another $%&*! Electric bill Thread

[Paul B]

can we see what the panels are hooked up to?inverter,battery,etc

The panels are hooked up to a 4,000 watt inverter and then directly to a 220 circuit breaker in my panel. There is no need to store the excess power because I sell it back to the utility in the form of reducing my bill due to the fact the meter spins in reverse if I am generating more than I am using.

 

[Irisservice]

can I see a picture of that...
not understanding how it connects into panel...
I'm think panel has 220v and feed is 220v must be some kind of blender to accept to power sources...a pic will simplify for me

 

[mray]

If they are paying you less than what they are selling the electricity for then why not just store the excess electricity so that you won't have to run on their electricity when there is little sunlight outside.

 

[Paul B]

Irisservice, I could take a picture but it is just a big gray box next to my panel. You can't see the connections but since I connected it I can tell you that there is a 220 volt connection from the inverter to my circuit breaker. The inverter converts the DC with the varying voltage depending on the sun into 220 volts AC to be fed into the grid. Thats what an inverter does. When the inverter detects that the Solar Array is producing enough power, it turns on and starts feeding my panel. I think the panels only produce about 27 volts or so each but I have 22 panels in a series parallel circuit. 11 panels are in series creating about 300 volts DC, the other 11 panels are also in series and connected in parallel to the first 11 panels. The inverter takes that 300 volts DC and turns it into usable power.
Mray, to store the electricity requires a large fireproof, acidproof very expensive room which is not permitted by most building codes. It is much more economical to just let your meter run backward. I use most of the power myself and do not generate much excess to store even if I wanted to. I am happy just to have free power when the sun is out.

 

[Irisservice]

i know how inverters work...i just did not how dual power source will work..

 

[masterswimmer]

Paul, you're actually receiving the same $$ from the utility company as they charge you. Here's my logic......if you use more from the utility company than you backfeed the grid (as it seems you will be doing), you will incur a bill every month. The utility company will read your meter and they can't tell how much you backfed the grid by looking at your meter. Your meter only shows the net result of what you use from the utility company and how much you backfeed. Your production of solar electric is not only backfed to the grid but used by you as well. So even when you're not producing much solar electric you are producing some and using it, thereby reducing the need for utility company electric. The end result at the end of the month is you still owe the utility company money......just much less than you would have owed without your solar electric. The utilities can't break down what they provided and what you used from your own production. I know this was confusing as all hell. :banghead:

Now conversely, if you were to backfeed the grid more than you use in a month, the utility company would owe you money. It would be very easy to see how much they were paying you per kilowatt hour. Since you're not receiving a payment from them, they can only reduce what you owe them by the amount of your backward spinning meter.

You ARE in effect receiving the same per kilowatt hour from them as they are charging you.

Russ

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Paul info on the equipment please LOL

 

[Paul B]

here is info on the system
http://www.npcpsolar.com/

 

[jhale]

a quote from an article about the bail out legislation and the green incentives they tacked onto it,

"Solar power, far less economically viable than wind turbines, had the most to gain from the bill. The expiring incentives allowed homeowners to claim an investment tax credit for 30% of the cost of a new solar installation, but capped it at $2,000. The new law, written into the financial rescue bill, extends the 30% credit for eight years and, more importantly, eliminates the cap. That means that on a $27,000 residential solar system of 3.2 kw, a homeowner could take nearly $9,000 off his taxes the first year."

 

[Paul B]

Jonathin, those are tax credits, besides that I am receiving about $17,000 in a rebate from the power company.

 

[jhale]

yes, an extra 7K in tax break does not hurt either

 

[Paul B]

yes, an extra 7K in tax break does not hurt either

Well I'm not making anything selling amphipods if you know what I mean