On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:36:13 -0500, Jim Yanik wrote:

" wrote in
:

On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:43:58 -0700, "chaniarts"
wrote:

Jim Yanik wrote:
Frank wrote in
news:iosdor$und$1@dont- email.me:

On 4/22/2011 9:44 AM, Mark wrote:

My grid linked solar power plant is up and running as of
yesterday.

It has little display panel on the inverter where you can see
the cash being ratcheted in.
Caching,caching,caching. (cash register noise:-)

As well as supplying my own power through the day, I am supplying
several of my nieghbours. My home is now a net energy exporter.
(And cash importer)



how about some numbers,

how many kW does your system produce peak?
how many kWh do you use a day?
how much did it cost you to install?
what subsidies did you get?
how long will it take you to break even?

Mark

Article in local paper about installing system in a church.
They said half the cost of $738,000 was subsidized by a state grant
and it would pay for itself in 10 years.

There was a similar article about a home owner doing it a few years
ago. Can't remember subsidy but they said it would take 30 years to
recoup.


meanwhile,the solar cells last only 20 years....,and there's no
accounting for worn out or bad batteries(that last much LESS than 20
years),or failures in the DC-AC inverter.

Plus an added fire hazard.
Oh,and maintenance on the batteries and cleaning of solar panels.

grid tie installations don't have batteries.

The grid is their battery.

solar cells are warranteed for 25 years, inverters for 10, typically

Hopefully.


WHAT sort of "warranty"?
Do they guarantee a minimum power output for a given solar input for up to
25 years? Or does the power output decline with age,from Day One?(As I
believe.) I suspect they're figuring the usual owner will not notice the
decline.(until they get the bill for replacement panels...and are still
paying for the originals!)

Will the company still be in business next year. Are hail storms warranted
against?

WRT inverters,what good does a warranty do when your inverter fails when
you need the power? How long before a replacement is sent?

Since they can't power the house without the grid, the grid will be there in
the interim. If its not, you're SOL even if the PV system is perfect.

does the warranty cover the loss of revenue because you're wasting the
power generated by your panel array and can't sell it to the utility,and
have to buy power from the utility or go without?

Hey, I'd sell that insurance. What a great idea!

what if the inverter starts a fire when it blows out? does the warranty
cover that loss? does your homeowner insurance cover that sort of loss?

Homeowners insurance should cover that, but they might want to know about it
(and charge more if there are significant losses).