Kevin from Freehold, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since October of 2011. He and Luisa signed that autumn and the array went live the following March, 8.46 kW on Enphase M215 microinverters with Zep mounting and revenue-grade ANSI metering, estimated at 8,812 kWh a year. Two years later we were back to take the panels off and reset them, the job that lets a roof be replaced without writing off the system underneath it. Freehold is in Monmouth County.
Project Facts
- Location
- Freehold, NJ
- Services
- Solar Panel Installation, Solar Removal/Replacement
- Client since
- October 2011
- Panels
- Canadian Solar Model # CS6P-235PX
- Panels
- 36
- System size
- 8.46 kW
- Inverter
- EnPhase M215-60-2LL-S22/S23 Micro-Single
- Mounting system
- Zep Solar
- Estimated first-year production
- 8,812 kWh
- Electric utility
- JCP&L
Solar questions from Freehold homeowners
What is a microinverter and why use one per panel?
A microinverter is a small inverter installed at or near an individual module, so each panel converts on its own channel. That gives module-level visibility and limits the effect one underperforming panel has on the others around it.
Can panels be added to the array later?
Yes, but an expansion is more than bolting on modules. It can affect the utility interconnection, net-metering eligibility, inverter capacity, the electrical calculations, permits, incentive eligibility and monitoring. Incentive rules matter particularly when panels are added to a system already receiving a generation incentive.
Should trees be cut down before installing solar?
Only where the production benefit justifies it and doing so is legally and environmentally appropriate. A good installer quantifies what a particular tree costs in production rather than recommending removal as a matter of course. Ownership of the tree, municipal tree ordinances, neighbors' trees and regrowth all come into it.