We've gone solar! - Now with pics! Now with CAD Drawings!

[Rubycon]

I've been reading up a bit on nuclear fission out of curiosity, and it does sound like fun. () Walmart would start wondering why I keep buying so many smoke detectors. :awe:

1000s of microcuries of Americium-241 isn't going to do jack shoit!

 

[rcpratt]

Am-241 isn't suitable fuel anyways

 

[zinfamous]

House is 2250 SQ FT
we went with lease option $1000 down $43 month going up 3% a year for 15 years.

that all we spent out of pocket was $1000 bucks. they handled everything from permits to installation testing inspections etc.

wow. that's ridiculously cheap. I thought total cost was typically way more than this...

 

[cheezy321]

wow. that's ridiculously cheap. I thought total cost was typically way more than this...

Its a solar lease. He doesnt actually own the panels, he just gets the benefit of using the panels for a contracted period of time.

 

[zinfamous]

Its a solar lease. He doesnt actually own the panels, he just gets the benefit of using the panels for a contracted period of time.

ahh, so still not owned after 15 years. This makes sense...

and yeah: total brain fart. I was taking lease to mean what it clearly does not mean.

 

[DannyLove]

congrats! renewable energy is the way to go!

 

[Red Squirrel]

1000s of microcuries of Americium-241 isn't going to do jack shoit!

Haha yeah, not really the best fuel. :awe: Very unpractical amount of energy, if any lol.

 

[Rubycon]

Haha yeah, not really the best fuel. :awe: Very unpractical amount of energy, if any lol.

Urinite in crystal form is what you want. VERY hot - 20 grams registers well over 85,000 counts/minute and that's predominately gamma!

I had about 300 grams but had to forfeit it due to travel restrictions.

It's a beautiful mineral to observe - shortly.

I also had an apple sized chunk of uranophane with enough radium that flickering could be observed with an eyepiece in a dark room with dark adapted eyes. (again for short durations due to high activity!)

There's really no regs in the USA against this stuff since it's naturally occurring BUT the activity WILL set off radiation monitors in cities and this kind of attention is something you don't want.

 

[Eli]

Wow, that's awesome. Nice output.

How much will the install run you total?

Edit: Ah, read the thread.

Very interesting! I didn't know this lease thing was available.

Might have to look into it one day for sure.

 

[Adul]

I get to check the system out in person on Saturday!

Glad you are able to make the BBQ plenty of food


oh yeah pics added!

 

[rcpratt]

Wow, that's a ton of panels.

 

[Chaotic42]

I'm jealous. Unfortunately I'd need way, way too many solar panels for it to be practical where I live.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

how does the system work?
does it store energy somewhere if you use less than it can produce?
are the cells less efficiently on cloudy days?
if so and you get a few days/weeks of cloudy weather, then you really don't get your money's worth that month eh?

 

[Eli]

how does the system work?
does it store energy somewhere if you use less than it can produce?
are the cells less efficiently on cloudy days?
if so and you get a few days/weeks of cloudy weather, then you really don't get your money's worth that month eh?

No. The excess power is fed back into the grid, essentially turning the meter backwards.

The cells will produce considerably less power on cloudy days, yes. However, they have one thing going for them - They live in Phoenix.

They shouldn't have to worry too much about cloudy days.

 

[Rubycon]

No. The excess power is fed back into the grid, essentially turning the meter backwards.

The cells will produce considerably less power on cloudy days, yes. However, they have one thing going for them - They live in Phoenix.

They shouldn't have to worry too much about cloudy days.

Well unless they've figured out how to make a PV cell produce perfect 60 cycle sine wave - the outputs are going to need to be fed into an inverter, etc.

 

[Nik]

Cool

 

[Rubycon]

Problem already?!

Inverter [0013A200402D4B87] Communication Status Offline since 4/14/2010 6:47 PM Your Gateway is no longer communicating with this inverter. Inverter communications may occasionally drop off, but should re-establish automatically.PLEASE NOTE: Your solar system is likely functioning normally, but the current system health cannot be determined until the monitoring is online.

TROUBLESHOOTING:
If you continue to see this message for more than two hours then do the following:

• Go to your inverter(s) and verify that they are on.
• If communications are intermittent, then range, obstructions, or interference may be an issue. Attempt to move the Gateway closer to the inverter, higher on a shelf, and away from other wireless electronics.
• Contact Customer Care for steps to resolve the communications issue.

Contact Customer Care by either emailing customercare@solarcity.com or calling 888-SOL-CITY.

 

[Evadman]

You aren't generating any power right now. You should set up a floodlight to shine on it all night so you make power 24/7.

 

[Rubycon]

You aren't generating any power right now. You should set up a floodlight to shine on it all night so you make power 24/7.

Plugged into the neighbor's outlet.

 

[ViviTheMage]

cool blog, but you need an option to click a picture, and go to higher res ... a lot of them look really scrunched.

How long before ROI? How long will the system last, before it costs any money?

Will you ever need to replace your tiled shingles, LOL?

 

[EarthwormJim]

Lease is a nice idea. Especially since after the lease period, the panels are going to lose quite a bit of efficiency and you may want to upgrade.

 

[guyver01]

Nice!

And don't forget the $4,000 tax break for going solar.

http://www.energy.gov/taxbreaks.htm

 

[Adul]

Problem already?!

Inverter [0013A200402D4B87] Communication Status Offline since 4/14/2010 6:47 PM Your Gateway is no longer communicating with this inverter. Inverter communications may occasionally drop off, but should re-establish automatically.PLEASE NOTE: Your solar system is likely functioning normally, but the current system health cannot be determined until the monitoring is online.

TROUBLESHOOTING:
If you continue to see this message for more than two hours then do the following:

• Go to your inverter(s) and verify that they are on.
• If communications are intermittent, then range, obstructions, or interference may be an issue. Attempt to move the Gateway closer to the inverter, higher on a shelf, and away from other wireless electronics.
• Contact Customer Care for steps to resolve the communications issue.

Contact Customer Care by either emailing customercare@solarcity.com or calling 888-SOL-CITY.

lol not a problem the sun had just about set and there really wasnt enough power to feed from there.

 

[Adul]

cool blog, but you need an option to click a picture, and go to higher res ... a lot of them look really scrunched.

How long before ROI? How long will the system last, before it costs any money?

Will you ever need to replace your tiled shingles, LOL?

~3 years for ROI less if we get any referrals with nets us $500.
If the panel goes bad, inverter dies, wiring doesn't work they will come out and fix it. No costs to us. If for some reason we do not produce a min amount of power in any given month, we will be credited money for that month for each KWh we are below that threshold.

 

[boomerang]

What happens if you move? I would imagine you owe the balance.