Steve from Manalapan, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since September of 2022. The array was completed in December of that year: 28 REC N-Peak 2 panels making 10.22 kW, a SolarEdge HD Wave inverter with an optimizer on each panel, and an estimated 11,455 kilowatt hours in the first year against what JCP&L supplies. We also ran 116 feet of critter guard around the perimeter, which is worth doing at install time rather than after the fact – the gap beneath the panels is sheltered and dry, and squirrels and nesting birds find it long before a homeowner thinks to look. The existing roof was sound, and the system was interconnected in March of 2023.
Project Facts
- Location
- Manalapan, NJ
- Services
- Solar Critter Guard, Solar Panel Installation
- Client since
- September 2022
- Panels
- REC Model # REC-365NP2-Black
- Panels
- 28
- System size
- 10.22 kW
- Inverter
- SolarEdge SE7600H-US000NNC2 HD Wave
- Mounting system
- Snap-N-Rack
- Estimated first-year production
- 11,455 kWh
- Share of the home's electricity
- 97%
- Electric utility
- JCP&L
- Critter guard fitted
- 116 ft
Solar questions from Manalapan homeowners
Does solar work well in Manalapan?
Yes. New Jersey receives more than enough annual sunlight for residential photovoltaic systems to produce substantial electricity. Panels run on light rather than heat, so they keep producing through the winter. What varies from house to house is roof orientation, pitch, shading, system size, equipment and local weather.
What is an interconnection application?
The technical application to the electric distribution company asking permission to connect the array to the grid. The utility may review the system size, the inverter, the one-line diagram, the service configuration, the export capability and the capacity of the circuit it would connect to.
Should the system cover 100 percent of annual usage?
Often that is an attractive target, but it is not automatically the best design. Roof area, shading, the financing structure, future electricity use, equipment size, utility limits and roof condition all bear on it. A 90 to 95 percent offset on an excellent roof can be a better system than one forced onto shaded surfaces to reach a round number.