Solar Panels

[p--and--t]

I'm learning; Google results (so there, must be true) indicate that having more panel kw than the inverter, undersizing, is allowed in au to 133%, and may actually be desirable for efficiency.

Yep. I have 13.3 theoretical on the roof in 4 strings and twin 5kw inverters. There are a several reasons why at certain times of the day on various days the system does not operate at full capacity (clouds, shadows, rain, dirty panels, faulty panel effecting the string) so more panel capacity than inverter capacity is the norm according to my installer. I couldn’t have more inverter capacity as I am on single phase and Energex rules forbid it.

My kit is Sungrow/Jinko Tiger Neo. Installed by suresolar who were recommended and seem both knowledgeable and ethical.

 

[moa999]

Think these days with the relatively cheap cost of panels vav inverter capacity that 20-40% oversized is recommended. You clip in the summer sunny days but it maximises production during winter or cloudy days.

Also depending on roof less of a focus on pure north facing, most people would be advantage by a decent amount of West panels given late afternoon a/c and appliance usage.

 

[kookaburra75]

Watching the discussion on panels and cleaning etc... and sharing our experiences.

We originally went through Clean Power Australia in June 2022, one of the companies being promoted by the ACT Govt, as installers and therefore eligible for the $7500 per household rebate. MrsK got in contact, and they sent around one of their engineers in the evening as they had a shortage of sales people. He was more than happy to answer my questions about brand of panels, wiring, warranties etc - gained from the advice on this forum and some CSIRO people I know in this field. We had a chat about batteries, but his advice was not to get one at this stage and to wait a couple of years.
They use Hyundai panels, which come with a warranty that the panels will still be at 85% output after 10 years. He squeezed on 24 panels onto our roof, giving us 8kW, and you can see that some are on the south facing part of the roof. But they still have sunlight on them through pretty much through the whole day. They installed an 8kW Sungrow Invertor to with it.

We have a large claret ash in the northwest corner of the yard, which starts putting shade onto the panels from 2pm onwards. In the winter, that's not an issue, and that's when we need to get the most from the solar system. The best I have seen from the system is 7.5kW, which I'm more than happy with.

The communications through the sales, and then lead-in to the installation was excellent. Their team turned up on the day, in late June, about zero degrees, windy and sleeting, but they got it all done that morning and off to the next job.

I noticed that the grime was starting to build up on the panels. In Canberra we get showers from time to time, and then wind, which brings in dust, which then gets baked on in the next shower. After experimenting with different (and safe) options, I went with this brush and pole kit. It's held up well over the past 18 months of use.