How much solar power???
 

Would really like to find a simple answer to this question.
How much electricity in watts will a fixed, well positioned 100 watt panel produce at Lattitude 49 North of Spokane.
Maybe because am getting a little long of tooth, I can find tables that say all kinds of things but no one is telling me how much power I can expect.
May 1, Nov 1 & mid June would be really good to know.
I am trying to average out the variables and come up with a number, that I can compare to the cost at the meter.
Feel like this is a question that the village idiot can easily answer buuuuut...... not sure why I cant.

PVWATTS says: 127 KWH per year (Spokane Public Library used as reference)

Location and Station Identification
Requested Location 906 W Main Ave, Spokane, WA 99201
Nearest weather station: Fairchild AFB
Weather Data Source
(TMY2) SPOKANE, WA 14 mi
Latitude 47.63° N
Longitude 117.53° W
PV System Specifications (Residential)
DC System Size .1 kW
Module Type Standard
Array Type Fixed (open rack)
Array Tilt 20°
Array Azimuth 180°
System Losses 14%
Inverter Efficiency 96%
DC to AC Size Ratio 1.1

Click the link, put in your address. go to town. Easy peasy, super accurate.

Thank you for that.
That site is fantastic, it is the first one I have seen that switches you to a canadian location if that is the closest.

Too bad, looks like a 10 year payback minimum on the panels alone, this far north, so at least a 20 year payback for system.

Nibs,

Do your homework on "payback". There is simple payback and then the internal rate of return (IRR). I like the IRR as it figures in inflation, use of money for other things, etc.

Remember that the tax credit is 30% and this is a credit, not a deduction. I believe that Washington State also has state credits.

Steve


What are you current average electric costs (kWhr)? I would be very surprised if it is even a 10 year payback.

The inverters typically last 5 to 10 years (assuming grid tie).

Oil Pan,

Enphase microinverters have a full 25 year guarantee (non prorated)! You are correct on string inverters - about 5 to 10 years.

Steve

Its best to ask a qualified personnel to help you with the figures. Installation of Solar Panels is a big hassle let alone calculating the ROI or even in simple terms, how much can you save on your monthly electricity bill let alone the depreciation each year. Hence, I feel you should get a thorough site check up from someone qualified and only then proceed with the installation. Good luck !

That is useful information. When I compared the string inverter and microinverters I either added an extended warranty or just budgeted in a replacement string inverter. This makes the cost much closer.
Then the individual module/ panel monitoring was a must for me. That way it is supper easy to tell if all panels are working and performing well.

I did not find having a solar qualified personnel coming to give me a estimate very useful.
Other than showing me the crazy amount they wanted to charge me to install the system.
PVWatts Is so useful and very close to what you can really expect to make.

I cover all my usage for the whole year including charging my EV car for 20K EV miles a year.

This isn't quite as good as it looks though. Enphase in their last communication to me on yet another microinverter issue now requires it be a registered solar installer who contacts them. :(
I have one inverter not showing any output on my Envoy and paying a solar pro to figure the issue out, or work with Enphase to sort it out stinks. If I could buy a string inverter to work with my little 1050w array................

I contacted them before I bought they said since I was a self-installer they would work with me on any issues. They do require an envoy and they always have you swap the inverter to another panel to verify it is the microinverter that is bad.
What version of microinverters do you have?

There is nothing in the warranty that says it has to be a registered solar installer. I would talk to others at the company higher up. If that did not work I would contact the BBB and the attorney general office.
If you use twitter I would tweet about it they are very responsive there.

I keep a spare M215 microinverter on hand just incase one goes bad. I will swap it out and send the bad one back to them I don't want to be not making power waiting on the replacement.

https://enphase.com/sites/default/fi...A_Steps_WW.pdf
https://enphase.com/en-us/warranties
I just read the warranty it does not state “registered solar installer who contacts them” anywhere.