so the "currency" is kW.

trying to understand. so for a month period.
(1) if usage > generated, i will have to pay for the excess "withdrawal". correct?
(2) if generated > usage, i don't have to pay. the excess "deposit" won't become monetary, but carry forward to contra in the future months. correct?

i understand that the panel itself is definitely outdoor ( )

but inverter and/or everything else, is it required to be indoor? or required to be outdoor? or is it "up to owner"/site-specific?

the inverter is waterproof?

Not waterproof. Need covered area at least.
Mine inside the house.

Does it need frequent? periodical maintenance access?

If above ceiling?

Or somewhere very high? Like the open airspace inside bathroom that goes up about 2 storey high?

Is it safe if just install outside (steel rack like IT server?) but still under roof? Or it is a target for vandals or thieves?

This post has been edited by Oltromen Ripot: May 7 2023, 07:57 PM

on top of your roof is best to avoid shading.


minimal maintenance for solar panel. get a worker to climb up, use a mop, and clean the panel once a year. a lot of people don't bother as well.

more important is actually inverter. no direct sunlight. good ventilation. make sure fan has clear access. real story; a bird built a nest on an air duct of an inverter. it blew within a few weeks after that.

ya, i mean the placement of inverter et al.
of course the solar panel itself is necessary to be exposed to sunlight 😅 and optimally that is on the roof slanted southward.

the inverter. is it hot during sunlight operation? still in use after sunlight?
is it huge? if caged right under ceiling level of porch i.e. still visible to discerning eyes from outside gate, is it a popular target for vandals and thieves?

parking

yes, its hot during operation. the brighter the sun, the hotter it gets. some use an external fan to blow on it to reduce the heat.

rule of thumb; electronics hot is bad. cool it down.

some even over size their inverter. for example a 10kw solar panel system, but use 12kw inverter. this will ensure that your inverter really last its designated lifetime (8 to 12 years ?). nowadays just make sure got warranty for that time period, but really hassle to replace as it might take one to two months to replace (if lucky). heard there is inverter shortage also. good design and take good care of inverter better. so....make sure, good ventilation, cool place with no direct sunlight. no comment about vandals / thieves but the resale value is low.

Inverter no need maintenance. Got checked by the contractor once so far (yearly checking). Basically its like your DB box, but bigger (~1.5ft x 2.5ft). During operation can be slightly warmer. So need open air for ventilation. Outside as long as dry should be fine.

No big deal.... Solar panels degrade around 1% a year. They have a lifespan of 25-30yrs.

I heard nowadays for micro inverters. That is every panel has its own inverter. This solves the ild problem where if one panel is covered by leaves so all the output of ur other panels is as low as the panel that is covered. It’s increase the cost though though

im not an expert, but i have looked into it, and decided not to proceed because of...i is poor.

1) if your house bill is above RM200 monthly, solar panel would really help, and is beneficial for you. if your bill is less, you wont see the return until AFTER the panels are dead, so forget it.

2) cost to install can be as low as 20k and as high as 50k. Say your bill is rm500 a month, meaning you need XX amount of kW capacity to be installed, hence more cost etc.

3) Since your house is linked to TNB, you need their "ok" for you to install and sell it back to them. hence they offer their own Solar Panel to you at a price/arrangement. they pay for the "project cost" and you repay them in X years, and your bill went from Rm500 a month to RM 10 a month. gitu la.

4) if you decide not to sell back to the TNB, you spend (say) RM50k, then your bill went from RM500 to RM10 a month, plus during rainy day you take some from TNB, your return of investment might be longer (15 years gitu). So better get TNB's "ok" for you to sell some when you are away from home (working) and generate electricity to be sold to the grid.

5) Now you might be thinking "but bro, aku kerja time ada matahari, kluar rumah time subuh, balik time maghrib, bila nak enjoy matahari punya hasil?" haaaaaa, thats the generating part, your spend RM500 on your bill, but sell RM490....if you dont want to sell to grid, spend a little more for a battery. but get this....MAHAL NAK MAMPOS. whatever you are spending on your solar panel, double that if you want to include battery storage.

Conclusion : you need TNB's ok, which is hard now because ada limit of seats, butttttttt.....if you use their subsidiary, they can give quotation and plan for you. Set aside RM50k max.

you only need tnb permission if you were to connected to grid which is most of the case when you goes in contract with solar provider. but if you are DIY for farm behind the house then that is not needed as it runs on independent circuit then the grid. there is no sell back anymore as FiT is not active anymore only NEM now. All solar providers will handle the Seda application for you.

i run with VA Solar on NEM3, under NEM contract battery is not allowed and max 12kWp for residential.
i had mine for 29k with 7.6kWp (16 jinko panel) and 9kWp huawei inverter, monthly average usage if i dont travel and dont wfh is around 700kW (280kW from phev and 400kW from household), this is with careful control on AC usage.
the goal is to reduce usage of the unsubsidized rate aka >300kW usage, and now with hot weather i dont need to control much compared to previous.

This post has been edited by razr_sped: May 8 2023, 10:34 AM

1.) it will generate to the grid and you will gain credits
2.) not rebate, credit.
3.) Yes.

Understood, but what are the return value (in terms of ringgit) from the purchase may i ask?

I've run the numbers if i do a stand alone, (based on my bill), i will only see the positives from the saving after 20 years, since my electricity bill is less than rm150 monthly. so its not beneficial for me, unless TNB yg letak (pay for me) and they give me some electricity for free, and the rest they sell to the grid. but this is the real world, nothing is free. so i dont do it.

yes ur numbers are right, on rm150 its not really worth it; cause like my objective is to lower till the subsidize bracket which is the first 300 units.
using my current usage bracket of 700kW, it should run on RM290. the return will be more of 7yrs.

in a perfect world that i want to live in.

Utilities pay you by way of giving free electricity, if they can use your rooftops. They dont pay lease, they own the solar panels, if they want to uninstall they can. We get free electricity and green. The can sell to industrial and commercial customers, including selling the RE certificate that now everyone wants to buy to say "i is green company".

But then again, this is the real world. its not "My little pony" world, where there are rainbows and happiness everywhere. Sigh.

Thanks mate, you are right, SMA cost 20% more, and I ask ERS to give me jinko board plus Goodwe.
They agreed this morning.

Just to further highlight, the carry forward portion can only last for 12 mths, if you never utilise it within this period, it will be forfeited. So best is to use your 3 mths bills to come out with average amt, then ask them to advise on ideal number of panel, so you won't underutilise the capacity by paying extra.