Our Own Electric Company, Part 3
The first two parts of this series has focused on how we’re going to be using more electricity and today, we’re looking at how our new solar PV system will help us to offset our increased usage.
Solar PV System = Solar Photovoltaic System
Solar power has been a common renewable energy source at the residential level for several decades (or millennia, if you include harnessing the sun to provide passive heating and light as part of the definition) but at a basic level, a solar PV (photovoltaic) system works like this: the energy contained by photons (“photo”) emitted by the sun’s light are converted into electricity (“voltaic”) by the material composition of the solar cells contained within the solar panels. The resulting direct current (DC) power is then converted to alternating current (AC) by an inverter, which then allows electricity to serve the needs of a home.
We have a grid-tied system, which means here in Illinois, our home still uses electricity (via an underground connection to the utility pole) from ComEd.
So, by being grid-tied to ComEd, we are allowed to qualify for Net Metering by designing and building a solar PV system that generates no more than 110% of our previous 12-month electric usage. We’ll get more into the financials of our solar situation here in Illinois in a future post (which will include how we now read our ComEd statement), but at the basic level, if we produce more electricity than we use from ComEd, we will receive solar credits.
Here’s what a typical solar PV system design looks like and what our actual design will be:
Typical solar PV design components
Our electric system’s main components include:
Two solar panel arrays (1 and 3) — an array of 15 panels on the west roof and an array of 12 panels on the east roof.
Inverter (5) — under the deck.
Monitoring Gateway (6) — under the deck and on top of the inverter.
Two 200-amp service panels (9) — inside the utility room.
Meter pedestal (10) — back outside under the deck next to the inverter/monitoring gateway.
Underground conduit that connects us to ComEd at the utility pole (11)
Happy Boolo solar PV design
Lisa Albrecht with All Bright Solar was our solar designer and project manager and has spent literally hours educating us and collaborating with us on our overall energy vision and solar PV system design. Lisa and I had a video chat about what solar means for The Happy Boolo Project.
Our next post will feature our partners at Rethink Electric, who installed our solar PV system, and how we’re tracking our electricity production. Happy Boolo!