. But is is super cool.

[EchoStache]

Quick update.  I've been waiting for a flawless production day to see what peak daily production would be.  July 26th I produced 62.8 kWh with an *almost* perfect day, just a very small drop in production for a short time period.  I doubt I missed more than 1-2 kW of production. Today was flawless and I produced 62.6, so probably a slightly less ideal time of year for absolute peak production. 

August month to date:
Production: 897 kWh
Consumption: 953 kWh
Net Import 55.8 kWh

[LennStar]

Means at the end of the month you will likely have produced as much as I use in a year.