photographs by bernard
Photovoltaic Panels
As we have more experience with our system, I will be updating this page with additional information. Also I would like to thank everyone at Straightup Solar for their excellent work. I highly recommend them if you are contemplating installing a photovoltaic system. Finally, in order to get the most from our system, we have made an effort to lower our use of electricity by turning off phantom loads when they are not in use, using compact fluorescent lights, and by minimizing our use of air conditioning during the summer.
Here Joe and John from Straightup Solar are in the process of installing the 12 Canadian Solar panels. Both were happy to work on a one story building with a roof pitch that isn't very steep. The 230 watt panels are being installed on the part of our roof that gets full sun between approximately 7:30 am and 4:30 pm in mid winter. As the days get longer and the sun is higher in the sky, the panels will receive direct sun for additional hours during the day.
Since our roof has a 6 / 12 pitch or about 26.5 degrees, the direction of the sun is not perpendicular to the panels except in summer. (We are at latitude 38 1/2 degrees north.) As a result, during the fall and winter the panels will average about 90% of the solar radiation of the noon day sun. From the spring through the summer, the direction of the sun will be nearly perpendicular to the panels resulting in between 97% and 100%.
