Solar panels on your home.....anybody done it recently? (electric bill, electric)
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I can understand not wanting solar if you don’t like how it looks on your house, or if your electric bill is not that big anyway, but if the math makes sense then why not? Especially if your current bill is large, the math would be even more in Solar’s favor.
Anyone have experience with the Tesla Powerwall with solar? Seems like it would eliminate any need for a generator for power outages.
My electric bill is $300 +/- for TWO months. It’s just my wife & I in a 1700 sf ranch.
How much can I possibly save? And yes, they do look horrific to me, lol
My electric bill is $300 +/- for TWO months. It’s just my wife & I in a 1700 sf ranch.
How much can I possibly save? And yes, they do look horrific to me, lol
So - a lot?
I mean, it depends on if your roof gets a lot of sun and whatever but if you are going to be in the same place for a long time (and I have no idea about your situation) it certainly adds up.
I don't think they look great, and the way my house is situated, they (unfortunately) need to go on the front. But I'll take the (subjective) eye sore in exchange for the savings. But it's all personal preference. If you don't think tens of thousands of dollars over a number of years is worth it, that's up to you.
Yes. All of the electricity goes to the grid. The only way to use your own power is with a battery setup. Doable, but a much higher start up cost and tech I'm not familiar with.
this is incorrect.
you directly consume what you produce.
if you over produce (use less than what your panels produce at a point in time), it goes to the grid.
if you under produce (use more than what your panels produce at a point in time), you use both solar and utility power.
not sure why everyone is so skeptical of the financial benefits of solar here.
I had it installed last fall and my electric bill has been a flat $4.95 since march (PSEG's hookup fee) and am producing excess to carry over to use during the winter, which hopefully will also be net zero.
breakeven is a little over 6 years.
tesla has also recently discounted their panels by quite a bit, and there's still a 26% federal incentive. It would've been more cost beneficial for me to have it installed this year, but I won't cry over spilled milk.
this is incorrect.
you directly consume what you produce.
if you over produce (use less than what your panels produce at a point in time), it goes to the grid.
if you under produce (use more than what your panels produce at a point in time), you use both solar and utility power.
Fair correction, although my point was that we do not store any electricity without a battery device. I'd also argue you don't really use the energy you produce directly. It all goes to PSEG and they bill you for your usage less credits earned on what you produced (ie we produce it for them, not for us and they charge us/credit us accordingly). When they move everyone off net metering the rates will go up because of new convoluted incremental billing (dragging my heels on letting them replace the meter). But it's silly semantics considering we agree. I love my solar. Been a net cash positive since the day they were installed.
I keep reading 5, 7, 8, 10 years to “break even”. Invest that money for 5-10 years & see what it’s worth. (Yeah, I know, the anti stock market comments to follow). However, did me well over the years!
Fair correction, although my point was that we do not store any electricity without a battery device. I'd also argue you don't really use the energy you produce directly. It all goes to PSEG and they bill you for your usage less credits earned on what you produced (ie we produce it for them, not for us and they charge us/credit us accordingly). When they move everyone off net metering the rates will go up because of new convoluted incremental billing (dragging my heels on letting them replace the meter). But it's silly semantics considering we agree. I love my solar. Been a net cash positive since the day they were installed.
not according to my understanding. you directly consume what you produce if the demand is there.
How does solar self-consumption work?
Any energy that your system produces will go first into your home to power any devices that happen to be running – thus reducing the amount of energy you have to purchase (‘import’) from the your electricity retailer. If your solar system produces more energy than your household can consume at a given moment (e.g. if you’re not home), the excess solar is automatically sent back into the grid. This ‘exported’ solar energy is what earns you the low feed-in rates mentioned above.
other than that, yes from a financial perspective it would pretty much be the same.
and yes, I love my solar as well. I don't feel guilty running the AC all the time now.
I keep reading 5, 7, 8, 10 years to “break even”. Invest that money for 5-10 years & see what it’s worth. (Yeah, I know, the anti stock market comments to follow). However, did me well over the years!
apples to oranges. you're comparing possible gains, as well as possible losses, against a guaranteed rate of return.
it's also a hedge against rising energy costs and inflation.
thirdly, it's not just about the break even point. what's the ROI if the system cost me $15k (after incentives) and it saves me $60k over the course of its useful lifespan (25 years)? and it's not like the system stops working on year 25. it's just at reduced efficiency (~80%).
as far as I'm concerned, anything after 6-7 years is pure profit.
if you know you're staying in a house for long term and the math adds up, it's a no brainer IMO.
apples to oranges. you're comparing possible gains, as well as possible losses, against a guaranteed rate of return.
it's also a hedge against rising energy costs and inflation.
thirdly, it's not just about the break even point. what's the ROI if the system cost me $15k (after incentives) and it saves me $60k over the course of its useful lifespan (25 years)? and it's not like the system stops working on year 25. it's just at reduced efficiency (~80%).
as far as I'm concerned, anything after 6-7 years is pure profit.
if you know you're staying in a house for long term and the math adds up, it's a no brainer IMO.
Yup. Simple math. My "break even" was on day 1. Went from a $300/mo avg to $220/mo (including the equip financing). Its complicated but along with your points, there is also the hedge against guaranteed (usually 1.5-2.5% per year) PSEG rate increases. They will raise our access fees, but it's pennies vs annual rate increases.
apples to oranges. you're comparing possible gains, as well as possible losses, against a guaranteed rate of return.
it's also a hedge against rising energy costs and inflation.
thirdly, it's not just about the break even point. what's the ROI if the system cost me $15k (after incentives) and it saves me $60k over the course of its useful lifespan (25 years)? and it's not like the system stops working on year 25. it's just at reduced efficiency (~80%).
as far as I'm concerned, anything after 6-7 years is pure profit.
if you know you're staying in a house for long term and the math adds up, it's a no brainer IMO.
And you can totally invest all that saved money in the market if you like!
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