Debate switching to solar power

I have been experimenting with off grid solar for a few years. In the winter, the panels need to be almost vertical or the
snow covers them up completely. The other thing is that you need a LOT of batteries to store a meaningful amount
of energy, not to mention that batteries have a finite service life. I have come to the conclusion that it is not a paying
proposition but possibly useful short term in an emergency. Panels have a finite lifetime as well so all that glitters is
not gold...

Also, a grid tie system has a large monthly charge around here so that is not very practical either.........
 
If you get close, be sure to read ALL the documents. We looked at buying a house that had solar installed. The owners, and realtor insisted that the deal was they pay a set amount for their electric bill( less then they were paying for electric), and after 20 years the system is theirs. I got them to provide me a copy of the documents, and it clearly said that after the 20 years, they can pay (I'm thinking $10K) for the system, or the company will remove it. I guess if they let it be taken out in the 20 years, they still saved a ton on their bill, but the solar company also got the rebate and what ever for the system.

I'm not keen on the idea of owning something connected to the internet, that someone else has control of everything.
 
C-Bag said:
Weird. I saw a doc a while ago where there was a guy getting farmers in west Texas to put in wind gens because they could make more $$ than farming.

The tech I'm waiting to see how it shakes out is this flow battery by a co. In Australia called Z Cell
Click to expand...

for sure, Texas is one of if not the largest producer of renewable energy in the US. Lots of wind and cheap land. Go a few hours north of us and you'll see large areas of wind turbines and pump jacks, it's an interesting contrast :) However our utility doesn't give any options - you get what you get.

Flow cells have huge potential for utility scale electricity storage. Similar principle in a way to pumped hydroelectric, but for flat landers :D
 
This afternoon I have been reading about California's ever changing rules on solar power. Every new solar system in California is now on TOU metering. Doesn't sound too bad until you get to peak and off peak hours. The utility companies are pushing for peak hours to start later in the afternoon and to last well past sunset when solar panels will not be generating any electricity. TOU rates and peak verses off peak hours are currently in a state of flux waiting on rulings from the California Public Utilities Commission sometime this year. It is looking like you will need a much larger system to generate power during the off peak hours to compensate for the higher peak hour electricity rates you will be forced to pay if you have a solar system. Could be a death blow to solar in California. Time will tell.
 
Trust me, you won't regret switching to solar panels at all!
Just think how good this is for our environment! First of all, it's renewable! Secondly, absolutely no harmful emissions are released into the air! Third, transforming sunlight into electricity doesn't require any fuel! How great is that? And you will only have to invest once! Have I convinced you yet? If not, please check out this solar panel calculator https://www.solvingsolar.com/solar-panel-calculator/to see how much it will cost you to get them installed. You'll be surprised to find out that it is not as expensive as everybody thinks it is! Go for it!
 
Get the maximum you can afford. I have 6.5KW on my roof and my power bills are very low.
If I could afford it I would add 20K of batteries as well.
 
Going solar is a great way to become more energy independent and save money on your power bills. It's a great idea to look into, especially if you already have a lot of energy-efficient upgrades in your home. To figure out how much roof space you need for the solar panels, you'll want to consider the size of the solar array you plan to install. Generally speaking, the larger the array, the more roof space you'll need. The average solar panel takes up about 18 square feet of roof space, so if you plan to install a 5-kW system, you can estimate that you'll need about 90 square feet of roof space for the panels.
 
And while considering solar costs, it seems prudent to include costs of hazmat disposal when it is of no other value. It seems to be the asbestos of the future.

DanK
 
There is a lot of advertising in our locale about zero cost to homeowner solar installations. Basically, the subsidy offsets the down payment on a loan for the installation and the decrease in monthly electric bills makes up for the monthly loan payments and then some. My wife contacted them for details and we got a follow up call.

We live in a valley with a hall immediately behind the house to the west. Consequently, we lose two to six hours of sunlight a day. We also have a truncated pyramid for a roof which precludes a roof top installation. The additional cost of a ground level installation plus the shorter solar exposure means that we would be facing a significantly higher cost and longer payback period. At 78 y.o., it is unlikely that I would see the break even point.

In the other hand, our neighbor up the hill has a virtually unrestricted view of the sky, sunrise to sunset. She put in a ground based steerable solar array perhaps fifteen years ago. This past year, she doubled the size of her solar array with a fixed system. Along with passive solar heating, her intention is to be completely self sufficient, including powering her EV. She doesn't have battery storage so she can't go completely off the grid but the EV can do double duty for her as an excess energy storage device. I'm not sure if she has the ability to draw energy from the EV though The revised system has been in place for several months now and I need to talk with her as to whether it has met her expectations.
 
We added a 14.5 kW array 3 years ago. It is grid connected no battery backup (yet). So far it has exceeded the original estimates and our current bills are $13 month charge for the grid connection. We are currently generating slightly more power than we use. At the current rate we will be breaking even several years ahead of schedule. We are lucky that the back of our house is very close to the ideal angle for the panels.
 
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