Oviedo, FL
The panels and the system as a whole seem to be operating just great. The panels look great, appear to be quite sturdy and have survived a couple of thunderstorms with no issues. Maybe (hopefully not), we'll see how they fare after a major hurricane, but from all appearances so far they seem to be excellent and performing well. I have a 10Kw system and even this early in the year, I've had a few days where we've generated over 50Kwh from them.... read more
Type: Other
Reviewed: 02/22/2017
I have some good things to say about the inverter and one (minor) bad thing.
First, they generally work fine, as far as producing electricity and performing their basic functions. So far, they have been 100% reliable and working great. No problems at all with respect to the main function of the inverters.
The inverters (we have 2) were easy to connect to my home network and they receive automatic updates over the internet and the Sunny Portal web interface gives me some insights into how they are performing (more on this later).
The Sunny Portal web interface generally works "ok" but I have had some days where, according to the web interface, either my system reported no solar generation at all or that it generated orders of magnitude more electricity than is physically possible (e.g. 40 Megawatt hours in one day!). Eventually, I lost confidence in the Sunny Portal software, even though everything seemed to be working just fine. I can confirm, by looking at the Duke Energy electric meter that the system was working fine, but for whatever reason, the web portal reported otherwise. Some might consider this a minor inconvenience. I should also note that the last anomaly I witnessed in the Sunny Web portal was over 2 months ago, and since then it's been working just fine (hence the 5 star review, even with this issue, which perhaps has since been resolved).
However, I am a bit of a tech geek (I am a software architect by trade) and I was able to find the technical documentation for the inverters and with the help of Jan at Solar-Ray and John, engineer at SMA, I was able to get the necessary passwords and write my own software application to monitor the inverters. I have since been using that instead of the Sunny Portal that SMA provides.... read more
Type: Other
Reviewed: 02/22/2017
The staff at Solar-Ray, from sales, to installation and activation, to support have been outstanding.
Starting with sales, I was immediately impressed by their staff. Kevin came out to my house and sat down with my wife and I and went over all the features, costs, benefits and the whole process with us. He analyzed my electric bill and discussed some things that we could do to reduce our electric consumption and helped us size a system that would meet our needs. He recommended a bank to finance the system with and was the most knowledgeable person I've ever met regarding PV systems. He's also a PV system owner and he showed pictures of his house and utility bill to back up his claims.
During installation the crew arrived on time, finished on time and were very courteous and professional the whole time. They explained what they were doing every step of the way and I felt confident that they were highly qualified, professionals and followed all the required building codes and best practices.
A couple days later, after Duke energy installed the required net-meter, Carl came out an activated the system. He was very knowledgeable and walked me through the whole system, including how to use the web interface, troubleshooting procedures, and where to get more technical information.
We've been generating our own electricity for about 3 1/2 months now and I've received 3 electric bulls from Duke energy. Previously my average bill was about $300/month. My first bill was $17, and appears to be the minimum that Duke will charge me each month (before applying credits). My second bill was over the winter solstice (shortest day of the year) and also at a time when our consumption was high due to kids being home from college for the holidays, etc... and our bill was a whopping $45. The next month, our bill was $11 ($17 minus $6 in credits).
I fell confident that we made the right decision, and that not only is this system a great financial choice, but also the right thing for the environment.
And of course, Solar-Ray has been great, every step of the way.... read more
Type: Residential Electric
Reviewed: 02/22/2017
The information on our website is general in nature and is not intended as a substitute for competent legal, financial or electrical engineering advice. Reviews on this site do not reflect the views or opinions of SolarReviews or its directors or shareholders, nor an endorsement of any third party company. We make no representation as to the accuracy of the information entered by third parties. We disclaim any liability for any damages or loss arising from your use thereof.
Sitemap Privacy Policy Do not sell my details Terms of Use For Installers Register Login
Copyright © 2012 - - solarreviews.com. All rights reserved.
