The PV System Specs

Our PV System

Our solar system consists of 30 Sunpower 225 watt PV panels (SPR-225-BLK) and a Sunpower 7000 watt inverter. This creates a system with a 6.75 Kilowatt (DC) rating, and a CEC rating of 5.93 Kilowatts (AC). This translates to an estimated (AC) production of 10,049 kWh/yr, or 837 kWh/month.

The actual real-life numbers were 11,305kWh/yr or 942kWh/month in 2010.

We also have SunPower's Monitoring System installed. This consists of a small LCD monitor (much like a weather station) that shows current system data. The monitoring system also includes a wireless network hooked into the internet so that historical system data can be viewed. It's very "user-friendly". The manufacturer can also monitor our system so that if output should fall below a specified level, they can alert my installer to come out and check on it. I doubt very much this will ever occur, but it's nice to know that it can be monitored remotely. It's very cool, and keeps historical data at your fingertips!

Go HERE to see live system generation data.

Go HERE to see a graph of monthly kWh production.

"What Did It Cost?"

The question most often asked is "What did it cost?" Here is a breakdown of the system costs vs. rebates/credits vs. savings, etc.

$56,254

$ 3,934

Equipment/installation/tax/etc.:

Electrical Upgrades:

=======

System Cost:

$60,188

Federal Tax Credit:

(estimated) California St. rebate (CCSE):

$18,056

$18,000

=======

Total Rebates/Credits:

$36,056

FINAL System Cost:

$24,132

At current rates, we save an average of $200/mo on electric. That means the system will pay for itself in 10 years, 1 month.

With a 25 year warranty on the panels, that indicates the system will operate for 15 years, equating to approximately $36,000 in FREE electricity. (at current rates...we all know those will go up!)

If you want to see specific data, email me and I'll be happy to share.

Uriah wiring up the monitoring system. I'm not positive, but if you could read his mind, it would be something like "Where does this wire go?"

(left to right) Wireless monitoring system, inverter, old service panel. The grey box on the right is just access to wiring for the old service panel.

Everything closed up and ready to go!

This is what SunPower's internet monitoring system looks like. It keeps historical data and is a clean layout. Internet page on the left, wall-mounted in-home monitor on the right.