Went solar

[RobertN]

Over the last 8 months, we have gone solar. First we did hot water, now we have a 6Kw array on the roof too. Still grid tie, but we are making our own power. We had both installed. I did a roof tearoff and re-shingle. Just did not have time to do the solar installation.

Anyone else using solar?

I would like to put a panel on my 5th wheel too. Not a priority at the moment; TnT for my TC40 will probably come first...

 

[weedpharma]

We went solar HWS 30 years ago and PVs 2 years ago. The 2KW PVs give me about 110% of my household usage. The best thing is getting the electric company account and seeing they owe me money even though our import power cost has risen nearly 50% in the last couple of years.

Weedpharma

 

[farmeratheart]

We had a 4kW system installed this year. It was completed in late August. There is a great deal of satisfaction in generating most of your homes electricity demand with the silent array on the roof ! In a couple of years, we'll probably look in to the solar hot water systems. Good luck.

 

[Thomas]

We did looking into solar system early this year,but there were more cons than pros..living in snow belt,sun 11ish to dark do to shaded mountain we live on,so now we checking out wind power but also coming up against issues..city permits,zoning laws,insurance extra cost..almost to point its not worth it,for its just Mrs. and I living 2000 sq.ft home total electric and highest bill dead of winter about $110.oo also have wood stove for back up.

Do you get some sort of tax break etc. by going green?

 

[eepete]

Here's mine:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/178663-my-solar-panel-power-project.html

Pete

 

[Phils]

Anyone else using solar?

I would like to put a panel on my 5th wheel too.

We have been off-grid since we bought in 1977. PG&E wanted too much $$ to bring power to our house location.

In the early years it was just generators. Later, the generator also charged a battery bank supplying an inverter (do a load of wash and we had electricity for the rest of the day and the next day).

Still later we started adding solar panels (first array was 300 watts). My "measurement" was simply "how much are we running a generator?". More solar meant less generator.

We are at a 3KW solar array now and only have to run a gen during dark rainy periods. We have also migrated from propane refrigerators to electric, and have added a mini-split air conditioner. Loads grew, so array grew.

We run on three different inverters, having divided our loads 3 ways ("water pressure", "entertainment + lights + A/C", and "appliances".

Our fifthwheel has one solar panel mounted on the roof, and another panel that is portable because we like to park in the shade.

Just lemme know if/when you need any information or help.

Phil

 

[MossRoad]

Over the last 8 months, we have gone solar. First we did hot water, now we have a 6Kw array on the roof too. Still grid tie, but we are making our own power. We had both installed. I did a roof tearoff and re-shingle. Just did not have time to do the solar installation.

Anyone else using solar?

I would like to put a panel on my 5th wheel too. Not a priority at the moment; TnT for my TC40 will probably come first...

What do you estimate will be your energy savings payback time? I.E. how long will it take for the system to pay for itself and if there were no tax incentives, how long would it take? Also, what is the life expectancy of the system?

 

[sodamo]

4.5kw system here with diesel backup for the cloudy/rainy times. One of the best times was a couple winters ago when a neighbor up the road was making a Costco run. Told my wife her husband said it was alright to go shopping now that their 3 days of power problems seemed over. My wife, "really, we hadn't noticed a thing."

Seems whenever solar is brought up, so is the payback question. Perhaps the followup question to the inquirer should be, When do you expect to finish paying the power company?

 

[MossRoad]

Seems whenever solar is brought up, so is the payback question. Perhaps the followup question to the inquirer should be, When do you expect to finish paying the power company?

I would counter that with this...

When do you expect to realize you spent more money on your solar system than the total cost of your utility bills over the life of your system and used my tax dollars doing it?

Payback is a huge issue for financially responsible people.

 

[clemsonfor]

My aunt bought a instant hot water system from some mail order green company. Anyway i was looking through the cataloge and it had a chart for size pannel and Kwhrs and so forth to see the size of the pannels you would need to supply your power usage. Anyway with out my wife and i having kids i would have needed something like $150-180K worth of solar pannels to produce 100% of my power, i cannot afford that i would need a second morgage to pay for that. Maybe there prices were 3 times higher than other sources but i have not even looked farther than the what the hey first look i gave it. That was uninstalled too!!!

 

[heehaw]

my electric bill averages, lets say $125 a month: thats $1500 a year: if i live 30 more years, thats $45,000: now how much would a solar system cost me to do the same thing, an how much maintenance would it cost me during that time? if commercial power isn't available, i can see using the alternatives, if it is, ??
heehaw

 

[frogfish]

my electric bill averages, lets say $125 a month: thats $1500 a year: if i live 30 more years, thats $45,000: now how much would a solar system cost me to do the same thing, an how much maintenance would it cost me during that time? if commercial power isn't available, i can see using the alternatives, if it is, ??
heehaw

How much were your electric bills 30 years ago? You need to factor in the inflation for the next 30 years. If you paid $125 a month 30 years ago then your calculations hold up, but I'll guess your bills were more like $50 a month back then. As for maintenance costs, there are some, but PV panels just keep on producing, some loss of output but not as bad as many have feared. If you run off batteries then there is a cost involved, but as technology improves the batteries will run longer and hopefully be less $$ if you need to replace them Generally pay back on PV systems is around 15-18 years from what I've read. With that said, PV is not for everyone, each site needs to be evaluated and your needs assessed before spending the $$

 

[sodamo]

I would counter that with this...

When do you expect to realize you spent more money on your solar system than the total cost of your utility bills over the life of your system and used my tax dollars doing it?

Payback is a huge issue for financially responsible people.

and I'd counter you've got some nerve making such implications:

1. "you spent more money on your solar system than the total cost of your utility bills over the life of your system"

My system cost me approx $60K. To get the utility lines extended to me would have been over $20K not figuring any costs for the easements. At the cost of electricity locally, I'd reasonably expect my monthly bill to be over $200, likely closer to $300. So applying that to the cost of my system in excess of the cost to get commercial power ($60K-$20K=$40K), payback would be 16.7 years. Another $100 per month for same period would payback the $20K it would have cost me to get the lines run. Would anyone be concerned about that payback? Nope, just the cost of getting the service. Some might even say (to themselves) I should have lived less rural. Considering the price of most things have a tendency to double over 10 years, I suspect I'll be avoiding more than a $200 monthly electric bill at the end of my 16.7 years.
Will I incur maintenance or replacement costs? sure, but likely less than the utility bill. Perhaps a bit selfish of me, but I plan on outlasting the 16.7 years.

Being retired, which should I expect to rise at a higher rate, my pension/social security or utility rates?


2."used my tax dollars doing it?"

The only tax advantage was a refund of my own tax dollars. Unlike the liberal share the wealth programs, I did not receive 10 cents more than my own dollars paid, therefore I received a total of $0.00 of your tax dollars.

3. "Payback is a huge issue for financially responsible people."

I consider myself to be quite financially responsible AND my actions reflect that and resent the insinuation otherwise. Spending that sort of money was definitely a huge issue, but spending $20K for nothing more than to guarantee a monthly $200+ forever utility bill seemed irresponsible.

 

[hawkeye08]

Thanks for all that posted about putting in solar systems. I am interested but don't have the funds at this time. I will keep an eye on it and hopefully be able to give a try someday soon.

 

[schmism]

What do you estimate will be your energy savings payback time? I.E. how long will it take for the system to pay for itself and if there were no tax incentives, how long would it take? Also, what is the life expectancy of the system?

Everyone i talk to says that 30 year old bleeding edge PV panels (at the time from the 70's) are still generating power today. The few test case ones ive read about say 80% output today as what they did when installed.

batteries have life spans shure, but i dont know if anyone has put a life span on the typical inverter ie they should go for as long as the PV panels. 20-30+ years.

generally you hear payoff times listed in 10-15 years because thats the upper avg of what the avg person stays in a home these days.

per articles from the CA housing market it seems that about 80% of the cost of the systems can be realized at the time of home sale also.

PV pannels have been on my short list sence i moved to the property. We had decided to spend $5K on alpacas for the wife this year, and then $5K on a small PV system next year. But then layoffs happend and we've held on to the cash and not gone with either.

 

[lhfarm]

The local co-op (REMC) build a new office outside of town recently. They also installed two large solar arrays and a single vertical wind turbine on site. I've wanted to stop in and see if they are testing the equipment or actually generating some of their own power.

 

[MossRoad]

and I'd counter you've got some nerve making such implications:

You are the one that blew off my legitimate question about how long will it take to pay for itself with a flippant remark about how long will I be paying the power company.

 

[MossRoad]

Everyone i talk to says that 30 year old bleeding edge PV panels (at the time from the 70's) are still generating power today. The few test case ones ive read about say 80% output today as what they did when installed.

batteries have life spans shure, but i dont know if anyone has put a life span on the typical inverter ie they should go for as long as the PV panels. 20-30+ years.

generally you hear payoff times listed in 10-15 years because thats the upper avg of what the avg person stays in a home these days.

per articles from the CA housing market it seems that about 80% of the cost of the systems can be realized at the time of home sale also.

PV pannels have been on my short list sence i moved to the property. We had decided to spend $5K on alpacas for the wife this year, and then $5K on a small PV system next year. But then layoffs happend and we've held on to the cash and not gone with either.

Thanks.

 

[forgeblast]

Sorry to jump in, just wanted to say go to petfinder.com there are places giving alpacas away. the boom on them was through the roof....now with this economy people are giving them away. We have a friend who went with lamas, bigger animals, bred for fleece so their a higher quality then your run of the mill lama, which means more usable fleece, and a cheaper price. Plus she can sell them as guard lamas, to take down the coyotes.

 

[beppington]

Seems whenever solar is brought up, so is the payback question. Perhaps the followup question to the inquirer should be, When do you expect to finish paying the power company?

The answer is likely "never" ... for both systems, power co & solar. Nothing is free; And everything wears out eventually.