and so it began

Back in the summer of 2008 I got an estimate or solar panels for the house. Seemed reasonable. Our house is older so the roof could use some more beef before it could take the load but nothing crazy. I read through the estimate and saw this:

 

De-rating... is... a... bummer... 

But it is not BS.  Those factors really do run down the performance of a solar module and a system overall. The two that really leaped out at me were the temperature and the conversion losses.  Let's call them the "ugly 80's." Now I was not  interested in batteries so it was just an academic interest that drew me to the .86 de-rate factor over there, but the temperature de-rate really hurts (these are cumulative.)  I joked with the estimator that we should install them on the garage to take advantage of the shade there. She was not amused. 

Three more things about the estimate bugged me... thermal, blackouts, and subsidy surfing. More on that next time.