Those Canadian panels are great. My 200w versions (CS6P-200P) will put out at 95% of their rating if the sun is okay.
When it's real cold & cloudless, they will get up around 100% of their rating! :)

That PV is a great investment!

I too am a fan of PV solar on a ground mount array. Ground mounting was a requirement to gain approval from the wife. She was all for solar, and all against putting holes in the roof of the house. She also pointed out how difficult it would be to get up to our roof to clean the panels. :eek: We saw an episode of "Living With Ed {Begley, Jr}" where he got up on the roof and cleaned the dust, dirt, bird droppings from his solar array and she pointed out how tough that would be on our roof. She was right. The ground mount makes maintenance easier.

Very nice job on the system. I hope to expand my little 1050w array soon.

I'm not sure much cleaning is really needed. Last summer, I was out there with a bush
and hose, whenever I saw bird droppings.

But, this winter?? Nope.. I didn't want to mess with draining the hose etc..
It was too cold for me anyways.

Pretty soon, I noticed those bird droppings disappeared after a while.
The sun, snow and rain keeps them pretty clean.

I've seen Ed Begley, Jr sweeping the dust off his panels..
And it seemed to be more of a (TV) way to get out of the house and away from his wife..
Sort of his Man-Cave on the roof..
When his wife invaded his space up there, he hid the ladder!!

I would be leery of installing panels where there are wires or limbs above them.
(I have a few limbs right above some of my panels). :mad:

And, if you can mount some kind of wind spinner on top of the upper edge,
you might be able to keep birds from perching on the them/making a mess.

I wonder if a run of small nylon line across the perch area would work?
Leave it loose, so it will be too floppy to perch on!
And be in the way of perching on panel frame.. :p

I've seen some kind of spike-wire on outdoor strip-mall sidewall overhead shelter.
And in the over-head in parking garages.
They use it to keep the birds from nesting above cars..

Even though my array is ground mounted, I typically have only cleaned them about twice or three times a year. There are no wires or limbs anywhere near going over the array. The occasional bird does perch on the edge of the top panels, so your suggestion of bird spikes and / or loosely strung nylon cord is worth investigating.

My house has a metal roof with a 6 in 12 pitch. On the back of the house {that faces about 15 degrees off of true south} the roof overhang is about 14' off the ground. I might be able to climb up and do those couple / three cleanings a year now, but in 10 years, I don't plan any roof expeditions. Plus, I feel like I'm improving the array performance with the twice annual tilt adjustment. I am configured to do 49 degrees or 19 degrees tilt, depending on the season. Ground mounts are also convenient for clearing snow off the panels. Don't know how helpful that is in Sunny FLA........

hopfully the grass will grow back soon where i dug for geothermal so the dirt will quit blowing on my panels. they are filthy, some time today or tomorrow my panels should be arriving. i like the idea of adjusting the array a few times a year but i added more panels instead (originally was only doing 2KW) i like the string idea.

Going Green, with envy!
 

Okay, now I'm just plain jealous! 4 kW of solar and a geothermal system too. :p I'll be hunting for the geothermal thread when I get through here. Congratulations.

On a more serious front, we should all be so fortunate as to be able to afford {and allowed to connect} a renewable energy system to cover at least part of our energy consumption. The geothermal system is also a great long-term investment AFAIK. I am looking into how I can possibly pay for either a geothermal {preferred} or inverter technology {alternate plan} HVAC system at home.

i am lost, elaborate please

building a battery box
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...422_123318.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...422_123307.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...2_125631-1.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...422_130426.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...422_131416.jpg

the solar system is up and opperating i get my net meter sometime in the next ten days. the inspector liked my work so all is good.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...504_201345.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...504_201333.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...504_201326.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...504_201316.jpg

i still need to install my battery box vent then it is complete
i have made from 18-26KWH a day i have not had a cloudless day since i turned it on tho
my system is 4140watts /26000 watts(in one day) =6.28 sun hrs so im getting alot of sun. i have my fridge, washer, kitchen lights , bed lights and plugs, and garage plugs and lights on my battery backup panel, which has room for more if needed so im set if i loose power.

SWEET! Was that Rolls Surrette L-16's I saw being {battery} boxed up? What kind of capacity do the batteries have? Inquiring minds want to know :D

18 to 26 kWh of power daily would easily power my home and would make a serious contribution towards powering an EV. I'm curious if your long-term plan has an EV in it as mine does?