Author: John

i am a god

Photovoltaic’s impact on home insurance & resale value


In this post I wrote about photovoltaic’s impact on a house’s resale value. The tl;dr is, it was positive, and the only question was by how much. Today, my insurance company told me that my house’s value had increased by 100% of the amount I spent on the recent solar panel installation. This isn’t an … Continue reading Photovoltaic’s impact on home insurance & resale value →

As you go


If you’re even slightly introspective and empathetic, you reach a time in your life when you realize your shortcomings. And then you try to correct them. At a later time, you acknowledge your shortcomings and shrug them off. You accept them.

Monitoring my photovoltaic panels


I'm enjoying monitoring our solar panels' production. SolarEdge's site provides more data than their iOS app, but the app is convenient for checking the system during the day. The UI won't win any awards but it's more than adequate for the task. It’s illuminating (no pun intended) to see how a tree or chimney shadow, … Continue reading Monitoring my photovoltaic panels →

Photovoltaic installation, day 4. We are done!


All the panels are up, we're connected to the grid, and we are live! Here's the panel layout. I went with the maximum panel density that our roof would support, given local building codes. (Some localities, Seattle included, regulate the maximum roof percentage that may be covered by solar panels, minimum roof edge clearances, etc.) … Continue reading Photovoltaic installation, day 4. We are done! →

Photovoltaic installation, day 2


Previous posts in this series: Photovoltaic installation, day 1 Photovoltaic installation starts today! Solar panel changes, installation in one week! On Modeling the Economics of Residential Solar Solar power installer selected! Three solar power proposals A financial model for residential solar power Today the A&R team worked on the connections and intermediate hardware, and figured out … Continue reading Photovoltaic installation, day 2 →

Photovoltaic installation, day 1


Previous posts in this series: Photovoltaic installation starts today! Solar panel changes, installation in one week! On Modeling the Economics of Residential Solar Solar power installer selected! Three solar power proposals A financial model for residential solar power This is supposed to be a four-day install. The REC 405W panels were delivered. I've now got 12,555 … Continue reading Photovoltaic installation, day 1 →

Solar panel changes, installation in one week!


Previous posts in this series: On Modeling the Economics of Residential Solar Solar power installer selected! Three solar power proposals A financial model for residential solar power We've been given a date of September 19 for the installation start! And we've had two small hitches... After an internal review, A&R Solar needed to adjust the roof … Continue reading Solar panel changes, installation in one week! →