Solar array

The video is private.

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Regards, 
Martin Brown

Again? I thought I fixed this issue.

Should work now. I guess even though I selected "Unlisted" on my phone it's marking them "Private" anyway..

Crude guess:

Appears that there are 20 panels in each member of the array. Assuming each panel is about 100W, that would mean 2kW per array member. So, the total 5-member array power may be 10kW.

Guesses could be refined if the array member size is known or approximated.

Satellite view:

'44.0%22N+71%C2%B012'40.9%22W/@42.128875,-71.211367,100m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

Looks like 20 panels in each array, yes.

Should be able to get a ballpark estimate of the size of each array member by measuring the shadow length and doing some trig from the satellite image; in the image it appears the arrays are only canted back about 15 degrees or so from vertical

Assuming the ground is level, (it is not; you can tell by the shadows) the average shadow length is about 26 feet toward the north. Also the azimuth of the sun appears to be about 154 degrees using the average angles of the shadows.

At the location of the array on the imagery, the sun was at an altitude of 43 degrees according to the US Naval Observatory.

What else do you need to calculate this?

It's difficult to guess(tm) the physical size without at least one reference dimension. I can only guess at the sizes.

Looks like 5 trackers and 20 panels of about 150 watts each. That's about 15 Kw total. Framed panels run about $1/watt or about $15,000 in just the panels. The trackers are 5 * $4,500 each = $22,500. Installation and wiring probably will add $8,000. I have no clue if it uses micro-inverters or one big inverter, grid tied, or battery system. With grid tied Enphase micro-inverters, that's $125/ea * 100 panels = $12,500.

So, a rough guess would be:

100 panels $15,000 5 trackers $4,500 Inverters $12,500 Labor $8,000 ======================== total $40,000

Again, since I don't know the physical size of an individual panel, I can't accurately calculate the panel costs.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

I tried street view to see if I could get a better guess as to the size. Well, the street view photos were taken in 2013 and show an empty field. Google Earth shows images in Sept 2014. So, the system was installed between 2013 and 9/2014. Oh well.

The aerial photography (satellite view) takes photos at an angle, and then straightens them to make buildings, trees, etc, look tolerable. Try a radio tower to see what kind of mess it can create. Too much distortion to be useful.

Can you guess the height of the pipe supporting the trackers or some other fixed reference in your video?

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

Should be enough to do a rough estimate. I'll work on it for a bit later...

bitrex prodded the keyboard with:

'44.0%22N+71%C2%B012'40.9%22W/@42.128875,-71.211367,100m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

Each panel 1 X 1.6 mt produces 250 W nominal.

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Best Regards: 
                      Baron.

Thanks! I'm assuming the automatic mounts will be orienting the panels to minimize cosine losses? I have the equations here somewhere I think...

I had NO problem; worked as well as .

From the pictures, it is hard to tell if this is a 2D or 1D equatorial mounted system.

Anyway, in this clip, the daily production is limited by vegetation much earlier than the air mass (AM) loss at low solar angles. My guess is that at most 8 hours each day would generate the nominal power.

Vegetation and AM losses determine how high poles it makes sense to build.

Don't use my info. You should know that I have looked again and I now see on the satellite picture something I did not notice before. The two members to the west have 24 panels each compared to the remaining three members which have 20 panels each. The 26 feet number is an average of all five members.

Sorry. But, this not change the sun's alt and az.

Modules less than 250W of this type (poly or mono crystaline) are kind of rare these days so I would assume eacn one here, like Baron suggested, are 250 watts. Might be 300 W but lets' say 250W each.

That makes each group worth 5kW. I count 5 separate poles so that would be 5 kW in the yoootooob video.

boB K7IQ

boB prodded the keyboard with:

'44.0%22N+71%C2%B012'40.9%22W/@42.128875,-71.211367,100m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

Shouldn't that be 25Kw ?

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Best Regards: 
                      Baron.

I drove by again the other morning and spent some time watching the array. I was surprised at how often the panels moved on their mounts - it seemed like at least one of them was in motion tracking the sun every

60 to 90 seconds or so, unless it just happened to be an anomaly of the time of day I happened to be there.

Sounds that they use some feedback that is disturbed by shadows from vegetation.

I very much doubt that you would visually detect any movement from the road every minute, if the panels are controlled by the solar coordinates (no feedback).

Right. Yes...

5kW per pole times 5 poles = 5 kW

That's about what it looks like to me anyway.

Nice orchard !

boB