Thinking about going solar

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by cgarr

I looked into it since I was using so much power, had to update old appliances, etc to get within the range of an affordable system. By the time I got done with improvements my usage was so low I didn't even need a solar system.

Excellent point - Make low cost changes/improvements to lower your useage. Often times the ROI is very good for these efforts.

[Kraftwerk]

I am a renter, so no skin in the game , but I do remember, about 10 years ago, hearing someone say their system made excess energy and they SOLD it back to the grid for profit. Seemed too good to be true, instead of getting a bill they got a check (or credits?)

Other thing is if its sunny where you live AND windy you could have a few windmill-turbines also feeding the batteries.

I do have solar panel on my boat, which charges a battery, which runs the bilge-pump, it's a pretty happy equation. It also have USB charging capability so could charge a cell-phone or the running lights, both important. If I was building or buying a home, I certainly would incorporate a source of energy, who knows how reliable the grid really is ? The less reliant you are on it, the better.

[Scott Douglas]

My son has solar. His house was built for it but it wasn't put in when he bought it. I think he told me they can basically run their A/C for free during the summer. It gets warm where he lives.
I had a guy come to the door the other day. Saying I might have noticed the trucks working in the neighborhood.
What trucks? I haven't seen any trucks.
My question is, who is going to fix my roof if it starts to leak after they put in the panels?
I paid $10k to have my roof installed and I can count on one hand the number of people who've set foot on it since it was installed. And most all of them worked for the roofing company that put it on.
Solar may work, but my experience with our little solar powered fountains tells me that the panels really need to be oriented perfectly to get the most power out of them. That's not gonna happen on my roof.

[Sooner or later]

I remodeled a 1970's house that was a wreck. I replaced all windows and maxed out attic insulation at R79. Heat pump with NG backup. All led lighting. Just over 2400 sq ft.

My last 8 months electric bills. Latest is first.

$68.45
$44.07
$42.85
$43.27
$51.31
$45.57
$52.38
$42.52


My last PSO home comparison that was sent.

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

I remodeled a 1970's house that was a wreck. I replaced all windows and maxed out attic insulation at R79. Heat pump with NG backup. All led lighting. Just over 2400 sq ft.

My last 8 months electric bills. Latest is first.

$68.45
$44.07
$42.85
$43.27
$51.31
$45.57
$52.38
$42.52


My last PSO home comparison that was sent.

Excellent, way to go. For sure you don't need PV.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

I remodeled a 1970's house that was a wreck. I replaced all windows and maxed out attic insulation at R79. Heat pump with NG backup. All led lighting. Just over 2400 sq ft.

My last 8 months electric bills. Latest is first.

$68.45
$44.07
$42.85
$43.27
$51.31
$45.57
$52.38
$42.52


My last PSO home comparison that was sent.

That is impressive, good work!

[Nick Triesch]

No matter how you pay for it, refinance , cash, loan or whatever, it’s still not free and a bill for a bill. After some of you guys have it installed, be sure to bring your neighbors over to look at your new free electricity system that was only $30,000!!!!!

[Kraftwerk]

$30,000 in $100 per month electric bills is the same length as a 30 year mortgage. Having electricity during black outs is (maybe) something the neighbors don't have and might want to come over to check out.

[rwest]

Originally Posted by Kraftwerk

$30,000 in $100 per month electric bills is the same length as a 30 year mortgage. Having electricity during black outs is (maybe) something the neighbors don't have and might want to come over to check out.

Unless you have a battery system on your solar or it isn’t grid connected, if power goes out on the sunniest day you have ever seen, your power will be out too.

[DontBaSheeple]

This is the way to do it. You did a good job on improving your home's effeciency!

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

I remodeled a 1970's house that was a wreck. I replaced all windows and maxed out attic insulation at R79. Heat pump with NG backup. All led lighting. Just over 2400 sq ft.

My last 8 months electric bills. Latest is first.

$68.45
$44.07
$42.85
$43.27
$51.31
$45.57
$52.38
$42.52


My last PSO home comparison that was sent.

[oldE]

Ok, real life experience. We just passed our one year anniversary of installing a pv solar system.
40 year old house with a south facing roof at a relatively shallow angle. We needed to upgrade our electrical entrance as we wanted a backup generator system so while that was under way we contacted the solar system company. We finally had 20 panels installed. Cost of the system was about 19k.
Our electrical bills used to average ~550 bi monthly (electric heating) and annual usage was just over 8mw.
Our production over the last year was just over 9mw but we pay a connection fee of about $11/month.
The power company will be sending us a cheque for the surplus power we have delivered. I think our payback period will be between 8 and 10 years.
Just for reference, our location is a bit south of the 45th parallel.

Best
Les

[red-beard]

On the electric company sending you a check, some will and most will not. You are LUCKY if you can get net-metering. 10 years ago, when the solar panels were uncommon, the companies were more likely to do net-metering. Not so much today.

If you have high electric rates, over 20 cents per kWh, it is a no-brainer! 12 to 20 cents, you can save money with a solar install. If you have a tiered electric rate, you can save money by putting in a small system to get you under the top tiers.

If you want to have power when the power goes out, it is a very different, battery based system. Can you use a battery system to effectively give yourself net-metering? Yes. But it requires using long life Lithium batteries. Can you hook up a generator with all of this? Yes, but it must be designed properly to prevent the solar from back-feeding the generator.

[oldE]

James, rate for power around here is just over .16. I was not interested in dropping another 10k for a battery system. The controller on our solar system will only turn on if it picks up the appropriate sine wave from the line.
Our generator will run almost everything in the house except the baseboard heaters and the electric stove.
I fire up the generator on the first of each month for 15 minutes.
The year before we had the system installed, we had two outages. One lasted four days. If we never use the generator in a real outage, I will be perfectly happy.
And yes, our contract with the power company says they pay us for our production above our usage.

Best
Les

[group911@aol.co]

Try this tool. https://sunroof.withgoogle.com/

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

My son has solar. His house was built for it but it wasn't put in when he bought it. I think he told me they can basically run their A/C for free during the summer. It gets warm where he lives.
I had a guy come to the door the other day. Saying I might have noticed the trucks working in the neighborhood.
What trucks? I haven't seen any trucks.
My question is, who is going to fix my roof if it starts to leak after they put in the panels?
I paid $10k to have my roof installed and I can count on one hand the number of people who've set foot on it since it was installed. And most all of them worked for the roofing company that put it on.
Solar may work, but my experience with our little solar powered fountains tells me that the panels really need to be oriented perfectly to get the most power out of them. That's not gonna happen on my roof.

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by red-beard

On the electric company sending you a check, some will and most will not. You are LUCKY if you can get net-metering. 10 years ago, when the solar panels were uncommon, the companies were more likely to do net-metering. Not so much today.

If you have high electric rates, over 20 cents per kWh, it is a no-brainer! 12 to 20 cents, you can save money with a solar install. If you have a tiered electric rate, you can save money by putting in a small system to get you under the top tiers.

If you want to have power when the power goes out, it is a very different, battery based system. Can you use a battery system to effectively give yourself net-metering? Yes. But it requires using long life Lithium batteries. Can you hook up a generator with all of this? Yes, but it must be designed properly to prevent the solar from back-feeding the generator.

FWIW - I did some reading on how the "payback" works in CA with PG&E. This is my understanding.... You get "trued up" every year with your usage vs your production if you have excess production you get paid 2-4 cents/kilowatt hour by check that is sent automatically. I think a net-metering meter is required.

[Evans, Marv]

^^^^ This is true in San Diego County too. Pisses me off they charge between 30+ and 50+ cents per kWh and pay back 2-4 cents. That shows how much built in profit along with all the many fees & other charges they bundle in.

[Kraftwerk]

Interesting "Science Friday" episode today, (NPR ..I have no T.V. & I only listen w/ one ear) said, CA is making TOO MUCH solar and needs to dump its excess .. begging AZ to take it (!) The host said his electric bill last year was over $300 (300!: did I hear that correctly? ) and this year after a total solar instal, is $9 (!) and it will take 7 (?) years to break - even. Not sure about exact numbers ..but they sounded crazy / optimistic ...if these figures are even 50% true we can kiss sweet oil's ass good bye.. except for me, my car loves to drink oil. Let me know if you have any spare quarts of 15w 50.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by Kraftwerk

Interesting "Science Friday" episode today, (NPR ..I have no T.V. & I only listen w/ one ear) said, CA is making TOO MUCH solar and needs to dump its excess .. begging AZ to take it (!) The host said his electric bill last year was over $300 (300!: did I hear that correctly? ) and this year after a total solar instal, is $9 (!) and it will take 7 (?) years to break - even. Not sure about exact numbers ..but they sounded crazy / optimistic ...if these figures are even 50% true we can kiss sweet oil's ass good bye.. except for me, my car loves to drink oil. Let me know if you have any spare quarts of 15w 50.

I just listened to it. He did say he paid $300 last year. I am sure he meant $300 a month.

[TimT]

My first solar installation, Its a new building for NYSDEC, has FDA approved labs for testing shellfish/finfish permitting etc..

Building is LEED Silver certified...incredibly complex HVAC

Solar farm



Roof mounted panels