Most solar panels are installed on roofs.  However, this is not required.  Solar panels could be installed on ground mounted racks, on outside walls, on fences, on carports, or built into a building.  They can be installed anywhere that there is a secure and strong structure to mount them on or in.  After all, you want them to stand up to the elements over time and to produce electricity for many years.

The One Main Requirement in Choosing a Locating for Your Solar Panels – SUNLIGHT!

There is only one overriding requirement for all solar panels:  Your panels must have strong sunlight for most of the day throughout the year.  The more sunlight the panel receives the more power it will generate and the better your return on investment for solar power will be.

Roof Mounted Systems

Most solar power systems are mounted on roofs.  This is usually a safe and out-of-the-way location for solar panels.  The main disadvantage is they are a little harder to access, but fortunately solar panels require very little maintenance.

Ground Mounted Systems

If you have extra land then a ground mounted system can be a great solution.  These are often protected by a simple chain link fence to keep kids, animals, and untrained hands off the system.  But many people don’t have the extra land to take advantage of this option and this is why roof mounts are so popular.

Additionally, sun tracking system are usually best with ground mounts.  A sun tracking system captures more power from the sun by keeping panels facing the sun.  But a tracking system adds cost, complexity, and maintenance.  Using tracking or not is a trade off between performance and costs.

Building Integrated PhotoVoltaics (BIPV) and Patio Covers and Carports

Solar panels can also be integrated into roofs, patio covers, and carports just to name a few common ones.

And remember, you could install solar panels anywhere there is a safe & secure structure and access to the sun!  Use your imagination.

Robert Morse
BSEE, MSEE, NABCEP Certified PV Solar Installer
CA State Licensed Electrical Contractor (C10) & Solar Contractor (C46)
SunCal Solar, Incorporated

Have a Question?  Contact Us at: blog@SunCalSolar.com

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Electric rates seem to keep going up.  I have not found anybody who is predicting that electricity rates will drop.  However, the price of solar electricity does not go up because you pay a fixed price on the system and you know what that exact amount is ahead of time.  Solar electricity is free after you pay for the system.  So it protects you against future rate hikes.  You can actually reduce your bill down to $5.17/month if you have the space for the solar panels.  You start saving money as soon as your panels are connected.

Prices have dropped on solar panels.  This due to several reasons, but is primarily based on “supply and demand”.  The demand has dropped overseas and many suppliers are still manufacturing solar panels.

The Federal tax credit pays for 30% of total price of your system.  This significantly drops the cost of buying a solar electric system

California State Rebates are in their last step here before they disappear.  Get your rebate now before it’s gone.

 
It’s the right thing to do.  It lowers carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning plants.  It reduces the need for nuclear energy.  It reduces our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

These are 5 great reasons to install a solar electric system.  You can find much more information about generating your own electricity from the sun at www.SunCalSolar.com.

Robert Morse
BSEE, MSEE, NABCEP Certified PV Solar Installer
CA State Licensed Electrical Contractor (C10) & Solar Contractor (C46)
SunCal Solar, Incorporated

Have a Question?  Contact Us at: blog@SunCalSolar.com

It’s free for anyone to subscribe by clicking on the “Posts” or “By Email” subscribe buttons at the upper right corner of this website.

Heat is Not Good for Solar Electric Systems
There is a common misconception that hot sunny days are great for Solar Electricity Systems (photovoltaics), however this is not really true.  What would be better are cool or cold sunny days.  Solar cells work by converting light from the sun to electricity, so sunny days make the solar electric panels work best.  However, solar cells produce less power when they are hot than when they are cool or cold.  Cool sunny days produce more power over time which means more energy produced and more savings to you.

Additionally, excessive heat also will slightly accelerate the degradation of the solar panels over time.  Heat is not great for the inverters either.  Inverters are the devices that convert the electricity from the DC (direct current) electricity produced by the solar panels to the AC (alternating current) used by your home lighting and appliances.  Heat can lower the efficiency of the inverter and shorten it’s lifetime.  Heat is usually bad for reliability for anything electrical.

A properly designed and installed solar electric system can help reduce the temperature that solar panels operate at.  As always the design and installation are critical to a properly operating system.

Not Black and White:  But San Diego County is Fantastic Climate for Solar Electric Power
By now you may be asking, “What if I live in a part of the county near the coast where there are lots of cloudy mornings” or “What if I live inland where there are lots of hot sunny days”.

This just means you don’t have ideal conditions for solar, but how many things in life are “ideal”.  However, just the fact that you live in San Diego County means that you have fantastic conditions for solar electric power.  We generally have lots of sunny days, few rainy days, very little snow, and not much sleet.  We are pretty far south and so get lots of overhead sun that solar panels work well in.

The bottom line is that only a complete financial analysis by your solar installer will give you the details on how much you can save on your electric bill by adding a solar electric system.  But here in San Diego County we have a great climate for solar electricity.

Robert Morse
BSEE, MSEE, NABCEP Certified PV Solar Installer
CA State Licensed Electrical Contractor (C10) & Solar Contractor (C46)
SunCal Solar, Incorporated

Have a Question?  Contact Us at: blog@SunCalSolar.com

It’s free for anyone to subscribe by clicking on the “Posts” or “By Email” (RSS Feed or Email) subscribe buttons at the upper right corner of this website.

There are also the “DRTOU” rate which is “Domestic Rate Time-of-Use” rate and “DRSES” rate which is “Domestic Rate Solar Electric System” rate.  Usually, the regular DR rate works best for most homeowners, even people who own solar electric systems.  I will save discussing these other rates and commercial rate structures to a later date.  Commercial rates have additional complications like “demand charges” that I will not discuss here.

Basic Idea of Tiered Electric Rates
The basic idea is this:  the more electricity you use the more you are charged per unit of electricity.  The basic unit of electricity you are charged for is the Kilowatt-Hour or kWh.  The utility company is trying to get you to conserve by charging a lot more if you use a lot or waste a lot of electricity.  Low energy users pay less per kWh than high energy users.  The idea is:  if you use a lot of electricity then you pay more for your share than if you were a lower consumption user

Here in San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) territory there are 4 tiers for the rates you are charged for electricity.

Tier 1 – The first tier is called “baseline”.
Tier 2 – The next tier is 100% to 130% of the baseline amount.
Tier 3 – The next tier is 130% to 200% of the baseline amount.
Tier 4 – The next tier is 200% and up of the baseline amount.

The baseline is an amount of electricity measured in kilowatt-hours and you are charged one rate for this electricity.  Then when your usage goes over this “baseline” amount and up to 130% of it (Tier 2) you are charged a slightly higher rate.  Then when your usage goes over 130% of this “baseline” amount (Tier 3) you are charged a significantly higher rate.  And similarly for when you go over 200% of the “baseline” amount (Tier 4).

Large Difference in Electric Rates Between Lower and Upper Tiers
The Tier 1 and Tier 2 are supposed include the average electrical usage for the entire territory.  These rates have been held artificially low in the past.  The bottom line is that the prices/rates for these two tiers are fairly low.

The other very noticeable part of this rate structure is that the first two tiers are substantially less expensive than the upper two tiers.  Roughly, the price is about double for the upper two tiers.  This is a strong reason to conserve power and generate solar electricity.  Conservation and solar electricity generation “shave off” the electricity you pay for in the upper two tiers FIRST!  Let me repeat that, the part of your electric bill that is removed first is from the top tiers so your savings is more substantial.

Baseline Electric Rate
The baseline amount of electricity varies by several factors.  These factors are:

Summer vs. Winter (rates can also change by Summer vs. Winter)
The region you live in (coastal, inland, mountain, or desert as defined by SDG&E)
If you are an all electric household

And to make it more complex; usually twice a year you get a bill that straddles between summer and winter so your baseline and tiers change in the middle of the billing cycle.  Yes, it’s complicated.  Fortunately, you don’t have to do the calculations.  Your utility company does that for you.

Electricity Charge vs Distribution Charge
Now, as if this were not confusing enough.  They also break the charges down into:

Utility Distribution Company (UDC) Charges  or  Distribution Charges
Electric Energy Charge / Commodity / Electricity Generation / Consumption / Usage Charges

The “distribution charges” are for the infrastructure that gets the electricity to your home.  This includes things like the power lines and transformers.  These are the rates that vary quite a bit by usage tiers discussed above.  The “electric energy charges” are for the actual electricity itself.  This rate does not vary by tiers, but they still break it out by tiers.  There is also a DWR bond charge added in there.

Then at the end of your bill there are an assortment of charges that are explained on the back of your bill.

Total Electric Rate for Each Tier
To get your total electric rate in each tier you have to add up all these charges to figure out what you are paying.  Confused yet?  It’s not easy.  Just remember, what is important is:  The more electricity you use the higher your rate goes.  Conserving electricity and making your own from a solar power system can significantly reduce this impact.

Robert Morse
BSEE, MSEE, NABCEP Certified PV Solar Installer
CA State Licensed Electrical Contractor (C10) & Solar Contractor (C46)
SunCal Solar, Incorporated

Have a Question?  Contact Us at: blog@SunCalSolar.com

It’s free for anyone to subscribe by clicking on the “Posts” or “By Email” (RSS Feed or Email) subscribe buttons at the upper right corner of this website.

1. Solar Panels: These collect and convert sunlight into usable electricity. They are groups of solar cells mounted inside a frame that protects them from the elements, like rain, snow, hail, wind, and physical damage. They collect energy that is normally wasted and used for nothing. (note: solar panels typically create direct current (DC) electricity but your home uses alternating current (AC) electricity).
2. Racking or Mounting System: This is the aluminum (sometimes steel) rack that is used to physically mount the solar panels. Most urban and suburban installations are roof mounted because this is usually the only available space to mount solar panels in a city. If there is space available on the ground then the racking system can be mounted on the ground. This is usually only a possibility outside of cities. Ground mounted systems may have “trackers” that track the sun on one-axis (less expensive) or on two axes (more expensive, more maintenance). However, most systems do not track the sun and work very well. Trackers add expense and maintenance while improving system performance.
3. Inverter: This is the device(s) that changes the DC electricity produced by the solar panels to AC electricity that is compatible with your home’s and utility’s electrical system.
4. Wiring: There are the wires that connect all the components of the solar system that carry the electricity.
5. Cutout Switches: There are safety cutout switches that disconnect parts of the system for maintenance. These are provided for safety of anyone working on a solar system so parts of the system can be shut off and worked on.
6. Overcurrent Protection Devices (OCPD): Ther are overcurrent protection devices that automatically turn off if too much current is flowing and causing a safety issue. OCPD’s are often just called circuit breakers just like you have on your house now.
7. Utility Grid: The utility grid is system that the utility company uses to provide electricity to homes and businesses through its power distribution “grid”. The grid is all of the interconnections that distribute power to customers. This includes the distribution system of high voltage lines and lower voltage lines, transformers, switches, in-the-ground wires, and everything that brings electricity to your home and business. This is a crucial element for a solar power system, because it is used to sell electricity to the utility company during the day when your solar system is producing the most electricity and you may not even be home. In effect it is like your are “banking” electricity or storing it with the utility company. In reality your electricity produced is not stored but is used somewhere else on the grid. The later, like at night, when your solar system is not producing electricity you simply buy back electricity from the utility company. The end result is that you pay for the amount of electricity your buy from the utility company minus the amount your solar electric system produces.
8. House: And of course your home, lights, and appliances that are using electricity.

For a non-grid tied system (i.e. no utility connection) you would also need a battery bank, battery charging & regulating system, and would have to oversize your system a bit more for when there are some cloudy days or your consumption goes up. As you might guess an “off-grid” system like this has higher initial costs and higher ongoing maintenance costs primarily because of the batteries.

Robert Morse
BSEE, MSEE, NABCEP Certified PV Solar Installer
CA State Licensed Electrical Contractor (C10) & Solar Contractor (C46)
SunCal Solar, Incorporated

Have a Question?  Contact Us at: blog@SunCalSolar.com

It’s free for anyone to subscribe by clicking on the “Posts” or “By Email” (RSS Feed or Email) subscribe buttons at the upper right corner of this website.