Solar power grab

[American Locomotive]

They are also cycled frequently. Often several times per day.

"Cycled", in this case means fully charged/discharged. Bleeding off some % of the battery, then charging it back up isn't considered a cycle, only a partial cycle. Most battery companies seem to consider it pretty linear - i.e., if you only use 1/4 of the charge, it counts as 1/4 of a cycle.

I don't know what OP's hourly energy demands are, but I would assume they would decrease at night. You can also do simple, cheap changes to reduce battery demand. For example, If he has pure resistance water heating, he could put a timer on it so it only runs during the day when the solar is producing.

Those "warranty" solutions are only as good as the company installing them - solar companies come and go. Good luck going directly to EG-4 (they're actually a China company selling under several brands). Just importing them alone (direct) is a huge pain in the *** and they're not going to cover the costs to ship them over on a boat or the associated tariff.

That is a very valid point. I would hope OP chose a reputable and long-lived solar company.

 

[dcg9381]

I don't know what OP's hourly energy demands are, but I would assume they would decrease at night. You can also do simple, cheap changes to reduce battery demand. For example, If he has pure resistance water heating, he could put a timer on it so it only runs during the day when the solar is producing.

In the OPs situation, batteries will be "charge and hold". He's 1:1 net meter, so the most economic option is not to use/charge the batteries, but to send that power back to the POCO for "credit". The grid is his battery for all intents and purposes.

 

[pembol]

And you believe you could make a warranty claim 10 years from today from a company that's been in business for 5 years? The solar, micro-inverter and lithium battery markets have made the smart phone markets look static, and LiFePO4 batteries generally have an optimistically stated lifespan of 5-10 years (sure, you'll get anecdotes of 10+ years, but memory fades and people take pride in the payouts from risky decisions and all that, so I take these with a grain of salt). Hopefully they have some magic sauce and a near zero failure rate for 10 years, because anything short of that, and they'll either go bankrupt paying out claims, or get a reputation for fraudulently denying claims. There's a reason that reputable battery warranties generally get pro-rated out to 3 years.

LiFePO4 batteries have been around for longer than 10 years. I have been usign a 200Ah 12v system in my camper since 2016, and that was built out of 4 year old second hand/used cells at the time. I haven't done a full capacity test in a couple of years, but the last time (in about 2022, so 10 year old cells) it tested at the same capacity as when installed. Now this battery lives a pretty cushy life, maybe only 50 cycles per year below 50%, but so do most home batteries. I don't find it all unreasonable that a home battery would have a much longer than 10 year life. While I no longer own it, I know who owns my 2007 Prius, and the battery on that is still going strong at nearly 20 years and what must be close to 180,000 miles and traction batteries live a much harder life than home batteries.

 

[mm08822]

In the OPs situation, batteries will be "charge and hold". He's 1:1 net meter, so the most economic option is not to use/charge the batteries, but to send that power back to the POCO for "credit". The grid is his battery for all intents and purposes.

OP said he's paying $.13/kwh and only getting buyback at $.02/kwh. So his best option is to reduce all purchased incoming power. Let the charged batteries support the house, while the array feeds the batts.

Need to understand how POCO is creating their "net" and when $.13 applies vs.

 

[Old Man Roger]

With net metering, they're crediting him $1 and selling that power for $1.

OP said he's paying $.13/kwh and only getting buyback at $.02/kwh. So his best option is to reduce all purchased incoming power. Let the charged batteries support the house, while the array feeds the batts.

Need to understand how POCO is creating their "net" and when $.13 applies vs.

 

[aggie113]

Need to understand how POCO is creating their "net" and when $.13 applies vs.

Yes, the power company is not clear on that. A rep said the net metering is set by billing cycle (month), a friend with solar said it looks like it resets yearly. The .02 per kWh would supposedly be when you are sending back more power than using and going negative for that cycle. So unclear when it would apply.
Here's something from their website: https://www.cpsenergy.com/content/d...yEfficiency/Solar_Billing_Facts_22025_ADA.pdf

 

[Mikes61]

Yes, the power company is not clear on that. A rep said the net metering is set by billing cycle (month), a friend with solar said it looks like it resets yearly. The .02 per kWh would supposedly be when you are sending back more power than using and going negative for that cycle. So unclear when it would apply.
Here's something from their website: https://www.cpsenergy.com/content/d...yEfficiency/Solar_Billing_Facts_22025_ADA.pdf

I have something similar with SCE in California. The end of the 12 month billing cycle is called “Trueup.” That’s when your power usage and your overgeneration of power is all figured out and you either get a bill, or they send you a check, or your credit rolls over to the next 12 month cycle. With SCE I can monitor my usage and overgeneration each month online.

 

[Old Man Roger]

It’s criminal the way FPL has monopolized solar. They’ve successfully manipulated the system in their favor. I’ve only talked to a few solar system owners that are regularly making more power than they use, they still have a minimum bill they have to pay every month. It’s cheap, like 25 bucks iirc, but even when they are feeding the grid, they are paying FPL.

FPL regularly raises rates to build solar farms, but when each particular farm is completed, the rates only go down about 1% of the previous hike.

So the customer essentially pays FPL to build solar farms so they can generate cheaper energy, but then never gets the discount from the cheaper energy.

 

[dcg9381]

Need to understand how POCO is creating their "net" and when $.13 applies vs.

Different deal if that's the "net meter". That's the same "deal" I have. You want a system setup to discharge and minimize back feed. If there are no time of use rates, set it to discharge off peak PV hours. May take a little configuration to maximize return.

As I read it, he's on "net meter" $1 for $1k (kwH per kwH) and anything "overproduced" after net credit is $.02. No configuration necessary for this situation.