Solar garage

[Edgemonton]

Edge, do you have any power summary/graph type data that you can post up on the system performance?

Denwood, I am working on getting that graph. I have lots of data but I am not at a full year yet.

I will post a day of production data in a little while however. I will say I have hit 6180W

So OP you've had the solar array on garage roof running for over a year . . right??

What has been your electrical savings, and what is your expected payback in number of years ???

Would you have gotten some additional payback with radiant heating system that put heat into thermal mass (slab in garage and similar in house) so sunny days could provide heat that would last through the night??

What has been PoCo payback per Kw when you spin the meter backwards?? What is rate differential from what YOU pay, compared to what THEY pay you??

Here in states it's a ******* match by state, and some state regulations allow PoCo's to pay NOTHING for backfed power !!!!

CNG the savings have been quite good, we in Alberta however have very cheap electricity to start with so this delays the payback. I am looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 yrs given current prices.
Typically on a summer month I generate a lot more energy than I use.

I take it you are referring to me installing radiant heated by electricity? If so I think I would be better off the Denwood route of solar water heating. The conversions back and forth would probably incur too many looses.

No feedback rate is awful! Here we get what I did consider the minimum (0.08$/kWh, the same rate I pay) Do you at least have government cash incentives to install Solar electric?

 

[Edgemonton]

Edge, just like alot of folks on here, your attention to detail and dedication is incredible. The fact that you take the time to documented and shared your work and answer question is equally awesome.

I might have missed it but if you don't mind, what is your profession?

Thank you, I am glad you enjoy it.

Kind of mash up of a past. I have been a carpenter, electrician and currently an engineer.

Would it be better to put solar panels on a 'metal roof' since the shingles have to be replaced?

What did this cost in USA dollars to do this and do these wear out?

I had considered metal roof. They make products that allow you to mount the modules directly to the roof removing the large cost of racking.

The high cost of the roof and difficulty installing conduit penetrations as well as the difficulty working on such a steep angle made me shy away from it.

The above style of racking mount directly to standing seam metal roofs. Some models have integrated module bonding and wire management built into them.

A system like this would run you in the neighborhood of $25-30k installed. Depending on quality of modules, cost of chosen components and difficulty of installation.

The modules should be good for about 40 years. The shingles do have a lower life expectancy however they are protected by the modules so I expect them to last as long as the solar.

 

[CNGsaves]

Thanks for replies Edge. You can tell you've got multiple skills as solar installation is awesome and shop build is great. Everything coming together nicely.

For me, would love to cover south side of my garage roof with PV panels but hail storms would surely wipe them out.

USA doesn't really have any overall game plan for energy use, and states compound it with fickle non-support for improvement. Oklahoma does lots for CNG and solar, while Kansas almost nothing (including fighting "net metering" and wind energy to reduce electric powerplant demand; KS actually building a coal powerplant . . ).

Thanks for sharing & keep the pics coming.

 

[Edgemonton]

Thanks for replies Edge. You can tell you've got multiple skills as solar installation is awesome and shop build is great. Everything coming together nicely.

For me, would love to cover south side of my garage roof with PV panels but hail storms would surely wipe them out.

USA doesn't really have any overall game plan for energy use, and states compound it with fickle non-support for improvement. Oklahoma does lots for CNG and solar, while Kansas almost nothing (including fighting "net metering" and wind energy to reduce electric powerplant demand; KS actually building a coal powerplant . . ).

Thanks for sharing & keep the pics coming.

Modules are tested for golf ball sized hail.

http://www.rci-online.org/interface/2012-CTS-koontz.pdf

 

[Edgemonton]

This is the installation of the Soladeck roof mounted junction box. These work great on shingled roofs, easy as installing a roof vent. I feed the PV wires through a piece of flex to protect them from the elements and the shingles. I won't even go into details of the conditions I terminated this junction box under..

And the backside of that junction box.

 

[sean Buick 76]

I know exactly what conditions you were working under, so you get a pat on the back from me!

 

[Edgemonton]

This is a shot of a truss where the pilot bit came through and you can see the PL Premium that has leaked out the backside. A good assurance of proper fill.

 

[Edgemonton]

Time has come to get some warmth in this garage.


A little concrete work in required so here we go. The firebox of my fireplace must be at least 18" above the concrete so I need to install this little pedestal for it.

Poured the concrete and left it hoarded and heated for 24 hours to keep the concrete from freezing.

Not very happy with how it turned out, In retrospect I should have mixed my concrete with a much lower slump. I guess the plus side is that I can fix up the faces later.

 

[Denwood]

Edge, an agitator (HD rents them) seems excessive for a small job, but it's pretty magical when it comes to making concrete flow. An impact drill (no bit) applied to the outside form would likely have helped as well. Maybe ideas that will help next go...

I used the HD agitator for my lift slab pour. Having just ground the slab, the edges have pretty much zero voids. Basically as soon as the agitator touches the concrete, it behaves like a very wet mix.

Another note of thanks on the solar detail. There's not a lot of this on the web currently and your build level is a great standard to use, even though many of us would outsource this job.

 

[Edgemonton]

Fireplace installed.

 

[Edgemonton]

Did I mention there's an upstairs?

Yeah, there's an upstairs. Officially it is "for storage only".
For most of the build I just had some loose offcuts of plywood up there. Used it to store my compressor so the hose would be closer for all the roof stuff.

Now it's time to trow down the 3/4" T&G Plywood. Glued and screwed. So nice to have a sturdy storage area up there now.

On an entirely unrelated note. Want to see how I bring home insulation for under the slab? Yeah, that's how I do it.

 

[Edgemonton]

The upstairs also needed insulation so off I went.
Working to use up the several pallets of insulation taking up space downstairs.



And on the other side I framed in the window, leaving actual installation for a later time.



And insulated.