Author: Solaris

SolarEdge 3G Network Obsolete

There have been emails floating around to customers who currently have SolarEdge inverters for their solar system that the 3G network card needs to be upgraded. This is due to the fact that AT&T is sunsetting 3G from their network. As such, transmission of activity from the solar inverter to the main hub for support and logging of power creation for monitoring electric creation will stop once the 3G network is taken offline.

So now what? Well, in order to continue, one remedy is to upgrade the network card in the solar inverter to 4G or 5G. This can be done so at a cost of approximately $500 plus installation. This means that whenever communications protocols are made obsolete, you would have to purchase another network card.

However, a more economical solution is to connect the inverter to the wifi network in your home. This way, the inverter will use whatever network is currently used to communication via the internet. This connection to the wifi can be accomplished through connecting an ethernet cable from the inverter to your internet modem, or by using a wifi network extender to connect to the your wifi network.

I, for one, chose a network extender as it is the easiest to install and does not require fishing a wire from the inverter to the internet (cable) modem. I installed a Linksys RE6300 which has an ethernet port that can be used to connect to the inverter.

How does Net Metering Work?

When you install a solar system in your house, the utility company installs a new electric meter in you residence. This new meter is a net meter — meaning that it transmits the amount of electricity that is created by the solar panels which is used to offset the electricity you are using at the time in your house. If you create more electricity than you use, the extra electricity is returned to the grid and passed along to neighbors who demand electricity. In this way, on your monthly bill, you are billed to the “Net” electricity that you use over and above what you create with your solar panel system.

When you first install a solar system, depending on the time of year and if you have added enough panels to cover your overall requirements for electricity, you may be billed a small amount from the utility company. As the year progresses and you have a lot of sunny days, you will then bank electricity for future use. Most utility companies will then pay you for an overage of electricity created by your panels on an annual basis — paying at the wholesale electric rate level.

Net Metering from solar panels.

Adding Solar Power – A Lease or Buy Decision

If you are thinking about adding solar power to your home, there is one major decision on financing the solar panels. There are many solar panel installers in the market place that are offering to install solar panels on your roof “free of charge” that will reduce your electric bill. What they are really selling you is a solar power “lease” arrangement whereby the solar company installs and owns the panels on your roof. They then lease the panels back to you for a fixed rate per kilowatt hour (kWh) which is lass than your current utility bill.

solar power

The term of the lease arrangement is generally 25 years which is the effective life of the solar panels. The solar company covers everything and all you pay is a monthly fee. This sounds easy enough, but when you look at many of these lease arrangements there is also a cost-of-living adjustment to monthly lease fee. For example, if the lease payment for the solar panels is $0.10 per kWh, there will be an annual increase of around 3%. This means you are paying $0.103 per kWh in year two, $.1061 in year three, and so on.

What is also missing in this transaction are the solar energy credits (SRECs). States offer solar energy credits for every 1,000 kilowatts created by your solar system. If you have a lease arrangement, the solar company gets the SRECs which they can sell on the open exchange. Depending on where you live, these SRECs can be very lucrative. In New Jersey, SRECs sell for approximately $215 at this writing. In Pennsylvania, they sell for $10. The length of time that you can sell SRECs varies from state-to-state also. Currently, SRECs can be sold for the first 10 years the panels are placed in service. Let’s assume that your solar system can create 10 SRECs per year and the average net sale for SRECs is $180 on average over the 10 year span — that’s $18,000 that comes to whomever owns the SRECs.

Now, if you purchase the solar panels instead of leasing them, there is also a 30% energy tax credit that accompanies the purchase of your solar panel system. That would be $6,000 on a $20,000 solar investment.

These are the factors which you should consider before installing a solar system in your home. If you look at the payback and the return on investment, the purchase option may be the way to go.


Solar Energy Power

Solar Power For Houses
Solar Energy Power

Solar Power can be used for many different purposes. There are many small self sustaining projects that can be developed using a few solar panels, a charge controller, and and battery pack.

The video depicted here shows how you can use solar power to keep animals watered on a farm setting – even in the winter.

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Commercial Solar Power

commercial solar power

Commercial Solar Panel Incentives NJ | New Jersey Solar Power

Converting to solar can be a financial boom for a company when you factor in the incentives.  New Jersey is one of the states that promote solar enrgy through incentives.

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What are the advantages and disadvantagesof using solar power?

Mainly what are the plus/minuses of SOLAR THERMAL DISHES but any information you have on SOLAR POWER would be a great help!

Thanks, 10 points best answer!
Oh, and by the way!
I kinda mean using solar power for companies like as a alternative to using coal, not just for your own use at home by setting up your own private solar powered devices!

Thanks!


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How are solar panels made? How do they work? Can solar panels layed out on a rooftop power a house?

I want to do a little project this year, and that is to make solar panels of my own. I want to see the pros and cons of how effective solar panels are. Also what are good websites where I may obtain more information on blueprints of how they are made.


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