Solar Site Assessments

09 Jan 08 | General Business, Solar Electric, Solar Hot Water

Buying a solar system is a large investment. As such, the purchaser will want to know if it is a good investment and exactly what benefits, including return on investment (ROI), he or she will have by owning it. That is reasonable and expected. A larger PV system may cost many tens of thousands of dollars, having a good idea that the system will work from where it is installed is essential.

Click on picture for hi-resolution view of site assessment.
This is why we offer solar site assessments using a Solar Pathfinder. This is a really good tool for determining how well a solar system, either PV or Thermal will work. Generally speaking, properly sizing a grid connected PV system is pretty cut and dry. Properly sizing a stand alone PV system can be tricky, especially if critical use situations like emergency communication sites. The Solar Pathfinder has associated software that will find the nearest National Weather Service (NWS) office data. This allows the software to access the 30 year average weather conditions on a month by month basis. All of this give a pretty accurate picture of local site conditions and the installer can budget for the worst case scenario.

Solar thermal installations also can vary. A typical solar domestic hot water system with a backup electric heating element can be sized according to the number of people living in a house. Solar space heating system, such as radiant floor system require much more planning and attention to heat loads. Again, the Solar Pathfinder can assist in these calculations. Although it is set up to do mainly PV sites, it can be used with solar thermal installations by using the energy output in kWh/M². I have an excel spread sheet which I can plug these numbers into and come up with an estimated system energy production in BTU and Therms.

Naturally, all of this takes time and effort to complete. We, therefore, have a policy of charging $200.00 for a site assessment, including a written report. This fee will be refunded if the property owner purchases the system from Sun Volt Solar. Some people have told me that for a little more money, they can buy their own Solar Pathfinder. That is true, however, just because someone owns a scalpel doesn’t make them a surgeon.

Conducting a solar site assessment for potential customers does several things. You get some one on one time with a potential customer. This can tell you a great deal about why the customer is interested in solar in the first place. Sometimes customers have greater expectations than are realistic. This is a good opportunity to educate them as to what is possible with solar systems. It should also show the best placement for the solar panels or collectors or any corrective actions needed, such as tree removal, by the property owner.

The site assessment should follow a standard report format. Beginning with a general site conditions, the expectations of the property owner, the type of system, type and size of structure, street address, geographical coordinates are nice to include.

Then more specific information such as the specific type and size of the system, how much and what type of energy is used by the building, and what percentage of this energy is expected to be offset by the solar system.

I always include the manufactures product brochures along with the site assessment. These usually have pictures of the equipment along with general information about the equipment and manufacture.

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