Solar Tax Credit form for 2017

Here is the Fed & HI State solar energy credit form for 2017.

Fed tax credit is 30%



Here is the link to download the form.

 Form 5695 Residential Energy Credit 


Hawaii tax credit is 35% or Up to $2,250.





Here is the link to download the form.

Form N-342  Renewable Energy Technologies Income tax credit

Microinverters -- How to Set Up the Monitoring System Envoy / EMU

EMU Envoy How to Hook Up and Bridge Also

The EMU is a confusing piece of equipment, starting with it's name, Electronic Monitoring Unit, but then to make it even harder, the manufacturer came up with the nickname Envoy.    Whatever.   Here is what you need to know.    Everyone else tries to make believe that the EMU is simple in setup and function, and it is not and pretending that it is simple, we believe is a dis-service to customers.

Before we dig into the details, LOOK at this diagram and follow it, spend 30 seconds here, OK?    I made this for you.   Read the notes too, please.

The manufacturer highly recommend that you avoid plugging into a power strip or a GFCI electrical receptacle (aka outlet or plug). This can increase the "noise" and make it so your EMU won't communicate as well or at all.

Yes this does mean you may need to plug your existing stuff in, in some other way. You can try it, just don't complain to us if it doesn't work out. You know what a GFCI is right? That is the special type of outlet that has a test and reset function on it. But you can also have a GFCI that is located somewhere else, like at another plug upstream of the plug you are using, or even at the circuit breaker panel.

One reason that the customer must be involved in some of this stuff, is because there is some trial and error involved, and every time you plug the EMU in, you may have to hit the "Menu" button which is on the back of the EMU.  

To make matter more complicated than they really need to be, they molded the button into the back plastic so that you can't even see it.    Well look close, and you will see it.  

The EMU has to "scan" to find the microinverters, and you have to tell it to scan by pressing the back button a few seconds until you see "enable device scan" and then let go.   Now it will search for all the microinverters, and we hope the communications is good.   The search might take 5 minutes or 3 hours, it just all depends.    

The EMU will show 0 to 5 bars depending on how good the communications is, 0 being none, and 5 being great. 

3 and 4 work fine, and 2 is usually satisfactory and 1 sometimes works, however, you may have times when extra noise on the line makes the communication fail.   You will lose data during that time, but you won't be losing kWH energy produced, because the EMU is only a monitor, the EMU is NOT a controller, the micro-inverters run themselves.    So just saying, don't get all bent out of shape, in all likelihood you aren't losing any actual power, just the communications.



 Now, if you have to use the bridge, DON'T OVER THINK IT, just follow the diagram.

This is the box that the bridge comes in.

This is what the stuff inside the box looks like, as you might imagine there are 2 sides to a bridge.

And here is how to hook up the bridge, don't over think it, just plug it in as shown.

How to Read a HECO NEM Electric Meter

How to Read a HECO NEM Electric Meter On Your Solar Electric System (PV)

Steve Here--For Those With Photovoltaic-- They sometimes wonder whether their system is working correctly, and "waiting for the bill to arrive" is NOT a good strategy.

But if you could read your meter on one day, and then read it again the next day, that would clear up whether things are working well or not.    Many PV owners have "lost" their solar contractor, as HECO bankrupted hundreds of contractors when they started their "war on solar".

If you are one of these customers and have microinverters, we would be glad to review your system online, for free.    Simply send us an email, and we will send you a link, which will allow us to review your system online.    

solar@pacific-energy.com

Watch the video below on how to read your meter, and call us with any questions.    671-5566