My Lessons Learned From Installing Solar Power

[PeterC]

Here is what I learned from installing solar power:

1) Now know exactly how much power each of my appliances or EV uses.

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The solar power app tells you how much solar power you are making and using at any point. When you turn an appliance on, you can see how much electricity an appliance is using. Biggest surprise was my electric dryer using over 5kw. The dryer setting for a normal cycle would over dry the close and use a lot of electricity. Now I only run the dryer on 1/2 cycle and the close come out just as dry and I use significantly less electricity.​

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2) Solar Power does NOT work when the power goes out in the grid unless you have battery backup installed.

When the power goes out from the grid, your solar power will not work unless you have battery backup. Told this is for safety reasons, so that the powerlines will not have power when the workperson is repairing the local grid. Important consideration when installing solar power - having just solar panels (and no battery storage) is not a backup system in case the grid power goes out.​

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3) Weather impacts solar production more than I thought.

In the Northeast, USA this year (20024) we had 5 more inches of rain than historical average. More rainy/cloudy days meant less solar production. Some days I barely made any solar power.​

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4) Winter solar power production was half of peak summer production.

Winter shorter days and the lower sun angle in the sky significantly impacts solar production.​

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5) Maintenance of solar panels has been easier than expected.

Snow fell off or melted very quickly after snow storms this year and minimally impacted production.​

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6) Your charge per kHw really impacts your payback period.

Our rates just went up again. Now paying $0.30/kHW (previously $0.27/kHw). My neighbors are really complaining about their electric bills. My payback period has dropped.​

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7) A good day of solar power production for me is 50kHw

That translates to $15 of power for a day. (50kHw * $0.30 = $15). On average, I use about 35kHw a day ($10.50).​

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What have you learned from installing solar power?

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