> > When you say the rated output is 70watts per panel, is that monthly, dayly?
>
> Been awhile since I checked, but IIRC they're rated in W/h. 40 panels @ 70W
> apiece = 2.8kW/h peak. Makes sense since most people use them to pump power
> back into the grid, and the power consumed from the grid is usually measured in
> kW/h.

This is something I only recently learned. My electric bill is written in Greek and I can't make heads or tails from looking at my meter.

>
> > I thing it's a great investment, but down here, the most we see is
> solar-heated
> > water tanks for the shower, and also, only in reeeally sunny cities in the
> > country.
>
> Agreed. When I was living in Southern California, I was in a top-floor
> apartment that faced East and had no crawlspace between the ceiling and roof.
> The DWP where I was billed its customers on a bi-monthly basis, so in the summer
> it wasn't unusual to have a $500-$600 electric bill because I had to run the A/C
> all day (pets).
>
> I went to the management company with a proposal to install solar panels on the
> roof: the idea was that all tenants' and common areas power would receive an
> equal share of the panels' output. What I didn't tell them was that the real
> benefit would be to the people on the top floor, whose electric bills would be
> slashed dramatically just by the shade they'd provide to the roof. Not that it
> mattered; they weren't interested anyway.

I have the perfect setup for it. My roof faces south. The roof pitch is 4:12 - a very good angle to the sun. Here in Tucson we get sunshine most of the year, can't remember the number of days but it's around 300. And lastly the panels will shade the roof which should help keep it a bit cooler.

>
> Frined of mine with a place out in the Mojave Desert (near 29 Palms) has solar
> panels & storage batteries on his property out there. Works well for him, but
> then it's literally 800 sq. ft. and only used on weekends.
>

I guessing he is off the grid? Usually those battery setups are used for that. They are a more of pain since you have to maintain the batteries and replace them. My goal is a setup that requires little maintenance.

n2