Solar paneled parking canopies

[bcla]

Just wondering what other experiences are with these. I used to visit (for business) a company with a large worksite that was building a solar setup. Initially it was just using a spare space aways from the buildings. I've visited more recently and they have solar panel canopies across much of their parking lot.

I've also been dealing with solar panel installation at my local Six Flags park. It's been kind of a pain because much of the parking lot is now fenced off, but gradually we've seen them installed. In the off season it might be open 2-3 days out of the week, but my understanding is that they'll be operating all the time and then adding power to the grid for credit.

I remember asking someone working on a particular solar product how his company accounted for night time - whether or not they had a system that worked with a battery system. He said no - that the product wasn't really meant for that (or being off the grid), and the customer should be getting credit to offset the cost of grid power.

 

[amcnj]

I have mostly seen them at malls and college campus parking lots. For drivers they are like being in a parking garage, protection from any rain or snow or sunlight, without having to drive through a garage maze.

Most of the other larger setups I have seen are ground based. Mainly crop farmland now converted to solar farms, but some on business or even homeowner properties.

I wonder if with battery technology improvements places do now store excess on site, or if it still all goes into the grid. Maybe even just some onsite storage for emergency situations, normally requiring power backup systems?

 

[kdonnel]

The batteries needed to power an entire house are expensive. The Tesla Powerwall 2 is currently $6,500 and another $1,100 for the Gateway plus several thousand in installation. Tesla requires 400 amp service so unless you already have 400 amp service there will be several thousand in upgrade changes there as well.

So roughly $10k - $15k and that will only power essential circuits. If you want your normal sized house to be truly off the grid you would need multiple Powerwall's, now you are at $16k-$21k.

These are costs in addition to the cost of a whole house solar system. They are generally not sized to provide 100% of the needed power as most people do not have enough roof space to hold enough solar panels to provide the necessary power for an entire household.

But I do think that using the layer above cars for a solar array is a great idea. Capture the energy and provide covered parking. A win win!

 

[Floridaman999]

I use solar power when I'm camping and that whole setup wasn't cheap. I'd never make an attempt to make my whole house solar power capable. I'd never ever get a return on that investment.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I left an extensive and long term solar panel plan for a few of the buildings I managed before I sold my management firm. For the most part it was to sell energy back to the utility but some of it would eventually be retained for low use building operations as the government subsidies and battery storage capacity improved. Cost installation for every ten units was approximately 185K with an overall payback in 6 years. I'm confident the numbers will go down in the coming years due to an increased interest in going "green".

 

[design_mom]

Our town has solar panels at the park that's adjacent to the municipal building. They have some over the parking area, and some over the picnic pavilion. It seems like win-win to me. They produce energy and provide shade. I know they use some of the power at the municipal building, but I don't know how close they come to covering their needs. I have heard, in Ohio, it's very difficult to "break even" on solar energy because we don't get enough days with strong enough sun to make it worthwhile. (We have a lot of overcast days, and for most of the year the sun is always at an angle, not directly overhead.) I'm not sure if it's truly cost-effective for the city, or if it's more for the 'optics' of being green-conscious.

I have a friend (whom I know from Ohio, but she now lives in California) who has solar panels on her house and garage. For her, on days that they create more power than they use, they can sell the excess to the power company for wholesale, and if they need more than they produce, they can buy extra from the power company at retail. (So it's not a 'credit' system where for every unit of power you create, you can claim one at a later date. She has to sell at wholesale and buy at retail.) But, she seems pretty happy with the arrangement.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Our home panels produce pretty much all that our household needs for the summer months. That's not to say they produce at night ... the way it works is that they produce enough during the day for what we use during the day plus enough to cover how much we are using at night (and more).

So during the day we are putting into the grid from the excess solar output, and during the night we are pulling from the grid to cover our night time electric needs, and the net result balances out to about even. During the winter, we estimate we're generating about 75% of the electricity we need.

We don't have a battery bank. as kdonnel said, that's quite a cost adder, and since it's newer technology than the panels themselves, we feel pretty confident that the price will come down over the next few years. At some point in the future we will likely install one.

Of many people we know with home solar, I don't know of anyone who is using it in a completely off grid type of setup.

 

[starry_solo]

At least in California, you can get a credit for the solar powered canopies on your property taxes for businesses (presumably also for residential)....there are a lot of hoops to go through though.

 

[morgan98]

Not sure I have seen this too much around Atlanta. However, I have seen them extensively in Italy, mainly at the rest areas on the autostrade.

 

[bcla]

Of many people we know with home solar, I don't know of anyone who is using it in a completely off grid type of setup.

Yeah. I don't quite get all the criticisms about not going off grid. Part of what solar helps with is peak demands due to A/C and electronic use. Even if nobody is at home, adding to the grid should be a good thing. There are also issues with secondary power plants, where they might not be needed if there's supplemental electricity from a variety of sources.

However, the big 'ol parking lot solar solutions do tend to take care of a lot of issue including providing shade. In many ways I believe they're designed to provide energy credits for the owner. Six Flags is doing several of these, including their park in New Jersey. I don't know if they're starting it yet, but they're scheduled to build an even bigger one at Magic Mountain. When I visit one of the problems I have is the parking lot is kind of dark. These canopies are built with lots of security cameras and lighting.

 

[beavismom]

Saw it at a Fry's in Arizona. Thought it was a great way to shade the cars and get something useful at the same time.

 

[cabanafrau]

This Old House is currently in the midst of a project with a net zero house project designed to effectively produce enough power to effectively offset any power used. It's pretty mindboggling to watch.

 

[ImDMous]

All of the high schools around our area have the parking lots covered with solar panels. The kids get covered parking and the school has a much lower power bill since the students are only there during daylight anyway. It seems to work very well for them, gives them tax breaks, and saves tons of money on electricity.

 

[RangerPooh]

We have a solar panel field not too far from where I am in Tennessee. I'm sure there's other places but honestly I haven;t really seen m nearby. I did stop at an Arizona Walmart a few years back that had them in the parking lot. Not only did it provide a shaded parking cover but they were collecting solar power. I think it would be nice to see more of them. Might as well collect the solar power and grant the person parking shaded coverage.

 

[mousefan73]

Research european models. Here many homes have them with a great ROI either for self use or selling back into the grid. Standard is almost every new home has panels for warm water.
My SIL only uses gas in winter months. Solar panels heat water apr-oct

 

[NotUrsula]

Legoland Florida put solar canopies over their premium parking back in 2016. It works quite well. Here is the brochure that Tampa Electric (TECO) distributes about that installation: https://www.tampaelectric.com/files/solar-energy/LegolandSolarFactSheet.pdf

 

[kdonnel]

Hawaii ran into an interesting problem with solar. They have actually stopped letting people tie new solar installs into the public grid.

Hawaii is unique in that their grid is not connected to another state and there is a finite amount of energy the grid can accept.

Plus there is some concern that if too many people install solar systems that greatly reduce how much energy customers purchase, there will not be enough money brought in to properly maintain the electrical grid. That is quite the unintended consequence, a by product of solar I would not have expected. This consequence is not very different from the idea that purely electric cars are not paying their share of road maintenance through a fuel tax and need to be taxed in a new way.

 

[Floridaman999]

Hawaii ran into an interesting problem with solar. They have actually stopped letting people tie new solar installs into the public grid.

Hawaii is unique in that their grid is not connected to another state and there is a finite amount of energy the grid can accept.

Plus there is some concern that if too many people install solar systems that greatly reduce how much energy customers purchase, there will not be enough money brought in to properly maintain the electrical grid. That is quite the unintended consequence, a by product of solar I would not have expected. This consequence is not very different from the idea that purely electric cars are not paying their share of road maintenance through a fuel tax and need to be taxed in a new way.

I have to pay a $50.00 surcharge each year with my registration for my hybrid. Doesn't seem real fair considering it gets worse gas mileage than our other vehicles but it is what it is.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I have to pay a $50.00 surcharge each year with my registration for my hybrid. Doesn't seem real fair considering it gets worse gas mileage than our other vehicles but it is what it is.

That's because of all the smug pollution hybrids cause.
Google South Park Smug alert....

 

[Floridaman999]

That's because of all the smug pollution hybrids cause.
Google South Park Smug alert....

I blame my wife. She picked it out.