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Saving an outdated Solar Electric system


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We installed 5 panels six years ago. We wanted to add panels but were told no more of the ones we had were available and no other panels were compatable. Still, our bill, never exceeded 100 pesos. Then my wife went on an electric oxygen machine....designed to do two things....make O2 and use as much electricity as a small village. So we climbed up to 750-800 pesos every billing period and knew that the Dac was just waiting down the road. Now we are installing the new PV Module which will cut our current billing by 95%. The cost is "modest" depending on your definition of modest, but the results will offer a quick repayment and an immediate billing of no than 45 pesos per billing. You won't need a new converter or new wiring because you already have it. CFE has to be notified but they don't even have to come out to the site...the entire upgrade takes 4-6 hours depending on your site and access to an internet access and they took our credit card.

We just wanted to share with you that there are now methods to bring a new youthful life to your "old" solar panels. I won't discuss costs or the installer on here but you can PM us for more info.

Negative PMs will be ignored and blocked.

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We just wanted to share with you that there are now methods to bring a new youthful life to your "old" solar panels. I won't discuss costs or the installer on here but you can PM us for more info.

As the OP suggests try the PM method. It will probably work better.

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What wattage and voltage were your old panels?  Are you using a string inverter or 5 micro inverters? When you say "PV" what are you refering to? 4 to 6 hours seems like a long time. I installed my system by myself in 8 hours total 2 hours of which was making a hole in the roof for the conduit.

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We were generating 261 KWH before the new upgrade...They have added three new panels to our array and now they are all interconnected to produce the new production and yes we have now gotten the new 215 Watt Microinverters...the new (3) panels are producing 260 Watts.  Our roof array needed to be relocated to add the new panels and get a better position to the days sun...hence the additional time for a first class installation that did not damage the roof or allow for water penetration ...they also installed, in an interior location and connected to my internet, a meter that displays what each panel and the entire system is producing. Cleanup and removal of material from the third floor of our home also took some time.

 

Fred Habacht

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I've had photo-voltaic solar panels since 2008 here in Ajijic. And I have added panels twice as my needs went up in my new house. In my case it did not make sense to use micro inverters. It all depends upon your situation. In Fred's situation where only a few additional panels were needed it was/is a very good alternative. Today I have 28 panels varying in output per panel from 170 watts to 250 watts. (Yes the newer panels are more efficient)

And unlike my original system where I would have to look at my inverter to determine how many watts I generated, today you can using a Wi-Fi link, simply have the correct app on your laptop and check your productivity, amount used, etc. on your laptop.

When I ordered my system in 2007 the closest solar company I could find was in San Miguel de Allende, and when it was time to install the system in my (under construction) home, they came down from San Miguel and installed my system. When software upgrades were needed they knew of a technician, Jsun Mills of Guadalajara who they could call. Sadly about a year later the company in San Miguel went out of business. Luckily at the same time, Jsun started his own company, now called eSun Energy which now has expanded over much of Mexico, be you in PV, Cancun, Mex City, GDL or lakeside. I have called upon him several times to expand my system and highly recommend him. ( Don't get me wrong, there other great companies as well, and the only company I knew of which had a bad reputation in our area has been out of business for years)

One of the disadvantages of most photo-voltaic solar systems installed today is that should the power go out in your neighborhood your inverter will turn your panels off so that electricity will not be sent down the lines which the CFE repair crews might be working on nor will be any power be sent into your home.  Earlier systems often included 8 deep cell Golf cart batteries which would be continuously charged by the solar panels and should, there be no power in the neighborhood, the power would be cut off to the neighborhood grid, but would continue to charge your batteries and/or provide power to your house.

The reason newer systems don't have a battery backup system is that the power outages are less frequent these days and last for much shorter periods of time. And I guess most clients don't want to spend the added money for a battery back up system. I love my battery backup system, I have never had a power outage as a result thereof.  

If your electrical bill every several months costs thousands of pesos, just maybe it's time to go solar. One way to find out would be to take a copy of your electrical bill to your favorite solar dealer and let him show you why or why not a photo-voltaic solar panel system would be a great investment. eSun energy's local office is near Dominos Pizza just West of WallyMart.

 

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I agree with Johanson that life styles changes and different events can impact your electrical needs. With my new upgrade it is predicted that my monthly cost should be 74-80 mp at the current us/mx exchange rate, (almost near the minimum monthly charge). Could it be lower....sure, but adding an additional panel would not be economical at this point. I like the fact that with these new solar improvements I can add more panels later as CFE rates are surely going to continue to go up.

As to payback....I really think that the 5-6 years that have been predicted is close to reality, but what we really like is that our bi-monthly CFE "gift card" will stop surprising us. Even a 10-15% yearly increase should be manageable....if we behave ourselves.

We have already converted our lighting to near 100% LED bulbs with very little replacement costs due to their long lives. We had a second refrigerator with years on it, (more than 10), and we replaced it this month. Our primary refrigerator is five years old and we plan on replacing that at the ten year birthday, maybe. We have no pool, no airconditioning, no fountains, but lots of overhead fans which use only when we are in those rooms. Our clothes dryer and stove are gas. Our TV is new but larger than the old one. Negatives are two computers, lots of battery chargers and the TV is on most of the day but disconnected at sleep time...via a circuit breaker. We still, unfortunately live much higher on the hog than our Mexican neighbors and that is unfortunate but we are as tight as we want to be as of now.

I hope that this helps people who are considering solar or whose systems are no longer producing the smalls bills that they once did.

Fred Habacht

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8 hours ago, MtnMama said:

I suggest anyone using solar power should subscribe to "Home Power Magazine". We lived off grid with solar power NOB and some of what the local companies tell me makes no sense. I would study up on the current technologies myself rather than rely on sales people.

http://www.homepower.com/

I agree. Was out of Southern Oregon if I remember correctly.   Lots of great info!

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As noted in this thread, micro inverters allow you to add one panel at a time or add additional panels to a single inverter system that has no expansion capacity on that inverter or for which compatible expansion panels are no longer available.

It also has the advantage for a system where some of the panels might be shaded for a while with the others in the sun.  The unshaded panels will make power regardless of the status of the others.  With a single inverter, all must be making power in order for it to be passed into the grid system.

One vendor also offers a monitor with the micro inverter system that allows one to monitor output on a panel by panel system.  This has the benefit of monitoring both the individual panels and the individual inverters for any failures.  It can be tied into the internet where a website logs both real time and cumulative power production.

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Remember that we do not have 120 volts in Mexico. We are one of the few countries that has 127 volts. When my system was first installed in late 2007 and early 2008 I could not sell back to the grid because my voltage was too low. It was set to US standards, 120 volts. The folks from San Miguel called upon Jsun Mills to install a new voltage regulator for my inverter that met Mexican standard which is by Federal statute 127 Volts +/-10%.

Also remember that because home electricity here is three phase that if you connect two 127 volt phases you do not get 254 or even 240. Rather because the two phases are not 180 degrees out of phase with the other, but only 120 degrees that one gets approximately 87% of what you would get at 180 degrees   or 2 times 127volts  times 87% equals 220 volts.

I should add that although there are three phases available from your transformer in the street, often homes that use less electricity than others have either 1 or 2 of the available 3 phases

 

 

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A micro inverter for 120 volts works using MMPT and automatically adjusts to match the current voltage of the grid anywhere between 80 and 160 volts automatically, also 57-62.5 hertz automatically.  A 230 volt adjusts for 180 to 260 volts. 

My meter shows my house voltage on a 240 circuit varies between 139 and 244 most days. The inverter adjusts automatically without need for any other regulator.

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That is about right, Mostlylost.  I am simply stating that the electrical standards here are very different than in Canada and the US. Remember, while often businesses up north might have three phase systems with each phase being 120 degrees out of phase with the other, Most homes have a two phase system where each phase is 180 degrees out of phase with the other.  And up north we could have 120 on one phase or 240, or on two phases. but not here where each phase is 120 degrees out of phase with the other. Here in much of Mexico where homes are provided power from a 3 phase transformer if each phase were 120 then two phases would be about 86.9 or 87% of the total of the two figures or about 208 volts.

At the desired voltage of 127 here in Mexico, then if you were to measure the voltage of two phases of a three phase system you would again get about 87% thereof or about 220 volts.

Drop by your local solar panel provider, they might be able to better explain it to you. And to learn more about the micro inverter technology you might try visiting   www.emphase.com    

 

EDIT: If you re getting 244 volts on two phases each phase being 120 degrees out of phase with the other then each phase  would be close to 140 volts which is pretty high. Are you connected to a standard stepdown transformer in the streets of Ajijic, Chapala, Joco?      

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Standard step down transformer. I'm no engineer. But I was under the impression 2 phase was 180 degrees out of phase.

I found that installation of the solar system using microinverters was more or less plug & play. My 2.4 Kw cost me under $48,000,  2 days shopping and 2 mornings to make the mounts and install.

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 The transformers are three phase. A small house might get only one of those phases, a larger user, perhaps 2 phase and a medium to heavy use would get all three phases from the 3 phase transformer. Do all transformers here in Mexico have 3 phases? I Rather doubt it. But around here we have three phase transformers where each phase is not 180 degrees but 120 degrees apart from the other. Here one phase is rated at 127 plus or minus 10% and two phases are rated at 220 volts

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