So, to summarize. Our solar PV system is working fine, after a few roof issues, and after we made some green choices in our lighting and our habits, we are routinely making about 1,000 kWh of electrical power MORE than we consume each year. Our Utility, Southern California Edison, will be paying us for the extra power we make.
End of Story? You don't know me very well, do you?
Tracking our Solar Power
I was excited about our new solar PV system, and when I get excited, sometimes I build a spreadsheet.
I wanted to make sure that our new solar panels were making the amount of power that they were promised to make. Then I wanted to make sure that they kept making the same amount of power each year going forward. I found it was easy to track this information, as well as our power usage each day, by taking two readings each evening at sunset: A reading from our solar inverter and one from our electric meter.
So I've taken and recorded these readings every day for the past three plus years. This is how I've been able to track the gains we've made by greener choices in our home. And tracking the excess power we make got me excited about using that excess to power an electric car. LOTS more about that journey in future posts.
Digital Power Tracking
One of my regrets about our solar PV purchase is that our inverter (the box that converts the DC power from the solar panels to AC power to use in our home) does not have the ability to provide data to a computer. It also shuts off its display when the sun goes down. So I have to take my readings manually, each day before the system shuts off. Or else I have to get up early enough the next morning to take a reading before the system makes more power for the day. I'd LOVE to have a digital capable inverter, but it wasn't available at the time we ordered, at least I didn't know about it.
I'm looking into a TED (The Energy Detective) product to solve this problem.
http://www.theenergydetective.com/
Influencing and Helping Others
One great thing about being an early adopter is having an impact on the choices of others. [I know that I'm not really an early adopter for solar electric power. Many real pioneers have been putting solar panels on their homes, either tied to the electric grid, like ours is, or off-grid, using storage batteries to save the power made during sunny periods for use at night or on cloudy days. Me and my neighbors are following in the footsteps of these true early adopters.] Two neighbors across the street have added solar PV systems to their homes within the two years after we added ours. I was glad to be an information resource for them and a trail blazer with our HOA architectural committee.
While state incentives are getting smaller, prices for the panels are going down, and federal incentives are now higher. So it is even more affordable now to go solar than it was when we did it. There are also financing plans that allow one to gain the benefits of going solar without coming up with the full cost up-front. I recommend starting your research at Go Solar California: http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/
Next Blog Post: Can Your Refrigerator Power Your Electric Car?