Solar and power wall 3 quote.

[stoveliker]

But "Tesla" didn't produce ? Tesla only stored in your system?

PV panels are not from Tesla, are they?

In the end it doesn't say much. If I put a whole acre of panels in Winnipeg I might produce more than you...
I remember you had a LOT of panels. And you're far south, so higher sun angles. So total production (an extensive property...) is not a useful measure.

 

[EbS-P]

But "Tesla" didn't produce ? Tesla only stored in your system?

PV panels are not from Tesla, are they?

In the end it doesn't say much. If I put a whole acre of panels in Winnipeg I might produce more than you...
I remember you had a LOT of panels. And you're far south, so higher sun angles. So total production (an extensive property...) is not a useful measure.

Not Tesla panels. 10kw array. First full year it met is design spec.
It is interesting that 25% of my production was “stored”. On track for a 9 year ROI

 

[stoveliker]

I've been meeting my design spec ever since the first full year 2019. Though I may be 100 kWh below (well, I don't know how it rounds, it may read 6.1 MWh this year rather than 6.2 (design spec) or 6.3).

Curious how your system will behave re:degradation. Sun exposure is higher there, so possibly more harm done w/ heat than here. (Though newer panels, possibly better, and different brand, so hard to compare.)

I don't know whether the weather has become more sunny here, but 7 years in I'm not seeing any of the expected few %-level decline in production.
Maybe the decline will accelerate a bit so that I reach the 92% at 20 years (or was it 25? I forgot)?

 

[bogieb]

Yesterday it was a really nice day, sunny and almost hit 40*. even with the sun and warm temps, some panels on the E & W sides are still covered or partially covered (S side is clear). Gotta love that one on the east side that gave 11wh - LOL But, the array made 1/2 of what I used yesterday, so that is a huge improvement over the previous 16 days

All snow on the roof will be taken care of by the warm temps and rain later today. Just in time for a flash freeze then more snow tonight/tomorrow

. Snow pack on the ground isn't going anywhere and the paths still show evidence of the light snows I've gotten since the storm on 12/2 (when the paths were snow blown). Even my asphalt driveway still has snow/ice coverage. The ground is just too cold to support melting.

My lifetime production (since late November 2022), with a net export of around 40% of that.

 

[EbS-P]

2025 stats.

Produced 12.5 Mwh
Used 15.6 Mwh Of that the car charged 3Mwh
Exported. 5.2 Mwh
Imported. 8.3 Mwh
Battery 3.1 Mwh discharged.

I wish I had report that gave me the $ amount I was paid since my net metering is reset each bill cycle. I’d have go bill by bill. Quick estimate shows I lost $100 versus an unlimited duration net metering l. I’m OK with that. Add 6 months to the ROI break even time. In reality electricity rates will change by more than that in the next few years and will have probably more effect on ROI.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes price increases have been very impactful for ROI calcs here - because they compound.

 

[EbS-P]

Yesterday was my first 30kwh + day since November 11th! Not a could in the sky.

 

[bogieb]

Yesterday was my first 30kwh + day since November 11th! Not a could in the sky.

I still have way too much snow on my panels to make any production even though it was actually sunny yesterday. Not supposed to be warm enough for any melting before the next storm on Sunday, so probably stuck at 76kwh for the month of January. Assuming that is the case, this would be my 2nd lowest all time month - all 3 lowest months, have been the last 12 months (starting Feb 2025), and all have been under 90kwh.

I've only had 3 days this month where my panels were totally clear of snow/ice AND having at least some sun.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I noticed my neighbor’s panels were wholly covered yesterday too.

 

[stoveliker]

Almost there....
Yesterday's production. Sunny day.

 

[EbS-P]

Forecast is calling for 3-6” of snow here but it could be twice that. I think we’re going to get snow! Now second year in a row and I need think if it it slides off panels will it hit the heat pump unit…..

 

[stoveliker]

Lol, standard install knowledge here. Compressors only at the gable ends...

They say another 9 inches here. Don't know where to shovel that with piles already 6 ft above the driveway... (3?5 ft piles on 2.5 ft higher ground). Going to be hard to throw it over that so it doesn't roll back down onto the driveway...

Edit: yay, forecast says 3-4" now.
But 45 mph winds and a real feel high of -1...

 

[EbS-P]

S

I’d double‑check how much backup you’d actually get from one battery and make sure the new main panel is really needed. The incentives bring the price down a lot.

The system has been working now for 16 months. It’s sized well. Not big enough to cover all my usage but big enough to keep my annual electricity bill under $300-$400.

 

[bogieb]

Lol, standard install knowledge here. Compressors only at the gable ends...
...

That assumes one has gable ends. My house is a hip-type roof so snow slides off every side.

I still have way too much snow on my panels to make any production even though it was actually sunny yesterday. Not supposed to be warm enough for any melting before the next storm on Sunday, so probably stuck at 76kwh for the month of January. Assuming that is the case, this would be my 2nd lowest all time month - all 3 lowest months, have been the last 12 months (starting Feb 2025), and all have been under 90kwh.

I've only had 3 days this month where my panels were totally clear of snow/ice AND having at least some sun.

I may actually get production today that is over 2.0 kwh off my south side. My roof has been snow covered with up to 27" this month. With temps in the single digits to teens for highs, there has been no natural clearing. Unfortunately I can't clear the panels off with a roof rake because of the circumstances of the site and the roof is fairly flat. At most, I've only had 3 out of 20 panels clear at any time. And when they are clear, it is super overcast.

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

That assumes one has gable ends. My house is a hip-type roof so snow slides off every side.



I may actually get production today that is over 2.0 kwh off my south side. My roof has been snow covered with up to 27" this month. With temps in the single digits to teens for highs, there has been no natural clearing. Unfortunately I can't clear the panels off with a roof rake because of the circumstances of the site and the roof is fairly flat. At most, I've only had 3 out of 20 panels clear at any time. And when they are clear, it is super overcast.

View attachment 346251

My Starlink has heating built into it. You can set it on/off yourself or use the auto setting. It's clear of snow. There really needs to be low wattage heating that would melt the snow off those panels. Imagine how much more productive they'd be.

EDIT: I found an article about adding roof deicing cables to solar panels: https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/blog/remote-control-snow-melting-for-rooftop-solar

And there is a company that makes a solution as well:

Snow melting system for solar panels | Thermaltt

www.thermaltt.com

Worth considering anyway. I have deicing cables on my house. I have three sets of gutters and before I spent the big $$$ for all the cables, I chose to run a test on the easiest gutters to do. They worked flawlessly. While I was installing the deicing cables, I used a leaf blower and blew out any debris and installed new gutter guards. I use a remote (key fob) gizmo that the cables plug into and I can turn them off so they only run when I need them.

FWIW

 

[sloeffle]

Ice in your gutters is generally a sign of air infiltration, and poor attic insulation. You are unfortunately treating the symptom, not the cause. Have R-60 in the attic on my house addition and R-40 on the rest of the house (vaulted ceilings unfortunately) and it's properly air sealed. I've never seen and icicle coming off of the roof.

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

Ice in your gutters is generally a sign of air infiltration, and poor attic insulation. You are unfortunately treating the symptom, not the cause. Have R-60 in the attic on my house addition and R-40 on the rest of the house (vaulted ceilings unfortunately) and it's properly air sealed. I've never seen and icicle coming off of the roof.

The front gutter area, the ceiling joists are the roof rafters. No access except through ceiling. Same with the family room gutter. The attic area could use more insulation and rafter baffles against the roof deck. It is low pitch 3/12 and faces north so minimal afternoon sun, in this part of the country. Almost every roof within a hundred miles of here has the same issues. Frozen gutters are the norm. I just had the family room roof done with edpm and 2 inches of rigid insulation added to the roof deck and it still dams up.

 

[begreen]

The low angle of the sun means we're still getting tree shading at specific times of the day. Looks like someone took a bite out of the bell curve.

 

[sloeffle]

The front gutter area, the ceiling joists are the roof rafters. No access except through ceiling. Same with the family room gutter. The attic area could use more insulation and rafter baffles against the roof deck. It is low pitch 3/12 and faces north so minimal afternoon sun, in this part of the country. Almost every roof within a hundred miles of here has the same issues. Frozen gutters are the norm. I just had the family room roof done with edpm and 2 inches of rigid insulation added to the roof deck and it still dams up.

Interesting, in my part of the country we rarely see gutter heaters. If we do, it's because the house is usually old, and poorly insulated and air sealed. I'm assuming the "housing stock" in your area is old, so that's why it's a common sight.

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

Interesting, in my part of the country we rarely see gutter heaters. If we do, it's because the house is usually old, and poorly insulated and air sealed. I'm assuming the "housing stock" in your area is old, so that's why it's a common sight.

Yes, the older houses are worse. Mine was built in 1978 and the family room added in 1987. I don't "normally" get ice dams. It's when you have over a foot of snow on the roof. I clear the snow as I go, to the best of my ability. I've had no real issues since the last major snowstorm winter about 5 years ago. Newer homes seem to still have issues on the north side of the house.
We can't change the direction our house faces, but adding more insulation in the attic and making sure the attic side of the roof deck stays colder is doable. It's a double edge sword. Everyone wants that southern exposure but they pay for it on the north side of the house.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I have little ice dams over my gutters. Inside the gutter there isn’t any ice, lol.

 

[stoveliker]

My home is from1978. I air sealed in the attic and brought it up to r57.
No ice dams.
My neighbors: ice dams.

 

[bogieb]

I don't get ice dams in my 1960 house, but I do get icicles on occasion. They are usually pretty small, so nothing to worry about. I don't have very good attic insulation - I think it's R19, although knowing this house, it could be R13 and is most likely all original since access is very difficult.

BUT, once again, it is probably all due to my specific circumstances. I have a standing seam roof with a 3' overhang,. When I had the roof installed, they put in snow and ice shield for that 3' and roofing underlayment for the rest. So, the metal roof warms up from the sun and snow starts melting. The 3' overhang stays colder with more exposure to the ambient temp, That water starts to freeze and will form small icicles. I don't remember ever getting icicles on the north side. Usually this only happens during harder winters (like this year), when the roof can't properly dump the snow because of the very cold temps and the fluffy snow.

I do not have gutters, in fact, those are fairly rare in my area as they will cause issues. Even the house that was built next door a couple of years ago doesn't have gutters.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

My home is from1978. I air sealed in the attic and brought it up to r57.
No ice dams.
My neighbors: ice dams.

Against lots of recommendations, I had my soffits packed with insulation. It keeps the ice buildup to a minimum to. I have a ‘46 cape.

 

[stoveliker]

Good that that worked.

I used (home made baffles) instead to keep the flow going,.also with good results.