ART TEC - Solar Power - Real Time performance stats

REAL TIME AND HISTORICAL STATS

On average we use about 15-21kWh/day. This powers our home and 2 home based businesses with all the computers and relevant equipment. For reference, average US homes consume upwards of 25 kWh/day. If we were to eliminate all the business usage I believe we would average below 13kWh/day.

The design goal of the system is to generate a slight surplus in July/August and generate about 25% of our needs in the middle of winter, averaging about 55% of our needs annually. Our 26 - 175 Watt panels produce 4.5kW of power in theory, but that ideal performance is derated by a factor of .87 due to various performance and efficiency issues so the actual peak power is 3.95kW. As I observe the overall power over months, the seasonal variation of available sun hours becomes quite clear (see Lifetime Energy below).

Current local conditions Live web cam view

(if image is black - it's dark outside)

ESTIMATED vs ACTUAL STATS

The chart below shows the estimated power that my solar panels should generate based on calculations from the PVwatts calculator provided by the National Renewable Energy Labs. The actual energy produced is obtained from monthly reports provided by the Enphase Enlighten web interface (above). I update the graphs in the middle of each month after I get my utility bill.

Notes:
Original install: 21 175W panels Sept., 2009
added 2 175W panels: Aug. 22, 2010
added 2 175W panels June 29, 2011
added 1 180W panel July 7, 2011

Our electrical power usage varies a lot due to variations in our business use of energy intensive tools, lighting and computers. Note for instance that June of 2009 shows a significant energy drop while my wife was out of town for 3 weeks. Her business Younger Knits uses a 1.5kW clothing steamer many hours a day and a lot of rinse water that involves the 1.5kW well pump and sump pump etc. Energy consumption also peaks in the winter when we use small electric heaters to supplement our propane and wood stoves when outside temperatures stay below 20F for weeks.

This chart shows the trend in our energy consumption starting 7 months before we installed the solar array. Through a combination of the solar generated power, conservation and added panels our average usage is continuing to drop.

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	SERVICES:	ENGINEERING PROTOTYPES	ENGINEERING ARTWORKS	SITE MAP	SUSTAINABLE LIVING
	PRODUCTS:	LEVITATION KIT	FURNITURE	ELECTRONIC ARTWORK	THERMAL WINDOWS
	SOLAR INFO:	SOLAR POWER	SOLAR HEATING	SOLAR HOT WATER	SOLAR MOWER
	RESOURCES:	ABOUT ME	IN THE MEDIA	BUILDING A CANOE	WIND STUDY
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