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70.8 units were generated across last 8 days in Dec/21, average less than 9 units. I was expecting around 12 units though. The peak was 1700w and average peak is around 1550w. The trend is in line with your numbers in these 8 days, while the actuals should have been nearer to 50%, but they are not. My roof is completely shade free, hence I am more curious on why the generation is 75% of expected numbers. I will have it checked by the installer first.

I did wash the panels, but very little improvement in peak and daily generation.

The meter displays RPF which is hovering between 0.86 and 0.89. I will try to decipher this when I get time.

This is still work in progress but this is the power factor reading just before my Solar generation connects back into the Netmeter and PF is pretty close to 1 (which is ideal). However, i believe the value will vary again if i measure between the netmeter and the grid and that is what is actually measured by the netmeter. Again, my knowledge is limited in this area and i have to read and understand more on how these measurements actually effect the readings on the netmeter. Also, i don't plan to break my head too much since my system is generating way more than i am consuming and i have to figure out ways to consume all the energy. the upcoming summer will help consume some but i don't think i will be able to use everything i am generating at this point.

I have submitted an application under SOURA GRUHA YOJANE (SGY) - 2019-2020 scheme (Is this scheme still active?) with BESCOM a couple of days ago. Documents like applicant photo, aadhar, lastest electricity bill were uploaded and a fee of Rs.590/- was paid to process the application.

The current status shown is "Intimated for submitting PPA", anyone here is aware of the timeline I should be looking at for this to be implemented? I have no confidence in BESCOM.

If BESCOM does not show up, can I get a Solar power plant with a Pvt player?

With the decent rain yesterday, all my panels are washed clean and today's peak generation is 2340W/3000W, 78% of the installed capacity. Since installation (Dec/23) till yesterday, the peak has been a max of 1600W/3000W only. I guess dust accumulation on the panels is a clear dampener to generation. Our colony is surrounded by construction of apartment complexes on 3 sides, which may last another 6 months or so. I will see if monthly cleaning helps.

I have 3kw setup and have seen go to max 2.7kw in Oct last week after rain. In Jan, max was 2.4 just after rain. From what I have observed, after rain, efficiency increases by 10-15% for next few days until further dust acumulates.

Here's graph for January, a day after rain


This was in October after rain


A week after rain power generation went down due to dust

Yeah, my 6kw system beat its previous high record and generated 29.2 KwH yesterday.

Anyone using panel washing systems using pressure adapters like these? Would be easy to connect to small pump and automate On and OFF early morning or end of day each day to clean any dust.

www.amazon.in/dp/B094D9HYFQ

I have seen some reviews and youtube and understand that these are not super effective and the panel usually need some kind of wiping to clean off all dust.

Right now, i am using a car pressure washer and was able to repurpose a Leifheit Telescopic handle i had with a window wiper attachment to wipe and clean once in a while.
However, the challenge is that my panels are at 10ft height (crazy vendor wanted to avoid all kinds of obstacles like water tank etc on my roof top) and it feels difficult and dangerous to climb up a high stool and wash the panels at that height.

My idea is to figure out if the automated system is worth it or i just invest some more and get a iron walkway with a ladder and handrails installed so that i can safely walk up and wash.

Highly recommend Sunil - knowledgable, extensive field experience, passionate and easy to work with, my 7kw roof top enphase installation was done by him.

Need suggestions from the members who have gone through this process.

5 Kw, off grid- Luminous or LivGuard panels - Rs 27 per watt - = 1,35 Lac

My preference is Luminous and vendor is Ok with this.

Exide Solar Batteries - 150 Ah - 13500 X 4 = 54K
Or LivGuard - 165 AH same price

My preference is Exide.

Invertor - Smarten or LivGuard ( as per vendor Luminous is not manufacturing 5Kva)

Any other brand that members can recommend or LivGuard is Ok? = 48 K

Structure - 25K

DC DB - Luminous - 3K

Installation - 15K

Total - 2,78 Lac

Also, we may not have 5 Kva load currently but in future it may increase. Any disadvantages of going for higher capacities in Off-Grid?

This is to be installed in Gurgaon.

Govt removed restriction on allowed rooftop solar vendors. Now, people can get their solar installation from any vendor as long as they use approved brand panels and inverters.

https://m.economictimes.com/industry...w/89036067.cms

Not sure about availability in India yet, but i suggest you invest time and look for LiFePO4 (not Li Ion used in EV's) batteries. This is what everyone is doing in US and other advanced counties now and im sure you will find something in India soon. The batteries will last multiple times the charge discharge cycles (3-4x) of typical Lead acid batteries and can discharge down to 10-15% of their marketed capacity unlike lead acids which can only be discharged upto 50% of their capacity and will get damaged if you discharge more. Due to the DOD being higher, you can actually buy close to half the Ah and get the same capacity. No maintenance like lead acid and since we wont deep discharge very often this could mean 15-20 yrs of life easily.

I have seen in some videos that there are server rack 5kw 48V LIFEPo4 packs coming up lately and will be perfect and hassle free for offgrid applications. I have been to a renewable energy exibition recently and a couple of companies had this product displayed in their stall and were claiming it will be available in the open market in 2 months. Don't remember the company name but i will try to find the card i picked up from them.

Off course, you will also have to find a Inverter than supports these batteries, the normal lead acid inverters have a different charge and discharge profile and won't work.

To give you some leads, i have watched some videos related to inverters that support these batteries on Nexus solar youtube channel. And for the server rack batteries, i think i saw something listed by some company called Cellcronic.

But my general feeling is that these will catch up in India in the next 6 months. Can consider if you have the time and energy.

For more knowledge on offgrid systems, do watch :

https://www.youtube.com/c/WillProwse

Was excited to read this great news couple of days ago. Will be interesting to see how this pans out and how smooth things are going to be. Either way, depending on the specs they allow, this has the potential to open up the Solar Energy market in India and products becoming available more freely online for DIY enthusiasts. Companies like Enphase with microinverters might really benefit if their product is on the approved list since they are extremely DIY friendly and way more safer for a novice to do a DIY compared to Spring inverter based systems where one has to deal with Dangerously high DC voltages.

I recently got my grid tie solar system up and running in Bangalore. Generation is varying from 9 to 11 units per day (3kw unit, mono perc panels, string inverter). We do have some shading challenges early in the morning and evenings. So it seems reasonable.

Now looking at installing a sprinkler system to clean the panels once every few weeks atleast. My location has a lot of dust and in a month there is significant amount of dust accumulated. So I think there is value in investing in a cleaning system.

Now coming to a question i have. Mine is a string inverter where all panels are connected in series. Due to shading, we lose some power generation in the morning and evening. Have any of you considered using what is called as a DC optimizer to reduce shading issues?

You may pursue the latest technology as @vj_v3 suggested. If going ahead with what you listed, I would suggest you can optimize the no. of panels based on your current load (but retain 5KV inverter and 4x batteries). The panels can be added later once you need additional load. The quoted price seems reasonable.

For a 2.5KW max load at a farm house, we went with 3.8KV inverter, 6x330w mono panels, 4 150mah batteries and on-terrace (no elevated structure) panels installation for 2.25L from TATA Solar incl installation.

Based on my research, investing in a sprinkler system can help reduce the frequency of manual/pressure cleaning but cannot completely replace the later. Panel still need some level of manual cleaning once in a few weeks to get rid of the muck and bird dropping which the sprinkler system cannot clean.

+1, manual cleaning is still required.

BTW, one month after a decent rain, I just dusted off the panels with the help of a micro fiber mop yesterday. Today, the peak generation has been 72% and output of 14units (3KW installation). It was reaching a peak of 55% only till yesterday. I will repeat this every couple of weeks and see if I can wait till the monsoon season without cleaning with water, but I doubt it.