As of March 27th our photovoltaic system has generated 406 kWh of useable electricity. Considering how few days of sunshine we have had in St. Louis, this certainly meets our expectations. Of course it would have been great to have had more days with full sun. On days with full sun, the system generated 15 kWh or more of AC power. On Februrary 24, 15 KWh, on March 23, 15.7 kWh, and on March 26, 16.6 kWh. On those days, the panels were generating at about 90% of their rated capacity during the noon hour. According to the California grosolarcalifornia.org website, this is more than 95% of the PTC rating, which is closer to what can be expected under realistic conditions. (Note that this system consists of twelve 230 watt panels, which have a PTC rating of 209 watts each.)

As of May 31, 2010 our system continues to meet more than 50% of our electric needs and has generated more than 1,162 kWh of useable electricity. In fact, from early April through early May of 2010 the system generated 55 kWh more than we used. The fact that we were out of town for a week was a factor. Up to this point, we have had several days with an output of 16.7 kWh. For the most part, on days with full sun or nearly full sun the system has been generating 15 kWh or more. In May, there were 14 days where more than 14 kWh were generated and 11 days where less than 10 kWh were generated. If it were not for some shading in the early morning before 7:00 am and after 6:30 pm CDT, we would probably be getting 0.2 to 0.4 kWh more on sunny days. For the Month of May, the system will have generated about 352 kWh of electric power.

Both our installer, Missouri Solar Living, (renamed Straightup Solar) and our local electric utility, AmerenUE, have been very good to work with. Ameren was very prompt in sending out our rebate check and installed a new digital meter a few weeks later. They did charge for the new meter, but we were advised of this by our installer before we started the project. We are anxious to see how the system will perform as the days get longer with more days of sun. If you would like additional information, please send me an email, and I will be happy to answer any questions that I can.

Lasted Updated at 1:20 pm CDT on May 31, 2010

Continuing Experience