Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thanks for the answers to the prior questions. What sort of maintenance is required for the panels or "Aurora" box - do they need to come out periodically to inspect the equipment, will snow accumulate on them (and need to be removed)? Does Southern Energy accept credit cards as method of payment (would be a great way to hit milestone spend levels to receive points bonuses)?
Thanks for the answers to the prior questions. What sort of maintenance is required for the panels or "Aurora" box - do they need to come out periodically to inspect the equipment, will snow accumulate on them (and need to be removed)? Does Southern Energy accept credit cards as method of payment (would be a great way to hit milestone spend levels to receive points bonuses)?
No maintenance. You'll see that on year 15 they put an allowance of $600 or so but I don't think that means much other than possibly an inspection or small repair allowance. They warranty the panels, inverter, wiring, and entire installation for parts and labor for 25 years and the panels have a performance guarantee for 20 years. You'd have to ask them about credit cards - they had "12 months same as cash" promotion going on when I signed up, but I negotiated a slightly different deal.
If anyone ends up signing with them, DM me first, as I can get you a $250 discount. NOTE: I'm not affiliated with them other than being a customer but I actually negotiated future discounts for people who use them after hearing about them from me!
It's run inside a one inch conduit and it's almost 6000W, so I imagine it's probably 6 or 8 gauge wire (2) and a slightly smaller ground but I did not ask for those details yet.
The wire size is based on the amperage in the circuit (watts = volts * amps). What is the output voltage of the panels? You can look at the breaker to guesstimate the wire size.. 40-amp = #8, 50-amp = #6.
The wire size is based on the amperage in the circuit (watts = volts * amps). What is the output voltage of the panels? You can look at the breaker to guesstimate the wire size.. 40-amp = #8, 50-amp = #6.
Yeah, I was guessing based on the current...should be close. I'll check the breaker later, but I'm not certain this information matters as much to cheapdad00 as much as the conduit size itself; based on his questions my assumption was that he was more interested in whether it could be hidden easily rather than what the technical details of the wire gauge size were.
one q though - what is the scoop on power outages? i can barely recall that "typical" solar cannot provide power during outages (something about the power company equipment)...
one q though - what is the scoop on power outages? i can barely recall that "typical" solar cannot provide power during outages (something about the power company equipment)...
Thanks for the awesome pictures!
- peter
Apparently code doesn't allow it to be used unless you have a battery backup. I do have a standby generator but also plan to see about choices for using solar during an outage. We hardly ever lose power so it's not a big deal and probably not worth the cost of the hardware required anyway.
Simple question RDU - seems your time to positive cash flow is 9 years if I am reading your chart correctly, but your time to "breakeven" - where you have spent the same amount you would have if you had done nothing - is only 4-5 years? Do I have that right?
Simple question RDU - seems your time to positive cash flow is 9 years if I am reading your chart correctly, but your time to "breakeven" - where you have spent the same amount you would have if you had done nothing - is only 4-5 years? Do I have that right?
Yes, conservatively that is correct. I can do better with power management and reduction in usage, but if I continue on the status quo for usage and habits and make no improvements to my house beyond what I've already done, that's what I'm looking at.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
