Outrageous electric bill - anyone with a big house to compare (+3000sq feet) ? (San Diego: insurance, buyer)

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by ShelbyGirl1

Received our SDG&E bill yesterday. $-38.42! Negative! Solar in a 3200 sq foot home ...no AC running this month, but pool running. We figure, with the increases, the Solar will payoff itself in 4-5 years.

I got almost the same exact negative amount this month. I am thinking it is a credit of some sort. I was in Hawaii for a long time so really did not use AC or any electricity during the last cycle.

[ShelbyGirl1]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

I got almost the same exact negative amount this month. I am thinking it is a credit of some sort. I was in Hawaii for a long time so really did not use AC or any electricity during the last cycle.

Just took a look at my bill...it doesn't show any special credits just a credit for 230+ kWH sold back.

[unquiltom]

Don't forget you're also paying for the 2007 fires that SDG&E was found libel for. That $525 million that they weren't insured for has to come from somewhere.

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by T. Damon

Beyond the potentially awkward/ugly array of panels on our handsome and often complimented about 1928 Spanish Revival, I just don't think our payback would happen until way in the future- about the time the panels start to loose their efficiency in producing.

Spanish style homes are usually flat, would it even be noticeable from the street? There are some "free" solar panel companies that you may want to look into.

Originally Posted by ShelbyGirl1

Our roof was also my concern. They can not insert solar panels onto any type of tile roof. Since we had the room, we opted to do a ground setup...the panels sit way back of our property and we don't see them all. This was actually cheaper than a roof Setup. I think the guy quoted an additional $8000 for the roof set-up. We paid a tad more in manual labor since trenches had to be dug to run conduit back up to one of the garages. But it was minimal, and included in the $30,000 total. FYI our panels are guaranteed 25 yrs.

I had no idea. That pretty much eliminates everyone on the 15 corridor in North County Inland starting at Scripps Ranch. Every home and other structure seems to have the red tile for roofing up there.

My neighbor down the hill has them on his roof. He runs his AC day and night even on 65 degree nights. At first it used to bug me to look down on his solar panels from my driveway but after a few months I just got used to it.

[ShelbyGirl1]

Originally Posted by malcorub16

Spanish style homes are usually flat, would it even be noticeable from the street? There are some "free" solar panel companies that you may want to look into.



I had no idea. That pretty much eliminates everyone on the 15 corridor in North County Inland starting at Scripps Ranch. Every home and other structure seems to have the red tile for roofing up there.

My neighbor down the hill has them on his roof. He runs his AC day and night even on 65 degree nights. At first it used to bug me to look down on his solar panels from my driveway but after a few months I just got used to it.

They told us ( and we spoke 4 different Solar Companies) they'd have to replace that particular section with shingles...there was no way we were doing that.

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by ShelbyGirl1

They told us ( and we spoke 4 different Solar Companies) they'd have to replace that particular section with shingles...there was no way we were doing that.

Yes, you shared that one picture of your home with us during the fires to show us the proximity of the fire... shingles have no business on that particular home...its is a clash with your home that is for darn sure .

[montreid]

We moved to SD from Central Valley earlier this year into 3700 ft home that's about 3 miles inland.

Running the AC above 79 on the occupied floor with mostly windows in the evening after it cooled down enough ~9pm and small wading pool with 0.5hp pump that runs 4 hours a day

First full month was $500 April
Next 2 months with LED lights cost $700 replaced - $400 each Return On Investment time: 7 months (life of lights 5 years+)
Install Solar 3.7kW system on Red tile roof along with Quiet Cool house fan $19,000 (pre 30% tax credit) with full month down to $100 on net metering

We switched to TimeOfUse since we don't figured we are producers between 12noon-6pm by a bit, so would even better deal and dropped bill to $50 despite in August and consuming a fair amount of energy in the evenings and nights with family of 4--we don't skimp on the lights, fans, or pumps either.

With the tax break, our break even point is about 3.5 years. -- with 10 year warranty on the inverter and 25 year on the panels + owned system for resale + green environment. Win for all......and money in our pockets instead of fee heavy SDGE.

[crazydive]

Thank you all for your input. Looks like we are a normal family with the same problem as many people here. Definitely we are going to purchase solar panels. A bit challenging could be our steep metal shingles roof which is 20 years old.

After reading everything here I have some extra questions:

Did you guys used a HERO program to finance your roof ?

What company is worth to go with ? I already spoke with two randomly selected.
One, completely bull****, tried to convince me to get a lease, and provided numbers were out of the blue, I already can do a better calculation. Second company represented their own product, all seemed to be pretty good however after visit they don't respond to my calls or emails, and I found on the internet they have a history of bad service. Usually after signing a contract though.

Is anyone here with Hyper-X Solar system ? How much we can trust that "new" technology. Any real advantage of taking that path ? Usually, new stuff needs some time to evaluate and prove that is worth to be chosen.

[ShelbyGirl1]

I can only answer your 2nd question, as we purchased our panels outright. We decided to go with Sullivan. Our only complaint, was that they were/are so busy, it took awhile for them to start. But they were great in keeping us in the loop re all the permits. The guys were quick to get out here for the first few appts. We appreciated their input on how and where, since we did a ground mount. They did have a slight hic-cup, when our lead foreman's wife had a baby, but neglected to tell anyone! So he missed an appt. with
us and I guess others as well. He was quickly replaced and things went very smoothly after that. They were also excellent AFTER installation with getting us on line and all that involves.

[TXI]

No less than $600-$700/month, our house is is 4000 sf +
about 10 miles from coast, San Diego

I'm going solar