I can do that bb, Spent today investigating solar and what is likely our needs. Looks like I need at least 10KW per hour for the current setup and possible more if we go mini split/heat pump. I'd also like a bit of wind added too for the no sun days as we get lots of wind up on the hill. Just rambles for now, But at least I know what we will likely need.
Many of the [reputable] HVAC GUYS AROUNS HERE are quite reluctant to install heat pump(s) unless there is some solar to help with costs of operation and a back-up heat system for DEC thru FEB.
FYI, The systems I was quoted for the house were well over $30K($50K once you add the battery storage) and I'm not so sure I will live long enough to see the ROI!! Most of the house systems with backup use A/C batteries(so I'm told- I need to dig into them more. But assume they are DC batteries with a/c inverters??). Super expensive compared to DC battery banks. So, Seeing my garage does not have power. And adding a utility service will cost well over $3K? I'm just going to do an off grid array with 4kw to 6kw inverter(lights and a few outlets). I think this would be the best place to start. I just can't swing that much $$ and it's also a bit harder for me as my home is debt free. Getting a second mortgage would be more like getting a personal loan with a lean on the house. Blah blah blah! I'll test my DIY skills and do an out of pocket system on the garage and practice for adding an inverter to the shack to act like a UPS or solar generator for the critical circuits we would like to have battery back up. I can run a conduit to the house from the garage to carry the DC from the panels to the house inverter at a later date.
This is what I would like to fab up myself(DIY) to use as the garage and house solar generators . Keep it mobile I guess. Made by Renogy but is too small for the house at only 3500 Kw. My gas genny is 8000 Kw which runs all but the Electric cook Stove, Washer-dryer and hot water heater. So an 8K for the house and say a 6K for the garage. Then add some solar and wind to recharge them? FYI these are like $4,000 for a 3500Kw. Renogy LYCAN pro 5000 Power Box
Sounds comparable to the quotes I got also. ROI is way too many years at 100-125 monthly bills. And yeah, we all know about the tax credit blah, blah, blah. No need to beat that horse any longer! Understandably, the monthly bills are only going to go up over the years. But why pay $2K over the next 20-25 years on loan repayment instead of paying the monthly elec provider at 1K a year? Then, add to this the increased cost of homeowners insurance (annually) for the eventual bad weather that will possibly damage the living heck out of those panels. Something not figured into the cost of ownership....... In my case, I am not quite pleased with the placement of the grid array. Too much shade in the mornings and evenings. Yeah, I could always cut down a buttload of trees but what would I do with all those logs anyway???
Mine are higher but still not high enough to offset the monthly loan payment. Local, federal and utility company rebates do knock a bunch off the top. I would need a negative bill and the utilities to pay instead of just monthly credits.
Very true, but then I spent $15,000 for a 40 year metal roof. It will handle my loads no problem at all. There are tons of options out there most, don't quite pay, it depends on a lot of things. As JT is finding out as he goes. Quote was at the 12 year payoff point but me don't use much electricity and just get by with 12 380 watt panels. Really need more shade free roof seems the Solar folks have'um 0 to 1 track minds.
Don't ya mean gas genny is 8000 watts, don't talk about Kw's it is a 8000 watts or 8 Kw don't confuse the two I can confuse myself easily enough I is old.
Most of that cost is the labor to install the system. I’m finding 7-10KW systems for under $10,000 more than capable of handling a 3b/2ba house and the associated amenities for a small family.
Yep 8K watts, I needed my nap! I'll make my own DIY. The Nature's Generator is a much better example as it also allows wind power.
That is a tricky question since I have panels on 3 sides of my hip roof; 7 panels on east and west sides, and 6 panels on the south side. So, I never get the "full" output of the whole array at one time. My house is just off axis to the cardinal directions too. I've only had solar for just over a year, so I don't have any averages for production. Add to that that this summer and fall were extremely cloudy (I mean dark cloudy), and I rarely got peak production and my best month was in May, instead of June or July as one would expect. Below you can see that my 8,000kw array had a best day of 49.3 kwh on June 22. My top for this month is 9.0 kwh and that was on the 12th. I have a 1000w nuker and it pulls 1,300-1,500w.
That quote really isn't that bad. I got my price locked in May of 2022. That was shortly before they upped the tax credit from 22% to 30% (a nice unexpected bonus), the supply chain crashed and worker shortages began. My 20 panel array, with 20 microinverters, cost just shy of $26k for everything. At that time I was told a 3-day battery backup would be more than the entire array install, so I didn't even have them quote that. I did not have to take a loan as I had saved up for a 14x20 garage that I'd gotten a quote for $24k in early 2021. In mid 2021, that price went up 30% , then added even more in early 2022. I could not justify spending $40k plus to keep the frost and snow off my vehicle (especially since I started WFH), so took the money I'd saved and put it into solar. I figured my ROI would be about 15 years (accounting for the 22% tax credit). But, it protects me from wild fluctuations in electricity prices - and that was before the 100% increase that was imposed in August of 2022. The price was reduced this August and will be reduced again in February, so it will all even out in the long run. I also have pretty good net metering and can roll over the $$ indefinitely or take a payout in March. My bills were negative from March thru October so I'm currently using my overage from the summer to run the mini split for heat instead of the pellet stove (with pellet prices this year, that is huge). And another little extra bonus that I didn't figure in (or even know about at the time), was that I get paid for each MW of power I produce as RECs (Renewable Energy Credits). Yeah, ain't going to make me rich, and I have to claim the quarterly payments on my taxes, but still not going to turn away money. When I added the array to my house insurance, it did not go up. I'm probably a bit over-insured anyway. But I would rather be over-insured than under-insured (known people who were in that boat and it wasn't pretty).
