Solar Madness

Our 16 solar panels are producing energy, albeit haltingly since we've had so many cloudy days recently. It is the rainy season in Hawaii. Still, we saw a marked difference in the size of our last electric bill. The panels produce the least amount of energy in the winter. We're expecting even more energy production in the summer with the longer days.

Art is about as excited about the panels as I've seen him when he's gotten a new car every 10-15 years. He's going out two or three times a day to check the HECO (Hawaiian Electric Company) meter and then he's checking the on-line motoring system that we have free for a year. The on-line site tells us how much energy each panel is producing, how much energy we produce in a day, week, month, lifetime.


This chart tells us how much of our carbon footprint we are reducing and how much energy we have offset so far since we've installed the panels. We have so far offset the use of 2,452 light bulbs and 809 computers for one day. Not bad.

Funny thing though, Art is even more conscious of how much energy we are using. He's encouraging us to wait for a sunny day to do the laundry, turn off the lights and computer when they're not in use, reduce baking, try not to use the air conditioner, etc. I wanted to become an energy hog once we had the panels up. Sigh... I guess that's not going to happen yet. We'll have to wait until we've had the panels for a year (hopefully, the long, sunny summer days will add a lot more energy to our annual solar bank account) to see how much of a hog I can be.

And by the way: I just heard in the news that people are complaining that the CFL bulbs are burning out faster than the 7 years it promises to last. I thought we were the only ones with defective bulbs. Ours died out in a year or less! It's crazy! They said it dies faster if you turn your lights on and off a lot.

We're Hooked Up to Solar!

It's done!
Sunetrics began installing our Photo Voltaics solar panels yesterday and finished the job today.

Despite all the weather forecasters predicting thunderstorms in the middle of the day, Mother Nature held off so the guys could finish the job.


First they installed the bolts to attach the panels to our roof. We also asked for aluminum flashing to prevent leakage. Maybe we didn't need it but we talked to a roofer and he said it might be a good idea.


Then came the wiring to bring the energy from the roof to the Hawaiian Electric meter box.


This is where Art will be going to check every hour to see how much money he might be saving.



Then the panels had to be carefully brought up over the 2nd floor.


It's a good thing it wasn't very windy.


John and Dominic had a beautiful, sunny day to do their work.


And there they are; half of them anyway. The other half is on another part of the roof.


Curt did the final touches on putting the system together to monitor the micro-inverters that are connected to the solar panels.

It's really lovely to know we are now getting clean energy from the sun. I wish we'd put up a couple more panels though so I could be a sun hog.

Decision #2 (Solar Panels): Not Quite Done!

WARNING: This is looooong. You won't hurt my feelings if you skip this post. I'm actually doing it for myself so I remember the process we've gone through. It's also to help anybody from Hawaii going through the same decision.

OK... You'd think we'd be confused, right? We've now listened to a total of 5 Photo Voltaic consultants. We added Mark of Company #3 and another Mark from Company #4 and John from Company #5. The interesting thing is every one of them had a very different presentation. We liked all the presenters, but we had to remind ourselves not to choose by personality. They were all knowledgeable and earnest in their convictions.

Each company gave us a different angle and something else to consider. I won't go into the specifics of the micro vs. string or central inverters, the different brands of solar panels, the warranties of labor and materials, the source of the materials, how reputable each company was, how well their panels would last in Hawaii's salt air, how long they had been in the solar business, the PRICE, the payback period, etc. They all had good and better points.

Did you know solar cells lose a lot of efficiency when it's over 90 degrees F? I thought it would be great if it was sunny and hot. Nope. The panels also need to be as south facing toward the sun as possible.

In the end, we went with Company #5. One of the good reasons was they would guarantee parts and labor for 10 years. The solar panel company's limited warranty guarantees the output of the panels for 25 years.

We called John of Company #5 and told him we would sign the papers. Not half an hour after we called Company #5, another company that Art signed up with at the Home Show called to say their company is the only company who would guarantee parts and labor for 25 years and could he come to give a presentation?

ARRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

We stuck by our decision and had John come out. John had us check an on-line site that could actually gauge how much power different parts of our roof could provide. We discovered that the lower roof where we wanted to put the panels would only output about 65% solar energy because it was facing NW. (We could add tilts for about $1,700 plus we'd need to add another layer of roofing for another $1,500 since that roof is rather old. $$$$ The Payback period was getting farther and farther away.) Stationing the panels on our second floor roof would be MUCH better (90% output), but would be too difficult to keep clean. Remember all that pigeon poop we get, not to mention salty residue and dirt in the air?

John says he's convinced that we'll have no problem. The rain can keep the panels clean. (It sure doesn't keep our windows clean!) He's even offering to come himself in 6 months and a year to check the grime and help clean it.

Then there's that 25 year energy output guarantee. How do they know the problem is not pigeon poop? Will they make us climb up on the roof to check? Would we have to pay somebody to climb up there everytime the monitor shows a problem with the panels? I've already e-mailed John that I'll take him up on that offer to climb up onto that high roof. Could he have been serious? (Postscript: Later e-mails hints that he regretted telling me that. We already know he hates heights.)

So yes, we're getting close, but not quite there yet. I'm learning more about photo voltaics than I ever thought I would. More people should really get them in Hawaii, especially with our astronomical energy costs. However, there IS a lot to research and learn.

Someone warned us that presenters will sometimes tell you what you want to hear and forget to mention certain things you should know.

I can't wait for this decision to be over. Once the panels are up, we should reduce our energy bill to just the hook-up fee to Hawaiian Electric which is about $20.00 a month. It will take about 8 years for the energy generated to pay off the cost of installation, taking into account the Federal and State credits that are offered.

Therefore, if the system should somehow die right after the 10 year warranty expires, we would still have had 2 years of solar energy. It all sounds good on paper. It remains to be seen.