Measurements of solar production and local consumption are available
here.
The rooftop system consists of 83
Suntech
205 Watt solar modules (panels), for a total of 17.015 kW DC.
Each module consists of 54, 156 mm by 156 mm cells. Thus, the total cell area is 109 square metres.
Fortunately, we have a near perfect southern exposure with very little shading.
The inverters and associated disconnection equipment nearly fills
the 4x8 sheet of plywood.
The 1.25 inch steel conduit in the center brings the conductors from the panels to the inverters.
The Inverters are (left to right), an SMA Sunny Boy 3000,
Sunny Boy 6000,
and
Sunny Boy 8000,
The funky knobs below each inverter are the DC disconnect switches.
To the right of the cable trough at the bottom is an AC panel
with a breaker for each of
the inverters (20 Amp, 35 Amp and 40 Amp at 240 Volt).
Above that is the Solar Output Meter which records the
electrical energy produced for
SREC purposes.
Then, there's a 100 Amp AC disconnect for the whole
solar installation before the connection back to the main panel (far right).
The Sunny WebBox is directly above the Solar Output Meter.
It monitors each inverter for faults, as well as recording measurement data
for a large number of parameters.
To measure net usage, there are a pair of
TED 5000
MTUs with associated current transformers. One set is in the AC panel
below and to the left of the Solar Output Meter to record production,
and one set is in the main panel to record consumption. The XML data is pulled from the
TED Gateway
every minute and used to update the
charts every 5 minutes.
The operating parameters on the DC side are as follows:
Sunny Boy 3000
Sunny Boy 6000
Sunny Boy 8000
Operating Voltage
289 Volts
395 Volts
368 Volts
Operating Current
8 Amps
16 Amps
23 Amps
Panel Configuration
11 Panels
(1 string of 11)
30 Panels
(2 strings of 15)
42 Panels
(3 strings of 14)
The panels are wired in series strings (like many Christmas tree lights).
Then, the strings are connected into the inverters.
This is one of the
panels
being lifted to the roof.
Each panel is 39 by 58 inches and weighs 37 pounds.
This is the last panel being installed. There isn't a lot of room to stand.
