Going Solar

My First Year with Solar Panels

Jim Paton
"I'd put my money on the sun
and solar energy. What a
source of power! I hope we
don't have to wait till oil and
coal run out before we tackle
that."   ~Thomas Edison
Watt= Amp x Volt
For example, a 100 watt bulb running for

10 hours would consume 1000 watts, or

1000 watt·hours.
Clearly, you can see that a household

consumes 1000s of watts per day.

Therefore, your electricity consumption is
measured in kilowatt · hours (kWh).
1000 watt·hours = 1 kWh

A typical household consumed 936 kWh

monthly (≈31 kWh per day) in 2007 (US

Department of Energy).

2003 Cost in cents per kWh
Cost of Residential Electricity:
1960-2009
U.S. Electricity Sources
A photovoltaic panel consists of two
thin sheets of silicon with an
antireflective coating on top, all
covered by glass.
The silicon sheets are doped, or

treated with small amounts of other

elements. One sheet is doped with
phosphorus and the other with boron.
This creates free electrons in one

sheet and “holes” for electrons in the

other.
Photons of light have sufficient energy

to knock out electrons, generating

 B a sic C o m p o n e n ts o f a S o la r S yste m

http://www.innovativesolar.com/residential.php
 Netmetering
My system is a grid tie-in system. I am


still connected to the electrical grid.



My meter spins in both directions.



During the day I make more

electricity than I use with the excess
put into the grid.


At night, of course, I am a net



consumer.
 Monthly Billing
• El Paso Electric figures my bill each
month. If I am ahead for kWh, EP
Electric will pay me 4.57 cents (the
wholesale rate) per kWh. If I am
ahead for 99+ kWh, this will be
enough to cancel out the $4.50
monthly residential customer
charge.
• If I am behind for the month, I will
pay the retail rate (about 11 cents
per kWh) in addition to the $4.50
customer charge.
 My Electric Meter
• The monthly billing just described
went into effect in April, 2010. Prior
to this I was simply credited kWh
and I would not be billed for kWh
until my credits had been
exhausted, but always paying the
$4.50 customer charge.
• One advantage of the new billing is
that it now pays off to install a
larger system, rather than one
• My new meter installed in April, 2010
shows three readings of kWh. One
is of the kWh generated by me
when my inverter is on. The second
is of kWh consumed by me when
my inverter is off. The difference
between these two numbers is
what I am paid for or what I owe.
• The third number on the meter is
simply my total of kWh. The meter
read 0 kWh when installed. Since
then it has spun backwards net,
now showing a reading around
99000 kWh.
 Cost and Payback Time
Cost of system: $27,700 in Jan.
2009
30% federal tax rebate: $8310
Net cost: $19,390
My electric bill for 12 months
prior to installation: $940
($78.3/month)
My electric bill for first 12
months with system: $98 ($54
of this is monthly service
Cost and Payback Time
Estimated years to pay off
cost: 14-17 years.
Panels are warranteed for 25
years.
How Big of a System Do You
Need?
• Calculate your average monthly
consumption in kWh (ex: 900 kWh).
• Calculate your average daily
consumption in kWh (ex: 30 kWh).
• Subtract 15 percent for anticipated
conservation (ex: 30 – 4.5 = 25.5
kWh).
• You would need roughly 25 solar
panels (expect each panel to
produce about 1 kWh daily on
average).
 Benefits
• Inflation-proof your energy future.
Lock yourself in to known costs.
Make a profit from electricity!
• Emotional satisfaction. Reduce
pollution. Take charge of how your
electricity is made. Stick it to “the
man”.
• Flexibility. Plug-in hybrids. Electric
cars. Get rid of natural gas
appliances.
• Awareness and reduced
 Numbers from Year One


 6728 kWh of electricity generated, or

 0.92 kWh per panel per day.
 A savings of 8750 lbs of carbon
dioxide emissions.
 The equivalent of 10,900 car miles (at

25 mpg) taken off the road.

 A reduction of about 25% in my home

electricity use.
 “The Stone Age did not end
because we ran out of
stones”
 -unknown

 jnpaton@att.net