SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Lookie at these recorded conditions column:

https://pvoutput.org/list.jsp?id=19089&sid=16938

Who got some new gear?
Not me...

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

My cloudy conditions farther north in the Bay Area look much the same.

In the summer, when I'm producing lots of electricity, there is so much dust that I have to go up on the roof to clean the panels about once every 6 weeks. I remember after one cleaning, my electricity capture went up by about 20%. In the winter months, the rain cleans the panels, but there is not so much sun to make use of those clean panels.

From the 1st chart, you can see how several years production looks spread out over a year. My panels were installed in July 2017 and you can see from this that the amount per month that they capture is fairly consistent. 2019 was best as I went up on the roof more often to clean them.

Average bill is now between 10 and 11 dollars per month depending on number of days in the month. All I am paying for is the transmission of electricity over PG&E's wires.

The 2nd chart shows whether I am making more electricity than I am using, or using more than I'm making, over a years time.

All these neat graphs to see how well, or not so well, one is doing.

Third image from "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" is a suitable picture of inspecting the solar cells for dust.

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

My new focuser is several months old, so not my fault. I'm thinking someone in Mexico is responsible for the weather in Galveston.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

I made it my job for the first couple of years to keep really close watch on mine. (Commissioned January 2013 .)
About the biggest difference I made with cleaning was <2kW from day to day. After several months.
At first I cleaned monthly, then 3 months, and now.... Not so much.
We have a pool. So that is my biggest power use year round. Second is air conditioning during the hotter months.
We had done every possible thing to reduce our usage prior to our install. Afterwards, I clamped our usage down even more, including getting the pool pump down to 1 hour a day. I guess the wife got into it to, she'd ask before she would do laundry if we were making enough to do a load. I always told her yes, to go ahead.
That first year we made a big surplus, and we were given the option to cash it out, or let it ride into the next year. I chose to carry it over.
The second year they (SCE) paid us for our surplus. We made money. But not near what the kWh were worth. I called, and got bounced over to the new Solar billing department. (SCE is still crying about us peons with our solar panels.) They will only pay the Bulk Power rate for my excess power, 3-4 ¢ per kWh.
While they will charge 12-13 ¢ per kWh baseline. I was pissed and let her know it.
The lady told me, "You are better off using the power, than banking it." She was a nice lady and being quite honest with me.
So I pulled out the stops. Didn't go crazy, but don't watch the banked power anymore.
Every Kwh I send up to the pole behind our house, goes down our next door neighbors service wires and they pay upper tier prices for it. My meter tallies 3-4¢, theirs tallies ~35¢. Who is using whom here?
SCE is making bank off solar producers. Especially when you know the inside like I do.
I'm retired from Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, Power Division, Bulk Power and Distribution.
Our bill runs around $8-10 a month (SCE's minimum). And we live well power wise.
24 panels in 2 arrays, 5.880 kW (5.130 kW is the highest production I've seen)

Bottom line: LADWP embraced Solar power and paid incentives to customer to install it in the Mid-1990's. SCE and PG&E had to be flogged by the CPUC to even come to the table. The difference being shareholder owned, or municipally owned. Power companies are downright evil.
Solar gives the little people a means to push back.

Since I charge my battery to run my mount, you could say my mount is Solar Powered. Or Star Powered.
Since the Sun is a Star. Star Powered Astrophotography.
See, I can be as cagey as the power companies.

Glad you are able to push back, Jim. Did you know that even the Ultra High Altitude Air Force jets contrails knock down our production? Those jocks and jockets fly out of Edwards AFB here on Wednesday and Thursday. (The all female crews call the cock pit the Box Office.)

Wind power is a BS trip. Solar Power is everywhere down here. Even huge fields of panels, school student parking, and a piece of unused school owned land by the wash.
I live in the finger pointing West from the Mojave Desert.

Star Powered Astrophotography!

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

Yes, jet contrails can certainly affect the solar generation. But so can my neighbor's tall redwood as you can see in these daily graphs starting in October as the sun is sinking lower in the sky and picking my last one as Dec 15, which happened to be the last clear day I've had to make a clean graph! Notice the notch becoming deep and deeper.

About as good of proof that I can come up with that the sun moves up and down in the sky throughout the year.

I wonder if he would notice if I took out my chain saw and removed the upper 30 or 40 feet of his redwood tree. But remembering the youtube video called "Idiots with Chainsaws", maybe that isn't such a good idea!

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

I have a retired Sheriff 4 homes up the street from me.
He has one of the common very tall Palm Trees found around my area and South. That thing is ~120 feet tall.
I have a similar notch at times of the year.
But still make enough to thumb my nose at the power company.
I love having a power plant on my roof.

But I've got documented power loss due to the USAF using our area for UHA Bomber training. I couldn't tell you how many times we've been obliterated.