3.22 kW Solar Electric System Installed in Canandaigua, New York

This customer in Canandaigua, NY wanted a grid-connected solar electric system installed on their home.

This 3,220 W (3.2 kW) grid-connected solar electric system was installed as a roof-mounted array of fourteen (14) SunPower 230W solar modules oriented South on the main roof of the Customer’s house. The modules were mounted at the same pitch as the client’s roof using a UniRac SunFrame racking system, and the layout was designed to maximize system size and future expansion, while allowing only minimal losses due to shading and ensuring the system is aesthetically pleasing and well-integrated with the house. The system was configured electrically as two (2) DC circuits (strings) of seven (7) series connected modules providing input through one (1) DC disconnect switch to one (1) SunPower 3000m, 3.0kW inverter. This inverter provides grid-synchronous AC output and interfaces to the electric utility through a dedicated circuit breaker in the Customer’s main service panel. System power production (kW) and cumulative energy (kWh) monitoring was provided by a digital display on the inverter and an electromechanical meter, as internet was not available. As designed, this system should generate 3,546 kWh per year, for an average of 10 kWh/day (approximately 295.5 kWh/month), where daily energy production is both weather and seasonally dependent. This energy production is equivalent to 61% of the customer’s present home electrical usage, and corresponds to a CO2 (greenhouse gas) emissions savings of 4,609 lb per year.