Solar Production thru August 2012

System Installation Date: January 26, 2011

Total Production To Date:
1st Year Actual Production: 2,927 kWh1st Year Actual Savings: $520
Percent of Annual Predicted Production (2,781 kWh): 105%
1st Year Actual vs. Predicted Production Better/(Worse): +213 kWh
Inception To Date (ITD) Production: 5,081.3 kWh
CO2 Saved: 5,080 lbs

Monthly Production (kWh):

2011	2,820.6
1	38.5
2	206.1
3	262.3
4	295.2
5	332.1
6	313.9
7	352.7
8	331.4
9	255.4
10	200.2
11	142.9
12	90.0
2012	2,260.7
1	141.6
2	188.8
3	246.2
4	315.0
5	334.6
6	344.7
7	346.2
8	343.6

System Specs:
System Size DC (STC): 2.28 KW
System Size AC: 1.93 KW
System Size AC (California CSI rating): 1.63 KW
Panels: 10 SunPower Serengeti 228 Watt
Inverter: 1 SunPower 3000M (SMA Sunny Boy 3000 re-branded under SunPower)
Estimated Annual Production: 2,781 kWh

Direction: East facing

Rants and Rays - Carbon Footprint 1 Year Later

After 1 year with solar, I recalculated my personal carbon footprint. I used the carbon footprint calculator from the US EPA.

With solar, my household of 4 people now has a carbon footprint of 25,103 lbs of CO2 per year (6,276 per household member). This is a reduction of 1,994 lbs of CO2 from the 27,097 lbs of CO2 (6,774 lbs per household member) we used to generate before we had solar PV on our roof.

The results are pretty incredible, but there is still a long way to go. I think reducing our car emissions would make the biggest dent. I just helped my parents get a Prius hybrid, so I'll take some credit there ;).

Year 1 Actual Solar Production Thru January 2012

After 1 full year, our PV system generated 2,927 kWh of electricity which was 5% more than the original system annual estimate of 2,781 kWh. I've only been paying $2-3 in taxes each month (SCE informed me that they would be billing me in May for the balance of usage charges), so our final billing has not been updated. Here is an Excel file of our actual solar production and savings.

Total Production for Year 1 (1/26/2011-1/25/2012):
Production: 2,927 kWh
Percent of Annual Predicted Production (2,781 kWh): 105%
Actual vs. Predicted Production Better/(Worse): +146 kWh
CO2 Saved: 4,829 lbs
Estimated Savings: $539.41

Monthly Production:
January 2012 (1/1-25): 105.98 kWh
December 2011: 90.01 kWh (we lost about 20 kWh of production from Pasadena windstorm power outages)
November 2011: 142.94 kWh
October 2011: 200.17 kWh (we had our house tented, so I estimate we lost about 20 kWh of production)
September 2011: 255.36 kWh
August 2011: 331.44 kWh
July 2011: 352.72 kWh
June 2011: 313.90 kWh
May 2011: 332.10 kWh
Apr 2011: 295.18 kWh
Mar 2011: 262.25 kWh
Feb 2011: 206.07 kWh
Jan 2011: 38.50 kWh (1/26-1/31)

System Specs:
System Size DC (STC): 2.28 KW
System Size AC: 1.93 KW
System Size AC (California CSI rating): 1.63 KW
Panels: 10 SunPower Serengeti 228 Watt
Inverter: 1 SunPower 3000M (SMA Sunny Boy 3000 re-branded under SunPower)
Estimated Annual Production: 2,781 kWh

Direction: East facing

Happy Birthday - Our Solar PV System Is 1 Yr Old

Happy birthday solar PV. Installed January 26, 2011.

Solar Production Thru December 31, 2011

Our solar PV system is now 11 months old and we are on pace to generate 8% more energy than the original system annual estimate. I've only been paying the taxes each month ($2-3), but SCE just sent me a letter informing me that they would be billing me at the end of January for the balance of usage charges.

On December 1, we were hit by hurricane level windstorms in Pasadena, which knocked out the power at our house for 4 days. Since we are grid-tied, my solar PV system went on automatic shutdown until the grid was back up. We lost about 20 kWh of production during those 4 days. If I had a battery backup system, we would have had electricity through the entire mess.

Total Production To Date:
Production: 2,820.6 kWh
Percent of Annual Predicted Production (2,781 kWh): 101%
Actual vs. Predicted Production Better/(Worse): +213 kWh
CO2 Saved: 4,654 lbs
Estimated Savings: $508.00

Monthly Production:
December 2011: 90.01 kWh (per windstorms above, we lost about 20 kWh of production)
November 2011: 142.94 kWh
October 2011: 200.17 kWh (we had our house tented, so I estimate we lost about 20 kWh of production)
September 2011: 255.36 kWh
August 2011: 331.44 kWh
July 2011: 352.72 kWh
June 2011: 313.90 kWh
May 2011: 332.10 kWh
Apr 2011: 295.18 kWh
Mar 2011: 262.25 kWh
Feb 2011: 206.07 kWh
Jan 2011: 38.50 kWh (1/26-1/31)

System Specs:
System Size DC (STC): 2.28 KW
System Size AC: 1.93 KW
System Size AC (California CSI rating): 1.63 KW
Panels: 10 SunPower Serengeti 228 Watt
Inverter: 1 SunPower 3000M (SMA Sunny Boy 3000 re-branded under SunPower)
Estimated Annual Production: 2,781 kWh

Direction: East facing