Smith Electric Company

Avalanche!

Last week, it snowed a lot.  A trace the previous Friday.  2.5 inches on Monday morning.  Then 3 inches on Friday morning followed by rain.  We've gone over a week with no solar production because every panel is at least partially blocked by snow.

Sunday, I was sitting in my home office on the 2nd floor working.  Suddenly I hear a LOUD scraping sound from the roof.  I ran downstairs to find out what happened.

The snow that had been completely covering the bottom row (of 3) of panels let loose all at once.  It fell from the roof to the ground.

Later I discovered that the snowfall took out most of our Christmas lights on the bushes.  They were torn off of the bushes and buried under 3-8 inches of snow.  One string was permanently ruined because of a wire pulled out of one of the plastic sockets.  We replaced it with a smaller unused string.  We've also left the whole thing unplugged last night and today so that the sockets can dry out.

I'm a little worried about a portion of the gutter that is sagging a bit - I'm hoping it will pop back up as the snow inside melts.

This didn't happen last year - even in the 10-inch storms.  Of course, those were drier storms and the snow tended to blow off the panels.  I guess it took a small, very wet snow to cause this.

I'm still a bit nervous - the snow on the top 2 levels was still there last night.  Of course, it was only covering 50% of some of the panels and very little of the rest.

At least we'll get some power today.

One Year - Let's Run the Numbers

This is the first anniversary of the first successful meter reading by PSE&G after activating the panels.  That means that we can run the numbers.

All values are kWh.  This year's date is 7/21/2005 - last year was 7/21/2004.

Inverter 1 This Year:  4279  Last Year:  677  Total Inverter 1:  3602

Inverter 2 This Year:  3544  Last Year:  565  Total Inverter 2:  2979

Total Solar Generation:  6581

Meter Out This Year:  8724  Last Year:  1365  Total Bought:  7359

Meter In This Year:  4823  Last Year:  564  Total Sold:  4259

Net Metering Purchase:  3100

Total Electricity Use = Total Solar Generation - Total Sold + Total Bought = 9681

Solar Generation Percentage = Total Solar Generation / Total Electricity Use = 68.0%

Our installer predicted that we'd generate 2/3 of our usage.  He was pretty much dead on - the real numbers are just a smidge better than that.  Additionally, we reduced our utility demand by that much - reducing utility pollution.

When it comes to dollars, we actually did better than these numbers show.  PSE&G rates increase above 600 kWh per month in the summer.  Our usage allows us to avoid going over 600 kWh net purchase per month, avoiding the higher rates.

Our savings works out this way:

Green Mountain Energy Supply Charge: $0.07508 / kWh

PSE&G Delivery Charge:  $0.0.30305 / kWh (the lowest rate - it's higher above 600 kWh in the summer and higher in the winter as well at $0.0384/kWh)

Total Rate:  $0.10539 / kWh

Our Savings:  $693.57 for one year

That would produce a 23 year payback but with the added $1251 from the sale of the SREC, it's a 8.5 year payback.

And the air is cleaner.

SREC Sale Completed

Well, my SREC's for 2004-2005 sold.  I got a check in the mail yesterday for $208.55 for each of 6 SREC's.

Considering that I was offered anywhere from $115 to $150 by the big guys (Sharp, Mainstay) in the last month, it seems that I did the right thing holding out for a better offer.

That check takes a year off my payback!  If this rate holds up, my payback will drop from 16 years to 8 years!

One question - please reply in Comments.  Is SREC income taxable for Federal or NJ purposes?  I'm assuming that it is, but I'd like to hear from someone who has done some research.

NJ Solar Rebate Changes

The NJ Clean Energy Program changed some of the rules for the solar PV rebate program.  The changes can be found HERE.

One small change is how the rebate is figured.  The rebate used to be based on the lesser of $5.50 per watt or 70% of the total invoice from the vendor.  Now, it's based on $5.30 per watt.  Supposedly, this is intended to foster price competition among installers.  For me, based on my installer's charges, it would have cost me about $900 more - I guess my installer was more expensive than most.  I suspect that my installer will eat the decreased rebate rather than lose business.

They also want an "electric bill showing yearly usage".  Now, PSE&G doesn't produce that.  I suppose you could produce two bills a year apart, but the only way I've ever gotten yearly usage from PSE&G is via screen prints from their billing system.

They also want a copy of the Completed Interconnection Agreement before they'll pay the rebate.  In my case, the rebate was paid even though PSE&G forgot to sign and return the agreement.  I wonder how this works with the new BPU rules that state that the system can be activated if the utility doesn't reply within 2 weeks.

They've also added an inspection charge beyond the first 2 inspections by the state inspector.  My installation only required one inspection, but I guess lower quality work might require multiple inspections.

One Year Later

On June 14, 2004 in the late afternoon we turned on our system for good.  We haven't thrown the breakers since.

Tomorrow I'll give you statistics on energy produced by the system.  I believe that the total is about 6,300 kWh.  I don't have numbers on our home's usage for the year - the first good meter reading after installation was July 2004 (PSE&G botched the June reading), so I'll come back with more details later.

The system has been completely maintenance free.  We do write down the production numbers every night for our interest, but there's no reason to do so.  The system just hums along in the basement when the sun is shining.

The only minor annoyance is that the system disrupts AM radio.  We hear what sounds like R2D2 perking away behind the radio station when the system is active.  That is not usually a problem - we only listen to AM radio in the morning - but when production is high it does overpower the station sometimes.

We've only had one indirect complaint from a neighbor - a co-worker who knows a neighbor reported that they sometimes get sun reflected onto the front of their house in the morning.  They haven't approached us.  I suspect that this will get better over time as the glass on the panels gets less smooth (though we'll lose some power at that point as well).

Would I do it again?  YES.  No question about it - this helps the environment and saves us electricity costs in the long run.  One unexpected savings is in air conditioning - the panels block the morning sun from reaching our attic and therefore our cooling requirements are lessened.  For that reason alone, I'd love to put an array on the back of the roof as well.

Selling SREC's

This month marks the end of the fiscal year for Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC) in NJ.

Each solar facility creates one SREC for every 1MWh of electricity that they generate.  NJ utilities are required to meet a requirement that a particular percentage of their total power generation comes from NJ-based solar sources.  If they fail to do so, they pay a penalty that's the equivalent of $300 per SREC.  Other companies (out-of-state utilities, green power companies) purchase NJ SREC's and Green Tags from other states to back their renewable energy label.

As an example - my system generated 6 SRECs this past year (and may eke out a 7th at the end of the month).

The problem for small producers like us is this:  we're just too small for large companies to do the paperwork and buy directly.  Enter the aggregator or broker.  These folks purchase SREC's (and other things like pollution credits) from producers and sell them to buyers.  You won't get the full value selling to a broker, but you will likely be able to sell them.

I sold mine yesterday to a broker for a minimum $200 per SREC, minus a 3% commission.  They will now try to sell them to a buyer for at least $200 each, and I will get paid what they sell it at minus the commission.  If they fail to sell by the end of July, the certificates will be transferred back to me.  At that point, I'll probably retire them.

Next year, there's talk of a bunch of us little guys banding together to sell directly to a renewable energy company.  It's good to make a few bucks off the greenness of your power - it's much better to support the green power industry while doing so.

Now you may ask - why the gap between $200 and $300?

I've heard several explanations.

1. The cost of the SREC purchase process has to be paid for somehow - that's where the margin comes in.  This is especially true for brokers.
2. The NJ utilities have already built the penalty into customer rates.  There's no reason for them to bust their tail buying SREC's.  If they do, they save money.  It's in their best interests to buy low.  (I don't know how true this is, but I have heard it.)
3. Green tags from out of state are cheaper (this is true) - running about $100-150 per MWh.  I believe that this requirement was shot down by the state BPU's recent amendments requiring that NJ SREC's must be used to satisfy the requirement.

At any rate, I never expected to be able to sell SREC's when I installed the system.  For each year that I can sell SREC's at about this rate, I take one year off the time to pay back my costs.  Now, my 16-18 year payback is one year shorter.

And I just made $1200 for doing nothing that I wasn't already gonna do.

PSE&G Billing - some sad news

I just got off the phone with the PSE&G Customer Service folks, since I hadn't gotten my corrected bill for last month.

If you've noticed that the corrected bills for the Southern NJ area have been slow or missing, it's probably because the person handling the corrected billing, Bob Honey, died suddenly a few months ago.  They have a new person working on it.  That's too bad - he did a really good job with it when the billing system remembered to forward the uncorrected bill to him (which wasn't often for me).

Supposedly, they were going to have the net metering billing automated by the 2nd quarter of this year.  I asked the CSR to add a question about that to my query about last month's bill.  I'll let you know if I hear anything.

A Spring Update

It was recently pointed out to me that this site hasn't been updated recently.  Time to fix that with a few little notes.

Power production is up as expected now that spring is here.  We're getting about 30kWh on sunny days.  Of course, if you get 2.5 inches of rain and the Delaware has a 50-year flood, you produce nothing.  (The flood didn't affect the house - just my commute.)

We still have not sold our SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Credits).  My wife and I are leaning towards NOT selling them, based on the premise that this will force utilities to pollute less.  We'd retire them instead.  A reader points out that we could sell them to renewable companies and help the environment.  Right now, the highest offer that we've received (unsolicited for the most part) was $150 each.  Reportedly $175 is the going price now - I expect it to continue to climb until near the end of the SREC fiscal year in a few months.

I'm also in the hunt to buy a hybrid car - probably a Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV.  So far no local dealers are willing to take my deposit - though one dealer thinks he'll be able to accommodate me in a month or so.  I plan to write more about that quest and the final results here, and therefore I've started a new category.

That's all of the news for now.  Once I get a full year under my belt, I plan to write up the full statistics on my solar usage and production.

Utility Rate Increase

The state BPU has announced approval of rate increase for NJ utilities.

PSE&G will be going up 2.8%.  Other areas of the state fare worse:  JCP&L is up 4.5%, Atlantic City Electric is up 4.37%, and Rockland Electric is up a whopping 8.3%.

Of course, this rate increase only affects 1/3 of my electric needs.  The other 2/3 (solar) cost just what they cost yesterday!

Questions and Answers

A potential customer from Freehold, NJ sent me an e-mail with questions, having been referred by an installer (not the people who installed my system).

After replying, it seems that my replies might be useful to all of you as well.

Good Evening, I have recently had a consultation with an XXXXX XXXXX representative, and your email was given to me by him.

I was hoping, if you had a moment, to hear from you on how you feel regarding your solar panel purchase.

Were the savings they estimated realistic?  Has the system cut your energy bill?  All year long?  - and a large portion of recouping the original cost appears to be the sale of solar energy credits – have they sold as easily as promised?

We have produced at least a little electricity every day except for January.  We had a few zero-production days in January - when the panels were snow-covered or when the skies were VERY cloudy and/or rainy.  One factor for that in our installation is the fact that our roof with panels faces east (100 degrees), and therefore the angle of the sun to the panels is narrower in the winter as the sun moves farther south.

Our 6.875 kW system went "live" in June of last year.  Our record production day was 42 kWh, and obviously the minimum was 0.  I calculated an average based on June to mid-December data and got about 17 kWh/day.  We don't have a full year's data yet.  Our installer (not XXXXX) predicted that the system would generate about 2/3 of our electric usage and the numbers seem to bear that out.  We haven't done a rigorous analysis yet - that would require the full year and we'd have to figure out usage based on inbound power from the utility, outbound power to the utility, and solar production.

PSE&G doesn't have automated billing for residential solar customers - they have to send an erroneous bill automatically and then send a manually-generated correction each month.  This makes it a little tough to compare usage to last year (pre-solar).  That's supposed to be fixed in the 2nd quarter of this year.  They do read the meter via a phone line that they install (at their cost), and the meter provides both an inbound and outbound counter.  Supposedly, the meter will also "phone home" if there is a power outage.

So far, I have gotten few nibbles on the offer to buy SREC's but the market is new.  The state's brokerage website has only been online since last fall.  We have listed our SREC's at $200 each (an SREC is essentially 1 MWh of solar production) as have members of the state BPU who have solar.  I've gotten a solicited offer of $115 before the state system existed, and I recently got an unsolicited offer of $135. My wife and I haven't decided whether to sell them at all or not (selling them allows the utility to continue to pollute more than if they couldn't buy them and had to produce clean energy themselves), but I'm the more likely to sell them and I won't do so under $150 each.  I expect things to get interesting in April, when the utilities have to complete their purchase for the year.  Also, the state just changed the rules to require that state minimum solar production requirements for the utilities must be met with SREC's from NJ - rather than other states that might be cheaper.

Our investment was about $16,000 - the state paid the rest.  Based on our current energy savings, we expect the payback to be 16-18 years. As electricity rates increase, that timeframe will shrink.  This calculation does not include SREC sales.

Has the value of your home appreciated due to the solar panel installization?

I don't know.  We haven't gotten appraisals or put the house on the market since installation.  We only got one negative comment from a neighbor - he was looking to sell his home and was worried about the effect that our property would have on his sale.  He got at least his asking price, and the new owners think our system is "cool", so it doesn't seem to have mattered.  We've gotten many positive comments. One funny story is posted on my solar blog about a police officer who stopped by to ask about them - he lives nearby.  Our installer provided information that states home values increase $20 for every $1 in energy cost savings.  He felt that we wouldn't see a property value increase of the full $52,000 project cost, but that it would be at least the $16,000 net cost to us after state rebates - probably more like 20-23K.

Bottom line, are you glad that you made the investment?

Yes.  I'm a computer-type and my wife is an engineer - so the "cool" factor was involved.  Additionally, we skew a bit liberal in values, so the greenness was a factor as well.  Last, it has reduced our electric bills.  We're happy.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Additional thoughts:

1.  There is NO maintenance required.  The panels get washed by the rain, and the electrical equipment requires no attention at all.  All we do is write down the daily readings - more out of engineer curiosity than anything else.

2.  The inverters have fans built in that are a bit louder than normal small appliance fans.  It's a little quieter than our microwave when it's running.  You may want to consider that when placing them.  They usually go near the breaker box anyway.  Also, they do cause minor interference on AM radio - we listen to the local news every morning and have just gotten used to it ("computer" beeping sounds in the background).

3.  We've had no physical trouble at all.  No roof leaks, no wind damage (and we've had winds short of a hurricane last fall), not even anything flapping in the wind.  I also believe that it keeps the attic cooler in the summer than our bare asphalt shingle roof did.

4.  You're welcome to see the installation if you wish.  If your Akeena rep is who I think it is, he has his own home solar to show you, but you're welcome to see ours.  Keep in mind that we are using Sharp equipment installed by someone else (though they're all
similar).

Snow, part 2

Yesterday was the first day since the big snow last weekend where the inverters ever woke up.  The snow melted off the panels on Wednesday when the temperature finally climbed over 32F, and on Thursday we got some power.

Interestingly, the inverter with the smaller number of panels had the bigger day, due to the fact that some panels on the other inverter were still partially snow-covered.

It was still 1/2 of what we should have gotten on a similar day with no snow on the panels, but at least we got something.  Tomorrow, the temps are supposed to go above freezing again and the last snow should melt.  (Today's low was 4F!)

Snow

One of the questions that we've had about solar panels was:  "What happens when it snows?"

We learned the answer yesterday.  We got 15 inches of snow between 10am Saturday and 10am Sunday.  The inverters produced nothing on Saturday (not a surprise - the sun was hard to see).  On Sunday, the panels were 90% covered with an inch to 4 inches of snow (guestimated from the ground).  We got nothing.

Today, the skies are brighter but it's STILL cold (it was 5 degrees F at 7am this morning), so I don't expect the panels to be uncovered today.  Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and above freezing.

Solar PV Energy Payback Discussion

I posted an entry below about the shortest day of the year.  In the comments, a reader John Pickens responded with comments about the belief that my system will never produce enough energy to repay the energy used to create the components (panels, etc).  I believe that he is incorrect.

UPDATED 12/29/2004 4:47pm EST

Below is the discussion (click the link to continue reading):

John's response to my entry was:

You polluter, you!
Your solar array, positioned as it is in a too-north latitude, will NEVER
EVER produce more energy than it took to produce.

You are WASTING ENERGY!

The thermodynamics are just not there.

Sorry, you might as well get an SUV, you're wasting your time.

My reply was:

I challenge this.

I know how much energy is being produced.  What energy was required to
produce my equipment?  The entire equipment list is included in my
site.

Remember, I've got at least 25 years warranty, and probably longer life.

Oh, and I *do* drive an SUV - though I'm looking to replace it with a
hybrid SUV next year.

Mark
p.s. And if that's the case, why are all of the greens in Germany (a higher latitude last time I checked) going solar?

John's reply to this:

Mark,
You said your installation cost around $52,000.
For Crystalline or Polycrytalline PV arrays, the energy of production is
roughly equal to 50% of the commodity cost.
Since the bulk of the energy used is in furnaces to melt and purify the
silicon, and these furnaces are fired with electricy resistive elements,
then the vast majority of the energy utilized was electric.
So, we are talking about approximately $26,000 worth of electricity.

If we use the price of electricity for 2002, data available shows an
average price of $0.08 per kWh (kilowatt hour).

Your array utilized $26,000 / $0.08 = 325,000 kWh of electricity.
If we assume that your array has a 28 year lifespan (25 year plus 3 year
grace) we get an annual breakeven production requirement of:

325,000kWh / 28 = 11,600 kWh /year.

11,600 kWh /year / 365 days per year = 32 kWh per DAY AVERAGE!

Based upon what I'm seeing on your site (40kWh/very sunny June day), I
don't think you are even going to come CLOSE!

Read it and weep, you energy-waster you....

Now, do you want to hear the truth about hybrid cars before you waste your
time there as well?????

By the way, this analysis of energy cost is skewed towards your benefit.
In actuality, the PV materials used in this country are typically made in
parts of the US which utilize very cheap hydroelectric power.  Since the
producers are using electricity which they negotiate very effectively for,
their average electricty costs are more like 2 to 6 cents per kWh.

Now, you may say, great! We used hydropower to make this array!
Non-polluting! YAY!

Not so fast, to take hydropower, and use it to make PV arrays which are
used in areas of the country (Southern CA, AZ, NM, TX, Parts of CO) where
energy breakeven is likely, you are doing an environmentally good thing.
To waste this energy in New Jersey, where you will be lucky to get HALF
your energy back, is a great big WASTE!!!!

quote: "p.s. And if that's the case, why are all of the greens in Germany
(a higher latitude last time I checked) going solar?"

Because they are just as ignorant of thermodynamics as you are.
They probably also get distorted "feel good" government subsidies just like
you got.

The hybrid car discussion is off-topic for this discussion (and for that matter, this site).

My reply:

The $52,000 cost includes all costs - installation, labor, and the
inverters plus the electrical equipment (disconnect boxes, etc.).

The panels are available for about $800/panel commercially.  There are
39 of them.  That's $31,200.
1/2 of that is $15,600.  That's 195 MWh.
195,000 / 28 = 6964 kWh/year
That's 19 kWh per day - which works out to be about the average that we get.

That assumes the 50% figure that you note below.  You might want to
look at this page:
http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_solar_new.html
According to that, energy payback time is only 3.3 years for standard modules.
Also, this page:  http://www.nrel.gov/ncpv/hotline/09_00_siemens.html
(Siemens Solar is now Shell Solar)

Mark

An additional reply that I would like to add is that we are hardly ignorant of thermodynamics. My wife is a Mechanical Engineer with her NJ State Professional Engineer's License.

Mr. Pickens in his last e-mail wanted me to post my reply before he answered it.

I invite continued conversation on this issue from Mr. Pickens and others.  However, I will not condone insults.  Let's keep this on a mature level.

John's latest:

Mark,
First, I challenge your estimate of 19kWh per day average power output for your system. Based upon your peak figure of 42kWh in June, and December values around 10kWh, your sunny day average power output is 26kWh.
However, New Jersey experiences many cloudy days which will dramatically lower that average. I would bet you average closer to 12 to 16kWh per day.
Do you have daily data to document this?
Second, how can you exclude infrastructure and installation in your
estimates? After all, these are power expenditures which would not be
undertaken if not for your system. When you make the claim that you are
producing a net surfeit of power with your system, all inputs into the
system must be taken into account.

Third, I used to work for Solarex Corporation, now a subsidiary of BP
Solar. My team produced the first large area amorphous silicon
photovoltaic array able to produce more than 10% sunlight to energy
conversion, as documented by the Solar Energy Research Institute back in
the 1980's. I know of which I speak. Amorphous Silicon uses far less
energy to produce than the crystalline arrays you have, but unfortunately,
are lower in energy output, and therefore require an even greater surface
area to install.

As it happens, I do have daily readings from the inverters.

The two inverters together have produced 3464 kWh since June 14 (as of yesterday). That's over the course of 196 days. That produces an average daily production of 17.67 kWh. Of course, this is from June to December - a full year should change the result.

So, that comes up as an annual production of about 6450 kWh. That meets our pre-installation estimates.

I see that you have experience in the industry. However, I have trouble reconciling your claim that my panels required 325,000 kWh to create them with industry data that panels being manufactured now have an energy payback of 3 years.

A study by Utrecht University in 2000 showed that with a medium-high level of irradiation, the payback for present-day roof-top installations is 2.5-3 years. Energy Pay-Back Time and CO2 emissions of PV Systems Holland is at a higher latitude as New Jersey, and if anything has wetter weather. Even if we assume 1/2 the sunlight, we're looking at a 6-year energy payback.

Do you have any information supporting your contention that the manufacture of my panels took that much energy?

By the way, 0.08/kWh is about right for NJ. I pay a little more because I use Green Mountain energy rather than PSE&G.

Shortest Day of the Year

Well, yesterday was the shortest day of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere.

I haven't seen the numbers from yesterday's production, but we've been getting 9-12 kWh out of the solar panels on a sunny day in December.  Compare that to the record of 42 kWh on a sunny day in June, and you can see what a difference the lower angle of sunshine and shorter days has on the system.

Of course, we aren't using the air conditioning at the moment either, so our usage is down.  We are using lights for longer hours in the evening and even morning now.

So now we turn back to longer days.  Our "net producer" months are predicted to be April, May and a bit of June.

Here Come the Fuzz

Yesterday afternoon, I had a DirecTV installer working at my house on cable issues.  He was parked out front.  About mid-afternoon, a police car starts cruising around the neighborhood.  The car came to a stop right next to my installer, and the officer inside started talking to my installer.  I saw all of this from the window.

So, I high-tailed it outside to see what was up.  When I got within ear-shot, my installer said, "Here's the guy you need to talk to."  (Gulp.)

So the officer says, "Are those solar panels on your roof?"

(Whew!)

I proceeded to explain a bit about them and their costs.  It turns out that the officer lives a few blocks from me, has been considering panels, and recently noticed mine.  He had questions about costs and who installed it.  I gave him the name of my solar installer and the address for this website.

So, for Officer Jones (his real name - might be Corporal or Sergeant, I wasn't paying attention), here are your links.

The panels were installed by Jersey Solar, LLC (website).  The total cost was $52,000 but the state rebate pays about 70%, so my cost was about $16,000.  Click the Major Event Entries link to the left for an index to articles and pictures of the whole process.  If you need anything else, please feel free to e-mail me at the link on the left.

Renewable Energy Feasibility - NJ

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities commissioned a study to determine whether or not it would be feasible to require that 20% of NJ's energy needs be met by renewables by 2020.  They received the results last week.  (Press Release)

The study results show that increasing the requirement to 20% by 2020 would only result in a 3.7% increase in electric rates - which is negigible over the 16 year period.  It's important to note that this scenario assumes significant cost-reducing technology changes for wind and PV (solar) production.  The report leans heavily on wind-generated power including off-shore wind installations in it's estimates.

Interestingly, the report promises 11,700 jobs related solely to the production and installation of solar and wind technology in NJ.  The report also points to reduction in natural gas prices as a result as demand for natural gas in utility production of electricity declines.  And of course there are the health benefits of reducing polluting methods of producing electricity.

I have to admit - I'm a little skeptical of the results.  For one thing, they base their estimates on the best case scenario - that we would have significant cost reduction for wind and PV power in the 20 years.  However, I'm strongly in favor of anything that makes NJ cleaner and less dependent on fossil fuels.

Zero Day

We had our first zero production day last Friday.  It rained heavily all day long, and the inverters never "woke up" from the night before.

At this point about midway through Fall, we're getting about 15 KWh between the two inverters on a solid sunny day (which have been many lately).

PSE&G Follies, again

Well, I got to October 15 and hadn't received my September net metering bill. I called PSE&G, and was told that the right person was out of the office and would get my message on Tuesday, October 19. My meter reading was on September 20.

Flash forward to today. I called again. Now, we're past my meter reading of October 19. Still no bill.

They called me back this afternoon, and e-mailed the bill to me. It seems that the system is STILL not set up correctly to re-route my regular bill to them for net metering capture and re-billing. So, they issued a combined September and October bill, which I will pay tonight.

I really hope that they get this right soon. I've had my system running since June and they still haven't billed me properly without MY prompting.

The good news is that my system output more than half (755) of what I consumed in input (1427). That means that I bought less than 1/2 of my external flow from the utility. That's probably on track for a 2/3 usage from solar - I'll have to look at the solar production to see for sure. There was some air conditioning time in there too - it runs back into August.

Seasonal Changes

As the seasons change and we move towards winter, the difference in sunlight is apparent in our solar production.

Back in mid-June, on a very sunny day our system would produce about 40 kWh per day. Here in early October, we're down to about 20 kWh. There are two factors here:

1. Amount of sunlight - put simply - the days are getting shorter. Here in NJ, we're getting about 4 hours less daylight than we were back in June. (15 hours in June, about 11.5 hours now)

2. Angle of the sun. Our array faces east (well, it's really about 100 degrees so a little south of east). In June, the sun was at it's maximum height above the equator, and while not directly overhead as close as perpendicular to the panels as we're gonna get at sunrise. Now, the sun is farther south. A one-inch square shaft of sunlight covers a greater area on the panels now. Less energy is received per square inch of panel. Therefore, less output.

We record our inverter "meter" readings every night. (I admit it - we're geeks.) Back in June, we had to wait until 8:00 or 8:30pm before we recorded the day's reading. Now, by the time I get home from work the inverters are off for the night. In another month, it will be dark by the time I get home.

Now the good side - we're giving more power back to the utility. With less sun, we have less need for air conditioning. We have the house set for heat most days now (as opposed to A/C) and our natural gas furnace only needs electricity to run the blower fan instead of the big A/C compressor. I suspect that we are pushing MOST of our produced power out to the utility during the day (the usage being only phantom loads like power transformers for the answering machine and the occasional draw from the refrigerator). Of course, we buy some more back in the evenings with lighting, but we're still netting more out at the moment.

Predictions found online state that our system will be a net producer for the months of March, April and May as we have longer days and better sun angle without the heavy A/C usage of the summer. I'm willing to bet that October is gonna give those months a run for their money.

September might have been a good month as well, but we had FAR too many gloomy days caused by the 4 major hurricanes to hit the US (which ended up as rainy days for us).

Our Installer's Website

If you take a look today at the Jersey Solar website or the Projects page there, you might see a familiar house!

(Top on the home page, 4th on the right on the Projects page)

That picture IS the picture that you see here, though I gave Rick the full-byte version to play with.

We're famous!

Another Hamilton NJ System

I'm signed up to offer my SREC's (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) on the NJCEP website. At that site, my e-mail address is available, so that people can make me offers.

The other day I got an e-mail from Nick, who has a system of his own in Hamilton, NJ. He's about 2-3 miles from me as the crow flies.

His system is a 7.6 Kw Sanyo/Sharp system. The panels are Sanyo 180W panels - the Sharp 185's weren't available. Nick says about the panels: "the Sanyo is a hybrid design which operates at a higher efficiency than any other module I found. It also operates at a wider range of the light spectrum so it tends to harvest more power. They were also about 5% more expensive." The inverters are the Sharp 3500 watt inverters - the same as mine. He did a self-design, self-install, working with a local electrician. He had the same trouble that I did with the township, but his time from permit application to completed installation was only 6 weeks (I suspect that he benefited from us a little, as he applied later).

I haven't seen his system yet, but he agreed that I could post the pictures that he e-mailed to me. Here they are, with my guesses at what we're looking at.

This is the view from the front of the house. Apparently, the front of his house points east, so part of the panels are pointed east and part are pointed south.

This must be the eastern ones (the file name is "east array").

This is the south-facing array.

The Sharp inverters on the left and panels on the right.

Nick added the ability to hook up to a backup generator plugged in outside the house. The thing at the top with meters and the big switch looks like the transfer switch. The breaker panel on the right is the main house panel that utility power is connected through. The panel on the left is the sub-panel for backup protected power. The solar inverters input into the house system there. The little box on the left is a whole-house surge suppressor.

Here are the external disconnects. The DC disconnects are on the right. The AC disconnect is in the right-hand side of the meter panel. Note that PSE&G hadn't changed out the meter yet in this picture from July - it's probably been done by now. Nick and I both prefer the old analog meter - the new digital meter doesn't really show power flowing from the house to the utility very well. It's much nicer to see the meter turn backwards.

Below the box on the right in this picture is the connect point for a future generator.

All in all, it's a nice system - especially for a self-install. His system produces more power than mine, but cost him a few thousand less. Nick is talking about us visiting each other's systems to compare notes, and we'll probably do that soon.

Now he gets the joys of startup billing issues from PSE&G!

More on PSE&G Billing and Net Metering

Last night, I got my August bill from PSE&G. Again, it was not correct for net metering - it had my usage based on the inbound power reading but ignored the outbound power reading. That overstated my usage by 1/3.

I called customer service in the evening. They couldn't help, but had the right person call me in the morning. He did call.

The way net metering works for the moment is:
1. Your meter is read by telephone on your reading date.
2. Your meter is also read by the reader on-site (because I also have a gas meter).
3. The automated system generates a bill that will be wrong.
4. The bill is supposed to be intercepted and forwarded to one person.
5. That single person takes the bill and generates a new bill with net metering taken into account. He also applies corrections to your billing in the A/R system to adjust for the automated bill.
6. You receive the corrected bill only, and pay based on that.

What happened to me was that the bill was not stopped on the way to me in step 4.

This one guy has to prepare bills for ALL net metering customers. The computer system is scheduled to be updated in the 2nd quarter of 2005 to automate the process, but in the meantime he's stuck re-working bills for all PSE&G customers in the southern part of the state who have net metering. He said it wasn't too bad when it was one or two people, but he's up to 81 now.

I don't yet know if the adjustments are being applied to my Green Mountain supplier interface yet. I'll have to keep an eye on that - I might be getting overbilled for the supplier portion of my bill (as opposed to the distribution portion from PSE&G).

Jersey Solar, LLC - A Review

My wife got our first referral call from a potential customer of Jersey Solar, LLC. I guess it's time for me to summarize and do a review and recommendation.

I'll do this by breaking it down, and giving a grade (A, B, C, D, F with + and -) to all areas.

Initial Communication - A- - I searched for residential solar installers mainly online. One striking thing that I found was that Jersey Solar was mentioned in ALL of the residential solar case studies on the NJ Clean Energy Program website. I had also contacted Astropower and they referred me to Jersey Solar. The only reason for the minus on the grade is that my referral from Astropower was lost when Jersey Solar's computer failed and it was a few months before they contacted me. I also looked at websites for NJ residential solar installers - Jersey Solar didn't have one but the ones that I did find for others were out of date and low quality. I did speak with Jersey Solar in late November, but didn't schedule a free site survey until December because I had to convince my wife to go forward.

Site Survey - A - Rick Brooke scheduled my site survey at a time convenient to me - I think it was a workday evening but it might have been a Saturday morning. (I really don't remember now.) He came and the first thing he did upon getting out of his truck was to check the compass direction to figure out where to put the panels. He and I did a walkaround of the house, followed by an indoor inspection of the electrical breaker box. We then sat down in the dining room to talk. Rick was saved from a trip to the roof on this visit for measurements by the fact that I had copies of the original blueprints for the house - he got his measurements from them. We discussed various options and manufacturers including the merits of battery backup. We also talked about working in the township and his prior experience here. In the end, I requested two estimates - one with battery backup and one without. Rick left brochures for some of the equipment to help illustrate the concept.

Estimate - B - I received the estimate in the mail about a week after the site survey. The estimate was for a single total dollar amount, along with the estimated state rebate and my net cost. I got those numbers for each of the two options presented: a Sharp system with no battery backup (which we installed) and an Astropower system with battery backup. Brochures for both the Sharp and Astropower systems were included. The state rebate application was included with Jersey Solar's information and all of the technical information completed - I just had to complete my information and mail it. I ended with with a grade of B here for two reasons: the estimate was not detailed and it would have been nice to receive something with more information on how the system would be installed (what components go where, etc). Rick encouraged us to go ahead and apply for the rebate even if we were unsure about whether to proceed - we weren't locked in by applying.

Post-Estimate Support - A - For about a month, we pondered the estimate. My wife had many questions (as an engineer and homeowner) and Rick did his best to answer them. He provided sample wind loading calculations and wiring diagrams when asked. He was able to produce some information on the effect of solar power on property values. He answered every question during this period within a few days. Once we received the rebate approval, we waited another week to finally decide and then sent our first 1/2 payment to Jersey Solar.

Pre-Installation Period - C - This is the one area where Jersey Solar fell down. We were given estimates of installation dates (very rough - like "I think we can install mid-March") that proved to be incorrect. We had told Rick that the Hamilton Township Planning department was very difficult to deal with on any project, and that he should contact them to see what was necessary. Rick chose not to do so, assuming that the process should run "just like every other town". There were some discrepancies between the dates that Rick told me that events occurred or would occur (like the day that the permit was/would be applied for) and the actual dates - usually no more than 2 weeks. Rick also attempted to schedule installation based on the township's verbal estimate of processing time for the permit - and then failed to check on the status of the permit from his vacation. This caused us to take vacation time for the installation that ultimately didn't happen. I feel that communication with the customer every 2 weeks on a 4-5 month project is appropriate - even if there is no new information. Instead, Rick seemed to be annoyed by our requests for status every 3 weeks or so. The permit was initially denied, but later approved after Rick reminded the township of a mayoral executive order to expedite renewable energy permits. Rick did a good job of staying close to the township and the township attorney until a copy of the executive order was found. Towards the end of the Pre-Installation phase, Rick's communications did improve in frequency and amount and accuracy of information.

Installation - A+ - Once the installation began, Jersey Solar really shined. The estimates of the time required to complete the installation were right on target. The panel installation took 5 working days - one day longer than the original estimate of 4 days due to rain on the first day. The installation team was very good about allowing a reasonable amount of nosiness by us about the equipment, process and schedule. We were allowed to take pictures - most of which appear on this site. The installation was done with no damage to the house or property, and with an eye towards being aesthetically pleasing. This included hiding the wiring conduit behind an existing gutter, centering the panels on the roof, making a minimum number of holes in the side of the house for wiring and using cardboard beneath the ladder feet at all time to avoid damage to the sidewalk and lawn. My neighbors have mostly praised the look of the installations, with reactions between "It's really cool" and "It looks a lot better than I thought it would". The site was reasonably clean every night, with no packaging material strewn about. We were asked if we could take care of recycling the cardboard packaging - I am sure that Rick would have taken it away for us if we declined. All of our questions were answered along the way. The equipment worked on the first try once minor issues were resolved. We were left with a functioning system after installation running in "test" mode until the township and NJCEP inspections were completed. At the writing of this review several months later, we have still had no problems even after severe winds and weather (though no winter weather yet). The system takes care of itself. I was told by the NJCEP inspector that the inspection would be a formality, because "Rick does excellent work."

Inspections - A - Rick had done a sufficiently good job of explaining the system to me that his presence at the township and NJCEP inspections was unnecessary. Rick was available by telephone at the time of the inspections, and this was nearly required for the township electrical inspector. Neither inspector had any issues with the installation that didn't involve the inspector's ignorance regarding solar power.

Post-Installation - A - At this point, we have had no need for service. However, Rick stayed involved with our interconnection process with PSE&G and made a call on our behalf to get permission to use the system after the meter was replaced, but before we received the written agreement back (which STILL hasn't happened yet). Rick has also sent communications to all of his customers regarding the new Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) trading market. It's clear to me that the relationship with Jersey Solar doesn't end with the installation.

OVERALL - A- - Except for the pre-installation period, my experience with Jersey Solar, LLC was positive. They got all of the important and lasting parts right - the only downside was some temporary discord. The installation was completed cleanly, right the first time, and in a manner that shows the best face to potential customers.

I would recommend Jersey Solar, LLC to other residential solar customers.

NJ Net Metering Proposed Revisions

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is proposing changes to the net metering rules.

There are no summaries available. I've read them, and I think they are designed to do a few things:
1. Further simplify the interconnection of small (<10Kw) systems, and speed up the process.
2. Simplify the interconnection of medium (10KW to 2MW) systems.
3. Provide for the use of "packages" of interconnection equipment, which are certified.

Point 1 may answer written comments that I submitted to the Board for hearings back in July. Basically, the utility was able to prevent you from turning your system on until they got around to replacing your analog (but still net metering-compatible) meter with the electronic meter that they prefer. This was done by not approving the interconnection agreement until the meter was installed. (NOTE to PSE&G - I still haven't gotten my signed interconnection agreement.) The new rules require quick action by the utility and a publicly available method of contacting the correct person at the utility. Once you submit the interconnection agreement, the utility has to acknowledge the application within 3 days (never happened for me), approve or deny it within 10 days, and decide whether or not to inspect within an additional 3 days - a total of about 3 weeks. You have to specify a startup date (presumably, you can say "ASAP" on the application) and notify them within 5 days of that date (again, the application probably does that). Then, you can turn the system on whether or not you have a new meter. Further, the approval is automatic if the utility does not respond within 4 weeks. All of this is good - it gets the solar panels working to generate electricity and save you money as much as a month quicker than the current process. It does require UL approval - which most small inverters already have.

Point 2 is for medium-sized systems. I have heard of terrible troubles faced by businesses and especially by schools who generate over 10KW - they are faced with expensive design reviews and months in addition to the time required for smaller systems. This new level of net metering approval allows them to get going faster as well.

Point 3 may be where the interesting stuff is hidden. This provides for "packages" of interconnection hardware. This is where the do-it-yourself'er comes in; soon you will be able to buy "Solar Power Kits" at your local Home Depot or Lowe's store to install. The rule changes say that as long as the package is approved by a national lab (UL), no additional inspection can be required by the utility. I believe that hidden behind this is the removal of the requirement for an external disconnect switch, since most (if not all) small inverters already disconnect themselves when utility power is lost. IEEE 1547 recognizes that and allows "non-islanding inverters" without disconnect switches. Additionally, as long as the local electrical inspector has approved your installation, you are clear to operate unless the utility requires their own inspection.

All of these proposed (they are still pending) changes are good, and should help alleviate the bureaucracy required to install such a system somewhat. We are getting closer to the day where you can buy the equipment, take it home, and get it up and running - just like you can build your own deck or install your own bathtub.

Solar/Hydrogen Combination

At the University of New South Wales, a team is working on solar cells that generate hydrogen.

This is pretty cool. These new solar cells will take water as input, and photolyze hydrogen and oxygen as output. The hydrogen will then presumably be used in fuel cells to generate electricity. Unlike conventional solar electricity, the hydrogen can be banked for later use (yes, you can do that with batteries, but you can't put the battery into your electric car today) or use elsewhere (like overseas).

Australia in the press release imagines itself as the "OPEC of the hydrogen economy". I think the US had better get on the stick on this issue - we'll be left behind again. All you need to make this work is sun and cleanable water. Shoot - the Aussies are talking about putting these on HOUSES to collect hydrogen. With the American Southwest's big deserts, imagine how much power we could generate!

(Hat Tip: Dean's World)

New Jersey Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC)

The State of NJ has a law that requires utilities to produce a certain amount of their energy (I think it's 1/100 of 1%) per year from solar energy. Of course, the utilities haven't actually built solar facilities yet.

Enter the Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC). This is a credit of the "greenness" of 1 MWh (megawatt hour) produced in a particular year that can be sold separate from the actual electricity to meet the Renewable Portfolio Standard requirement. One SREC is created for each MWh of electricity produced by a grid-connected solar power system in NJ. That SREC can be sold to a buyer (usually an aggregator, broker or utility). The state estimates (on a conference call training session held today) that up to 7200 SREC's will be required for the plan year 2005.

A plan year runs from June 1 to May 31, with SREC's generated in the year eligible for sale through August 31 of that year. If you don't sell the SREC's, you lose their value.

Systems under 10KW will have SREC's generated from their estimated generation. Systems over 10KW must use a meter reading (systems under 10KW can opt for meter readings, but once you make that choice there's no going back). In this case, the meter reading in question is a special meter counting ALL output from the system or the counter built into the inverter that counts power produced since initial activation. Systems that use meter reading for credits will self-report their production, and the state has the option to do an in-person inspection. All systems may be inspected to ensure that they are actively in use and grid-connected.

Another requirement for participation is that you have not already sold your SREC or applied it towards a requirement. For example, a company that is producing solar electricity and using that production to offset a reduction in NOx output cannot sell their SREC - that would be double-counting the production. If you've already sold your SREC (also known as a "green tag") out of state, you can't sell it again.

SREC values in NJ are essentially capped at $250 each, since the state portfolio standard has an alternative route for utilities to satisfy their requirements at that cost. Brokers are estimating values at about $150 each, but a perusal of the state trading site shows SREC's being currently offered at $200 each.

SREC's can also be retired without sale. This will be done by buyers who need the credits for themselves (after they buy them). It can also be done to remove SREC's from the NJ system (because they are sold in another state) or to permanently take them off the market to make a statement about pollution (an SREC that is retired without sale can never be applied against a requirement - forcing the potential buyer to reduce emissions instead).

My system will probably produce 5-6 SREC's per year - for a potential income of $1000-1200 per year. That will help to more quickly payback the system's initial costs, and reduce the break-even point from 18 years to something shorter.

Generators with an NJ system should follow this procedure to get started:

1. Read the information available at the SREC website http://www.njcep.com/srec/. The Overview and Attestation document is a good place to start.
2. FAX or mail the Attestation document to the NJBPU at the location shown on the document.
3. Create a user ID on the SREC website (see the Training Overview document for information).
4. A few days later, your facility will be linked to your user ID.
5. If required, report meter readings between the 1st and 3rd of each month.
6. SREC's will be generated on the 5th of the month and made available for sale on the site.
7. Negotiate the sale of one or more SREC's off-line (the Bulletin Board can be used to find buyers).
8. Record the sale on the site. You have 30 days to cancel for non-payment.

If you have more questions, contact Scott Hunter at the NJBPU, or Jan Pepper at Clean Energy Markets at the contact locations found at the NJCEP website.

Reading the Meter, PSE&G Billing

After looking at my bill for July, it seemed to me that something was wrong.

So, I called PSE&G. After trying Customer Service and Billing, I started trying to track down the person that my installer told me about. I finally found him in the "Third Party Supplier" department.

I asked how to read the new meter, and after doing a little research he came up with an answer.

First, a picture of the meter:

For the purposes of these instructions, I will call the numbers on the left the "little numbers" (066 in the picture) and the numbers on the right the "big numbers" (00003 in the picture). These instructions apply to the Elster electronic meters currently being supplied by PSE&G for residential solar installations. Apparently, some small commercial installations use a similar meter.

The meter display cycles through four displays.

The first display is the "test" display - the meter shows all possible symbols and the numbers all read "8".

The second display shows a code "100" in the little numbers. The big numbers specify the total in-bound electricity - electricity supplied from the utility grid.

The third display shows a code "101" in the little numbers. The big numbers specify the total out-bound electricity - electricity produced by your system supplied to the utility grid.

The fourth display shows a code "066" in the little numbers. The big numbers have always displayed "00003" on my meter. Supposedly, this is some diagnostic or definition code.

I think I have the arrows figured out as well. The top arrow seems to point in the same direction as the reading displayed. The bottom arrow seems to point in the direction of the electricity flow. Right means in-bound electricity (the same direction that a mechanical meter spins for purchasing power) and left means out-bound electricity.

Billing Problems

As I was talking to this PSE&G representative about my bill, it became clear that the billing wasn't happening correctly. For residential solar setups, you are supposed to receive a bill with both an inbound reading and an outbound reading. My July bill (the first acknowledging the new meter) only had a single reading. It looks like that reading was the "101" number - or out-bound - for which I was billed as if it were in-bound power. I've already paid that bill, but a corrected bill will appear. Since I received three bills for June, I'm not surprised that it isn't correct yet.

On future bills, a supplemental page will lay out the in-bound and out-bound numbers and I will be billed/credited for the net usage.

So, if you have a new solar installation grid-connected with PSE&G, you need to make sure that your bill shows both meter readings.

From now on, my electric meter readings will be taken via the phone line and only my gas reading will come from the meter reader.

More PSE&G Confusion

On Friday, July 9 I called PSE&G to inquire what had happened to our June bill. They responded that they had to generate one.

They did generate one. It was postmarked July 14, received on July 15, and a second copy received on July 16 postmarked July 14 with a different postmark. Both copies were due July 19 (2 business days later!). The bill had only a partial month for June - it ended with the last meter reading of the old meter on June 10 when it should have run until June 20 or so.

So, I ended up paying a partial month for June. I suspect that the July bill will make up for the difference, assuming it's mailed on time. Given that I only paid the bill and mailed it today, I'll probably look past-due.

They really need to work on this.

One MegaWattHour

Today, our solar electric system finished generating it's first MegaWattHour (MWh). That happened in about a month, given that we turned the panels on for real on June 14 and they had run in test for one week.

Of course, that's ideal performance. We haven't had many rainy or cloudy days in the last month and these are the longest days of the year. I'm sure this will be balanced by days where the panels are snow-covered in the winter. However, it's looking good!

PSE&G Confusion

Our new meter was read on June 21, 2004. When last Friday (July 9) had come without a bill, I got suspicious.

I called PSE&G customer service. It seems that in the change of meters, the system never generated a monthly bill for us. The customer service representative said he'd get one generated.

Moral of the story - watch your utility like a hawk after installing solar panels.

Have Questions?

It occurs to me that some of you who are considering PV solar for their home or office might be a little concerned about bothering us with questions.

Please don't be. If we have information that can help (especially if we haven't managed to post it here), please send us a note at Mark_Smith@mail.com.

We'll be glad to help if we can, and I might even do a little digging for your answer if I don't already know it.

NJ BPU Commissioner Walks the Talk

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Commissioner Connie Hughes is the first state utility board commissioner in the country to install a solar electric system on her home. (Press Release)

Her home includes a 9.9 kW solar electric system, a thermal solar system for her pool, and passive solar features on the south side of their house. She shares the home with her husband, James - a Dean at Rutgers University (our alma mater!).

I wonder how long it took her to get the various approvals required?

UPDATE: 7/7/2004 - They have pictures up on the NJ BPU Home Page, at least temporarily. It looks like Sharp panels, and almost definately the same inverters that we have (she has 3).

Some Early Numbers

We officially turned our solar electric system on last Monday evening. As of last night, we have some early production numbers.

For the past week, our system produced 210 KWh of electricity. It was a particularly sunny week, including the longest days of the year. Last month while we were in test mode, we produced 183 KWh during a cloudy week.

For June of 2003 (reading on about the 20th of the month), we used 790 KWh. For June of 2002, we used about 900 KWh.

If you multiply the 200 KWh by 4 (for four weeks in the month), we're due to produced about 750-800 KWh. That is well over the 2/3 of usage estimate, but it's only one month.

July will be tougher - with the air conditioning requirement last year we used 1460 KWh, against which we'll probably produce about 750-800 KWh.

Looking good so far!

Meter Confusion

Today is meter reading day. My wife happened to be home and working outside, so when the reader wandered by, she walked over.

Apparently, he was confused as our new meter was not on his list. He made a few phone calls, and that got resolved. Apparently, even though they can read it via the phone line, he still has to record the number as a double-check.

Today will be the end of the first week - tomorrow I'll post some numbers. I won't have any real comparison to usage until next month when we get a bill for an entire month with the system active.

Final Approval

We got final verbal approval from PSE&G today! We'll be turning the inverters on permanently tonight.

Our installer called his PSE&G contact, and was told that we could have turned on the system as soon as the meter was replaced. Of course, that isn't written anywhere (in fact, the tariffs say you have to wait until your next meter reading after filing as a minimum). We decided to stick with the letter of the rules until we got some communication from PSE&G.

We should be getting the letter from them soon with the signed agreement.

Solar Installation Site Index

On May 25, 2004 the installation of solar panels on our house in Hamilton, NJ was completed.

This index lists all interesting entries for this project. Click the links below to go directly to that article.

The System We Chose (Jan 28, 2004) (NOTE: Some technical details changed later.)

A Little About Us (Jan 28, 2004)

How It Will Work (Jan 29, 2004) (NOTE: We ended up not using a sub-panel.)

Some of The Components (Feb 3, 2004) (NOTE: We ended up with the 175-watt cousin of the 185-watt panels mentioned here)

BEFORE PICTURES (Feb 8, 2004)

Switching Panels ("Latest Update") (Mar 29, 2004)

Permit Delays ("More Delays") (Apr 8, 2004)

Permit Woes (Apr 17, 2004)

Township Permit Issues ("Yet Another Update") (Apr 23, 2004)

Permit in Hand! (Apr 29, 2004)

INSTALLATION Day 1 (May 3, 2004) - PICTURES - setup

Homeowner's Insurance and PV Systems (May 3, 2004)

INSTALLATION Day 2 (May 4, 2004) - PICTURES - rail installation

INSTALLATION Day 3 (May 5, 2004) - PICTURES - roof wiring

INSTALLATION Day 4 (May 6, 2004) - PICTURES - most of the panels

INSTALLATION Day 5 (May 10, 2004) - PICTURES - last panel, wiring conduit

INSTALLATION Day 6 (May 18, 2004) - PICTURES - inside electrical, installation complete

Final Cost Roundup (May 20, 2004) - includes payback information

Inspections (May 25, 2004) - township and NJ Clean Energy Program

Phone Line Installation (Jun 8, 2004)

New Meter Installation (Jun 10, 2004) - PICTURES

Final Approval (Jun 14, 2004)

Reading the Meter, PSE&G Billing (Aug 4, 2004)

Jersey Solar, LLC - A Review (Aug 27, 2004)

In addition to those entries, there are many other "still waiting" entries, entries about other people's installations, and entries containing my thoughts on solar energy topics. You can most easily find those by choosing an Archive month link at the left.