After two weeks the PV system has generated 268 kWh. Half of the days have been sunny, and on those days the system makes 25-30 kWh. What's been surprising to me is the days where the sun doesn't appear, and the system makes 4-6 kWh.
I have that commercial meter I mentioned in the first post on the system. Thus far, of the 268 kWh, 41 kWh have been used at the house and 227 kWh have been sent to the grid. I would guess that this all gets used in the cohousing, but I don't have any way of knowing that. We've used about 112 kWh during these two weeks, so we've imported 81 kWh even though the meter reads 134 kWh lower than when the system came on line. This is a good reminder that we need the grid - it's replacing an on site battery, by allowing us to send out the surplus and import when the sun doesn't shine.
Marc,
Your blog is great and I look forward to each post. I'd look forward to a post on understanding the economics on the generation side. For example, once you start getting your electric bills, I'd be curious in understanding how the net metering is shown and calculated. From a pricing of kWh, are you really indifferent to whether you use or net meter the electricity? Could you switch to a time of use plan and benefit from net metering at a higher rate and import at a lower one? How did you sell the SRECs and what price did you get? Was the transaction easy? expensive?
Dick Jones
Posted by: Dick Jones | 06/24/2011 at 09:10 AM
That was a really good article, thanks for taking the time to put it together! You have managed to point out some very good points. I like your post
Posted by: Solar pv southwest | 07/13/2011 at 10:42 PM
Great thing for you. Embrace the opportunity and enjoy. Keep inspiring other people.
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Posted by: Spring electrician | 08/30/2012 at 05:08 AM