4.05 kW Solar Electric System Installed in Lansing, NY
Challenge
A homeowner in Lansing, New York wanted some solar panels installed to produce energy.
Solution
This 4,050 W (4.05 kW) grid-connected solar electric (PV, photovoltaic) system was installed as a ground-mounted array of eighteen (18) SunPower 225W solar modules oriented South on one (1) Direct Power and Water adjustable-tilt top-of-pole mount. The pole will hold the modules arranged in landscape, and will have typical dimensions ranging from 15.4 ft x 9.7 ft x 14.3 ft (width x height x depth) at 25° tilt to 15.4 ft x 15.9 ft x 9.1 ft (width x height x depth) at 55° tilt, as illustrated in the accompanying schematic diagram. The system will be configured electrically as two (2) DC circuits (strings) of nine (9) series connected modules providing input to one (1) SMA 4000m, 4.0kW inverter. This inverter will provide grid-synchronous AC output and will interface to the electric utility through a dedicated circuit breaker in the Customer's main service panel, as existing infrastructure allows. System power production (kW) and cumulative energy (kWh) monitoring will be provided by a SunPower Monitoring System, as well as by a digital display on the inverter and an electromechanical meter. As designed, this system should generate an average of 11.4 kWh/day = 4,160 kWh/year, where daily energy production is both weather and seasonally dependent. This energy production is equivalent to 67.7% of the Customer's present home electrical usage, and corresponds to a CO2 (greenhouse gas) emissions savings of 6,240 lbs per year.
