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!)

yes. they're warranteed to produce 95% of rating at the 25 year mark. mine
are made by one of the largest producers in the world, so i'd expect them to
be around for that long.

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

it's the same warrantee as any other electrical component; limited to
equipment replacement, not warranteed for any other expenses or losses. it's
covered by normal home owners insurance (hail, loss, theft, fire, etc).

my panels went through a hail storm last fall, which is very rare in my
area. golfball sized. no damage at all.