Solar Panels - Netzero Solar Home

http://MrEnergyCzar.com Hi Everybody, MrEnergyCzar here. This video is about my solar array.

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• Behind me is a pole-mount solar array. Notice that there are 24 all black Sunpower 225 watt modules on one single rack. It's very rare that you'll see that. Due to zoning restrictions I was forced to have all my solar on one limited rack in a certain spot in my yard which is right behind me.

• Basically, this system, this is the one that got destroyed by a tree last year, its been replaced by insurance. It makes about 5 megawatts or 5,000 KWH per year. My home uses just over 3,000.

• Since I've got the electric car, I now use and extra 1,700 KWH so my house and car uses the 5 megawatts or 5,000 KWH this system produces every year. That is why I'm able to have a net-zero solar powered home, including the car.

• Let's see what's behind there. On the underside of the array, what we have is two massive poles here that go into concrete footings that are about 6 feet deep 3 feet wide and several yards of concrete on each of them.

• An airplane could probably bounce off of one of these. This is kill switch, which is standard, it shuts the system down, we also have it out at the garage.

• Underneath here we have netting to keep the little fingers out and also to make it look gray from the underside rather than white. Here's the other pole, which is of course lower. This right here is a 45 degree angle.

• Okay, so here we are in the garage. The solar system that we saw outside there, the copper cable goes underground and then comes into the garage. This is where the inverter is.

• The system outside makes DC electric current. This inverter converts that DC current into AC current so you can use it in your house. If you look closely here, when you tap it, it changes the numbers. It shows I save 260,000 pounds of CO2.

• Right now I'm only making 500 watts per hour because its after 5 o'clock. It shows you the total, today we made about 30 KWH which is a pretty decent sunny day.

• Over here, you have an actual production meter. The last few years we've made about 15,000 KWH or 15 Megawatts. It makes about 5,000 KWH per year as I said earlier. That's the solar system, pretty straight forward, there's also a net-meter outside.

• When I produce more during the day the electrical grid credits me so I can use those credits to carry me through the winter. Obviously in summertime you make a lot more than in the wintertime.

Produced by: Dustin Salmons http://www.CDSalmons.com