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Our Solar Installation
QTH > Solar Panels
Our power provider, PG&E, advised that their high electricity rates were going even higher in 2022, so we made the decision to go with solar. We were offered "free solar" by one firm, but upon learning of the pitfalls of the "free" system, we decided go with another firm and pay for the system outright. It was a very good decision. We had the system installed during May/June 2022 by a local contractor "Solarhut"--a very competent and professional small business entity. I was a county building inspector for 24 years and am very happy with Solarhut's professionalism and the quality of the installation.
Setting a stringline on the property line was necessary to place the solar panels at the minimum setback of 30 feet. The property corners are not within sight of each other due to a roll in the parcel. To resolve setting a temporary hub at the roll, I found this used Pentax theodolite on Craigslist and used it to set the hub.
Ours is a "ground mount" system placed about 200 feet from the house. Its location was chosen to make optimum use of the sunlight over the course of a year. At the one-year anniversary of the connection to the grid, the system produced just over 20 megawatts of power. It produces slightly more power than we consume.
