The video has 7 examples of electric producing PV Grid connected solar panel systems.  Also, there are estimates as to how much money each system produces each month.  There are examples for a solar system in California with 5.5 sunlight hours and about $.22 per kwh for the cost factor.  Also, there are numbers used for several other states like New York, Texas, and Nevada and Arizona.  One thing that everyone should realize is that even though you may live in a state where there is tons of sunlight, that does not always mean that you will save more money compared to someone living in a less sunny state.  The reason is it also has to do with the average cost of electricity.

Also, the hope is that with the visuals from the video’s solar system examples, you will be able to see what it might look like to have solar panels on your roof.

If you are a city and you are thinking longterm, well why not think about solar electric?

That is exactly what the Industrial Waste in Santa Cruz, California is thinking about.  They are so interested in being around on this planet for the longterm, they decided to invest in a MASSIVE solar electric system.  You can even see pictures of the system from Google Maps satellite view.

By my guessing, it’s probably a 300-500 panel solar system.  This means that it could very easily be a 100kw system when its all said and done.  And, if that is the case, they could as well be producing about 400 kwh per day on average, somedays more, somedays less.  But either way, it something that is allowing them to take a bite out of their electric bill, and keeping the planet a bit greener.

If you too are part of a local government, and you are interested in finding out what solar can do for you.  I suggest that you take some time and speak with some of the local solar professionals in your area to understand what your options are.  The fact of the matter is this, right now, the costs of solar have come down quite considerably, and also, there are all kinds of government assistance programs that exist for local governments to get a project like this completed.

Here is a profile picture from about 500 feet away of some of the solar system installed at the Santa Cruz Industrial Waste center:

PV Solar has the ability to make a positive impact on you and your home and your family in many ways.  But, there are some key components to buying and then keeping up your solar system that everyone should understand.

As we have talked about in previous articles, you want to receive several bids from several different solar contractors in your area before deciding on one.  This is going to be an expensive purchase, and one that is a long term investment, so take your time with this phase of the decision making.

You should seek a contractor who details the warranty and maintainence schedule on the proposal prior to making any final decisions.  Specifically, you want to make sure your contractor will be there to fix any problems that arise with the installation of the solar panels or the inverter or any other parts of the solar electric system.  A properly installed solar electric system should have very little maintaining needed, in fact, many owners of solar electric systems can go over ten years without needing to do a single thing to their properly installed system!

As for warranty information, be sure to figure out exactly what the warranty information is going to be on the solar panels and the inverter and any mounting gear that is part of the solar electric system.  Most solar panel makers offer a 20 year warranty, and usually the minimum warranty for solar electric inverters is 10 years, so make sure your contractor explains that to you.  Just so you understand as well, most local solar contractors have partnerships with local or national wholesalers of solar equipment.  They may even call themselves “authorized dealers” of certain types of solar electric equipment.  With this potentially being the case, they will know exactly the warranty information on the solar electric equipment.  If they do not know the warranty information, that might be a GREAT sign that you are dealing with an inexperienced “solar professional” and my advice would be to seek other options for your needs.

How to clean your Solar Electric System:

This is something that is simple. Usually, the rain will take care of all needed cleaning of the solar system, so you don’t need to worry about doing anything yourself.  Actually, in most cases, homeowners who try to get ontop of their roofs to “clean” their solar panels often cause more damage than good to the panels, so it is advised not to do much cleaning other than making it rain.

Another related article is about buying a 3 to 4 kw solar system

One of the first questions that you will ask is: how many kilowatt hours (kwh) of electricity will my solar system produce where I live? That’s a great question, and one which everyone should ask themselves when you buy a solar system.

Las Vegas Solar Cells

There are several ways to figure this out. This post will explain the easiest way to determine the electric production for a solar system.

-The size of the solar system that we will evaluate is going to be for a 2.0 kw PV solar system. That is equal to a 2000 watt solar system because there are 1000 watts in a kw.
-The location that we will use to come up with an average sunlight hour number is Las Vegas Nevada. The average number of sunlight hours there is approximately 6.4 hours per day.
-We will use an energy loss amount of approximately 15% when the current goes from DC to AC

So, here is the equation:
2000 wattsDC X 6.4 hours/day = 12,800 watt hoursDC/day = 12.8 kwh/day on average in DC

Next, we will factor in the energy loss of 15%:
12.8kwh X .15= 1.92kwh of lost energy in the conversion to Alternating Current

Next we will figure out how much AC current is left to use:
12.8kwhDC-1.92kwh(lost)= 10.88kwh AC produced per day

Next, we will figure out how many kilo watt hours are produced each month on average:
10.88kwhAC/day X 30(days in the average month) = 326 kwhAC produced on average per month

Next, we will figure out how many kilo watt hours are produced on average per year:
326 kwh AC per month X 12(moths in the year) = 3,912 kwh per year

SO, in Las Vegas, Nevada, you could expect a 2.0 kwh solar system to produce approximately 3,912 kilo watt hours of electricity per year.

One of the assumptions is that there would be no shade hitting the solar panels as that would adversely affect the electricity production.

When you are buying a solar system in Las Vegas, be sure to ask the solar professional to explain the expected sunlight hours to you.  This is quite possibly the most important bit of data you need to know before writting any checks.