[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by mikehinton

We've had our system for 7 years. It has made us conscious about when we use power, as we get charged extra for power use between noon and 6 P.M. But, that's when we generate the most power, so it evens out. In the 7 years we've had the system, we only owed PG&E additional $ for electricity once.

It's a grid-intertie system, which means that when grid is down, we are too. Eventually we'll get an inverter that supports a battery backup as well. We probably haven't recouped the entire purchase price yet, but I'll bet we're close, and the panels should last 25+ years.

You failed to mention how much, if any, of the true installation cost was subsidized by the taxpayers?

Moot point for me in the cloudy Willamette valley of Oregon anyway. Might pencil out for Eastern Oregon with far more sunny days.