THE SOLAR PROJECT - AUGUST - THE THIRD MONTH.

This year (2010) we decided the time had come to add photo voltaic (solar) panels to our house. The installer of choice was Real Solar Goods of Temecula and due to the good programs at Sun Run they were easily affordable. The installation was due to commence June 16th, but due to changes in their schedules they were able to fit us in during May. The process was finally completed in June due to waits for the neccessary inspections by the various authorities. I can tell you it is a blast to see the electricity meter running backwards and the reading showing that you actually contributed clean energy to the grid.

See my post on Sweet Solar Home (SunRun site)!
Lots of good information here too:
http://www.sunrunhome.com/blog/2010/07/ted-guest-post/

My YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/abbeykid#p/u/0/sEJsg8KJO5E

My Facebook Link:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=100000865727262

Other solar panel blogs:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bgoodsel/solar/blog.htm

Neat things!
NOAA's solar calculator - a real handy little gadget this. Plug in your city or lat./long., date and time of day and up pops some useful figures: http://www.srrb.noaa.gov/highlights/sunrise/azel.html
Solar Calculator
Estimate your savings from a Solar Panel Installation! http://www.sunrunhome.com/get-started/solar-calculator


Electric Cars Guide

Electric Vehicle Guide

Electric Cars Info

Here's something that's not related to this subject at all, but a worthy cause - Animal Acres. Link: http://www.animalacres.org/rescues/urgent_100730.html

August is here already! As I write this it is 8;30 a.m. and the 'Gloom' is with us, and according to the forecast we shall have it in varying degrees the rest of the week at least. The daylight hours decrease by 0.63 hrs. over July and the average sunlight hours by 0.7 hrs. Therefore the average production should decrease by about  6.4% - we will see how that prediction pans out!


08/01/10. Meter Reading=34607 KwHrs. -8 KwHrs. E-total=1404 KwHrs. E-today=29.25 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=29.25. Overcast clearing mid-morning, some high clouds all day. Not a bad start considering conditions, but maybe because the Pollution Standard Index (PSI) was good it affected production. I have to report the PSI every day as their is another factor involved in the panels output!
08/02/10. Meter Reading=34597 KwHrs. -10 KwHrs. E-total= 1433 KwHrs. E-today=29.09 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=29.17. Overcast breaking up mid-morning. Scattered high clouds the rest of the day. PSI good, 0-50.
08/03/10. Meter Reading=34585 KwHrs. -12 KwHrs. E-total=1465 KwHrs. E-today=31.93 KwHrs - great production! Av. daily KwHrs=30.55. Overcast cleared early, high clouds left before mid-day, clear sky thereafter. PSI good, 0-50. Ran clothes washer.
08/4/10. Meter Reading=34573 KwHrs. -12 KwHrs. E-total=1495 KwHrs. E-today=30.46 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=30.50. Weather similar to yesterday, only clearing a little later. Ran clothes dryer.

Southern California Edison still can't get it right! They persist on giving me their 'guesstimated' reads, despite arrangements having been made for them to have access to the meter. Then one of their 'reps' comes while we were out, leaves a note and says he has read the meter. Only trouble is, his figures are wrong (again) and the time he put on the note was when we were home, in fact I was working in the area next to the meter! Don't you think we (my dog was there with me) would have noticed him?

08/05/10. Meter Reading=34565 KwHrs. -8 KwHrs. E-total=1520 KwHrs. E-today=25.14 Kwhrs. Av. daily Kwhrs=27.82. It's b-a-a-a-ck! June Gloom! Heavy overcast not clearing until after mid-day. P.S.I. good, 0-50.
08//06/10. Meter Reading=34552 KwHrs. - 13 KwHrs. E-total=1550 KwHrs. E-today=29.25 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=28.53. Overcast clearing mid-morning. PSI good, 0-50.
08/07/10. Meter Reading=34548 KwHrs. - 4 KwHrs. E-total=1574 KwHrs. E-today=24.45 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=26.49. Overcast started to clear mid-day. PSI good, 0-50.
08/08/10. Meter Reading=34543 KwHrs. -5 KwHrs. E-total=1599 Kwhrs. E-today=24.84 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=25.66. Overcast started to clear mid-day. PSI good, 0-50.
08/09/10. Meter Reading=34531 KwHrs. -12 KwHrs. E-total=1627 Kwhrs. E-today=28.45 KwHrs. Av. daily Kwhrs=27.05. Overcast clearing mid-morning, generally bright and sunny after. PSI good, 0-50.
08/10/10. Meter Reading=34520 Kwhrs. -11 Kwhrs. E-total=1656 KwHrs. E-today=28.97 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=28.01. Overcast clearing a little earlier today, clear skies after. Air Quality good/moderate. PSI 0-50/50-100. A little more television use today resulted in less KwHrs being 'banked.'
08/11/10. Meter Reading=34504 KwHrs. -16 KwHrs. E-total=1687 KwHrs. E-today=30.37 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=29.19. Overcast clearing early a.m. Day clear. Air Quality good. PSI=0-50
08/12/10. Meter Reading=34496mKwHrs. -8 KwHrs. E-total=1716 Kwhrs. E-today=28.7 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=28.94. Overcast clearing mid-morning. Day clear. A.Q. good. PSI=0-50. Ran clothes washer, drier and dish washer.
08/13/10. Meter Reading=34486KwHrs. -10KwHrs. E-total=1744 KwHrs. E-today=28.26 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=28.60. Weather same as yesterday. AQ good, PSI=0-50.
08/14/10. Meter Reading=34476 KwHrs. -10 KwHrs. E-total=1771 KwHrs. E-today=26.67 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=27.63. Weather slowly starting to clear by mid-morning, clear skies after. AQ good, PSI=0-50.
08/15/10. Meter Reading=34463 KwHrs. -13 KwHrs. E-total=1800 KwHrs. E-today=29.84 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=28.73. Weather starting to clear by mid-morning, clear skies after with some high clouds. AQ good, PSI=0-50.
08/16/10. Meter Reading=34453 KwHrs. -10 KwHrs. E-total=1830 KwHrs. E-today=29.04 KwHrs. Av. daily Kwhrs=28.88. PSI=50-100. AQ moderate. Clear early, then marine layer creeps in with onshore winds, finally clearing early a.m., starting to return about 5:00 p.m. Although we had more apparent 'sunshine hours' today, output was a little lower. Was the higher PSI count to blame? Need more figures to verify this.
FLASH! Our latest Southern California Edison bill was $0.00! After much back and forth with SCE about their meter 'reading' practices, our amended bill was the above amount. When was the last time your bill was zero? WOOHOO! Oh, and by the way our 'cumulative tracked energy total' is -$18.85.
08/17/10. Meter Reading=3446 KwHrs. -7 KwHrs. E-total=1858 Kwhrs. E-today=28.66 KwHrs. Av. daily Kwhrs=28.77. PSI=50. AQ moderate. Clear all day, but output less. Due to higher PSI? Expected higher output. Ran clothes washer twice.
08/18/10. Meter Reading=34445 KwHrs. -1 KwHrs.  E-total=1883 Kwhrs. E-today=24.72 KwHrs. Av. daily Kwhrs=26.48. AQ good. PSI=0-50. Monsoonal clouds did not clear until mid-day, hot & clear after. Ran air conditioner.
08/19/10. Meter Reading=34434 Kwhrs. -11 KwHrs. E-total=1912 Kwhrs. E-today=28.88 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=27.68. AQ good. PSI=0-50. Clear all day - no overcast. Shorter daylight hours, not sunshine hours are now contributing to lower outputs.
08/20/10. Meter Reading=34424 KwHrs. -10 KwHrs. E-total=1941 KwHrs. E-today=29.52 Kwhrs. Av. daily 28.60. Conditions same as yesterday. Here's a couple of points to ponder, Conditions same as the previous day yet generated nearly a KwHr of power extra. Why? Less pollution that was not forecast? Somewhere we used an extra 2 KwHrs!
08/21/10. Meter Reading=34410 KwHrs. -14 KwHrs. E-total=1971 KwHrs. E-today=30.07 KwHrs. Av. daily KwHrs=29.33. Conditions same as yesterday. AQ good. PS1=0-50. I washed down the panels early a.m. today, it seems to have squeezed out another .5 Kwhrs. I have an idea for washing the panels that does not involve me doing a lot of climbing up and down a ladder and should be more efficient - not to mention easier. If it's easier, it wil get done more often - right? I've seen some systems for doing this on the web, but this would be a "poor man's" system.
08/22/10. Meter Reading=34402 KwHrs. -8 Kwhrs. E-total=2001 KwHrs. E-today=29.93 KwHrs. Av. daily Kwhrs=29.63. AQ good/moderate. PSI 0-100. Bright and sunny with some high clouds in the afternoon - this seems to have slightly reduced output along with more smog. Ran dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer.
08/23/10. Meter Reading=34386 KwHrs. -16 KwHrs. E-total=2032 KwHrs. E-today= 31.00 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=30.31. AQ moderate. PSI= 50-100. Higher PSI does not appear to have materially affected output. Out most of the day - very low energy use.
08/24/10. Meter Reading=34392 KwHrs. +6 KwHrs. E-total=2061 KwHrs. E-today= 28.82 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=30.31. AQ moderate. PSI= 50-100. Clear all day. Smog a problem? Very hot, Ran A/C, clothes washer (2) and dryer (2) - high energy use.
08/25/10. Meter Reading=34396 KwHrs. +4 KwHrs. E-total=2089 KwHrs. E-today= 27.98 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=29.14. AQ moderate. PSI= 50-100. Clear until mid-afternoon when monsoonal clouds obscured 90% of the sky. Humid & hot, Ran A/C, clothes washer.
08/26/10. Meter Reading=34390 KwHrs. -6 KwHrs. E-total=2118 KwHrs. E-today= 28.56 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=28.85. AQ moderate. PSI= 50-100. Clear until mid-afternoon when some clouds appeared. Humid & hot. Ran clothes washer, dryer & dishwasher.
08/27/10. Meter Reading=34378 KwHrs. -12 KwHrs. E-total=2148 KwHrs. E-today= 30.39 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=29.62. AQ good. PSI=0-50. Weather clear, cool & breezy. Marine layer setting in around 6:00 p.m. Did breeze push smog out? Good, unexpected output! Ran dishwasher.
08/28/10. Meter Reading=34371 KwHrs. -7 KwHrs. E-total=2174 KwHrs. E-today= 25.74 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=27.68. AQ good. PSI=0-50. Weather overcast, clearing late morning. Ran dishwasher.
08/29/10. Meter Reading=34359 KwHrs. -12 KwHrs. E-total=2203 KwHrs. E-today= 28.74 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=28.21. AQ good. PSI=0-50. Weather overcast, clearing early morning. Breezy.
08/30/10. Meter Reading=34345 KwHrs. -14 KwHrs. E-total=2232 KwHrs. E-today= 29.43 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=28.76. AQ good. PSI=0-50. Mostly clear all day. Breezy.
08/31/10. Meter Reading=34335 KwHrs. -10 KwHrs. E-total=2262 KwHrs. E-today= 29.73 Kwhrs. Av. daily KwHrs=29.24. AQ good. PSI=0-50. Clear and breezy. Ran clothes washer & dishwasher.