Jon Can Be Reached at : Email: jon@mysolarhome.us Telephone: 609-908-3700 text or call Website: mysolarhome.us Nationwide Solar and Battery Installations
Hi John!your explanation on solar panel wattage is really good!I am an licienced installer in ireland & see this all the time where panels are only operating between 60-70% on good days! The problem is when choosing an inverter as it has to be sized according to array kwp! Well explained! Rgds malachy.
Hello John. I communicated with you several months ago because I was interested in a solar system. After talking with several solar companies in the southern California region, I decided to go with San Diego Solar install. Mr. Bosworth was fantastic. I only needed 13 panels. They installed Solorio panels in combination with in phase micro inverters. After all the incentives and rebates, my cost is 13,500. I now own the system and I’m hoping that I will be able to see my return in my investment within 5 to 6 years. Thank you for your educational videos regarding solar.
Congratulations on going solar. Panels produce a lot of energy regardless of lower max output. So solar is a good journey. Thanks for watching and commenting.
This is a great illustration of what I needed prior to getting my system near. Lucky for me San Antonio tx. Lucky for me I chose the right installer who factored in the fact I would only have 17 panels facing south and with my annual usage at 22000 kwh I would need to max out my roof because the largest area is slightly North East facing. In the end I got 42 REC panels which over produce from late March to late September and under produce Nov thru Jan. Because of the tilt of my South facing panels I get better production from the NE facing panels from late April till early August.
I have a 500w panel that produces about 459 watts at peak production during days in June foe example and could easily generate the actual 500 watts in some real world conditions and if it's cleaned regularly, BTW this is in the middle east not the US maybe we have different standards for what we call a 500 watt panel you may call more like maybe a 640watt but it the same panel, anyway you can take a look at my exact panels they are called Vertex 500W TSM-DE18M(II) Made by Trina solar
The Middle East is a zone of much higher incoming solar radiation than the US. The closer to the equator, the more the panels will produce. My video is targeted more at the US. Thank you for your comment and appreciate your watching.
This is a very straightforward video. Thank you. One question in the calculation. Wouldn't the system always be significantly underpowered by using the manufacturer model number rating?. Real world, as you mentioned, is far less than the model number advertises even in ideal conditions. Wouldn't the NOCT pMax make more sense?
Yes, you are absolutely right. Fortunately, all the solar companies base their calculations of Solar Panel Outputs on actual estimated output and not the rated output. So you can rely on those figures. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the informative video, can you post the link where one can discover the "solar factor" of the area in which one lives? Is there a website that gives Global solar factor numbers for those of us who do not live in the US? Again, thanks.
Hey Brendan, The Solar Factor is my interpretation of solar data - so I don't think there is any place where you can see that data. If you are in a different city out of the US - you could use do a ballpark estimation by comparing with a city in the US at the same latitude as your city. Sorry I could not be of more help. Thank you very much for watching.
@@MySolarHomeUSA Thank you for the prompt response, I asked my question as I installed my first "experimental" solar panel yesterday, a little bitty 160W Jinko brand and after installing my charge controller was rather depressed to see it only putting out 30ish Watts, admittedly it was an uncommonly cloudy day for the Philippines, I was kinda hoping that even in cloud the panel's output may be close to 1/2 production, guess I gotta be patient for a clear blue skies day and see what happens!!! Anyhow, I thank you for the informative videos.
Hi Jon, I appreciate the video. For the calculation to determine the amount of panels needed, if you have a 400 W Q cells that only produces 300 W why wouldn’t we divide by 300 instead of 400?
The calculations for the number of panels uses a lot of factors including the panel output, the number of sunhours in the location and also the orientation of the panel. The calculation factors in the lower output of the 400 watt panels and gives you the number of panels required after taking that into consideration. Thanks for watching
No no ... just takes a long time to commercialize new innovation. And there are panels that make 500 or 600 watts, but they are much larger. better to buy 3, 400 watt panels than 2 , 600 watt panels - because the 600 watt panels will need more roof area than the 3, 400 watt panels. what really matters is the efficiency of the panel, not its watts. thanks for watching
Thank you so much for this video Sir I have 3 monocrystalline panels of 180watts each and a 12v inverter and Battery system I've been feeling like the solar panels aren't powering my 1 tv and fan nearly enough so I'm suspecting foul play I get 15 amps on my charge controller at the absolute maximum on a very sunny day From other videos I've watched, 540 watts solar panels are supposed to give 25-30 amps on a good day. Please what do you think Sir
They appear to be making a little less than their rated capacity. But, it is probably not as bad as you think. STC output is expected to be 25-30 amps, but real life should be in the 20- 25 amp range. I suggest you get a few more solar panels. Thanks for watching.
It is a technical issue and most solar companies take this into account when they calculate panel output over the year. All panels have the NMOT production number mentioned in their data sheets. This video is to educate that panels actually produce much less and the inverters are therefore sized to deal with lower production, most 400-watt panels are paired with inverters that output less than 330 watts. Thanks for watching.
Hi Jon! I’m in CA. Is it worth to go Solar at my current residence if I’ll be moving in next 5 years and convert current primary residence as rental once I move?
Payback for solar is around 5 years. I know of many folks who have solar on rental homes and they charge more rent as the electric bills are very low or nonexistent. So yes right now until April, solar is a very good investment. If you like I could work out a quote for you. Email a recent electric bill or your annual usage to me at jon@mysolarhome.us. Thanks for watching.
@@MySolarHomeUSA Thank you so much for this video Sir I have 3 monocrystalline panels of 180watts each and a 12v inverter and Battery system I've been feeling like the solar panels aren't powering my 1 tv and fan nearly enough so I'm suspecting foul play I get 15 amps on my charge controller at the absolute maximum on a very sunny day From other videos I've watched, 540 watts solar panels are supposed to give 25-30 amps on a good day. Please what do you think Sir
@@william_SMMA At 15 amperes with 12 volts - that translates to 12 x 15 = 180 watts. Now 3 panels in parallel should produce at max about 130x 3 = 390 watts. So your panels are likely underperforming. I suggest you add a few more panels. Thanks for watching.
What you are saying is .. the solar professional will size out a system. let’s say 8kwh he will use real world number and add panels at that level to reach 8 kWh? Correct? And not the marketed wattage sizing.
Yes the solar professionals size the system based on real world output. So you can rely on that. Hopefully you have a good solar sales professional. Thanks for watching.
Did a great job explaining that a 400w panel might only yield 300 watts of actual power at max; then did the math to determine how many panels one needs and used the full rated panel rating?!?! Doesn’t make sense…. Wouldn’t you divide by the estimated actual panel power yield?
Hi Jman Jr - Thanks for watching. Sorry about the confusion. I use the rated power output to calculate the estimated power yield because it is usually difficult to find the actual power yield. The rated power capacity is always given upfront. The actual yield to the rated power is usually a fixed ratio. So using the rated power to calculate the yield gives a fairly accurate estimate. I hope that makes sense.
Yes - all engineering designs and production figures are based on derated production. The video was just to let folks know that what you see is not what you get. Thanks for watching.
Yes, I was trying to make it simple. The data is from US Govt National Renewable Energy Lab data - check out their PV Watts website. The production shown for the solar panel is an actual solar panel's production as measured by Enphase's Enlighten monitoring system. I am a solar professional and these are actionable figures we use in the field. My apologies if this is too rudimentary. I try to be reasonably accurate. Thanks for your comment.
Jon Can Be Reached at :
Email: jon@mysolarhome.us
Telephone: 609-908-3700 text or call
Website: mysolarhome.us
Nationwide Solar and Battery Installations
Hi Jon, Thank you for making this video. Nobody explains this simply and easily.
Thank you, Vipul. You made my day. Do let me know if you want to explore solar for your home. Write to me at jon@mysolarhome.us
Hi John!your explanation on solar panel wattage is really good!I am an licienced installer in ireland & see this all the time where panels are only operating between 60-70% on good days!
The problem is when choosing an inverter as it has to be sized according to array kwp!
Well explained!
Rgds malachy.
Thank you very much. It is great to hear from a licensed installer and I am delighted my videos are helping.
Hello John. I communicated with you several months ago because I was interested in a solar system. After talking with several solar companies in the southern California region, I decided to go with San Diego Solar install. Mr. Bosworth was fantastic. I only needed 13 panels. They installed Solorio panels in combination with in phase micro inverters. After all the incentives and rebates, my cost is 13,500. I now own the system and I’m hoping that I will be able to see my return in my investment within 5 to 6 years. Thank you for your educational videos regarding solar.
Congratulations and so glad it worked out well. Happy for you and the planet. Kudos to you.
That was a great video. I thought I was going to end up with a lot of clipping, but didn't realize panels operate nowhere near the optimum output.
Thank you. I am glad my video was helpful. Appreciate your watching and your comment.
I only realised this after I installed my own panels. Thanks for sharing
Congratulations on going solar. Panels produce a lot of energy regardless of lower max output. So solar is a good journey. Thanks for watching and commenting.
This is a great illustration of what I needed prior to getting my system near. Lucky for me San Antonio tx. Lucky for me I chose the right installer who factored in the fact I would only have 17 panels facing south and with my annual usage at 22000 kwh I would need to max out my roof because the largest area is slightly North East facing. In the end I got 42 REC panels which over produce from late March to late September and under produce Nov thru Jan. Because of the tilt of my South facing panels I get better production from the NE facing panels from late April till early August.
Thanks for your comment. I am happy you got a good installer - bully for you. Wish you a very happy solar journey.
“Spot on brother!!”
Thank you. Much appreciated.
I have a 500w panel that produces about 459 watts at peak production during days in June foe example and could easily generate the actual 500 watts in some real world conditions and if it's cleaned regularly, BTW this is in the middle east not the US maybe we have different standards for what we call a 500 watt panel you may call more like maybe a 640watt but it the same panel, anyway you can take a look at my exact panels they are called Vertex 500W
TSM-DE18M(II)
Made by Trina solar
The Middle East is a zone of much higher incoming solar radiation than the US. The closer to the equator, the more the panels will produce. My video is targeted more at the US. Thank you for your comment and appreciate your watching.
Thanks for the info.
You are most welcome. Thank you very much for watching.
This is a very straightforward video. Thank you. One question in the calculation. Wouldn't the system always be significantly underpowered by using the manufacturer model number rating?. Real world, as you mentioned, is far less than the model number advertises even in ideal conditions. Wouldn't the NOCT pMax make more sense?
Yes, you are absolutely right. Fortunately, all the solar companies base their calculations of Solar Panel Outputs on actual estimated output and not the rated output. So you can rely on those figures. Thanks for watching.
How would this formula work.
When building a “electric vehicle” charge station at home? Using batteries also?
Please email me at jon@mysolarhome.us and we could work on this together. Thanks for watching.
Here in Jamaica i get almost full power from my small panels, especially after it rains and cools them down.
That is good to know. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the informative video, can you post the link where one can discover the "solar factor" of the area in which one lives? Is there a website that gives Global solar factor numbers for those of us who do not live in the US?
Again, thanks.
Hey Brendan, The Solar Factor is my interpretation of solar data - so I don't think there is any place where you can see that data. If you are in a different city out of the US - you could use do a ballpark estimation by comparing with a city in the US at the same latitude as your city. Sorry I could not be of more help. Thank you very much for watching.
@@MySolarHomeUSA Thank you for the prompt response, I asked my question as I installed my first "experimental" solar panel yesterday, a little bitty 160W Jinko brand and after installing my charge controller was rather depressed to see it only putting out 30ish Watts, admittedly it was an uncommonly cloudy day for the Philippines, I was kinda hoping that even in cloud the panel's output may be close to 1/2 production, guess I gotta be patient for a clear blue skies day and see what happens!!! Anyhow, I thank you for the informative videos.
@@brendandoherty2159 Best of Luck with your solar project.
Hi Jon, I appreciate the video. For the calculation to determine the amount of panels needed, if you have a 400 W Q cells that only produces 300 W why wouldn’t we divide by 300 instead of 400?
The calculations for the number of panels uses a lot of factors including the panel output, the number of sunhours in the location and also the orientation of the panel. The calculation factors in the lower output of the 400 watt panels and gives you the number of panels required after taking that into consideration. Thanks for watching
Good stuff, thank you for the info
Thank you for your encouragement. Much appreciated.
Are they holding back the technology on solar panels. Are they only allowed to sell us panels around 400 watts.
No no ... just takes a long time to commercialize new innovation. And there are panels that make 500 or 600 watts, but they are much larger. better to buy 3, 400 watt panels than 2 , 600 watt panels - because the 600 watt panels will need more roof area than the 3, 400 watt panels. what really matters is the efficiency of the panel, not its watts. thanks for watching
Thank you so much for this video Sir
I have 3 monocrystalline panels of 180watts each and a 12v inverter and Battery system
I've been feeling like the solar panels aren't powering my 1 tv and fan nearly enough so I'm suspecting foul play
I get 15 amps on my charge controller at the absolute maximum on a very sunny day
From other videos I've watched, 540 watts solar panels are supposed to give 25-30 amps on a good day.
Please what do you think Sir
They appear to be making a little less than their rated capacity. But, it is probably not as bad as you think. STC output is expected to be 25-30 amps, but real life should be in the 20- 25 amp range. I suggest you get a few more solar panels. Thanks for watching.
I've seen tons of videos. no one has mentioned this apart from you.
It is a technical issue and most solar companies take this into account when they calculate panel output over the year. All panels have the NMOT production number mentioned in their data sheets. This video is to educate that panels actually produce much less and the inverters are therefore sized to deal with lower production, most 400-watt panels are paired with inverters that output less than 330 watts. Thanks for watching.
Hi Jon! I’m in CA. Is it worth to go Solar at my current residence if I’ll be moving in next 5 years and convert current primary residence as rental once I move?
Payback for solar is around 5 years. I know of many folks who have solar on rental homes and they charge more rent as the electric bills are very low or nonexistent. So yes right now until April, solar is a very good investment. If you like I could work out a quote for you. Email a recent electric bill or your annual usage to me at jon@mysolarhome.us. Thanks for watching.
@@MySolarHomeUSA do you work with local contractors in the area if someone goes through you?
@@DESIboyzz87 Yes always. Why dont you email me a recent electric bill (jon@mysolarhome.us) and I will get you a quote.
@@MySolarHomeUSA Thank you so much for this video Sir
I have 3 monocrystalline panels of 180watts each and a 12v inverter and Battery system
I've been feeling like the solar panels aren't powering my 1 tv and fan nearly enough so I'm suspecting foul play
I get 15 amps on my charge controller at the absolute maximum on a very sunny day
From other videos I've watched, 540 watts solar panels are supposed to give 25-30 amps on a good day.
Please what do you think Sir
@@william_SMMA At 15 amperes with 12 volts - that translates to 12 x 15 = 180 watts. Now 3 panels in parallel should produce at max about 130x 3 = 390 watts. So your panels are likely underperforming. I suggest you add a few more panels. Thanks for watching.
What you are saying is .. the solar professional will size out a system. let’s say 8kwh he will use real world number and add panels at that level to reach 8 kWh? Correct? And not the marketed wattage sizing.
Yes the solar professionals size the system based on real world output. So you can rely on that. Hopefully you have a good solar sales professional. Thanks for watching.
Did a great job explaining that a 400w panel might only yield 300 watts of actual power at max; then did the math to determine how many panels one needs and used the full rated panel rating?!?! Doesn’t make sense…. Wouldn’t you divide by the estimated actual panel power yield?
Hi Jman Jr - Thanks for watching. Sorry about the confusion. I use the rated power output to calculate the estimated power yield because it is usually difficult to find the actual power yield. The rated power capacity is always given upfront. The actual yield to the rated power is usually a fixed ratio. So using the rated power to calculate the yield gives a fairly accurate estimate. I hope that makes sense.
move to Hawaii...i have to put sunscreen on my panels
😂I wish ... thanks for watching
Crap most engineers derate panels dah
Yes - all engineering designs and production figures are based on derated production. The video was just to let folks know that what you see is not what you get. Thanks for watching.
what is the solar factor map. and how is this even derived? it looks like its made by a second grader
Yes, I was trying to make it simple. The data is from US Govt National Renewable Energy Lab data - check out their PV Watts website. The production shown for the solar panel is an actual solar panel's production as measured by Enphase's Enlighten monitoring system. I am a solar professional and these are actionable figures we use in the field. My apologies if this is too rudimentary. I try to be reasonably accurate. Thanks for your comment.