Kristen from Colts Neck, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since August of 2020. This is the larger of two arrays on the property, both finished on the same December day in 2020. The main house carries 52 LG NeON 2 panels making 18.72 kW into a SolarEdge inverter with an optimizer on every panel, an estimated 21,326 kilowatt hours in the first year, and 172 feet of critter guard around the perimeter. The existing roof was sound enough to build on, so the work stayed with the array, and JCP&L interconnected the system in January of 2021. A property with more than one building is really more than one solar problem – each roof has its own pitch, its own shading and its own load beneath it, and the sensible answer is to size each array to the building it sits on.
Project Facts
- Location
- Colts Neck, NJ
- Services
- Solar Critter Guard, Solar Panel Installation
- Client since
- August 2020
- Panels
- LG Model # 360N1C-N5
- Panels
- 52
- System size
- 18.72 kW
- Inverter
- SolarEdge SE7600H-US000NC2
- Mounting system
- Ecolibrium Solar
- Estimated first-year production
- 21,326 kWh
- Share of the home's electricity
- 92%
- Electric utility
- JCP&L
- Critter guard fitted
- 172 ft
Solar questions from Colts Neck homeowners
How much does shade from mature Colts Neck 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.
What is the difference between a solar lease and a solar loan?
With a loan the homeowner generally buys and owns the system; with a lease a third party owns it and the homeowner pays for its use. Ownership is what decides incentives, certificate ownership, maintenance, warranties, how the system transfers on a house sale, insurance, residual value and any buyout rights.
Does the system work at night?
No. Conventional panels produce nothing without sunlight, and a grid-connected home simply draws from the utility after dark. A battery can store solar energy for use in the evening, but a battery is not required for a standard net-metered installation.