Solar Hot Water -- The New Control Technology is Far Superior -- Consider an Upgrade If Your System is Sketchy

 Steve here -- The new technology is both digital and with a user friendly display that provides easy to understand data to the novice user, 

And can provide high level troubleshooting from us, the solar experts, using just phone support and simple questions.

We have been using this for around 10 years and they are highly reliable.   We use nothing else, except if servicing a legacy system and the owner does not want to upgrade.

You also get 3 brand new temperature sensors (its not compatible with the old technology).

The sensors are one of the most likely items to fail on a solar system, especially the roof sensor that really takes a beating up there.

So it tells you the temperatures:

1) At the solar panel on roof

2) Water in the Tank

3) Water going into your house

And it has a VACATION MODE and I will tell you why it is important.  It's not as fun as going to Disney or Vegas, but it can literally save your system.

If you leave for more than 2 days, your system is going to be piping hot if no water is used.    Then the tank cannot absorb any more heat, and the controller/pump will not pump to prevent tank overheating.    

But at that point, your panels are now "stagnated" and that is the worst thing for them.    The temperature will go up to around 250F and at that point the pressure will be so high, the pressure blow off valve at the panel will open and release some water and pressure --- hopefully it closes again.

At high temperatures the calcium and silicates (glass) come out of the water and plate out on your panel surfaces.....also NOT GOOD.

The Old Technology cannot do "Vacation Mode" and thus cannot protect your system.   But even if you don't need the Vacation Mode, it is still an awesome controller in every other way.

From the manufacturer....a list of their features

 

 

 

Fed & State 2020 Tax Form for Solar Credit - Form 2695 Fed, For N-342 State

  Fed Residential Energy Credits Form 5695 for 2020.

Forrn 5695

 

 Hawaii State "Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit" Form N-342 for 2020

Form N-342

 

Solar Attic Fans, New Or Upgrade, We Are The Only Ones With 60W Fan Mounted Solar Power

This is the star of the year, a great conjunction between a solid housing and fan/motor and the biggest PV panels of ANY solar fan, at 60W.    Compare to 6 years ago at 20W.

We are the only ones that have this fan setup as shown.    And it comes with a 25 year warranty on everything, and a company 10 year leakage warranty.    Put simply, they will not leak, ever.    

You can see how well the fan housing "flashes" under the shingles, creating what the industry calls a "positive drainage plain", relying only on gravity and not on sealant.

Of course we also use sealant to prevent a wind driven rain from sneaking upward. 

 

Advanced Troubleshooting of Enphase EMU Monitoring Device and Web Connection / Firewalls

 Hello Steve,

This is Jason with Enphase. There are a couple of ways to get the Envoy reconnected.

https://enphase.com/en-us/support/envoy-offline/envoy-r/ethernet-bridges

If it disconnects: https://enphase.com/en-us/support/how-do-i-set-envoy-if-there-firewall

Wifi--------------------------

Fastest: https://enphase.com/en-us/support/envoy-offline/envoy-s/wi-fi-wps

If your envoy says it's connected but disconnects you may have a firewall problem. 

We developed a new process using the Enlighten Mobile application. A video walkthrough is available here: https://enphase.com/en-us/support/reconnect-your-iq-envoy-or-envoy-s-wi-fi-network-using-enphase-enlighten-app

This is a walk through to assist you in getting your Envoy manually configured to connect to your home WiFi. A similar video walk through can be found at: https://enphase.com/en-us/support/reconnect-your-envoy-s-or-iq-envoy-manual-wi-fi-setup

1.) Locate the Envoy device. This is a little black box (or circuit board) in the solar breaker box with 4 LED lights on it.

2.) Enable AP mode on the Envoy, which is the first button under the first set of LED's. Simply press, DO NOT HOLD and the light with the "cell phone and arrow" icon will turn solid green.

3.) Now, on your smart phone, go to SETTINGS and then WiFi and connect to the new network labeled Envoy_xxxxxx (the numbers will be the last 6 digits of your Envoy's serial number).

Note;

--- At this point please stay close to the Envoy as it does not broadcast very far.

--- Your phone will likely tell you there is no internet connection when connecting to this network. This is good in this case and means you are doing it correctly.

4.) Open a web browser on your phone, such as Safari, Chrome, or Fire Fox. Don't use the Google search bar found on your home screen though, this is still the internet, but is not technically a web browser.

5.) In the web browser enter 172.30.1.1 into the address bar and hit enter.

Now you should see an Enphase web page. If you get page could not be displayed, just make sure the phone is still connected to the Envoy network and refresh the page.

6.) Scroll down to the "Monitoring" section and click on WiFi. You will be prompted to log into the 172.30.1.1 page. Please enter the Envoy's username and password below. (We will enter the WiFi info soon)

Username: envoy (all lower case)

Password: xxxxxx (This is just the last 6 digits of the Envoy serial number)

7.) You should see the current network the Envoy is trying to connect to, and below that a link that say, "More Information", click this and then select Forget Network. This may take up to 3 minutes.

8.) We should land back on the previous WiFi Configuration page, so hit "View Networks" and select your current WiFi network and input the password you created for your WiFi.

It will take a couple of minutes and once connected it will tell you connection successful. If it tells you connection has failed, try it again.

Final notes;

---The "Cloud" LED on the Envoy should be solid green if the Envoy is connected to the internet and reporting data to Enlighten. During this process it may turn green and then go back to red several times. Don't worry about this as long as we see the Envoy is connected on the web page. If you see a red light next to the Cloud after a few hours, this may indicate an issue.

---The microinverters will not immediately start reporting data in Enlighten, the Envoy has been holding onto all their data for a while now and will need to upload all of the old stuff before it can show anything live. Don't worry this is normal, and it should only take about one hour for each day the system was not communicating.

Thank you for contacting Enphase.

Jason Wall

Enphase Energy | Customer Support

office 877-797-4743

Certicate of Vendor Compliance

2020 Microinverter Upgrade Program Expanded! Very Low Net Cost to Upgrade to Latest Generation and Be Battery Ready, Add Panels With HECO Approval

Old Micro-Inverters Failing!  Replace Them All Now at Less Than Manufacturer's Cost for 7th Generation 7 IQ Microinverters. Interested?  Enquire by Email Here 2020@pacific-energy.com

7IQ Upgrade – (4) Bullet Points to Understand it – It’s a complete component rebuild on the roof.

1. Early Microinverters Have a High Rate of Failure, And a high labor and programming cost to repair.  Upgrading the whole system will be cheaper than paying the repair costs over time.
2. Enphase is offering to Upgrade to 7^th Generation Micros at LOW COST
3. Enphase throws in free cables, and a free better quality Envoy/EMU monitor with wireless capability.
4. Your warranty, which is going away quickly, is EXTENDED for 25 years…..starting 2019!!!

Let’s say you had a $35,000 car, and you had 70,000 miles on it and it was started cost you a bunch in repairs.    If the dealer came to you and said, heh, for $4000, we will give you a new car, with a 25 year warranty……WOULD YOU TAKE THAT DEAL?

REALLY? IT GETS BETTER!?

5) The 7IQ is "Battery Ready", The M190 will never be Battery Ready.   Call Steve to discuss, battery costs and quality and longevity have taken huge strides forward.    And Enphase will be rolling out their "Plug and Play" battery system, that will "play nice" but only with the new 7IQ Inverters!

6) The new monitor (EMU/Envoy) comes with Current Transducers, that PES et al, can install for you if you want, at extra cost.    These provide valuable information on your actual power production, and times where you import energy from HECO.   This allows a good engineer to properly size a battery system, without buying too much!   

The 7IQ Upgrade program is like getting that NEW CAR, at 10% of the cost!
Interested?  Enquire by Email Here 2020@pacific-energy.com

I have upgraded my system in Kunia, and there were a few bumps and learning curves, but overall, it is a great project, and I am ready to roll it out for all my customers, who have the old style Micros (M190, M210, M175).

If you have the M215 or M250, Enphase is NOT ALLOWING you this upgrade at this time.

If you don’t know what you have, just enquire solar@pacific-energy.com

 
The original Enphase Microinverter warranty was 15 years.   For many people that is ½ or 2/3 gone ALREADY.

We re-use the same racking system, and the panel hold down clips.    We expect some stuff to break, as that is just the way Murphy works, and we will cover all miscellaneous small part breakage, up to $200 per customer.   We haven't had to ever charge more to a customer.

Interested?  Enquire by Email Here 2020@pacific-energy.com

BBB Certificate of Accreditation

 

List of Abbreviations of Tuneup Customers That Are In Que For Sale Priced Tuneups in January 2021

As mentioned in our bulk email, we are focusing on Tax Credit type solar work until the end of 2020, since tax credits will be phasing out.    They reduce in 2021 and then go away completely in 2022. 

1) Solar Hot Water

2) Solar Electric

3) Solar Microinverter Upgrades

4) Solar Attic Fans

5) Solar Powered Airconditioning (Yes this is a real thing!)

These are the tune up customers in 'Que" if you think you should be on this list and don't see your name, rattle our cage, be the squeaky wheel!  And contact us via email HERE

AO

CC

CP

GF

GJ

HT

JJ

KW

LL

LP

LP

MD

RK

SF

SK

TD

WT

Solar Tax Credits Expiring -- Booking Now For 2020 Work To Be Completed

Steve Olsen Here.

It's been a crazy year, although we are considered essential, it has not been any easy environment to operate in.   

Logistics became harder, some suppliers were not able to supply, and local distributors were often out of stock, so we had to buy in bulk when we could get materials.  

That said, we greatly appreciate that 98% of our customers have worked with us on scheduling changes, extended times for bid estimates.   Thank you very much!!!!

If you need something, or are just curious about modern technologies, be the Squeaky Wheel, and call or email.   We don't answer the land line anymore, as 70% of calls are spam/unwanted, so the message just directs to my cell phone (808) 265-5971

We have a dozen or more tuneups that we have not been able to get too.    We have been forced to focus on existing acute problems and projects.   At this point, to get people's tax credits in, we will likely wait until January to get back into the Tuneup Mode.    We will be hiring another admin assistant to coordinate, schedule, do paperwork, and try to get everyone up to speed.  

For people with tuneups past 5 years old, it is really important to get it done.   You may not lose your system this year, but in 2022 the TAX CREDITS GO TO ZERO, and you will end up paying full list price for a replacement system.     

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It seems like Summer is vanishing at a rapid pace.

With the Tax Credits Going Away ---We Expect A Very Robust End of the Year.   

Back to the "Crazy Year" we also lost a portion of our recent emails, looks like they are gone for good.     We expect that we have dropped the ball on some Solar Proposal Requests.

This is the time to be the squeaky wheel, and get back on our radar.   We apologize for any dropped balls!

1) Solar Air-conditioning is now "a thing", we have quite a portfolio under our belt and our customers just love these projects.     Those light wind and Kona days are now 3 times more frequent, and it is likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future, as the "Grand Solar Minimum" in sunspots and magnetism is definitely affected the weather patterns, and even ocean circulation patterns.   

2) Solar Attic Fans are better than ever.   They now have a 25 year warranty, and instead of 25W we are up to 60W and we shop build a proprietary mounting system to let the large PV panel be mounted right on the fan, avoiding 4 extra fasteners through your roof.    If you are replacing an existing fan, we can almost always get your net costs under $300, and sometimes even under $200.   Ask for a quote today.   

3) Microinverter Upgrades!    We do both the ones that are compatible with your existing NEM, and we can also add additional panels, using what is called the NEM plus, which normally uses batteries for the biggest financial rewards.    Enphase Microinverter company is shipping batteries to me this week, I just got the call this morning!      

It's an exciting brave new world in the battery industry.    If you upgrade your old microinverters (warranty dies at 15 years) you will also be battery ready, and you will have full house battery backup and be able to use your whole PV for production during Grid Down due to:
1) Hurricane
2) Tsunami
3) Civil Unrest like the mainland has seen
4) Localized power outages

4) And of course, we are one of the top experts in Solar Hot Water, now with over 2 thousand systems installed.   Many of you got systems in 2006 to 2009.    It may be a smart move to replace them this year, before tax credits expire.    Get a totally fresh system with the latest technology and fresh warranties (up to 12 years on tank and panels).   If your system fail in 2 years, you will pay full list price of $7000 to $8000, and maybe higher as the out of control government spending eventually feeds into the economy as inflation.    Your net cost this year will be more like $2000 to $3000.

------------------------------------------------------------------- 

solar@pacific-energy.com

solsen@pacific-energy.com

(808) 265-5971

Tax Resources for 2019 -- Fed 5695 Hawaii 342

As always, we are not your tax accountant nor your lawyer.    Please independently verify all information and interpretations.   Keep in mind that in 2020 the Fed tax credit has been reduced from 30% to 26%.    And in 2021 it goes down to 22%.    And 2022 ---- ZERO!

So if you are looking any type of solar upgrade or modernization, you should do it this year.

This is the Federal Tax form 5695 most people will use.   And the Instructions.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdf 

This is the State Tax form N342.   And the Instructions.

https://files.hawaii.gov/tax/forms/2019/n342_i.pdf

Many home owners are looking to upgrade from "legacy" inverters and micro-inverters that will never be capable of integrating with a battery system, to the newer types and the one we like the best is the Enphase IQ7 series that were designed from the get-go to be an integrated part of a battery system.     We call this the IQ7 Upgrade.

Note -- They can function on their own as a "qualified solar electric property expenditure"

Of particular interest for homeowners interested in at some point installing a battery, the IRS has
clarified that Batteries Charged by Solar Electric, including all the devices necessary to connect them into the house's electrical system, will be considered a "Qualified solar electric property expenditure".

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/201809003.pdf

https://law.justia.com/codes/us/2006/title26/subtitlea/chap1/subchapa/partiv/subparta/sec25d

https://law.justia.com/codes/us/2006/title26/subtitlea/chap1/subchapa/partiv/subparta/sec25d

This clarification letter from the IRS is from 2013, so it doesn't necessarily set precedent (or deny precedent) since so much has changed, but does at least give a little impression of the way the IRS thinks and may view things even though there has been a sea change in solar technology since then.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-13-70.pdf

Section 48 deals with Business Energy Investment Tax Credits

If you do business from your house, it may be possible to get additional benefits by allocating a portion of your solar electric (or even the solar hot water) to the business.     The portion allocated to business can then be depreciated, providing even more tax benefits.

Of course, this complicates the taxes and for many people it may not be worth the complication.

This IRS Notice clarifies the Business Tax Credits.

https://rsmus.com/what-we-do/services/tax/credits-and-incentives/investment-incentives/irs-issues-guidance-on-section-48-energy-investment-tax-credit.html

And for those with too much time on their hands, here is the Hawaii actual laws that describe the solar tax credits.

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol04_Ch0201-0257/HRS0235/HRS_0235-0012_0005.htm