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This was built by a solar company, not the author directly, but the actual parts making up this system are pretty damned cheap. ~$4200 in panels + $2000 inverte

This was built by a solar company, not the author directly, but the actual parts making up this system are pretty damned cheap. ~$4200 in panels + $2000 inverter plus additional hardware (mounting, cables, fasteners). Then labor costs. Net output was 10,894 kWh, inline with a 20 year estimate of 193,545 kWh. If we just divide $6200/193545kWh (ignoring additional costs!!) that'd be $0.032/kWh. One other data-point: daily output averaged to 29.8 kWh, from this 7.56kWh array.

daniel_reetz 4y ago
What are you using to estimate the raw panel cost?
- rektide 4y ago
  The author linked the parts. The link to the Longi LR4-60HPH-360M panels shows a $200 price (x 21). I had to google for the inverter, a Solar Edge SE6000H-USS3, to find a price ($2000 x 1). > I ended up getting a 7.56 kW solar panel system consisting of 21 LONGi panels[1] and 1 Solar Edge inverter[2]. [1] https://www.solaris-shop.com/longi-solar-lr4-60hph-360m-360w-mono-solar-panel/ https://www.solaris-shop.com/longi-solar-lr4-60hph-360m-360w... [2] http://www.solardesigntool.com/components/distributeddcinverter-grid-tie-solar/Solar-Edge/846/SE6000H-USS3/specification-data-sheet.html http://www.solardesigntool.com/components/distributeddcinver...
  - mnw21cam 4y ago
    There might have been solar optimisers in there as well. They're one per panel, and they're expensive, but they tend to be pushed by installers.
nkurz 4y ago
> One other data-point: daily output averaged to 29.8 kWh, from this 7.56kWh array. This is useful information that is surprisingly hard to find: if I install panels with a nameplate rating of x kW, how many kWh will I generate per day? In Bruenig's case the multiplier is just less than 4x. The linked page provides a widely available map for "Peak Sun Hours" (defined as average hours per day greater than 1000 W/m^2 of sunlight), but it's not immediately clear how this relates to the multiple. In theory, you could figure out the efficiency of the panels and their area, but this still doesn't account for the actual curve of sunlight intensity. Bruenig is (I think) in Connecticut, which according to the map has 4.2 Peak Sun Hours, which is only a little greater the the measured rated kW to kWh multiplier. Is it safe to assume that the "Peak Sun Hours" is always slightly more than the multiplier? Or is there a more better map somewhere that shows this conversion directly?

daniel_reetz 4y ago

What are you using to estimate the raw panel cost?

rektide 4y ago
The author linked the parts. The link to the Longi LR4-60HPH-360M panels shows a $200 price (x 21). I had to google for the inverter, a Solar Edge SE6000H-USS3, to find a price ($2000 x 1). > I ended up getting a 7.56 kW solar panel system consisting of 21 LONGi panels[1] and 1 Solar Edge inverter[2]. [1] https://www.solaris-shop.com/longi-solar-lr4-60hph-360m-360w-mono-solar-panel/ https://www.solaris-shop.com/longi-solar-lr4-60hph-360m-360w... [2] http://www.solardesigntool.com/components/distributeddcinverter-grid-tie-solar/Solar-Edge/846/SE6000H-USS3/specification-data-sheet.html http://www.solardesigntool.com/components/distributeddcinver...
- mnw21cam 4y ago
  There might have been solar optimisers in there as well. They're one per panel, and they're expensive, but they tend to be pushed by installers.

nkurz 4y ago

> One other data-point: daily output averaged to 29.8 kWh, from this 7.56kWh array. This is useful information that is surprisingly hard to find: if I install panels with a nameplate rating of x kW, how many kWh will I generate per day? In Bruenig's case the multiplier is just less than 4x. The linked page provides a widely available map for "Peak Sun Hours" (defined as average hours per day greater than 1000 W/m^2 of sunlight), but it's not immediately clear how this relates to the multiple. In theory, you could figure out the efficiency of the panels and their area, but this still doesn't account for the actual curve of sunlight intensity. Bruenig is (I think) in Connecticut, which according to the map has 4.2 Peak Sun Hours, which is only a little greater the the measured rated kW to kWh multiplier. Is it safe to assume that the "Peak Sun Hours" is always slightly more than the multiplier? Or is there a more better map somewhere that shows this conversion directly?