
Got a deck? Solar panels now a plug-in appliance - iProject
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57432731-76/got-a-deck-solar-panels-now-a-plug-in-appliance/
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ck2
Some rural locations have very expensive electricity so this is a great option
for plug and play.

The fact that it's only half the 15 amp maximum for house wiring safety and
that it turns off when there is a blackout so electricians don't get killed by
the backfeed are really nice touches.

Now bring on the clones for half the price ;-)

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joeyh
Generally the expensive part in rural locations is paying to get miles of
lines in. This cannot be used offgrid.

Also, when you have a long line to a rural location, and the power goes out
due to an ice storm, welcome to the bottom of the repair priority list. I've
been there for up to 1.5 weeks before. :) Having the solar power cut out at
this point is not a good design feature.

Sounds great for urban use though.

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pkh80
This price would have sounded great a few years ago, but you can get whole
house solar installs for ~$4k, enough to replace your power. We got a 4.6 kw
system installed on our house for less than $4k out of pocket. Check out
SolarCity or any solar company that offers a lease to own program.

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icefox
You can't compare the price of leasing a product to the price to own something
outright.

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maxerickson
For something that loses value over time, I would argue that it makes a good
deal of sense to compare the price of leasing to the price of owning outright.

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K2h
i was just reading about micro inverters the other day. one possible advantage
is that smaller systems (less than 1KW?) may not be subject to the certified
electrician, plan reviews, mains interconnect shutoff for solar on the outside
of the house, etc. read up on it a little, and doing a micro install may
really save some money.

read through this[1], and you get an idea the panels and inverter is the easy
part. the hard part is compliance with local ordinances.

i just started reading about the micro inverters[2] and these are very
different than a 12vdc to 110vac inverter you plug into your car. they track
the mains power to dump your solar power back into the line at the correct
phase to the grid, and if the mains shuts off, these have to shut off (called
island mode? ) and not back feed. from what i can tell, these little inverters
are around $1/W so for a 230W PV panel, plan on spending at least $500 total
to get the matching micro inverter. really a pretty good deal.

[1]
[http://www.rctlma.org/building/content/docs/284_79_photovolt...](http://www.rctlma.org/building/content/docs/284_79_photovoltaic_power_system_permits_reqs.pdf)

[2] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_micro-inverter>

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mgkimsal
I don't quite get this. For a DIY kit, I wish they'd use simpler language. Do
I just prop these up in the backyard and plug them in to an outside outlet? Is
that it?

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mbreese
That's what I don't quite get either... so, you plug this into your outdoor
outlet. Does that then provide extra power to your house? To just that
circuit?

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K2h
it will back feed through the breaker of the circuit you plug it into and help
power anything on that side of your breaker box.

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waivej
Great writing! I've known about this hardware for years but it still sold me.
(at least until the 20 year payoff calculation.)

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mark_l_watson
I have two problems with this. First, it is a severe safety issue for power
company linemen if your local power company does not know about your system
and know where the external shutoff switch is. Second, we installed a solar
system last year and the installation (physical panel installation and
electronics, with interactions with the local power company) as only about 13%
of the bill ($1800/$13600).

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aptwebapps
From the third paragraph:

"If there is a loss of grid power, the panels will stop delivering current
because it could be a danger to line workers, according to the company."

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mark_l_watson
I missed that, thanks! That makes the $1000 panel kit (which probably
generates 200 to 250 watts when it is sunny) very price competitive. That
said, I really like my large professionally installed system and I like
getting paid by my local power company.

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aptwebapps
Yeah, the plug-n-play is neat but why not do it properly, and get a two-way
meter?

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stephengillie
Why is the system limited to 5 solar panels? Is there a reason I would not be
able to purchase 25 of these and put them on the deck I don't have?

Their site looks like they could use a little design assistance:
<http://spinrayenergy.com/>

Their "Product Specs/Data" page is a 404.

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pragmatic
From the site:

"Already bought a "DeckPower120" solar appliance and want to add more green
power? "DeckPower120" solar was designed for easy connection, and additional
kits can be added over time, up to 5 kits can be connected into a single
outside receptacle, and can produce over 1,000 watts of clean green energy!"

<http://spinrayenergy.com/DeckPower120.html>

So that's a total of 25 solar panels (each kit has five panels).

So if you have 1000 watts* / 120 v you get 8.3 Amps. Most (US) household 120
are wired at 15 amps max (via the wire gauge + circuit breaker). 20 amps
circuits require heavier wire and larger circuit breakers.

*1000 watts assume max output from solar panels.

I should send this to my master electrician brother to see what he thinks of
these.

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icefox
Incorrect, each kit only comes with 1 panel. So 5 kits means you get 5 panels.

"The DeckPower120™ solar appliance comes with everything you need to start
receiving FREE supplimental home solar energy: (1) 240 watt high efficiency
mono-crystalline solar panel listed to UL 1703 "

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dave1619
Anyone know if how many years of usage it would take to gain back the cost of
the $1000 panel kit?

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mchannon
It depends on:

 _Where (climate) and_ Location on house (shading) and _Electricity Price and_
Discount Rate and *Utility/Government Incentives (vary by utility)

but at $5.50/W (assuming installation is free) in a place like Phoenix, you're
looking at about 27 years before incentives, about 20 years after.

$5.50/W is kinda steep nowadays, but probably a decent deal for a hobbyist-
sized system of this nature.

