Gordon Carson has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since December of 2020, when the roof and the solar array were bought on the same day. The roof was finished nine days later, on 15 December 2020, and the array the following March.
2,300 square feet, stripped back to the planks
The old shingles came off down to bare wood planks rather than plywood, which places this house in an older generation of building. Deck protection went over the exposed boards, then a GAF Timberline HDZ system in Fox Hollow Gray carrying a 50-year warranty, aluminum drip edge along 285 feet of rakes, eaves and valleys, and a ridge vent along the peak.
Why a plank deck is worth knowing about before an array
Plank decking is individual boards laid across the rafters, with gaps between them, rather than a continuous sheet. Shingles do not much mind. An array does: every mount that holds a panel has to land in solid timber, and on a plank deck the solid timber is not everywhere. That is a question best answered while the deck is stripped and visible, with the array layout already drawn — which is precisely the position this job was in, because the roof and the panels were sold together and the roofers knew where the panels were going.
15 panels and 5.1 kW
Fifteen Hanwha Q.PEAK DUO G6 panels at 340 watts each came to 5.1 kW on Ecolibrium Solar mounting, finished on 9 March 2021, running into a SolarEdge SE3800H inverter with an optimizer on every panel. PSE&G is the utility and the first year was designed for about 6,847 kWh.
A roof that faces almost exactly the right way
The array is one group on the back of the house, pitched at about 27 degrees and pointing within a few degrees of due south. The design models it at 105 percent of the reference case — better than the standard against which every other roof on this site is measured. That is why fifteen panels return close to 1,350 kWh for every kilowatt installed. Most roofs give something away to orientation; this one does not.
88 feet of critter guard, fitted with the array
Mesh around the array perimeter, closing the gap where squirrels and birds otherwise nest underneath. Fitting it during the installation is less expensive than fitting it later, because the crew, the ladders and the roof access are already there and no panel has to come off to reach the edge.
Project Facts
- Location
- Rahway, NJ
- Services
- Roofing Installation, Solar Critter Guard, Solar Panel Installation
- Client since
- December 2020
Solar
- Panels
- Hanwha Model # Q.PEAK DUO BLK-G6 340
- Panels
- 15
- System size
- 5.10 kW
- Inverter
- SolarEdge SE3800H-US000NNC2
- Mounting system
- Ecolibrium Solar
- Estimated first-year production
- 6,847 kWh
- Share of the home's electricity
- 69%
- Electric utility
- PSE&G
- Critter guard fitted
- 88 ft
Roof
- System
- GAF Timberline Lifetime Roofing System
- Area replaced
- 2,300 sq ft
- Warranty
- 50 years
Questions from Rahway homeowners
RoofingWhat is drip edge and do I need it?
Drip edge is metal installed along roof edges to direct water away from the fascia and into the gutter or away from the structure. Properly installed drip edge helps protect roof edges and is an important component of a complete roofing system.
SolarCan the system be switched on before the utility approves it?
A grid-connected system should not be placed into normal parallel operation until the utility has issued the required authorisation. Running it beforehand can breach the interconnection agreement and the utility's requirements.
SolarHow much does shade from mature Rahway trees affect production?
Shade can materially reduce production, particularly when it falls during the highest-production hours. Module-level electronics such as microinverters and optimizers reduce the effect of partial shading, but they cannot create sunlight where there is none. Significant shade should be modelled before any annual production figure is quoted.