For those people following our blog, I thought that I would give you an update for the summer of 2014. It continues to be a great solar year. Enjoy..
UPDATE: AUGUST 2014
The array peaked at about 28% more than south facing panels and approximately 50% more than fixed east panels. Fixed east panels continue to produce some power up to around 6 PM. Maximum system peak was around 92 kW hours (one great day). The array adds about 4 kWhrs daily over the year. That translates to around an extra $12,000 over 20 years so it appears to be a good idea. Control is via a PLC which I continue to modify the code, It is programmed for the different months of the year. I have to still install the auto shutdown due to high winds. We have the parts. Wind was only a problem about 2 days this summer. I do love how we continue to grab the last rays of sunlight late into the evening and early in the morning. Again it is all about the ROI and using high quality, Ontario made solar panels.
2014 due to the cooler weather and more sun, we will expect to harvest 18-20 MW for the year. All of our testing has basically been completed.
Being retired, the net income from these panels pay for themselves and pay for our remaining house mortgage which is around $115,000. So now we only have to pay for the taxes, utilities and up keep. What a nice retirement planning package. It also lowers A/C costs by 40% while protecting your roof from the heat and harmful UV radiation. We consider this a Win/Win situation.
So, provided you can finance at low interest rates, have an good sun exposure with a large roof area facing south or south east, you will do fine.
Check first with the Flexible Solar people.
I am still PO'd with the other guys who don't care about their customers and will basically lie to your face. Some are much worst than others.
If you follow my suggestions you will be fine. You can even use my engineering specification which Mike Holmes would agree is a good idea to specify the work to be done. Pay when the product arrives on your site. A small start-up payment is required first. You can email me if you have any questions.
It is the best thing that we have done in years. Last month we were paid $860. plus HST. Yes, some people made more than double this but those days are long gone. Their investment was normally double that of ours. We expect a December low of around $400. This will depend on how bad the clouds are.
An amazing thing happened this year, the system peaked in July and not in May.
Kirk is a retired Professional Engineer with experience in the Electrical Utility sector. We have no connection with Heliene, Silfab or Flexible Solar. We just believe that an informed consumer is the best consumer. Your results may vary from ours. All monitoring results were obtained from SolarEdge panel monitoring reported data.
NOTE: Life is Short - Try to Help your neighbours and people in need
Being retired, because of the small income from the Solar Panels, we were able to re-start our support of a child in need from Nicaragua. If you are better off, please also consider helping those in need though the Christian Children Fund of Canada.
More information:
If you are interested in installing a Microfit or Fit solar panel system, I strongly recommend giving Steve a call at Flexible Solar Solutions in Windsor, Ontario serving Southern Ontario. They are the best and most honest microfit solar panel installers that I have had the pleasure of working with. They will give you a straight analysis of your roof and what you can expect to earn. Don't forget to tell them that Kirk sent you. See my first post for more information on going Solar.
We expect to earn $6500-7500 per year depending on the weather for 20 years. That should work out to us having an extra $100,000.00 income for our retirement over and above your system costs. At that point we grid tie and earn the going rate of power which just might be very close to what we are currently being paid.
