Will have our first full month on the books here in a few days. Will post production vs estimates. This month and Jan will be our lowest production months. I'm seeing a daily production low of 16 kWh on a heavy full cloud day and 100kWh on a full sun day.
A newbies DIY solar install
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newbury
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Is that 16kWh and 100kWh totals for the day?
Yes. My estimates prior to install for December was 2180 kWh for the month. My highest month should be July at just over 3600 kWh for the month.
Oaktree
Super Member
That sounds like quite the impressive system. Just checked an old electric bill...typically we only use a little over 200/mo.
200 Kwh per month total or $200?
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LD1
Epic Contributor
On these forums, a comment like that requires a little more detail/information for anyone to take you credibly or seriously.
Can solar make tremendous power....yup.
Can solar save people alot of money...yup.
Can solar pay for itself in as little as 5-6 years...yup.
BUT....can solar take as much as 20 years to pay for itself....also yup.
TOO many variables. Assuming you have alot of sun....the second single biggest factor of whether solar is "worth" it is how your utility company handles solar and net metering.
A company like mine....where you have a minimum charge no matter what, and that minimum charge increases if you do have solar, and also where the electric you need to use from the grid if you are short is charged at a higher rate just because you have solar....then no. Solar is not cost effective yet at current equipment prices.
However, some companies are ALOT more generous in their net metering practices.
In your one-line un-substantiated comment.....let me ask you....have you bothered to research your OWN electric companies net metering practices before making such a baseless comment?
newbury
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Also a big factor is how much one uses. Our TOTAL USAGE last year was about 11,000 kWh, and that's in Mississippi living there 24/7 (due to Covid) no vacations.
/edit
So at our cost of $0.099/kWh the max we could save/year would be about $1,100.
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cqaigy2
Super Member
Cool thing about money saved, you don't get directly taxed for it, unlike if you made $12K to pay for the electricity.
Oaktree
Super Member
200 kWh. Last month was high at 221.
LD1
Epic Contributor
Which would also require a smaller system. So less up front out of pocket for an appropriately sized system.
If you had a company with a generous net metering policy, it is still worthwhile looking into even for smaller usages. It just requires a smaller system.
But lower rates do make it take longer to overcome initial cost
