Going for Solar Series - Our Journey to Solar PV

Sunrise on our solar PV awning
After making a lot of energy efficiency and water conservation improvements, we have started down the path to adding renewable energy generation to our green improvements on our home. The Going for Solar Series takes you step by step along out journey to adding solar PV to our home. We hope you can learn from our experience and we welcome comments and questions throughout.
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Photos from construction:




Going For Solar - Dreaming (Step 1)

Ever since I was a kid learning about solar photovoltaics (PV) from I have dreamed of having solar PV installed on my house.  In the past few years while reading Steven Strong's book, The Solar Electric House, I learned that Paul was/is one of the pioneers of the field of photovoltaics...

Going For Solar - Efficiency First (Step 2)

Before investing in a renewable energy system like solar panels, be sure to tackle efficiency improvement projects first.  You will get a quicker return on your investment and the amount of energy you need to generate through your renewable energy projects will be reduced...Includes a list of projects to tackle first.
Jordan showing our son how Solar Pathfinder works
Jordan showing our 5 yo son
how a Solar PathFinder works

Going For Solar - Solar Site Survey (Step 3)

After you have done all the energy efficiency upgrades and behavior modifications around the house to reduce your load, then it is time to think about renewable energy...

Going For Solar - Get Multiple Proposals or Bids (Step 4)

Since solar installations (even after incentives) cost more than most cars, you should definitely speak to several companies or contractors before making your decision to proceed and selecting the right one for you...

Going for Solar - Choosing Your Contractor (Step 5)

Installing a solar system is not a small investment.  In many cases it will be more expensive than buying a car and the contractor will be working in your home, so it pays to get a good contractor and one that you are comfortable with in the long run... 



Going for Solar - Paperwork (Step 6)

As with any big purchase in life, there is bound to be a few papers to sign. Solar projects are no exception. While this is not a fun part of the process, it is important. A good solar contractor like SunBug Solar, who we used, will make this process easy and do most of the paperwork for you.


Going for Solar - New Electric Meter (Step 7)

One morning, shortly after our Utility Interconnection Application was approved, we had a knock on the door and the utility company was here to change the meter.

Going for Solar - Waiting (Step 8)

After you have done all the hard work of planning, negotiating, selecting a contractor and signing all the papers, comes the hardest and easiest part of the process: The Waiting!

Going for Solar - Building a Solar PV Awning (Step 9)

Beyond the first few steps in the waiting process comes the real work, construction.  Every solar project will be a little bit different depending on the design, location and local building requirements.  Our solar awning project construction happened in three steps.
  • Building the Structure
  • Installing the Panels
  • Wiring and Inverter

Going for Solar - Final Sign Offs (Step 10)


Before you can flip the switch, you have to get the electrical inspection and utility interconnection sign offs.



Going for Solar: Flipping the Switch To Green Energy (Step 11)

Flipping the switch to green energy
We finally got the go ahead from the electric company to turn on our solar awning on November 19, 2010. It was a bright, sunny day and I took a quick break from work to run home and flip the switch.

Going for Solar - Our First Electric Bill (Step 12)

Check out the drop for December
I cannot believe how excited I was about getting an electric bill.  I was eagerly anticipating our first electric bill after we turned on our Solar Awning.  Yeah, I'm probably a little crazy, but I was excited to see how low our net-usage was, that is, how little electricity we used from the grid.



Going for Solar - Becoming a Net Generator

Our March Electric Bill
That didn't take long, it took longer to write and publish this post. As soon as the days started getting longer our solar awning started generating more and more electricity. So much so that when we got our March electric bill (2/17-3/22) we were shocked that we didn't owe a penny. Amazing! We actually earned a credit of $0.49.

Going for Solar - Adding Insurance for Solar Array

With Hurricane Irene heading straight for Boston I finally got around to calling my insurance company to see if I needed to make any changes to my homeowners' coverage now that we have this expensive solar awning on our home.

SunWatch Year View for
2011 of our Solar PV Awning

Going for Solar - The First Year

In our first full year with our solar awning, we generated 5,816 kWh of solar energy, which is 16% more than we expected.  I'm not sure if that is a normal fluctuation in the amount of sunny days we had this year or a trend towards higher production from the bi-facial panels.  I certainly hope it is the later.  Our total electricity usage for 2011 was 6,958 kWh, so we produced over 83% of our own clean energy.  If we can get our usage even lower, maybe we can produce (in net) all of our electricity with our solar PV awning.


Stay tuned for more articles in the Going for Solar series from Green Lifestyle Consulting.
  • Going for Solar - The Celebration!
  • Going for Solar - July Electric Bill with Air Conditioning in Boston
  • Going for Solar - Snow Removal (coming this winter)
Happy Greening!
Jon & Alicia

7 comments:

  1. So a week or two ago my husband and I were going to pick up a toy for my son from Freecycle. I don't remember which town now, but there was a house on that road with solar panels. My husband got all excited. "We have to become friends with those people!" he said. As newbies to the area, we're always on the lookout for people who share our eco-friendly sensibilities. And we really want solar panels someday. So when I was at the GCDC this weekend and you talked about the solar panels on your house, I wondered if yours was the house we passed. Wish I could remember the town... I know if I look back through my email I'll remember.

    Anyway, thanks for this blog! I'm going to share it with my husband. Incidentally, I started a blog myself a few months ago. Haven't added much to it yet, but check it out... You will not believe what my user name is...
    http://jemsroom.blogspot.com. :-)

    ReplyDelete

  2. Hi Alicia,

    We live on a pretty small street that is only two block long and our solar awning is in our backyard, so it is very unlikely that it was our solar panels you saw. We'd be happy to answer any questions you have about Going for Solar. We love our solar awning and will be posting some more story once we settle down from the GCDC and other activities we've been involved or leading.

    Happy Greening!
    Jon

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  3. Alicia and Jonathan,

    I have been dreaming of putting in a solar awning over my deck since I got my house in September of 2010. Like you, my roof alignment would not be optimal. My deck faces south with no trees. It gets so much sun the deck is almost unusable. I found a video of you cleaning snow off your panels and found your website. I'm in long Island NY. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
    Paul,

    ReplyDelete

  4. Hi Paul,

    The first thing to do is find an good solar installer in your area. Be sure they are an NYSERDA approved installer.

    You can also check out what incentives are available for Long Island. Check out out post about DSIRE:
    http://www.greenlifestyleconsulting.com/2009/10/what-incentives-are-available-for-you.html

    DSIRE has a special solar category and can show you all state, local and federal incentives. A good solar contractor will be able to explain the different incentives.

    You should also check what financing options are available if you are not going to pay for it out of pocket. There may be some low to no interest loan programs for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

    Let us know if you have any further questions at ecodad@greenlifestyleconsulting.com.

    Good Luck!
    Jon

    p.s. I'll be posting the blog post of the snow clearing video soon now that winter has returned.

    ReplyDelete

  5. Thinking of getting a solar carport w Sanyo hit195 bifacials like yours. Could you comment on the panels? Why did you get those vs others? Especially given how much more they are per watt. Are they generating backside power as advertised? What things do you like most abt the panels? Any negatives to consider?

    ReplyDelete

  6. Hi Mark,

    We love the Sanyo Bifacial Panels! We primarily got them for the visual effects and to allow some natural light to reach our 1st floor through the windows and doors. The awning covers the entire southern exposure of our home.

    We also wanted to have the visual appearance of the bifacial panels in our outdoor living area rather than the boring white you find on standard solar panels. I love sitting under the awning looking up and seeing that beautiful color and the patterns of light we get from the double side glass.

    As for reflected light, it is definitely noticeable when our backyard is full of snow. SunBug Solar came out and took some measurements last winter and was shocked at the extra production we were seeing from the reflected light underneath.

    They were definitely more expensive, but I'm glad we spent the extra to get them for how much I enjoy seeing them every time I go into our backyard.

    The two negatives are added price and added weight. Your contractor also has to be neat with any installation that has the underside of the panels exposed with the connectors since you see them.

    Good Luck getting your solar carport. Are you planning to have an electric car eventually?

    Jon

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  7. Thanks for the info Jon! Its great to hear positive comments from someone who actually has the panels. I am pleased to hear the transparency is a strong plus. We are considering a Florian Solar carport structure. They are beautiful and are designed to hide the wires within the structure.

    Yes we would like to get an electric car one day. Solar+car will likely be the future of transportation as oil passes its peak.

    Your efforts are inspiring, informative and set a great example for others.

    Mark

    ReplyDelete

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