Nth Degree Solar Energy, a Grand Junction, Colorado based solar design and installation firm recently finished a commercial solar installation in Monte Vista, CO. Find it here.

Nth Degree Energy uses the Acme camera kit and PV Watts to do a custom designed solution that fits the customers needs.  Here is what an array shot looks like to determine the amount of sun hours a day:

Solar Analysis Chart

The solar array was installed on an empty field across a ditch from the house:

Grid-tied Solar PV electric system installation site

Here is a picture of the completed solar installation:

Installed Solar Electric Power Plant - 15KW

The system required two Sunny Boy 7000 inverters:

Grid-tied solar array inveter cross-connect

You can view the power plant here.

Description of location:
1: Latitude: 37.653 N Longitude: 106.660 W Elevation: 7750’
2: Declination: 9.8 deg E
3: Lowest Temperature -34deg F: Highest ambient Temperature 78 deg F
4: Total Electricity used/Year: 44,863 KHW Total Cost/Year $ 4,640.17
5: Panel Pitch: 35 Deg
6: Hours of Solar Radiation: 6.33 Hours /day fixed for summer

Picture of sunlight hours for House site: The site has 98% of sunlight hours. Sunlight 6.33Hrs / Available 6.20 Hrs

Calculate amount of solar needed to meet Electrical needs:

1: Average solar per Month: 44,863 KHW/12 =3,738.6 KWH/Mth
2. Average solar per day 3,738.6Kwh/30 = 124.612 KWH
3: Amount solar per hour: 124.612 / KWH/6.20hrs*1000watts/1KWH= 20,099 Watts/Hr
4. Inverter efficiency: (20,099 watts/hr)/.96 = 20,936 Watts/Hr
5: # of Sharp 235W panels: 20,936W/235W= 89.089 or 90 panels
6. # Inverters: 3 Sunny Boy 7000US (240V) Inverters
7.  System Size 21.15 KW
8. Actual Size:  15.51 kW

This article written by Nth Degree Solar Energy, a solar electric design and installation company.

For commercial enterprises in XCEL or Black Hill territory in the West, there has never been a better time to invest in grid-tied solar PV electricity systems. When you combine the dropping costs of solar installations, with the rebates from the electric power utility company and the federal tax rebates (convertible to a 60 day payable Grant option), and we are seeing final out of pocket prices less than $3 per kilowatt of module power generation.

But the lower initial cost is just the start of the advantages to business.  If your solar system size is greater that 10 kilowatts, then it quilifies as an Electricity Production System, which means you get paid for the electricity you produce, in addition to the net metering that happens as you consume the electricity you generate.

The beauty of the production part of the electric generation is that the meter to measure you production is placed AHEAD of your usage meter.  This means you get paid for ALL the electricity you produce, and get to use as much of it as you can for free.  We call this the double dip. With an average cost of 9 cents per KW hour from the power company, plus the 11 cents they pay for production, the net effect is 20 cents for every kilowatt hour of energy produced by the system.

“Our solar calculator takes into account utility rebates, tax credits and potential local, state and federal grants to determine the actual payback of a system.” says Richard McCracken, owner of Nth Degree Energy. “The marginal tax rate of the individual or business really affects the payback period and final Return On Investment.”  This is due to the rate in which the equipment can be depreciated, as well as taking into account the tax saving associated with that savings.

If you are a business and have multiple meters at the same location, the rules for production have changed to your advantage. It used to be you had to put a system on each meter, but now you can agregate the usage of all the memters and combine them to place a single larger system on one meter. This has changed the way landlords think about their properties. They can now put a single system onthe building and use it to provide electricity to the tenants, as well as collecting the production renevenue, thus adding an additional revenue stream to their existing buildings.

For more information about solar energy, grid tied solar PV systems or to get a quote for your home or business, contact Nth Degree Solar Energy at: http://NthDegreeEnergy.com or call 970-241-1376