You're correct about the kilowatt hours part. It's 2016 where I am and I'm tired. Of course the system doesn't generate anything at night. I'm also aware that certain parts of the planet work better for solar than others..I live in one of those places. The panels installed here degrade with time...they will be approximately 17% less efficient than they currently are, after 25 years. I can monitor the output of each panel via my home network and identify any individual panel should it develop an issue. I'm intelligent enough to realize that the materials the system is made of doesn't grow on trees. In several years time, we hope to install a power wall when the pricing becomes attainable. Until then, any KW/H that we don't use is fed into the electricity grid and consumed by other users, obtaining a reduction in the amount of coal burnt. What I do with my own money is my own business and should be no concern of yours.chk071 wrote:76 killowatts doesn't make sense, if then, it should be 76 killowatt hours. And excuse me, but that figure seems pretty utopic. You should have gauges (if that's the correct word) to measure not only the amount of killowatt hours you import into the electricity net, and also a display about what the installment produces atm.werp wrote:The micro inverter panels that I had installed are set up in parallel rather than in series. Parallel installations don't suffer the same losses due to shade that series installations do...the inverters also convert DC current to AC therefore avoiding any possible overheating of wiring passing through roof spaces etc. On the day of installation, the system generated 76 kilowatts of power..Bear in mind that the installation of 60 panels plus connection to the house circuitry took most of the day...chk071 wrote:It's pretty easy to answer that question yourself. Does the sun shine in the night (or rather when it's dark)? (Hint: The solar panels produce nothing at all then) Also, when the weather is cloudy, solar panels only produce about 1/10 to 1/20 of their nominal capacity. And only in absolute optimal conditions (sun shining vertically on the panels), they get NEARLY their nominal capacity, for half an hour a day or so. There are many small cities which claim they're independent here in germany because of solar and wind power. My suggestion would be to cut them from the net, and see if they're really independent, of course noone would do that, because then everyone would see how extremely inefficient and unreliable the facilities are. And how much they cost, and how much (fossile) energy ressources were spent to manufacture them in proportion to what they deliver.JerGoertz wrote:Yes, this is definitely cool. Are you gents completely electric-independent?
Scotty wrote:That is a big install. I have 10.5 killowatt install comprised of 42 Sharp panels. You must have a lot of south facing roof space. Cool to see this on a KVR post!
werp wrote:actually my best purchase was 15 kilowatts of solar panels on the roof. I more or less make horrible noises for free....
Our neighbour has an installment of 7 killowatt on his roof, amidttedly a bit older than yours. the maximum amount of power, at optimal conditions is about 5-6 killowatt, IF the sun shines, there's no clouds or anything, and it shines vertically on the panels. If it's cloudy, it produces about 1/10 of that, which would be enough to power one or two desktop computers. At other times than at peak times, in the summer, when the sun shines vertically on the panels, there's already a lot of loss too. And when it's dark, there is nothing, nada. Considering that's a 20.000 € installment (of course, 50% of that subsidized), and there's also the need of other installments, like a converter, which cost a couple of thousands too afaik, the installment, without being susidized will surely not be cost efficient in its lifespan (and of course took a lot of fossile energies to manufacture). Apart from that, like with all of the subsidized, and hyped renewable energies (not talking about water power here, which actually is efficient), it takes a lot of compensaion power plants, to do the basic requirements of electrical energy, which in my case in germany comes from coal and gas plants, which are neither climate neutral, nor very clean by default. Wind and solar can only do peaks, they can't do the basic requirements, because they're completely unreliable.
Btw, the farmer i often pass by to buy something also has a sonar panel installment. Most of the times, the energy produced is about 1/10 of its nominal capacity. Which would be in your case about 1,5 killowatt, which would be almost enough to run a washing machine.
Happy new year etc.
So am I 
