Our solar production

[Boomer23]

I'm impressed, too. And jealous. My system isn't much smaller than yours, but my maximum output for my best month, which was last May, was 905 kWh. What makes Arizona so much better for solar than California, if both months are completely sunny?

Just look at a map of the U.S. and it'll help you understand. Most of California is farther north than AZ ... and AZ also extends farther south than any part of CA. Farther south means higher sun azmuths for the lion's share of the state ... besides having less rain fall / clouds.

Thanks, hill. I just did, and you're right if you're talking about Tucson, but Phoenix is about at the same latitude as Orange County, Ca. I checked online and I got a latitude for Long Beach, Ca of 33 degrees, 46' and for Phoenix of 33 degrees, 29'. so if Orange County is just south of Long Beach, we're talking almost the same latitude.

I realize that AZ has more clear days than coastal CA, but for a given completely clear day, it still seems like AZ solar owners get more insolation or more power generation, anyway.

Anybody have any other thoughts on this?

 

[DaveEV]

I realize that AZ has more clear days than coastal CA, but for a given completely clear day, it still seems like AZ solar owners get more insolation or more power generation, anyway. Anybody have any other thoughts on this?

Altitude (higher is better) and humidity (lower is better) also affect PV output.

 

[davewill]

I realize that AZ has more clear days than coastal CA, but for a given completely clear day, it still seems like AZ solar owners get more insolation or more power generation, anyway.

Anybody have any other thoughts on this?

The coastal range? Phoenix is pretty flat. The sun in OC and SD has to rise above the mountains. I bet local sunrise is late. Also, "clear" days in socal sometimes still have night or morning clouds.

 

[KLQL8N]

I live in PHX. I have an 8.1 KW system.
It is producing on average 52 KW per day.
Since it is now over 100 degrees, I expect the production to fall due to heat.
Over 105 degrees it will only produce about 48 KW per day.

 

[LEAFfan]

Phoenix is pretty flat. The sun in OC and SD has to rise above the mountains. I bet local sunrise is late. Also, "clear" days in socal sometimes still have night or morning clouds.

Actually, we're over 1000 ft. above sea level (according to CarWings... :lol: ). And Scottsdale is even higher, so that is an advantage over CA. I've seen our irradiance sensor hit over 1000 many times this spring.

 

[wishboneash]

I have a 2.2kW system (SSE facing, 18deg roof angle). Self-installed in 2005. Has produced around 20.7 MWhrs thus far. Highest production in a single day was 16.1 kWhrs. Self-sufficient in terms of net cost (TOU E7 metering) until the Leaf came along! Northern California (SF East Bay area). I have some shading issues so I am losing about 10-15% compared to an ideal unshaded system. To increase capacity of the system I would need to put panels facing WSW.

 

[mwalsh]

My solar is about 10% off peak production in May. Is anyone else in SoCal seeing that right now? I'm thinking that it's down to either dirty panels, heat, sun position, or some combination of all three.

You guys did tell me to expect that in summer heat, but I just want to be sure.

 

[patrick0101]

June is the first complete month that I have had my Leaf. I drove 952 miles using 154 kWh for an efficiency of 6.2 miles/kWh. During this same month the solar panels on our house generated 448 kWh. At that efficiency rate, our PV system generated enough energy to have drive 2777 miles!

I am driving the Leaf far more than I drove my old EV while using less energy and we will be energy positive with the PV system.

 

[Boomer23]

June is the first complete month that I have had my Leaf. I drove 952 miles using 154 kWh for an efficiency of 6.2 miles/kWh. During this same month the solar panels on our house generated 448 kWh. At that efficiency rate, our PV system generated enough energy to have drive 2777 miles!

I am driving the Leaf far more than I drove my old EV while using less energy and we will be energy positive with the PV system.

Patrick, how is that 154 kWh measured? By Carwings, or from calculating from your LEAF mi/kWh dashboard value, or measured at your power panel or at your EVSE? That 6.2 figure is very high, about 2X my efficiency measured at my power panel.

 

[DaveEV]

My solar is about 10% off peak production in May. Is anyone else in SoCal seeing that right now? I'm thinking that it's down to either dirty panels, heat, sun position, or some combination of all three.

You guys did tell me to expect that in summer heat, but I just want to be sure.

My system was 8% over PVwatts in May and 10% over PVwatts for June. So performing as expected.

 

[patrick0101]

Patrick, how is that 154 kWh measured?

This is from Carwings. I make no claims that Carwings is accurate. My Leaf is reporting an efficiency of 5.2-5.6 miles/kWh. The Blink (and the GE EZ reader I have it plugged into) reported 116 kWh used but I charged at many other places other than my garage during the month.

That 6.2 figure is very high, about 2X my efficiency measured at my power panel.

Maybe I am a more efficient driver :mrgreen: You are likely correct that I don't have an accurate energy data source. I bought the GE meter so I could get accurate data, but there are free charging stations all over the place here and I want to try them out.

As for my driving style, I am in the "platinum" group on Carwings. I am usually getting passed by in traffic. It is funny how driving at the posted speed limit is considered "slow". Most of my driving is at 35 MPH. The Leaf reports my average speed at 17 MPH.

 

[Boomer23]

Patrick, how is that 154 kWh measured?

This is from Carwings. I make no claims that Carwings is accurate. My Leaf is reporting an efficiency of 5.2-5.6 miles/kWh. The Blink (and the GE EZ reader I have it plugged into) reported 116 kWh used but I charged at many other places other than my garage during the month.

That 6.2 figure is very high, about 2X my efficiency measured at my power panel.

Maybe I am a more efficient driver :mrgreen: You are likely correct that I don't have an accurate energy data source. I bought the GE meter so I could get accurate data, but there are free charging stations all over the place here and I want to try them out.

As for my driving style, I am in the "platinum" group on Carwings. I am usually getting passed by in traffic. It is funny how driving at the posted speed limit is considered "slow". Most of my driving is at 35 MPH. The Leaf reports my average speed at 17 MPH.

You're definitely a more conservative driver than I am. I barely make it above "silver" on Carwings.

Cheers, keep up the good work!

 

[TonyWilliams]

My solar system is finally up and running, and the first two days have netted 120 kw/hours of electricity !!!

 

[hill]

June is the first complete month that I have had my Leaf. I drove 952 miles using 154 kWh for an efficiency of 6.2 miles/kWh. During this same month the solar panels on our house generated 448 kWh. At that efficiency rate, our PV system generated enough energy to have drive 2777 miles!

I am driving the Leaf far more than I drove my old EV while using less energy and we will be energy positive with the PV system.

Patrick, how is that 154 kWh measured? By Carwings, or from calculating from your LEAF mi/kWh dashboard value, or measured at your power panel or at your EVSE? That 6.2 figure is very high, about 2X my efficiency measured at my power panel.

I consider my drive style to be dang frugal. By the meter we're almost at 5.0 miles/kWh ... 5.5 shows on the dash ... and Carwings? WOAH ... 8.9 mile per kWH!! It says I'm at Platinum level :lol: according to carwings we're defying the laws of physics.

My solar system is finally up and running, and the first two days have netted 120 kw/hours of electricity !!!

Congrats !!

 

[Boomer23]

My solar system is finally up and running, and the first two days have netted 120 kw/hours of electricity !!!

Tony, that's an incredibly efficient system. You're seeing 60 kWh generation per day? From your sig, I'm calculating 35X228 = 8 kW DC. My system is 24 panels at 215 W each, for a total of 5.16 kW DC. But my max output this week is 30 to 31 kWh. You're getting double my output with a system which is only 155% larger than mine.

You're doing well!

 

[mwalsh]

But my max output this week is 30 to 31 kWh. You're getting double my output with a system which is only 155% larger than mine.

You're doing well!

Gotta be down to the micro inverters.

 

[mwalsh]

As you may remember, I had posted that my production was down a bit from peaks in April and early May, and I couldn't really discern why, since I had no historical data for this time of year. Was it down to higher overall temperatures? Was it down to the sun being in a different position in the sky? Or was it down to the panels being dirty, having not had any rain clean them since back in spring?

So Friday, I decided to get up on the roof and wash the panels off. They were quite dirty.

Today is going to be the first full sun day (no marine layer), so it will be interesting to see if full production is restored. The last two days, even though there was marine layer lasting until mid-morning, would appear to put me back on track for production equal to that on a similar day a few months ago. But I won't know until the sun sets tonight.

 

[LEAFfan]

As you may remember, I had posted that my production was down a bit from peaks in April and early May, and I couldn't really discern why, since I had no historical data for this time of year. Was it down to higher overall temperatures? Was it down to the sun being in a different position in the sky? Or was it down to the panels being dirty, having not had any rain clean them since back in spring?

I can't speak for CA, but here in AZ, our peaks are in May because the sun's radiation is highest in May. So I will be surprised that you will equal April's or May's production. PV Watts will tell you which month has the most solar radiation for your area. All the other months have less and produce less. When my panels are super clean, they produce about 1/2Kwh extra per day.

 

[patrick0101]

I can't speak for CA, but here in AZ, our peaks are in May

I am in NW Oregon and our peak is in July. Longer days and better weather.

 

[Boomer23]

As you may remember, I had posted that my production was down a bit from peaks in April and early May, and I couldn't really discern why, since I had no historical data for this time of year. Was it down to higher overall temperatures? Was it down to the sun being in a different position in the sky? Or was it down to the panels being dirty, having not had any rain clean them since back in spring?

So Friday, I decided to get up on the roof and wash the panels off. They were quite dirty.

Today is going to be the first full sun day (no marine layer), so it will be interesting to see if full production is restored. The last two days, even though there was marine layer lasting until mid-morning, would appear to put me back on track for production equal to that on a similar day a few months ago. But I won't know until the sun sets tonight.

So mwalsh, what was your result? I had a peak production of 31 kWh vs my high in May of 33 kWh. I think that May is likely our peak month, as others have said.