Tom and Karen from Freehold, NJ have been Green Sun Energy Services clients since November of 2014. The array was completed in April of 2015 and interconnected with JCP&L that June: 45 LG panels making 13.5 kW, each one paired with its own Enphase microinverter carrying a 25-year warranty. At that size the choice of microinverters over a central inverter matters more than it would on a small roof – 45 panels spread across different faces will never all see the same light at the same moment, and each one converting its own output means the array is not held to the pace of its worst-lit panel. The design estimated 15,241 kilowatt hours in the first year, enough to cover the full annual usage the house was running before the panels went up.
Project Facts
- Location
- Freehold, NJ
- Service
- Solar Panel Installation
- Client since
- November 2014
- Panels
- LG Model # 300N1C-G3/35mm
- Panels
- 45
- System size
- 13.50 kW
- Inverter
- EnPhase M250-60-2LL-S22 Micro-Single
- Mounting system
- QuickMount
- Estimated first-year production
- 15,241 kWh
- Electric utility
- JCP&L
Solar questions from Freehold homeowners
How much does shade from mature Freehold 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.
Are north-facing panels a bad idea?
They generally produce less annual energy in New Jersey than comparable south-facing panels, but they are not automatically unusable. Roof pitch, shading, the economics and the space available all matter, and a production model should show the expected output before north-facing modules go into a design.
Does the electric meter get changed?
The utility has to provide metering capable of properly measuring the electricity delivered to and received from a net-metered customer. Which meter that is, and how it gets swapped, varies by utility.