Chuck and Julie from Manahawkin, NJ have been Green Sun Energy Services clients since April of 2012, which makes this the oldest project on the site. The array was finished that September and interconnected by Atlantic City Electric in November: 29 panels making 6.8 kW, each with its own Enphase microinverter, and an estimated 8,859 kilowatt hours in the first year. The array is leased rather than owned. Fourteen years is long enough to be a real test of a design rather than a claim about one – the microinverters chosen in 2012 are still converting panel by panel, and the choice that looked cautious then is the reason no single failure has ever taken the whole system down.
Project Facts
- Location
- Manahawkin, NJ
- Service
- Solar Panel Installation
- Client since
- April 2012
- Panels
- Canadian Solar Model # CS6P-235PX
- Panels
- 29
- System size
- 6.82 kW
- Inverter
- EnPhase M215-60-2LL-S22/S23 Micro-Single
- Mounting system
- Zep Solar
- Estimated first-year production
- 8,859 kWh
- Electric utility
- Atlantic City Electric
Glen Koedding was a pleasure to work with from beginning of the project till the end. Installation employees were thorough and neat.
Green Sun Energy Services replied
Thank you, Julie. The 6.8 kW array on your roof in Manahawkin has been generating since 2012, which is long enough to judge an installation properly. Thorough and neat is what we ask of every crew on a roof, because the work stays visible for decades afterwards.
Solar questions from Manahawkin homeowners
Are panels designed for the wind near Manahawkin?
Yes. The array and its mounting system have to be designed to resist the applicable wind loads, and coastal and exposed locations can carry different wind-design conditions from sheltered inland ones. It is one of the reasons the mounting system and its engineering are chosen for the site rather than by habit.
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.
Are all mounting systems much the same?
No. They differ substantially in attachment method, waterproofing, rail design, materials, wind rating and installation requirements. Residential systems should use appropriately listed components installed to the manufacturer's instructions, and the residential code requires rooftop mounting and structural systems to satisfy the applicable structural and listing requirements.