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Solar Presentation.... Feedback please

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nwdiver

Well-Known Member
Feb 17, 2013
9,398
14,607
United States
Target Audience
- Libertarians and Conservatives
- Assume they are unfamiliar with Solar PV
- Climate Change not a concern (I don't plan to mention this at all)
- Primary concerns are saving money and energy security if the grid fails

Here's my outline so far;


Objectives
- Your energy needs and energy available from solar PV
- Basic flow path from Sunlight to your home
- Costs and Benefits of Solar PV
- Basic Equipment Options


Solar Basics (Sell on the concept of PV)
- Energy vs Power
- Energy Comparisons
Gallon of Gasoline = 33.7kWh
- Power Comparisons
HVAC consume ~4kW
- Power per sq meter
- Energy per day/year
- Solar Resources vs Energy Needs
- Photoelectric effect
- MPP curve
emphasis on operation during cloudy conditions
- Module Durability
Basic Construction
Tempered glass
Lamination
Longevity
- Economics
FAR Better rate of return than savings or CD
Similar rate of return as DJIA historical average

Equipment Basics
- Equipment Description
Module => Inverter => Electrical Panel => Grid
- String vs Micro vs DC Optimizer
- Net-Metering
Production / Imports / Exports
Arbitrage / Self-Consumption
- Grid Backup
Anti-Islanding
- AC Coupling
- Opportunity Power


Not sure how much detail I should go into... this isn't a DIY presentation.
 
Looks good to me. Education is the key. It does not look too detailed to me at all. Who is the audience: general public, energy folks (uh-oh!), highly or modestly educated? Do you expect a friendly or hostile audience? I hope the former. Where will you present: oil or coal country, wind country, hippie country:wink:?

Knock 'em dead!
 
not sure how long your presentation goes for, assuming they are grid connected..
less focus on hardware but more focus on practical use.

so how many kwh does 1kw of panel produce per day, averaged over the year.

right sizing a system for minimum pay back period

trees, shadows, seasons and how a shadow nullifies and entire group of panels, not just one panel.

factors affecting install costs - roof type, roof height

risks with a flat or a shallow roof

why solar is not black out protection

a reasonable range of prices for a PV install, so they know how to avoid a rip-off.
good building practice to get multiple quotes, just the same as any other building work.

I would also emphasis the role of diminishing returns
How low levels of domestic PV benefits the grid more than the retail rate, but as it ramps up, those benefits rapidly incrementally disappear, and the value of energy sold back to grid rapidly trends to wholesale price of electricity (solar or otherwise) which is very low. There will tend to be grandfathering for existing owners, but new owners will miss out. This transition often catches people off guard because PV installs really ramps up fast just prior to the change in metering. (a rapid increase in PV installs will draw this change into existence, due its cost effect on the grid). So NOW is the time to get solar PV, people who procrastinate will miss out on retail rates.

If time permits, then comment about battery integration with solar.
 
It seems way too long, too technical and too complicated for the target audience you described. To me your presentation looks similar to talking to first time computer buyers about how to build your own PC and how to select the correct components. If somebody didn't know about computers but wanted to buy one, I would show them the amazon and dell websites and help them select a good option there so they don't end up with a slow PC from 5 years ago or the most expensive gaming machine. Chances are they have no idea about any of that. They need some help selecting the best option.

I recommend that you ditch all that and find some simple videos to show. Explain them how the ready made packages work from Solarcity and other companies (no money down and your energy bill decreases). Compare the buying and leasing options (what happens if you want to sell your house?). Solarcity provides both. Maybe you could talk about how prices have come down a lot in recent years and why it makes sense now. Then show them a Google maps aerial photo of the area with solar panels on roof tops so they understand this is something normal people do and not just environmentalists. Then spend 40 minutes for Q&A.

Solarcity has lots of simple videos HERE. I would also ditch the "use your own power when the grid fails" idea.
 
View attachment PV Pitch Outline.pdf
It seems way too long, too technical and too complicated for the target audience you described...... I would also ditch the "use your own power when the grid fails" idea.

Can you be more specific? IMO the most technical thing I discuss is the MPPT curve but having a basic understanding of that is critical to understanding the benefit of Micros and Optimizers. I agree that is likely beyond a good chunk of the target audience but there would be many that want the knowledge to make that decision or understand why the installer is pushing a more expensive system...

Why ditch the 'back-up power' pitch? That's generally the #2 reason people ask me about solar....

I've got the presentation built but I can't post >4MB and it's 4.8 :crying: I'll have to delete some pics to get feedback on the rough draft... the rough draft outline is posted above.

My goal is that anyone that spends an hour listening to me speak will walk away with the understanding that....
- Solar Panels are REALLY robust and will probably outlive use all
- We're absolutely awash in solar energy
- I need a string inverter for XYZ reasons
OR
- I need a solar edge inverter for XYZ reasons
OR
- I need an Enphase system of XYZ reasons

- Grid backup is too expensive
OR
- Maybe I'll get that new SMA inverter that can charge my laptop if there's an apocalypse


I'm leaving A LOT out... nothing about grounding OR racking OR mono vs poly OR series/parrallel. Not geared at all towards DIY.

I do appreciate the feedback... thank you.

- - - Updated - - -

HA! got it down to 3MB.... View attachment PV Pitch.pdf
 
I'd just went through the solar dance with three different companies. That was a learning experience in and of itself. None of them were keen on installing a solar battery backup system. In fact I'm still looking for someone to do that part of the job. I think everyone is awaiting the release of Tesla batteries but when that will happen is anyone's guess. I would suggest you add to your talk how to negotiate with the solar companies and compare different offerings.
 
I checked your presentation and I recommend that you start over. Ideally in a presentation like this you want to answer basic questions like the ones below without confusing people with technical details that would make them run away and never consider solar again for a decade. I think you need to make this much more like you are explaining to a 5 year old and much less like a sales pitch to a property development company. Good luck

1. Why do I need solar power?
  • Saves you money, (show an actual energy bill)
  • Increases the value of your property, (show some paperwork from an estate agent etc, anything visual would help)
  • Reduces dependency on foreign oil,
2. How much is it going to cost me?
Compare lease and purchase options. Show photos of different size installations and the price tag.

3. How long would it take to install?

4. Where do I get it?
Compare the big providers.
 
That looks good to me. My wife's an instructional designer, so feel free to PM if you have any questions about how to structure your presentation for your audience.

The only think I'd do is go into more detail about DIY installation and the economic incentives in a separate webpage/pdf you link to or a handout you have available for those who are more interested.

I recently grabbed 1 year of hourly data in a CSV from my utility and was able to compare that to a projected year of production from PVWatts using one of the local utility's TOU rate plans as an overlay. That's probably as close as you can get to accurate projections before you start. A walkthrough/howto for something like that could be extremely helpful if someone's interested by worried about the economics.