The Solar-o-metre reads 17,228 this morning.  Since there was no sun for the past couple days, we can assume that on December 1 it sported the same numbers.  At the send of September, it read 15,278.  That means in October and November combined, we generated 1950 kilowatt hours.  The target for those two months was 2017 kilowatt hours.  So we generated 96.6 percent of the target amount – not quite as good as July and August, but still one of the best months.

Keep in mind also that November is generally the low point in the year and October is generally the fourth worst month of the year.  We will weather December and January, and then things start looking brighter again.

Now let’s look now at our annual record.  Just as a reminder, we hooked up to the grid November 25, 2011.  But that first week was pure clouds.  So for practical purposes, we are measuring progress from December 1, which really does make things easier.

The annual target for electricity generation is 20,033 kilowatt hours. We generated 17,228, which is 86 percent.  So any month over 86 percent of the target was a good month, and any month below was a bad month.  For 2013, we are hoping for 12 good months!

At a rate of $0.642/kilowatt hour, we generated $11,060.38 in our first 12 months.  If that is representative of all twenty years of our contract, we should earn 221,207.52.  Of course, half of that will be go to paying off the equipment and installation, as well as insurance and some maintenance costs

Of course, the “money months” that are most important to do well in are July, June, May and March.  In 2012, we hit above average for three of those months; a malfunction in March cost us a bit.  So I am hoping that in 2013, we can ring up 18,000 kilowatt hours.

For the bolt tightening, I needed a fairly heavy duty torque wrench, plus the attachments (that was pushing $150) and a taller step ladder than I already owned.  It was awkward bringing it home on my little PT Cruiser, but I didn’t damage too many fence posts and cyclists along the way.

For gears, a special grease is required, which we bought direct from Deger. Never having greased before, I had to buy a grease gun. We were warned about using any other.  The grease is used on the main gear that swivels the array, and in machinery on which it pivots up and down.

But it gets confusing from there.

One set of Deger’s printed literature says the greasing is part of annual maintenance to “lubricate them again if necessary”.  How to determine if it is necessary is not stated, nor how much lubrication would be needed.

Another set of Deger’s printed literature says “If the system is supposed to operate for 20 years or longer, it is necessary to grease the gear once a year.”  It emphasizes one pump stroke, so that clears that up.Or does it?

In two different emails from two different Deger representatives, I am instructed to use 4-5 pumps strokes and 2-3 pump strokes.

I know that to little grease to make the gears wear down prematurely. I also know that feeding too much grease into the gear could pop a seal, depending on how it is built inside. I ended up putting 4 pump strokes.

On the outside gear box, not inside the gear itself.  I cannot get into that gear, due to the way the only two openings don’t open.  However, if I am correct, the outside gear box is a worm gear, and the grease pumped into it should propagate inside the gear itself after a few swivels.  I am still waiting to hear confirmation on that.

So, I am confused… 1 pump stroke? 2-3 pump strokes? 4-5 pump strokes?  None?  Annually?  Every 15 years? Hopefully the 4 strokes I gave are right.

And hopefully all will be working smoothly until next year’s annual maintenance.

Toggle switch that controls the solar array. We need to table-top it to work on it.

So how did September treat our solar panels (besides donating that wasps nest, of course)?

The meter reading at the end of August was 13,768 kilowatt hours.  That represents nine months and one cloudy week of generation.  The meter reading last night to close out the end of September was15,278 kilowatt hours.

OK, let’s do the math – that means we generated 1510  kilowatt hours in the month of September.  The expected electricity generation under ideal conditions (clear horizons all around, no equipment down-time) and typical weather for September would be 1640.  So we generated 92 percent of the expected amount.  Not as good as July or August, but better than May and June.

Generating 1510 kilowatt hours in September is good, but there are a couple less savory items to note in September.  First is that we are looking ahead to declining generation and declining revenue for the next several months, with a low in November, and reaching September levels again only in February.

Second, it is time for annual maintenance.  Although we came online near the end of November, I don’t want to wait until then to squirt grease or tighten bolts with frozen fingers.  In fact, I would have lived to get all that done in August or early September, but I just got the grease…and then there was that matter of the black wasps guarding the gears.  But I shall report shortly on the greasing and the bolt tightening.

Now it is autumn and new animals have taken to nesting in our solar panels.  Wasps!

Unlike the birds, who built their nest on the steel structure of the frame supporting the solar array, these nasty little creatures built theirs right up against the solar panels.  Right above where I am about to do my annual greasing.  And attached themselves directly to the electrical wiring.

In this pic, it looks as though they are plugged into the panels.  Solar powered wasps! If you have children, as I have, and find yourself watching too many kids movies, you might be forgiven for imagining a sophisticated colony of wasps powering lamps and TVs and alarm clocks from our solar panels.

And unlike the birds, these are nasty little creatures.  We had removed yellow jackets from burrowing into our bedroom wall a couple weeks earlier, so I got back on the line with the pest control folks.  They took one look at these and grinned.  These black wasps are much more aggressive than the ones they had removed from our home.  Good thing I didn’t try climbing a ladder and spraying from a can.

This is the KA-BOOM!! photo.  The black dots you see around the decimated nest are a few wasps that were still alive., buzzing around and wondering how their planet could have been hit with such a lethal plague.

If wasps ruled Hollywood, this blog post would be the trailer for a fall disaster blockbuster.

Last night before bed, I took the meter reading: 13,768 kilowatt hours. That compares with end-of-July reading of 11,936. Subtract the July 31 reading from the August 31 reading and you get 1832 kilowatt hours of electricity generated in August 2012.

That is incredibly close to the “expected” generation of 1861 kilowatt hours – 98.4 percent. Even better than the 98.1 percent in July. Put in perspective, May and June were 91.7 percent and 89.3 percent respectively.

Yes, August was a smash success. The moral of the story? Don’t watch the meter.

The end-of-July meter reading was 11,936. The end of June meter reading was 9661. That means we generated 2275 kilowatt hours, or 98.1 percent of the ideal-circumstances prediction. That surpasses June’s 89.3 percent and May’s 91.7 percent. If there is any month you want to get the highest percentage possible, it’s the big month.

So I am smiling.

The sad news is that the party is over for the year. Predicted output goes down from here:

• August: 1861
• September: 1640
• October: 1269
• November: 748
• December: 985

And to drive home that point, we roll into August under heavy grey skies.

My first thought was, “How on earth did they build it there, what with all the rotating and tipping the panels go through as the sun moves and the clouds intercept?”

My second thought was, “What happens to the eggs when the solar array table-tops?”

Scrambled eggs, anyone?

In theory, June should have generated 50 kilowatt hours more than May.  But May was quite sunny and June kicked in with three solid days of rain, and there were several rainy and cloudy days in the final week.

For those who are keeping track, our June power generation is 89.3 percent of projected generation.

One reason we are falling short is because we don’t have a clear view to the horizon.  On the longest day of the year, three panels were in shade at 6:40 pm, and eight were in shade by 7:10.

OK, next comes July, the month that should be our top earner.  Wish me luck.

May 2012 was good month.  Lots of sunny days.  Plenty of mixed sun and cloud days.  Just a few rainy days.  Pretty much what one would expect. So now that the Deger tracking device has been fixed, we should have been generating power almost at the top of our potential.

At the end of April, I reported that our meter read 5720 kilowatt hours.  Last night, once the sun went down, it read 7693.  So we generated 1973 kilowatt hours.  That is still short of the 2151 projected by PVwatts.  It is 91.7 percent – much better than any other month, so far, but still shy of what we would have hoped.

Why?

PVwatts measures solar radiation in Ottawa, the closest big city.  But Ottawa is still an hour’s drive away.  Is it possible that there is a significant variation in solar radiation between here and Ottawa?

I have searched in vain for a regional radiation map.  Anything I can find is Canada-wide, like the one below.  If anyone knows where I can find more localized solar radiation data, I would love to hear from you.

In any case, the payment for May will still be by far the largest one yet, and the system is still a positive investment.  So I am smiling even as I scratch my head.

Reactions from the solar industries have been almost unanimously positive, because the report renews the government’s commitment to helping build a made-in Ontario solar industry and continues the subsidies to do so. They are also pleased that much of the bureaucratic process will be streamlined, especially for MicroFIT (small projects for home, farm and small business installations like mine).

Less pleasing to the solar industry are that the prices (subsidies) are being cut by somewhere in the range of 30%. Michelle Chislett, Chair of the Canadian Solar Industries Association calls them “aggressive”. On the plus side, cutting prices will force the industry to improve and become more efficient, so they are probably a good thing.

The new rates for ground mounted solar installations will be 44.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. For roof-mounted installations, the rate will be 54.9 cents. Aggressive cuts indeed. Too much, too fast? Perhaps. If it brings new installations to a halt, it will prove to have been too deep cutting. We will have to see whether the solar industry can bring in matching efficiencies to keep the MicroFit program attractive.