PV Gap

Joe Said:

Im a bit confused about what a solar panel is?

We Answered:

As Aviophage says, there is plenty of info around. Solar panels produce electrical energy from the sunlight's energy. The sun puts out around 100W per square meter, and the panels are up to 20% efficient at converting this. If you are looking for a Grid Connected power system, they are usually made up of 24V modules about 150W each. The full voltage produced is then around 150V to 500V DC depending on the sun etc.

They are connected to a specialised "grid connect" or "grid interactive" inverter (look up Sunny Boy" for an example) which converts this to mains power for use around the house, while any remainder is exported to the supply network. The supply company may buy this at premium rates, and governments may provide subsidies to approved installations. There may also be carbon credit certificates when you buy a system. Not all places allow such things to be connected to the grid, but this market is rapidly changing.

The links below should get you started.

Lonnie Said:

Reading a solar import/export meter....?

We Answered:

It would help to know where your house is located. Anywhere in the lower 48 US states, 3 kWh is unreasonably low for a 2 kW array that is optimally pointed on a clear day, even in winter. On a cloudy or rainy day, all bets are off, of course. Maybe on the weekend, you can look at the inverter and see the instantaneous power produced at noon. If the power isn't reasonable, then maybe the panels are hooked up incorrectly. If the power is good, then maybe you have an unforseen obstruction casting a shadow on the panels, like a nearby tree or neighbor's chimney.

In northern California, we are seeing about 15 kWh a day from our 3 kW array on clear days like yesterday.

See if your inverter has its own meter or monitoring software. That should show you the energy produced each day, which you can compare with your import/export meter.