Hoarding wood is all about free heat. We like our free heat, but what about electric? Thats our second largest bill. Anyone using solar to supplement their electric? Anyone trying to go "off grid" and totally power their house with solar? I would love to harness the sun and use it to power our house. Let's use this thread to share your experience with solar energy. *Pro's and Con's *Cost *Helpful links *Where to find reliable help or info *Batteries vs selling the power back to the electric co.
Subscribed. We are building a new house in a couple months. I am getting as much info as I can about it.
My personal views: The grid is much better than being off it (if you have the choice) Batteries are a PIA and expensive Conserving electricity is much easier than making it Solar panels lose output as they age I'm not a fan of having panels on my roof or on my lawn
When we had a motor home and was spending most of the year in it we put some panels on the roof and also made them so we could tilt them in winter months. Was it worth it? For the type of camping we did, I felt it was worth it but there are limitations and battery prices have really raised a lot in price. Fortunately we had found a place near Yuma, AZ that sold 6 volt golf cart batteries at a decent price (I think we paid a bit under $50 at the time but they have gone up a lot now). We had 4 of the 6-volt batteries in the RV and could run the microwave but only for short periods. In the winter months we were a bit more limited than in summer for sure even though we tilted the panels but still we rarely ever started the generator. The refrigerator ran on lp so that helped a lot. We had thought about adding 2 more batteries but didn't but if we'd continued as we were, we definitely would have added more but that increases the cost a lot. We also paid perhaps more than we should have for an inverter but did not have to be concerned with electronics going bad either. We have considered trying to put solar panels on the house but after putting pencil to it I could not see that we could pay for it. That is, cheaper to stay on the grid. But one could still stay on the grid and say, go to heating the water with the sunshine in the summer months which would help the bill a lot and it would not be expensive to add some lines on the roof or even build a panel for the water lines and make it even better than mounting on the rooftop. Let us know if you come up with something good Tim. btw, we've also thought about a hot tub; water could be heating with sunlight part of the year and with wood the rest of the year.
My thought is, if I were to put in a system, I'd want to produce enough power that I would be selling it back to the power company during the day and using from the grid at night. No batteries. I've been looking at videos online and most are solar panel companies that make the systems sound like a great investment. With 5-10 year ROI.
I agree We have used less than 1/4 tank of HHO so far this year by burning wood. With just the Mrs. and I here we dont use a lot of electric, but our bill still runs about $90 per month. I'd like to "stick it to the man" on the power bills like we are with the heat bills.
If you saved 50% on your electric bills I would be suprised if it would be cost effective. In new constuction there would be a lot that you could do for passive solar gain. Gary
I've been finding the 5-10 years for ROI is about right. There are a lot of variables. Some parts of the country are better suited for solar than we are. Reading articles from Solar Oregon, the typical install runs about $4000 for each kw of capacity. If we installed a 4kw system, installed cost would be $16,000. There is a 30% federal tax credit, $4800. Our state has a tax credit of $6,000. "Final installed cost" $5200. These are approximate numbers, but in the ball park. With this system, our monthly savings would be ~$63.00 month. Close to 7 years for ROI. In order to get the Oregon tax credits, an "approved" installer has to be used. I will try to call them this week to learn more. We'll see what they say.
Here is a link I used to come up with the estimate on monthly savings. I don't know how close this calculator is, but you can use it to calculate monthly savings for your area. How to calculate the amount of kilowatt hours (kWh) your solar panel system will produce - Solar Power Rocks
I know there are a lot of solar projects out there. More coming online. For the home owner, I feel more can be had from solar gain, than solar power collector. Orienting your home to capture solar gain during the winter be a real winner when it is coupled with sound insulating techniques.
We run 3x that several months out of the year We have a high number of sunny days here, but solar panels always end up damaged by the wind, same result even back in Colorado with less wind. Here they promote wind turbines for electricity. The ROI is upside down, and they are noisy. Yes, the sound of the wind is obnoxious too (micro blast blew a window out a couple weeks ago), the rare times when the wind is not blowing who wants more noise? I'd love to get on board with either but not able/willing to pay more than what I do currently.
Hey Tim Schoondog a fellow pellet head here put in a system this year he maybe able to give you some 1st hand info .
my first response would be very wary of these companies calling saying we got a deal for solar panels.. 2nd make sure your electric company will buy your surplus many won't won't and more are capping the amount they will buy you can build the solar system cheaper than they will sell it too you. if you choose sun common or first solar (2 companies here that are selling them no money down) read the contracts carefully! you have to pay them to get snow off them and clean them.. at 175 per time.. yes I had them come to my house (it was free) my land is setup so that I could use 96% of sunlight to make electricity.. a great situation! bottom line was $26,000 to install.. payments over 20 years or about 200 a month payment.. great but what are 20 you solar panels worth? $0 no guarantee the electric company would buy excess after 2 years.. to lower an average monthly bill of 65 bucks..
I love the idea of solar electricity, but my bill runs less than $60, so that won't ever happen, as long as I am in this place. I agree, solar heat (solar gain) is the way to go, then solar water heating.
I'm interested in the shingles that are actually solar cells. Elon Musk, of Tesla is going to make these. I'd love to have the electric company pay me for electricity. I think we're close to having this as a real affordable option.
If I lived alone, I'd live off-grid in about a 500 sq ft cabin and a solar set-up like this. Would be about $12k with the tax credit. The Ranch 7.8 kW 30-Panel Astronergy Off-Grid Solar System - Wholesale Solar
