Is Solar Worth it? Anyone in Austin Area get it installed? (month to, house)

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Roadking2003

I have never and will never live in an all-electric house. I will never have an electric cooktop.

induction is very good and is as good or better than gas for most types of cooking (except maybe wok because of the shape of the wok)

1) instant off
2) can set a specific temp
3) stove top doesnt get overly hot
4) no CO production
5) can have a timer to shutoff
6) very fast heat times - e.g. to boil water

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by Austin97

induction is very good and is as good or better than gas for most types of cooking (except maybe wok because of the shape of the wok)

1) instant off
2) can set a specific temp
3) stove top doesnt get overly hot
4) no CO production
5) can have a timer to shutoff
6) very fast heat times - e.g. to boil water

Here are the cons that you conveniently omitted:

https://www.consumerreports.org/elec...s-a5854942923/

tl;dr version:

1) You need the right cookware
Pots/pans need to be ferrous metal (magnet should stick to it). So that aluminum tamale pot or Costco's ceramic tagine is useless.

2) What’s that noise?
Complicated electronics and mechanical cooling fans (like for computer processors) introduce noise. (Ed. note: Also introduces more points for failure, making any repairs impossible or cost prohibitive.)

3) Dig out your dial thermometer
Unlike the Faraday cage cavity of microwaves, the magnetic field of induction cooktops is in the open air. Turns out that your digital meat thermometer might encounter interference (like static on the radio) and you will have to revert to the analog (LOL) version.

The winter storm last year have prompted many to unplug as many devices from the overloaded electric grid by switching (ideally) all major appliances to natural gas. Why give more money to ERCOT and the TX electric industry for that fake $9,000/MWh debt?

I don't have to worry anymore about adding demand on the grid during evening peak when I cook dinner on my natural gas cooktop, unlike my old electric coil one. The only time it uses electricity is the minuscule amount to light the burner (which could be further improved upon with a mechanical switch sparked by flint, like a BIC lighter). Once the burner is lit, there is no further (continuous) electricity demand on the grid.

[Trainwreck20]

The gas companies are the ones that ended up with almost all of the 9k/kWh via high gas prices.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

The gas companies are the ones that ended up with almost all of the 9k/kWh via high gas prices.

How? ERCOT doesn't have anything to do with the gas network; it's an all-in-one grid manager and wholesale marketplace that had the $9k/MWh cap. The only connection gas had to electricity was from the wires company turning off service to the gas fields to conserve power (and created a vicious circle for the gas turbine plants).

If you didn't get an outrageous bill after the storm, you still paid towards the $9k cap with doubled electric rates when your contract came up for renewal. When I "shopped" for a replacement contract last summer, the rates in West Houston doubled from 6¢ to 12¢/kWh, presumably for the retail electric provider to finance their debt (loan) with ERCOT/power plant operators.

[Trainwreck20]

The gas companies charged the electric generators outrageous prices for the natural gas used to power their gas turbines and gas plants. Most (if not all or MORE) of that $9k/kWh went to the gas producers. They did not pass it on to their direct gas customers like Southern Gas, they just whacked the electric companies.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by EP45

Correct. And that’s what drove the variable price plans (Griddy, et al) to insanity numbers.

ETA. I did a solar install on my N Austin house circa 2014, it’s almost paid for itself - although I fear current inflation may make the math worse.

Well, when they raise electric rates, it will help the math, so there is that....

[Trainwreck20]

Austin Energy is proposing to raise rates right now - 7.6%, I think? But they only raise them every few years, so the annual increase is pretty small.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by EP45

That’s the weird thing. With everything else skyrocketing, electric really hasn’t. Still costs me about $18-20/mo to charge the Tesla, however, I think the install costs on panels has gone up 30-40%. I did 32 panels (10KW) for I think 19K(ish) net cost. It’s probably closer to 33K now.

The real PITA is cleaning them at least once a year after cedar season. The difference in efficacy is noticeable.

Just wondering, do you go up there yourself to clean them? What happens if you just depend on a good rain to do it?

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by EP45

Sadly, rain combined with the dust and pollen creates this almost paste that doesn’t really wash off - even with a downpour.

There’s services you can use, but I have a second story window that allows pretty easy access to the south side of the roof and it’s really only about a one hour project.

Do you only need to clean them once a year?

[goacom]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

Here are the cons that you conveniently omitted:

1) You need the right cookware
Pots/pans need to be ferrous metal (magnet should stick to it). So that aluminum tamale pot or Costco's ceramic tagine is useless.

2) What’s that noise?
Complicated electronics and mechanical cooling fans (like for computer processors) introduce noise. (Ed. note: Also introduces more points for failure, making any repairs impossible or cost prohibitive.)

3) Dig out your dial thermometer
Unlike the Faraday cage cavity of microwaves, the magnetic field of induction cooktops is in the open air. Turns out that your digital meat thermometer might encounter interference (like static on the radio) and you will have to revert to the analog (LOL) version.

The winter storm last year have prompted many to unplug as many devices from the overloaded electric grid by switching (ideally) all major appliances to natural gas. Why give more money to ERCOT and the TX electric industry for that fake $9,000/MWh debt?

I don't have to worry anymore about adding demand on the grid during evening peak when I cook dinner on my natural gas cooktop, unlike my old electric coil one. The only time it uses electricity is the minuscule amount to light the burner (which could be further improved upon with a mechanical switch sparked by flint, like a BIC lighter). Once the burner is lit, there is no further (continuous) electricity demand on the grid.

I recently switched from gas to induction as part of a remodel. (1)Yes, there were some utensils that were not compatible, but stuff was old anyway, so I just donated it. (2) I've not experienced any noise with our Bosch unit. (3) No issues with EM interference either.

As far as electricity usage, you will probably be using a lot more with gas than with induction! That is because you gas stove will be doing a great job heating your ambient, which will require your AC to work harder. So if anything, you may actually be adding to the grid. I should also add that it is so much easier cleaning an induction cooktop than a gas unit. Overall, we don't miss the gas stovetop at all.

In terms of energy security, I have solar + Tesla PW. If the grid fails or if they cut off my gas, I can continue to function indefinitely.

My next project is to replace my 20+ year old gas water heaters with heat pump (HP) heaters. The to be passed Clean Energy bill (aka Inflation Reduction act) provides tax credits for it, but one needs to do it strategically to get max returns as it puts annual limits on the amount of credit for various kinds of upgrades - hence may be better to do things over multiple years. After that I plan to replace my clothes dryer with a HP version and finally my home gas heater with a HP version.

Of course before one invests on all of this, one must first focus of reducing consumption via efficiency and reducing waste. I've upgraded the insulation and windows around my house over time, no incandescent lighting, AC on timers etc. I also dry my clothes outside in the summer, and have planted a lot of trees along the S/W side for shading and put in a highly reflective metal roof when my shingle roof got hail damage. As a result, my energy consumption for a 3300sqft home 4 household family in the winter is lower than 350kwh per month and maybe around 850kwh during the peak of summer.