Solar Array Progress

Sorry it has been so long since my last update but things have been moving along slow update wise. However, I have come across lots of new information but not a lot of answers so far.

There is new legislation on net metering, I had healthy dialogue with Julie Baldwin of the Michigan Public Service Commission, Manager of the Renewable Energy Sector. June 1, 2018 laws changed and this will roughly make energy costs $20 or so more per month for new installs. Existing installs are grandfathered in to the old system for 10 years from June 1, 2018. I also learned that in Michigan energy credits can carry over indefinitely and can not be cashed out. Those were the biggest revelations and I will discuss them further in another blog post.

In other news our snow guards will be installed in September. After some hassle with our vendor they agreed to a 40% discount. This is because had they let us know this situation could happen we would have purchased with the system instead of paying cash out of pocket. The height of our roof, size of our array and the fact our Berkley lots are so small and the snow dumps onto our neighbors driveway makes for a VERY dangerous situation when snow accumulates. The snow guards will reduce our production because the snow will cover  the panels longer but we will no longer have avalanches of snow tumbling down and shaking the whole house landing on our neighbors driveway. I also believe the direct sun with no shade and south facing array play into this as well heating the snow and panels quickly to cause it to fall fast. Honestly, I was surprised when Yellowlite said that they have not had this problem before and it is not something they discuss in installs. We were the first to have this concern. They did note that since our situation arose, they will be assessing this on future sites where snow accumulates to determine the need for snow guards. If it were not for the fact it falls in my neighbor's driveway, I likely would not want or need snow guards. Especially if I could block it off so the kids and pets do not play there during snowfall. Small city lots make avalanche snowfall being harmless pretty much impossible. I believe as solar power becomes more available and the move to go green increases, city arrays will be more prominent along with more northern installs and solar companies will need to consider all aspects such as this when quoting installs.

The last update I have is on our bill DTE has still not cycled our bill. We last received a DTE bill in February so we have yet to see how our usage compares to our production. It seems we are producing more than our calculated average monthly use but usage can definitely change. We went live on 2/23/18 and you can see monthly production in the bar graph. Pvwatts website estimated production is in the last table. I added additional lost for the snow guards which are not currently installed but I think it is necessary to estimate future performance with the snow guards installed. Losses due to snowfall in February and March were minimal.

Overall, we are happy with the system and the fact we are doing our part to be more green. As soon as I get our first DTE bill I will do a more in depth comparative analysis!