Russell Ballestrini
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123 lines
6.7 KiB
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Fulfilling Childhood Dreams: Solar
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:author: Russell Ballestrini
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:slug: fulfilling-childhood-dreams-solar
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:date: 2018-03-16 08:03
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:tags: Solar, Project
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:status: published
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Ever since I was an 8 year old boy I have wanted solar. I remember reading about the environment and alternative energy sources in a monthly "socal studies" flyer my school subscribed our classroom to. I questioned, even at my young age, why the world wasn't actively switching over to solar, water, and wind!
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25 years later I have finally fulfilled one of my childhood dreams: I installed a 11.375kWh solar system on my roof.
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This post will act as an overview of the stuff I learned about solar, I hope you learn something too!
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.. contents::
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*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.* See `full disclosure page here </disclosures-and-terms/>`_.
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.. image:: /uploads/2018/panasonic-325watt-panels-front.jpg
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:alt: 325 watt panasonic solar Panels on front of house
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.. image:: /uploads/2018/panasonic-325watt-panels-back.jpg
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:alt: 325 watt panasonic solar Panels on back of house
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Solar Monitoring
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=====================
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The system is composed 35 x Panasonic 325 watt panels (VBHN325SA16). The panels are isolated into 3 arrays ("strings") of 8, 13, and 14.
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.. code-block:: python
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>>> # 35 panels x 325 watts ~= 11.375kWh
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>>> 35 * .325
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11.375
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Each panel has an "optimizer" which communicates to the centralized SolarEdge inverter installed in my basement near the breaker box. The optimizers allow each array to work efficently even when a panel is shaded or broken.
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Here is the layout of the panels on my house:
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.. image:: /uploads/2018/11kWh-solar-panel-layout.png
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:alt: My 11.375kWh Solar Panel Layout
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Additionally the optimizers emit energy production metrics to the inverter, which in turn forwards this data to "the cloud" (aka SolarEdge Monitoring System). From there, I can watch daily playbacks of the whole system.
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For example, this playback from March 19th, 2018 was a good "solar day" as my family calls:
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.. image:: /uploads/2018/solar-playback-2018-03-19.gif
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:alt: My 11.375kWh Solar Playback of March 19th, 2018
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You can see how the sun rises to cover the 8 panels on the front of the house and then later moves to cover the panels on the back of the house.
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.. image:: /uploads/2018/solaredge-10k-central-inverter.jpg
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:alt: 325 watt panasonic solar Panels on back of house
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SolarEdge Monitoring Dashboard also keeps track of various high level metrics. For example, I input my electricity rates with date ranges and the dashboard calculates the "lifetime revenue" of my solar system. I plan to track my ROI on this number!
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.. image:: /uploads/2018/2018-03-16-solar-overview.png
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:alt: Solar panel installation overview
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Home Energy Monitoring
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=============================
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Most of my key insights into home energy actually come from another device I had installed called `Curb Home Energy Monitor <https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015IY0Z3E/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B015IY0Z3E&linkCode=as2&tag=russellball0b-20&linkId=727da547a2b0a22fa53016191c2cf313>`_. Curb uses a bunch of non-invasive CT clamps on each breaker circut to gather consumption. Metrics are gathered and sent to "the cloud" and power some really cool realtime dashboards.
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For example, this chart shows solar production versus consumption in dollars for the last 15 days:
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.. image:: /uploads/2018/solar-15-day-production-consumption-in-dollars.png
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:alt: 15 day solar production versus household breaker consumption
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As you can see, about **50% of my solar production is being consumed by heating hot water** for a family of 5!
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This feels absurd...
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**Update:** I switched to a `Hybrid Water Heater </hybrid-hot-water-heater-saves-69-percent-on-energy-consumption/>`_ and wrote a post to show how I now use 69% less electricity when heating water!
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Anyways, here is a short video showing the Curb user interface.
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.. raw:: html
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<center>
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<video src="/uploads/2018/curb-user-interface.webm" width="620px" controls>
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Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos,
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but don't worry, you can <a href="/uploads/2018/curb-user-interface.webm">download it</a>
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and watch it with your favorite video player!
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</video>
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</center>
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The `Curb <https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015IY0Z3E/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B015IY0Z3E&linkCode=as2&tag=russellball0b-20 &linkId=727da547a2b0a22fa53016191c2cf313>`_ is likely the most accurate home energy monitor on the market. The draw back is the cost of parts and labor; I used my solar installer's electrician and the total cost was $800.
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The competition has less accuracy but I could have likely installed a Sense myself and saved on the labor cost.
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Here are the two other brands I was looking at, for reference:
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* `Sense Home Energy Monitor <https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075K6PHJ9/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=russellball0b-20 &camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B075K6PHJ9&linkId=cc8e52d403b4b24da1f7b6a27a96ff74>`_
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* `Neurio Home Electricity Monitor <https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0149EE5KS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=russellball0b-20 &camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0149EE5KS&linkId=7e3e5d1063e980892649ea98351034bd>`_
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Solar Financing
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=========================
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When talking with Tesla, I fully expected to pay for my solar system in full with cash savings. It wasn't until I reached out to `SunLight Solar <http://sunlightsolar.com>`_ did I change my strategy. SunLight urged me to take advantage of the ".99% CT Green Bank" finance option. I took out a loan for the whole project and dumped my cash savings into my home mortgage as a bulk payment to the principle.
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Additionally, the CT Green Bank granted me $3,600 toward my project and the US federal government will grant 30% or $8,400 on my next tax return.
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After all the incentives, the parts and labor of my system came in just under $20,000:
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.. code-block:: math
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$32,000 - $3,600 - 8,400 = $20,000
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Putting solar on my house actually opened up my financial options and diversified my portfolio!
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I now have:
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* a power plant on my roof with an expected 9-10 year ROI; after 10 years I'll be generating wealth, capital, and positive "cash flow" in the form of energy
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* paid down my 4.125% house mortgage by $35,000; saving tens of thousands over the life of the loan
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* increased the value of my house by $20-30,000; this is an asset I can sell with or without my house
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* shielded or insulated myself from electricity rate hikes; who knows what electricity will cost in 5 to 10 years
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Contact me
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=========================
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As always, please feel free to leave comments below. I live in New England so you may also `contact me </contact/>`_ to setup a time to tour my setup and ask questions. I look forward to meeting you!
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