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Old 03-04-2020, 09:10 AM
 
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Out of plain curiosity (I was interested getting solar panels) I had someone come by and give me an estimate.

It was about $16k with the 26% grant included @ approximately $124 per month ... which isnt bad but I think (dont know for sure) my average electric bill is lower than that.

My previous electric bill was about $131 but I think my HVAC is partially to blame, he stated it should have only been half of that at ~1,850sqft.

Supposedly the system I was quoted for would have presumably netted me a $100 credit on PEC for the month of February (meaning I would have still owed $31 + the monthly payment for the solar panels). Problem is the results are skewed because I dont know how much power I should really be using... Are there any other benefits involved or is it cheaper to just stay on the grid?

He also stated the 26% grant is reducing to 21% next year. Any truth in that?

Last edited by Need4Camaro; 03-04-2020 at 09:18 AM..
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Old 03-04-2020, 10:08 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,273 posts, read 35,667,143 times
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The 'grants' do change year-over-year and are, in general, being reduced so as to not inconvenience the oil companies . I am not sure on the current or near-future levels, though.

You really do need to do a quite a bit of research and get proposals from multiple companies - they are out to make whatever money they can get away with.

Also, as to financing, what is that, 4.5% for 15 years with nothing down or something similar? That comes out to ~$122/month but you also pay $6,000 in interest. If at all possible, something more aggressive time-wise or rate-wise (with the recent drop) might be worth considering. I looks like 25% down with 4.5% for 10 years comes out to $124/mo. and is right at $3,000 in interest.

The panels/installation cannot be added to the value of your house for property taxes, but they DO add value to your house. So you don't need to offset your entire electric bill to break even, really. And you will still pay a connection fee, even if you zero-out (over the year) your bill.

I personally know three people that have put on solar, and one is completely 'free' of electric bills, but he over-sized (and paid more) on purpose. The other two are close to annual break-even (I would guess ~80%?), but I am not really sure exactly.

I have not put panels on my house as my south-facing roof is shaded and my east-west faces are limited/partially shaded; otherwise, I would have done it years ago. AustinEnergy has a rebate on top of the federal rebate, as well, if you are in their service area, but it sounds like you are not.
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Old 03-04-2020, 10:43 AM
 
11,848 posts, read 8,055,347 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trainwreck20 View Post
The 'grants' do change year-over-year and are, in general, being reduced so as to not inconvenience the oil companies . I am not sure on the current or near-future levels, though.

You really do need to do a quite a bit of research and get proposals from multiple companies - they are out to make whatever money they can get away with.

Also, as to financing, what is that, 4.5% for 15 years with nothing down or something similar? That comes out to ~$122/month but you also pay $6,000 in interest. If at all possible, something more aggressive time-wise or rate-wise (with the recent drop) might be worth considering. I looks like 25% down with 4.5% for 10 years comes out to $124/mo. and is right at $3,000 in interest.

The panels/installation cannot be added to the value of your house for property taxes, but they DO add value to your house. So you don't need to offset your entire electric bill to break even, really. And you will still pay a connection fee, even if you zero-out (over the year) your bill.

I personally know three people that have put on solar, and one is completely 'free' of electric bills, but he over-sized (and paid more) on purpose. The other two are close to annual break-even (I would guess ~80%?), but I am not really sure exactly.

I have not put panels on my house as my south-facing roof is shaded and my east-west faces are limited/partially shaded; otherwise, I would have done it years ago. AustinEnergy has a rebate on top of the federal rebate, as well, if you are in their service area, but it sounds like you are not.
If AustinEnergy is restricted to coautilities then I'm definitely outside of range. I'm in PEC territory. I may look into the 25% down option and pay less interest over 10 years. I'll keep looking around to see what other kinds of bids I get. This company just so happened to be right across 183 from where I live so it was convenient. With the added value of the home it sounds like its overall worth it even if you fall slightly under the electric bill.

Also as a side note, is that natural gas power plant in Downtown Austin where we get our power from? I've been wondering that.
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Old 03-04-2020, 11:09 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,273 posts, read 35,667,143 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Need4Camaro View Post
[...]
Also as a side note, is that natural gas power plant in Downtown Austin where we get our power from? I've been wondering that.
This wiki looks to be pretty accurate. The downtown plants have long since closed down, Holly Street being the last one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Energy

Edit: It looks like the AE rebate is a flat $2,500 at the moment. And yes, you have to be paying your electric bill to AE to be able to get the rebates.
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Old 03-04-2020, 11:13 AM
 
11,848 posts, read 8,055,347 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trainwreck20 View Post
This wiki looks to be pretty accurate. The downtown plants have long since closed down, Holly Street being the last one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Energy
I was wondering that, it was odd for there to be a power plant right smack in downtown.
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Old 03-04-2020, 11:57 AM
 
7,742 posts, read 15,141,129 times
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solar is worth it, but to get a decent return you need the federal tax credit and local rebate. Even then the break even point is like 10 years out.
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Old 03-04-2020, 12:54 PM
 
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We built our house, so it was easy to include solar panels in the plans and in the mortgage. The builder did need to make the roof strong enough to handle the panels, so I'm not sure that's always a given. Also, Austin Energy made us change one of the panels because of a shadow from a utility pole. But in the end, we did get a rebate from Austin Energy, and a tax credit on our federal tax return. This was in 2016, so I don't know if anything has changed. We usually build up a small credit on our electric bill during the winter and then spend it and more over the summer.
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Old 03-04-2020, 01:10 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,273 posts, read 35,667,143 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KingHenryFour View Post
We built our house, so it was easy to include solar panels in the plans and in the mortgage. The builder did need to make the roof strong enough to handle the panels, so I'm not sure that's always a given. Also, Austin Energy made us change one of the panels because of a shadow from a utility pole. But in the end, we did get a rebate from Austin Energy, and a tax credit on our federal tax return. This was in 2016, so I don't know if anything has changed. We usually build up a small credit on our electric bill during the winter and then spend it and more over the summer.
I have never heard of a roof not being strong enough, but I suppose it is possible. AE is extremely particular in its review process for solar panels, but most installers now this and it is not a problem. Currently, I think you 'earn' a credit of 9.7 cents per kWh.

If you stay in the 'low' tiers (less than 1,000 kWh/mo), you can do quite well. If you often exceed 1000 kWh, you get in the more expense charges and the credits are constant.
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Old 03-05-2020, 08:53 PM
 
254 posts, read 281,649 times
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I'm on Oncor & have never figured out how to make solar worth while given our roof geometry. My electric bill averages less than $110 a month & we consume a lot of electricity in the evening/night. The buyback for Oncor seems to be a lot lower than Austin Energy. Also seems like the solar installation companies really push that cost of electricity will increase each year, but I haven't noticed that to be the case. My kilowatt/hour price is half of what it was 12 years ago when I started tracking it and I'm skeptical that it is going to increase drastically. Half of my bill is grid maintenance, which I would need to pay regardless if I had solar.
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Old 03-05-2020, 09:32 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,273 posts, read 35,667,143 times
Reputation: 8617
Quote:
Originally Posted by wildflower_FL View Post
I'm on Oncor & have never figured out how to make solar worth while given our roof geometry. My electric bill averages less than $110 a month & we consume a lot of electricity in the evening/night. The buyback for Oncor seems to be a lot lower than Austin Energy. Also seems like the solar installation companies really push that cost of electricity will increase each year, but I haven't noticed that to be the case. My kilowatt/hour price is half of what it was 12 years ago when I started tracking it and I'm skeptical that it is going to increase drastically. Half of my bill is grid maintenance, which I would need to pay regardless if I had solar.
The deregulated companies really don't want you to put solar on, the munis and coops are the only ones that are cost-effective, usually, due to better rates they give you for your generation.
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