I have a solar system put in, and you have to take into consideration several other factors.
1. There is a power loss at the converter level. Converting the DC to AC uses energy. And note, most solar systems are in the 48v range, as that is more conducive to producing up to the 220v most houses need.
2. that is 715watts PEAK, which you will rarely get, and even then only for a few hours each day
3. I have a 30panel, 11kw system, and the best I have seen is a bit over 9kw at peak times.
4. Right now I produce about 30kwh  per day, which works as I use a LOT less power now that I don't need AC
5. May and June are the best months, and produce about 63kwh per day
6. The heat in July reduces the efficiency of the panels a bit, so it peaks out in the high 50s in kwh per day (which does not cover the consumption rates in July)
7. IF you want to have power when the sun is out, and the grid is down, you will need a battery back up system, otherwise the system will disconnect when the power goes out
8. Be careful of which plan you choose with SRP/APS, and especially understand "DEMAND CHARGE" as that could totally torpedo any savings you thought you would have.
9. You probably want to look at your PEAK demand, and base your system off of that, with a few extra panels for cushion.

Just a few thoughts. I do really like my system, and it is so nice to have power for the majority of the house when the power goes out, even through most of the night.

Phil Waclawski

On Tue, Nov 26, 2024 at 3:31 PM Keith Smith via PLUG-discuss <plug-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
Hi,

I have been curious about solar for sometime.

I am looking at my electric bill and I use less than 600k watts a month
for 1/2 the year.

My math does not seem to work out.

1) Convert 600000 watts at 120 volts * .1 = 60,000 watts at 12 volts.
2) 60,000 watts divided by 30 = 2000 watts at 12 volts per day.
3) If I can harvest solar for 4 hours a day that is 2000/4 = 500 watts
at 12 volts.

That means I only need 500 watts of solar.  This does not take into
consideration loss of power in the system.

If the system losses 30% then I need around 715 watts of solar panels to
meet my needs.

I was expecting a lot more.

Any help is much appreciated!!

Keith

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