Newbie - 1st PV system

[godspower]

Great discussion board here.  I am a newbie, this is my first post.  I have been reading the posts for several months and am a little intimidated by the amount of knowledge out there.  I am relatively new to alternative energy studies.  Anyway, I recently completed my first PV project.  Here is some information on my system.

--7 Mitsubishi MF-PV-155EB3 Panels

--PV Powered PVP2000 Grid-intertied Inverter

System rating is 1085W.  The array is mounted on constant angle rails on my south facing garage.  The inverter is contained in the same building.  I did all the wiring to tie my garage into the grid including digging the trench, pulling the wires and installing and connecting 2 breaker boxes.  Quite fun for a relatively inexperienced person.  I contracted the installation of the PV system but I was actively involved as the assistant.  I participated in all aspects except for the connection of the wires from the array into the inverter and from the inverter into the grid.  I was surprised how easy the project was. We completed the entire installation in about 7 hours.  The electric utility in my area offers a net-metering program for which I have made my application, although it won't be very often where there is excess power being provided to the grid with this small system.  For those interested, the total installed cost of the system was almost $12,000.  After the state rebate, 30%, and federal rebate, 30% w/max of $2k, the revised installed cost will be very close to $6,300.  Resulting in an installed cost of $5.80/rated Watt.

System began generating on October 7 and thusfar has produced 63KwH.  I invite your questions and comments.  Thanks for being such a great community.

[ghurd]

Gosh. I'm glad you started small. Newbies should always start small. ;-)

What state (area), pay-back ETA, will the angle be adjusted seasonally?

"participated in all aspects except for the connection of the wires from the array into the inverter and from the inverter into the grid"

You didn't miss anything exciting if you know how a screw driver works.

G-

[richhagen]

I'm envious of the project.  How many hurdles did you have to jump through to grid connect it in your area?  How is it performing so far?  Rich Hagen

[TAH]

Where did you find a federal rebate? I want one too.

[godspower]

Thanks G-.  I appreciate the reply.

State: Illinois chicagoland

Payback ETA:  A longgggg time!  Actually I don't have an accurate calculation yet b/c I don't really know how well my system will perform. I did calculate a payback using my current utility rates and a loose prediction of system output.  The time is actually, well....forever.  Based on similar installs in my area I should be able to expect 110KwH per month per year (a rough average I might add).  System has been on for 1 month and it generated 85KwH.  Using the my current rate of $.10/Kwh and the $6300 install cost, that works out to a 62 year payback.  If I got 110KwH/month that would be 47 yrs.  ComEd, the utility here, is coming off of a 10 year rate freeze and is set to begin increasing rates Jan 2007.  This will change the payback calc too.

Angle adjusted:  No, not in the plans as of now.  The rails I used are hard mounted to the roof.  The angle the panels are currently laying is optimum for summer, less desireable for winter.

[godspower]

Rich, thanks.

Hurdles jumped through - Zero

Performance so far - I think fine.  85KwH since install on 10/7/06.  I do expect better in the summer and with less cloudy days than we've had this October.

Connecting to the grid was so unbelievably easy.  Being limited in my understanding and since it was my first time I was expecting more work/problems/issues/red tape etc.  None of that occured.  The inverter does all the work for you.  No approvals from or notification to the utility company was needed.  I didn't even have any communication with the utility.  Just "plug" the panels into the inverter and "plug" the inverter into the grid, flip the breaker on and bang (well not really, a bang ) you are powered up with the PV system connected to the grid.  I do have an external disconnect between the PV System and the grid meter that they could shut off if they wanted to for safety reasons, but it is a reduntant measure since the inverter powers off immediately if it detects any variation in the grid supply including low voltage, islanding, or a total loss.---the drawback to a battery-less grid tied system - when the grid is down, I'm down sunny or not!

Last week I submitted my application for the utility, ComEd, to install a net-metering device.  They approved my app. and estimate 6 weeks to install the net meter.  All that will do is measure any excess power I produce and send back into the grid.

[godspower]

we'll see how this works...then I'll report again.  The way I understand it is I will get an actual check from the state for the rebate, but on the fed rebate it will be in the form of a tax credit (I'll owe the feds 2000 less in taxes for 2006).  I should have been more clear in my initial description and used the correct work "credit" instead of "rebate" for the federal.  I am expecting after all is said and done (after I file 2006 income taxes) that I will have spent ~$6300 out of pocket.   check out energystar.gov/taxcredits for more info

[godspower]

Just figured I would give an update if anyone was interested.  So far the system has recorded a total of 210kWh production.  System has been on line just over 3 and 1/2 months.  We've seen over 30 cloudy days where I had zero production.  On a nice sunny day over the weekend I checked the inverter and had an instantaneous output of 864W.  I was pretty happy with that especially since my panels are not adjustable and are set at an angle that is optimum for summer sun and not winter.  My hope and expection of 110kwh/month has certainly not been realized.  I hope summer months exceed that estimate by a lot.  Last week I received my rebate check from the state of Illinois, which was great.  I haven't filed my 06 taxes yet so I have yet to take advantage of the federal tax credit.  I'll post if there are any issues, but I don't anticipate any.  I'll also be taking credit for some more energy improvements in the form of insulation (you know you can take a credit for 10% of insulation purchased up to a max of $500).  ComEd, the local utility, should have already installed my net-meter based on their estimates...but it is not installed yet and I haven't heard anything from ComEd.  A work colleage who also installed a PV system told me that his 6 week estimate from ComEd was actually delivered in 6 months.  If that holds true for me, I've still got a few months before I have a net meter to measure the output of my system more accurately.  

So until next time.

[godspower]

Update: Just filed my 2006 income tax returns.  I was able to take the full $2000 federal tax credit for my system.  For those who do not know how this works, the credit is a dollar for dollar reduction in the amount of tax you owe (i.e. if you owed the govt. $2000 and took the full $2000 credit for your solar installation, you would now owe the govt. $0)  My PV system has recorded a total of 410kWh production since Oct. 7. ComEd (electric utility in my area) installed my net-meter last week so in a couple of months I will be able to give an update on how that whole interface works.  I am also considering upgrading the system this year to take advantage of the federal tax credit for 2007 as that will be the last opportunity (at least from the current Energy Policy Act of 2005).

I am not sure if anyone is reading these updates, since I've had no replies.  So if you are, and would like any more info, just ask and I will be happy to post.

[godspower]

Here is a photo of the panels on my roof.  They look like, well... PV panels on a white tin roof.