Home design, solar & HVAC for Wrightwood

[Cigar_and_Scotch]

I am trying to plan out my home build.  I need some information if anyone can help me out here.

1.  I need to know real-world numbers for how much electricity rooftop solar generates in Wrightwood.  Obviously going by the nominal wattage of a solar panel system isn't going to tell you much by itself.  Can anyone using solar in Wrightwood share how much their panels are actually generating?  Obviously the panel orientation is the key variable in any installation, but I would still like a ballpark number of what a real-life, installed system in Wrightwood produces.

2.  I need to size my HVAC, specifically my heating system.  The key information I need is the peak heating load, which requires that I know:

Winter: 99% design temperature. This is the outdoor temperature that your locations stays above for 99% of all the hours in the year, based on a 30-year average.

It would also be nice to know how many *heating degree days* Wrightwood experiences in order to estimate total energy usage for heating.  I was only able to find information for 2014/2015:


Description:
Fahrenheit-based heating degree days for a base temperature of 65F
Source: www.degreedays.net (using temperature data from www.wunderground.com)
Accuracy: Estimates were made to account for missing data: the "% Estimated" column shows how much each figure was affected (0% is best, 100% is worst)
Station: Twin Lakes Road, Wrightwood, CA, US (117.63W,34.35N)
Station ID: KCAWRIGH9

Month starting          Heating degree days       % Estimated

10/1/2014                   278                                3
11/1/2014                   554                                0
12/1/2014                   842                                0
1/1/2015                     789                                0
2/1/2015                     557                                4
3/1/2015                     551                              32
4/1/2015                     480                                0
5/1/2015                     408                                0
6/1/2015                       84                                3
7/1/2015                     102                                3
8/1/2015                       37                                0
9/1/2015                     102                                0
total for year:             4784

[Leftfield]

wow....this is fascinating....

We thought about putting in solar panels but we are concerned about repairs.  Because of our roof line, we could only use 1/2 of our roof.  We could utilize the other half by putting in struts but it would make for a strange look and I could see high winds taking those panels with it. 

We also realize that slowly the neighboring trees will grow high enough to block the remaining half.   

I looked up whats meant by "heating degree days".  I guess its a term that energy dealers use for negotiating energy prices.  To me since those guys arent going to specifically trade energy prices of a mere 6 square miles known as Wrightwood, you would need to know what area in particular that they use to argue prices and the heating degree days for that whole area.  Maybe I got it wrong and that term means something else but it is fascinating. 

[tcaarabians]

Heating degree days relates to how many days you have sufficient sun to maintain your solar panel above a certain degree for operation. It doesn't have anything to do with energy prices.  And, yes trees can block panels just like they block satellite dishes.

Cigar & Scotch:  The husband of a friend here installs solar. P.M. me if you'd like his number.  A fellow that used to be on the board of the PH/Phelan Cert group also installs solar. I can likely find his name too. I used to be on a couple of solar commissions. I think I still have my books. If you're interested I'll dig them out for you.  They'll be a bit dated.  But, they're yours if you'd like them.

You may want to check into solar panels you can adjust as needed. I have to think the mountains during winter will be your biggest impediment. cheryl o7o

[Cigar_and_Scotch]

In the context of HVAC, the heating degree days tell you how much total energy your heating system has to generate to keep your house at a comfortable temperature over the course of the month.  That will tell you how much money you will spend on heating, if you know the insulation properties of your house and the efficiency of your heat source.

I got a private message from someone who has rooftop solar in Wrightwood.  His panels are positioned ideally.  His numbers were revealing.  In July, for instance, I was able to calculate that his panels were seeing 210 hours-equivalent of sunlight.  In November he was getting 101 hours-equivalent of sunlight.  That means you multiply the nominal wattage of your panels by the hours-equivalent of sunlight, and you get your total power generation for the month.   So if you have, say, a typical 4 kW system, that means you generate 840 kWh (kilowatt hours) in July, and 404 kWh in November.

Interesting, as my current usage hovers between 500-600 kWh.  Although at my current house natural gas powers my stove, hot water, and space heating.  If, Lord willing, I get the chance to build a new house, it will be all-electric, so I will have to factor in that usage in my calculations.

[baseballfan]

We don't live in Wrightwood but down in the area off hwy 138. We have solar panels that are on a stand ( I forget the exact name for it) that can be adjusted depending on the angle of the sun.  It makes quite a difference in the wattage.  We didn't want the panels on our tile roof so this was an easy remedy.  I don't think it cost much more to put them on a stand.  So that might be a good option for you.