Howdy

[GoldCountryCA]

Hey All,

I’m looking to install a ground mount on my property. My usage was about 12 kWh/day until I bought an EV. Now it’s roughly 42kWh/day, due to my 120 mile/day commute. In other words, I’m looking to produce about 1200kWh per month.

Looking forward to picking everyone’s brains here.

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[RobertGreen]

Welcome to the forum! I hope you find it as useful and interesting as I have.
42kWh/day sounds like it's going to be quite a good sized system!

 

[GoldCountryCA]

Doing some basic math: 42,000/5=8400. So I guess I’ll need a 8.4kWh array.

That sound about right?

 

[RobertGreen]

I was thinking around 10kW (just an amateur guess!) but have a look at this site (https://pvwatts.nrel.gov/pvwatts.php)
It will help you estimate expected solar power production based on historical climate and solar data from a weather station nearby your location.

I've attached a screenshot from the simulation I just ran. Assumptions were: 10kW array, fixed mounting angle at ~40 degrees.

Are you intending to be fully off-grid or what? If your needs are pretty constant and don't fluctuate, consider that your production will fluctuate to a large degree, especially in the winter time.

 

[GoldCountryCA]

I was thinking around 10kW (just an amateur guess!) but have a look at this site (https://pvwatts.nrel.gov/pvwatts.php)
It will help you estimate expected solar power production based on historical climate and solar data from a weather station nearby your location.

I've attached a screenshot from the simulation I just ran. Assumptions were: 10kW array, fixed mounting angle at ~40 degrees.

Are you intending to be fully off-grid or what? If your needs are pretty constant and don't fluctuate, consider that your production will fluctuate to a large degree, especially in the winter time.

View attachment 93010

Not off grid, just 100% offset for my energy requirements. I just played with that website. Mine was very close to yours on average for 10kW. I used $.28kWh. My off peak, where the large majority of my consumption is, is $.20. My peak is $.49kWh.