Frequently Asked Questions
We have captured some of the comments we have received from others in the community and posted them here. We will not post any feedback unless a neighbor has given us permission to do so.
Thanks so much for including us all in this provocative proposal. As a fellow PB owner, I'm curious about what may happen in the winter.
Do you anticipate snow will always slide off, or is there a heat mode that dispels the snow?
Is there an increased propensity for ice dams?
Can you rake the snow off if needed to prevent structural overload?
Do the projected winter energy acquisitions come anywhere near providing enough electric heat for the home?
As a former board member and ARC member, I immediately consider the "what if" scenarios and how to indemnify the association from future costs of roof repair/replacement, insurance, upgraded service lines, etc.
December 30, 2024
I want to apologize for the delay in getting back to you. I somehow missed this email, and then it fell below the “event horizon” of my inbox. Only during my end-of-year cleanup did I come across it.
I want to address your questions:
Our roof has an 8:12 pitch, so I think the snow will slide off the panels most of the time (in the same way it slides off the roof). There is no active heater that would raise the panels' temperature to help melt the snow.
I had not thought about an increase in the occurrence of ice dams because of the panels. I can’t think of a mechanism that the panels introduce to a roof that would cause the likelihood to increase. There is an air gap between the panel and the room (like a bridge accumulates ice before a road does), but the glass panel is much smoother than the rough shingle. The honest answer is that I don’t know. When I see other institutions in our area in the winter, I do not observe an accumulation of ice.
Yes, you can manually remove an accumulation of snow or ice with a rake, broom, or some other tool.
They come pretty close, but since we are on the grid, it doesn’t matter. The Wolfeboro buy-back program is based on an entire year's cycle. When you generate more than you use, you accumulate credits. When you use more than you generate, they bill you but diminish your credits first. Based on our design, we generate almost 1.5x our annual usage, so we would always expect a refund check annually.
I hope that I have answered your questions. If not, let me know, and I will be happy to discuss it further.
Given the tree coverage of Point Breeze and the latitude of Wolfeboro, how much electricity can you realistically generate at your home? I understood that solar power was not a financially sound option in New Hampshire.
December 9, 2024
That is a complicated question so that I will answer it in a few separate parts.
We are fortunate to have a relatively unshaded east-facing and south-facing roof plane. However, that is not ideal, as we would like panels facing southwest for optimal solar recovery.
We plan to arrange the south-facing panels at an azimuth of 192 degrees and a tilt angle of 42.5 degrees. The east-facing panels will use an azimuth of 102 degrees and the same tilt angle. This orientation is best for our latitude and the constraints of our roof geometry.
However, using the current state-of-the-art panels in terms of efficiency, we estimate our annual generation to be approximately 19,854 kW-hr. This equates to approximately 132% of our expected usage. This means 36 will generate all of its power needs and sell back 32% of its generation to Wolfeboro Electric by participating in its Net-Metering Program.
Tree shading is a factor, as shown below in the model of 36.
How will you hide the wires from the PV panels so they are invisible?
December 8, 2024
The cabling for the panels will run underneath them, so it will not be visible when viewing the installation from any vantage point. The cables will be grouped and then penetrate the roof into the attic space using a Soladeck PV junction box.
The junction box is UL1741 certified and meets Type 3R standards. The V-shaped design is precisely engineered to ensure proper water drainage and runoff. Weep holes in the base allow moisture caused by condensation to escape from the box safely. Flashing into two layers of shingle course ensures proper water shedding. You can learn more about Soladeck here. You can download the datasheet for the PV junction box here.
Why are you mounting the Tesla Power Walls outside your building instead of inside the garage?
December 7, 2024
Li-ion storage batteries supply power to the house at night (when solar is unavailable) and during a power outage. The Wolfeboro fire code allows these batteries to be inside or outside the structure, the garage in the configuration at 36.
Since the garage is unfinished (exposed 2x4, no drywall), the batteries must be in a separate enclosure. Bollards are required to prevent an accidental collision if the batteries are located where a vehicle could strike them. In addition, a dedicated wired smoke detector is also needed since the batteries are inside the structure.
They can be located anywhere outside the structure as long as they are accessible to the fire department and are at least 36” away from a door or window.
I spoke with Wolfeboro Fire & Rescue Chief Tom Zotti about installing the Tesla Powerwall at Point Breeze. Although the code allows batteries to be installed inside a structure, he prefers that they be installed on the exterior.
For these reasons, we proposed installing them on the exterior of the west side of the garage at 36. This would keep them out of view from all neighbors and afford the highest level of fire safety.