Thank you for allowing our team to install this beautiful SunPower solar array on your home recently, Dan and Evelyn!
Listen in as Dan shares with Andy how much their solar panels produce on rainy/cloudy days in the Pacific Northwest.
SunPower
If you are like most environmentally conscious people, solar power has been on your radar for a very long time. You may have even developed a habit of waiting for the technology to become more solid, mainstream, and affordable; waiting for the first wave of users to help work out the kinks and develop a perfected product. Until about three weeks ago when I began my research on the Solar Agent position at Power Trip Energy, I thought we were still in waiting mode.
As my training on grid-tied PV has progressed at Power Trip Energy, it has dawned on me that the “early adopter” phase for residential solar power may have already passed. My family has always been the sort who are first on our block to embrace such things as microwave ovens and home computers, cell phones and Netflix. Thankfully, we can keep our technological early adopter self-image intact. Despite the fact that residential solar power has become so mainstream that we can now share our democratized power production with the utility grid and be paid for it at 100% the utility’s selling rate, we can still be the first on our block to invest in a flashy and affordable new solar array!
Your wait is truly over. Residential grid-tied PV solar technology has become more than a logical investment in the future livability of our planet; it has also become fiscally practical, paying for itself over time, increasing our property values, and significantly reducing our power bills immediately. Power Trip Energy was brave enough to show up early and paddle out to the big wave. Now they, I mean WE, are ready to join you in riding that wave back to shore.
What strikes me most about the super awesome community members at Power Trip Energy is their integrity and commitment to our habitat. From the electric personal cars and bicycles in our parking lot to partnering with companies that insist on producing solar modules sustainably, Power Trip Energy is making a real impact on our future for generations to come. I am honored to join them in this powerful movement and eager to share the electricity with you!
Photo taken on Puget Sound Express‘s Glacier Spirit whale watch touring vessel. Hudson Point Marina is in the background. Heather Flanagan is the newest member of the Power Trip Energy team. Originally from Portland, Oregon, she now calls Port Townsend her home. Heather lives in Uptown with her two boys, Logan and Blake.
Mansfield Residence – 7.85 KW SunPower Array on Fronius 10 KW Inverter – Port Townsend – December 2015
SunPower last year verified 25.2% efficiency in a manufactured silicon-based PV cell. This year, they have integrated that cell into a manufactured PV module which attains 24.1% efficiency. When making efficiency comparisons, the cell-level efficiency is less relevant as in order for us to utilize that power, we need the cells built into a module, which will necessarily be slightly less efficient due to the space between cells, and the small area occupied by the frame.
When we are designing a system for a home’s roof, we usually need to make as much power as we can on the available roof space in order generate the largest percentage of the home’s annual energy. So using the most efficient modules available is important to us. While these SunPower modules are not the least expensive on the market, when we can put up an array with higher power rating in the same space as an average array, we can recognize relatively lower $/watt installation costs on all the other aspects of the system.
We are now commonly utilizing SunPower X-21 345 watt modules, which are 21.5% efficient at the module level. Their high efficiency, finish quality, and industry-leading warranty make SunPower an excellent choice for almost all of our clients. For example on the installation from last winter pictured above, we used the SunPower 327 watt modules to get 7.85 KW in the available un-shaded space. If we had used an average module, running ~290 watts in this size right now, that would be a 6.96 KW array in the same space, 12% less power installed for the same amount of work.
https://us.sunpower.com/blog/2016/06/26/sunpower-solar-module-verified-241-percent-efficient/
Four members of the Power Trip Energy team recently completed some advanced training offered by one of our favorite partners in the industry. We love working with SunPower because they make the most efficient products available on the market, and they also have great training support for their dealers.
Andy, Steve, Jacob, and Caleb all completed the one day Advanced Residential Installation Course and passed the test a week later. Andy & Steve also completed the two day Advanced Residential Design course and test. Even after 10 years in the industry, there is a lot to learn. We were happy to learn more about SunPower’s design philosophies and recommendations for best installation practices.
More Third Party Support for SunPower’s efficiency claims – top 3 spots in Photon’s 2012 field tests
SunPower’s E-Series modules take the top 3 spots in the respected Photon field test. One of SunPower’s claims is that their lower temperature coefficients produce better real world results than can be demonstrated in the lab. These field tests are more third party support for those claims. Way to go SunPower! We are happy to be partners with this company.