Solar Power Plant - Way to future!

Hello TF Community,

Completed 1 yr for my Solar power plant this week and generated 3800 units of electricity.



A bit about my setup -
It's an On Grid setup.
540W x 6 Jinko half cut mono perc panels and 3kW Growatt inverter.
My typical household usage was 150 units a month. With addition of EV, expected it to go around 250 units.

Total generation of 3800kWh for past yr, with avg of 310kWh/month.
Highest - 372kWh in April 23
Lowest - 222kWh in July 22

This is after not so much maintenance of solar panels.
Have cleaned my panels myself only twice in this yr as it has been raining at least once a month.

Paid only ₹100x12months as fixed charges for last yr.
Now i have got a credit of ₹3300 in this bill from MSEDCL, so nothing to pay from now on.

By this rate i would get back my ₹2L investment in ~7yrs as per my calculations. Faster if i drive my Tata TigorEV more. 😜
And panels have warranty of 20yrs. So it's basically free electricity for next 13yrs.

I would certainly recommend everyone to go for it (if its possible).
This is an investment which will not only help you personally, but it'll help our community and environment as well.


Cheers!

(@TechnoFino - Couldn't find matching category, so have put this under finance guide.)

Edit (28.05.2024) -

Completed 2yrs since installation.
Total generation - 7383kWh since installation.

 

[luciferlucifer is verified member.]

Hello TF Community,

Completed 1 yr for my Solar power plant this week and generated 3800 units of electricity.

View attachment 17474

A bit about my setup -
It's an On Grid setup.
540W x 6 Jinko half cut mono perc panels and 3kW Growatt inverter.
My typical household usage was 150 units a month. With addition of EV, expected it to go around 250 units.

Total generation of 3800kWh for past yr, with avg of 310kWh/month.
Highest - 372kWh in April 23
Lowest - 222kWh in July 22

This is after not so much maintenance of solar panels.
Have cleaned my panels myself only twice in this yr as it has been raining at least once a month.

Paid only ₹100x12months as fixed charges for last yr.
Now i have got a credit of ₹3300 in this bill from MSEDCL, so nothing to pay from now on.

By this rate i would get back my ₹2L investment in ~7yrs as per my calculations. Faster if i drive my Tata TigorEV more. 😜
And panels have warranty of 20yrs. So it's basically free electricity for next 13yrs.

I would certainly recommend everyone to go for it (if its possible).
This is an investment which will not only help you personally, but it'll help our community and environment as well.


Cheers!

Could you give us an idea about the space needed to setup this?
Also how much time the pannel receives sunlight on avg per day(may depend on seasons)

 

[sheru]

Could you give us an idea about the space needed to setup this?
Also how much time the pannel receives sunlight on avg per day(may depend on seasons)

Sure...

So there are 6 panels in my setup each with dim 8ft x 4ft. Right now its set up in 3 x 2 formation. But one might setup 6 x 1 formation as well, depending upon space availability.

My setup is on terrace at the height of 7th floor, and receives sunlight from sunrise to sunset. So almost 11-12hrs.
Only shadow it gets is because of clouds.

 

[Predator]

is there any way you can sell extra generated units to grid?

 

[sheru]

is there any way you can sell extra generated units to grid?

Definitely yes. Its called Net metering.
Your power distribution company purchases extra units at the end of FY at a fixed price.

 

[bigbrain]

I was waiting to complete one year to post it results of my investment 😊. 10 days to go. The installed capacity at my house is 2.8kW and has generated about 3.2MWh. I calculated a 10 to 11% returns. I happy with its performance in spite of constant rains last year. I will share more analysis after it completes 1 year.

 

[sheru]

I was waiting to complete one year to post it results of my investment 😊. 10 days to go. The installed capacity at my house is 2.8kW and has generated about 3.2MWh. I calculated a 10 to 11% returns. I happy with its performance in spite of constant rains last year. I will share more analysis after it completes 1 year.

Happy to know you'll also complete your 1yr soon.

 

[VijayflyRaven]

I am not 100% sure but when I did some digging for net metering and net feed-in in my state of TamilNadu, it seems EB buys at feed in rate (low rate) but I have to pay at retail rate (high rate). Net metering is only for 2019 or earlier connections.

For example, if I generate 2k units and consume 2k units, I still have to pay a bill that is going to be high. They buy the 2k units at around 2 rupees I guess and sell it to me at around 8 on average. So benefit is absent.

 

[R!ppEr]

i so want to do this but i live in an apartment and my society wont allow :\

 

[plastikman]

Sure...

So there are 6 panels in my setup each with dim 8ft x 4ft. Right now its set up in 3 x 2 formation. But one might setup 6 x 1 formation as well, depending upon space availability.

My setup is on terrace at the height of 7th floor, and receives sunlight from sunrise to sunset. So almost 11-12hrs.
Only shadow it gets is because of clouds.

Wow. I too have a terrace on 7th floor with exclusive access to me and shall consider the same. Do they get dusty and need cleaning from time to time ?

 

[R!ppEr]

Wow. I too have a terrace on 7th floor with exclusive access to me and shall consider the same. Do they get dusty and need cleaning from time to time ?

yes def you'll need to keep them dust-free to generate the max amount of energy! the biggest issue with mars rovers is that they slowly start generating lesser and lesser energy due to the dust accumulation on the solar panels 😀

 

[bigbrain]

I am not 100% sure but when I did some digging for net metering and net feed-in in my state of TamilNadu, it seems EB buys at feed in rate (low rate) but I have to pay at retail rate (high rate). Net metering is only for 2019 or earlier connections.

For example, if I generate 2k units and consume 2k units, I still have to pay a bill that is going to be high. They buy the 2k units at around 2 rupees I guess and sell it to me at around 8 on average. So benefit is absent.

I think you are referring to gross metering.. In gross metering you sell the units you produce and buy the units you need. But in Net metering, you will be billed for the difference. i.e if you consume more than you pay. If you produce more then the discoms pays you. But Discoms buy at lot lesser price.

However, I don't know the rules in TamilNadu.

 

[VijayflyRaven]

I think you are referring to gross metering.. In gross metering you sell the units you produce and buy the units you need. But in Net metering, you will be billed for the difference. i.e if you consume more than you pay. If you produce more then the discoms pays you. But Discoms buy at lot lesser price.

However, I don't know the rules in TamilNadu.

Net metering stopped as of 2019 as far as I know in TN. I wanted to switch but had to abandon it sometime in 2020.

 

[sheru]

I am not 100% sure but when I did some digging for net metering and net feed-in in my state of TamilNadu, it seems EB buys at feed in rate (low rate) but I have to pay at retail rate (high rate). Net metering is only for 2019 or earlier connections.

For example, if I generate 2k units and consume 2k units, I still have to pay a bill that is going to be high. They buy the 2k units at around 2 rupees I guess and sell it to me at around 8 on average. So benefit is absent.

@bigbrain replied it correctly.
Gross metering is beneficial for discoms.
Net metering is beneficial for consumers.

I can't comment about current status in TN, but atleast in MH it's still what discoms do.

 

[sheru]

Wow. I too have a terrace on 7th floor with exclusive access to me and shall consider the same. Do they get dusty and need cleaning from time to time ?

1. Do a cost benefit analysis before you decide.
I was about to buy an EV so it was a simple decision for me.
If you see the benefits and as you said you have that kind of space, then just go for it.

2. Yeah they do get dusty.
It depends on various factors actually - pollution around you, proximity to city centre, constitution sites, industries.
I have observed around 10-15% drop in generation coz of dust.
But cleaning them is also easy. Just a simple splash of water clears 75% dust. What remains is only bird droppings, large stone-like particles etc. Those can be cleaned using a wiper.

 

[romilq]

We installed solar panels 2 months ago. Since then every day it is generating 23-25 units. And daily consumption is 20-22 units since my AC is on for like 20 hours a day.

 

[plastikman]

1. Do a cost benefit analysis before you decide.
I was about to buy an EV so it was a simple decision for me.
If you see the benefits and as you said you have that kind of space, then just go for it.

2. Yeah they do get dusty.
It depends on various factors actually - pollution around you, proximity to city centre, constitution sites, industries.
I have observed around 10-15% drop in generation coz of dust.
But cleaning them is also easy. Just a simple splash of water clears 75% dust. What remains is only bird droppings, large stone-like particles etc. Those can be cleaned using a wiper.

Thank you for your insights. I'll keep these points in mind.

 

[CARDBITRAGE]

I was considering getting a 5KW solar rooftop plant for my home. I recently discovered that the central government has newly launched a website for claiming subsidy for your solar rooftop installations. If anybody has any experience with claiming the subsidy through the portal, it would be great if you could share your thoughts and experience here.
Link for the subsidy: https://solarrooftop.gov.in/

 

[bigbrain]

1. Do a cost benefit analysis before you decide.
I was about to buy an EV so it was a simple decision for me.
If you see the benefits and as you said you have that kind of space, then just go for it.

2. Yeah they do get dusty.
It depends on various factors actually - pollution around you, proximity to city centre, constitution sites, industries.
I have observed around 10-15% drop in generation coz of dust.
But cleaning them is also easy. Just a simple splash of water clears 75% dust. What remains is only bird droppings, large stone-like particles etc. Those can be cleaned using a wiper.

You are right, 15% drop easily with dust accumulation. My solar installer cleans the panels once in 3 months and this helps.
See snapshots on 2 consecutive days with very similar sky conditions - 4th March is before cleaning and 5th March is after cleaning - about 2.5 units of extra power generated.

 

[bigbrain]

Net metering stopped as of 2019 as far as I know in TN. I wanted to switch but had to abandon it sometime in 2020.

That is sad. There are rumours that Karnataka will also make changes to solar policy that makes it less attractive. Depends on what new government decides.