Solar ?

Not always. Some places there is a limit to what they have to buyback. Caused some issues in places like Hawaii.

But I think you misread his post. If he uses more than he generates, or has credit for(the power put back to the grid) then he will have to buy it from the electric company.

 

Ooooops....you're right. I misread that.....damm moonshine <hic>

 

I have had solar on my roof (photo-voltaic) for 5 years now and enjoy waching the meter go backward almost just as much as burning my stove. The question if it makes financial sense fully depends on your local legislation and incentives. Look at:
- panel pricing
- inverter pricing
- installation costs (and ability of your structure to support them/self install allowed and with what limits)
- lifetime (30+ years for panel but 7-10 for inverter!)
- price per kwh bought from your energy company
- price that you might get for produced (and delivered back to the grid) - if grid tied install
- money that you might receive from the goverment.

I did the math around here and concluded that for me the cheapest option (self install, chinese cells, quality inverter) gave a return-on-investment of 12 years. -as long as i do not produce more than my yearly electricity usage-

KWh/year here is =~ 70% Wp for the panels, but this depends on your latitude

 

Yup your right IHP. I have to pay Central Hudson or whoever I buy my power from if I use more power than I generate. On sunny days that I'm not home using power I can build credits to use on those cloudy or snow covered days during the winter.
Wednesday is the sight survey and I should get some more pieces of the puzzle. I have a few friends who have leased solar panels and like Dutchfire stated they love watching the meter run backwards. This winter may be tough because the first company I dealt with screwed us and couldn't get the system installed on time causing us to search out another company. So I will not have any credits built from these nice sunny days.
I think there is at least some financial gains to be had and like burning pellets and forgoing oil I think it will be cool generating my own electricity so to speak. Now that we are looking for them wifey and I are seeing more and more systems. I think its good to be diverse, and we will be happy to be a part of a new, efficient way to make ourselves a little more self sufficient.

Doggy

 

I can't quite make the numbers work.

 

That company was Google.

 

It's powered via Google. I have the link bookmarked because I like the idea and my house is not available yet. Here it is:

https://www.google.com/get/sunroof#p=0

 

And away we go ! Smokey I will answer your question when I get a little more time. Very happy to get Canadian built panels !!

 

Built using parts from China (according to the tag in the picture) in China.

 

I did a calculation for a system to zero my electrical bill it would take around $12,000 and the simple payback period was 20.34 years and does not include any replacement of parts among other things. A person I know installed a system and it actually pays off in his case (sweat equity, very high electrical energy costs that during peak usage can be $1.00 per KWH, and a very sunny location). Remember tax credits are only good if you have a tax liability otherwise they are pink and purple polka doted dollars.

 

Ya I just saw that too. The installers said they use Chinese and Canadian panels. I was happy to see Canadian panels. You are right JT not much built in US anymore. The car built with the most US parts and labor is........................................................................Toyota Camry.

Doggy

 

JT Good luck today.

Doggy

 

Well Sir Smokey I will try to explain why I went solar.

I have thought for many years it was a good idea. In the NE its oil fired, coal fired, NG fired, nuclear fired power plants. No or very little hydro or wind powered plants. I think the NE needs solar.

From an economic stand point here is my situation. I have a small home, me, wifey and adult son. I have a well for water (wellpump ) Electric stove, Electric washer and dryer , Oil fired boiler for very part time heat and full time hot water, and my wonderful pellet insert. Three small AC units, one in each bedrooms and 1 in the living room.There is a detached garage that my oldest son and I do some work from . It has a compressor and we have air jacks that we use. Also air tools. Anymore my son uses it more than I do and its sporadic. Sometimes he works out there and sometimes he doesn't . We each have a few projects we work on. We also have a hot tub that could go but wifey loves it and I would have a problem if I shut it off. I will admit we could do better at conservation but we are not at home much during the days and we aren't horrible shutting off lights and minimizing usage.
Now we just got the bill for the last 2 months. It was $480. Now I'll admit that after sweating at work for 10 hours when I come home I want a cool house. I also will not sweat while I'm trying to sleep. My wife gets up early, and needs the lights and electric to get herself lookin purdy for work. (shower, hair dryer, heat element in bathroom ) Son who lives at home has computer, TV, etc. He works full time as do wife and I. All our light bulbs have been changed to energy efficient units. All our appliances are new energy efficient units (energy star compliant ) Washer, dryer ,fridge, TVs, dish washer, well pump, sump pump are all 5 years old or less. This electric bill is the highest of the year. Lowest is about $290. (2month)

Solar is going to cost me $500 down at installation, $118 a month fixed for the next 20 years . I will have to pay something if I go over my allotted kilowatt hours, however I have spoke to several people and none have ever payed anything the electric company (Central Hudson which is now a foreign owned company ) except $49 every 2 months as a carrying charge. Solar City maintains the system, performs updates, and any repairs that are needed. If something goes wrong they will know and call to set up time for repair. I can also check on things on line and see what my usage and generation numbers are. The system was tested today and I watched the meter go from delivery to receiving. The little arrow switched from pointing to my home to pointing away as I was sending 2400 watts per hour back to the grid. ( cloudy today, tech said it will be double that easily on a sunny day. )

I could be wrong but I think its going to be great. Well I really, really hope its gonna be great !!

Doggy

 

I have a yearly all in electrical power bill of under $600.

 

Surprised?