Solar installed today

BlueFox

BlueFox

New member
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
2,838
Location
Silicon Valley
Last month I had a shocker of an electric bill from using my new Pass Labs X600.5 amps for a little over two weeks in July. The electric bill was almost $250 more than June's bill. Total was $450 for electricity versus a little over $200 pre-Pass. Anyway, I freaked out, and investigated solar cells as as option.


Well, I took the plunge, and they were installed today. These guys worked hard from 8 AM to about 8:30 PM, and everything is done. However, the solar cells aren't doing anything. I guess they need sunlight.


I purchased a 6.5kW system for 23k (only 1k more than the amps list price, but who pays list). I get a little over 7k tax credit this year for it, making the effective price 16k. Based on past energy use, I should recoup the 16k in 4-5 years, and then start generating income by having no electric bill, and selling excess to PG&E. At least that's the plan. Anyway, now the amps are cooking, the AC is running, and tomorrow I will start compensating for tonight's excess.
 
Congrats Bud. Please keep us updated as to how the system is operating.
 
Right now its dark, so it sounds the same. Tomorrow when the sun is up it will sound cheaper, but a good cheaper.
 
Bud, I've done the same in our home. I was looking into a battery pack that is roughly the size of 2 filing cabinets 5 ft high,so the house is on a constant supply & the excess trickles into the grid.
 
What about those batteries operated amps and preamps? ...You know, the ones with several cell batteries inside.
Are those better than the ones you plug into the AC outlet? ...How much contamination is there in our electrical circuits?

Solar energy, sounds ravishing. ...About wind turbines (eoliennes)? ...Perhaps too noisy? ...Unless you're far away from it.

Yes Bud, keep us up to date. ...We wanna know everything.
 
As a resident of California I also have a 6.5kw solar system I installed 3 years ago, but at a far higher cost. It has taken a previous $4k annual PG&E bill to near $0. California has some of the highest rates in the country due to gross errors made by our politicians many years ago. We have a tiered rate structure that penalizes big consumers. Thus our rates range from about $0.18/Kwh to over $0.50/Kwh when extra consumption pushes you into the top tier. Fortunately solar systems produce the most output in summer afternoons when the rates are the highest, and thus I am selling my excess energy back to PG&E at those high rates . It's why solar makes sense in California, but not necessarily in other states. High rates and "Net Metering" is key. If you live in a state like Idaho where rates are extremely low (like $0.05/Kwh) due to lots of hydro, it doesn't pay.

Unless you live in a remote area that is not served by the grid, it makes no sense to have batteries in your solar system. Batteries add to the cost, need to be maintained and replaced in about ten years. I have never noticed any noise from my solar, and in fact have extremely clean quiet power. This is because I live in the boonies (40 miles from any sizable town) at the end of the PG&E line, 1 mile from my nearest neighbor, and the only user on the utility transformer.

Wind generators only make sense if you live where there is near constant 15-20mph wind. Very few people do.
solarcat.jpg
 
We have battery backup with our solar system, which does add some cost, but is nice if you worry about going without power for any length of time (like Connecticut or NY after Sandy). We often don't even notice the power from the grid has gone out.

They do not need to be maintained, but they do need to be replaced every 15 years or so, depending on system.
 
MtnHam said:
As a resident of California I also have a 6.5kw solar system I installed 3 years ago, but at a far higher cost. It has taken a previous $4k annual PG&E bill to near $0. California has some of the highest rates in the country due to gross errors made by our politicians many years ago. We have a tiered rate structure that penalizes big consumers. Thus our rates range from about $0.18/Kwh to over $0.50/Kwh when extra consumption pushes you into the top tier. Fortunately solar systems produce the most output in summer afternoons when the rates are the highest, and thus I am selling my excess energy back to PG&E at those high rates . It's why solar makes sense in California, but not necessarily in other states. High rates and "Net Metering" is key. If you live in a state like Idaho where rates are extremely low (like $0.05/Kwh) due to lots of hydro, it doesn't pay.

Unless you live in a remote area that is not served by the grid, it makes no sense to have batteries in your solar system. Batteries add to the cost, need to be maintained and replaced in about ten years. I have never noticed any noise from my solar, and in fact have extremely clean quiet power. This is because I live in the boonies (40 miles from any sizable town) at the end of the PG&E line, 1 mile from my nearest neighbor, and the only user on the utility transformer.

Wind generators only make sense if you live where there is near constant 15-20mph wind. Very few people do.
View attachment 2878
Click to expand...

Tom, you seem to be a wise man. ...And thanks again for sharing.

* Where you live looks awesome!
 
I don't have any batteries. I am at peak power producing now. With the amps off, and the coffee pot on, I am putting 4.5kW back into the grid. With amps on I am putting 3.x back into the grid. Turn the AC on, and I become a consumer. So, the AC stays off unless it gets over 80 inside.

I doubt if I would have wind turbines, even if practical, since the noise would drive me crazy, and also the neighbors, who might go postal on me.
 
Amazing ...audiophile to the max...LOL

If I get to the point where my power causes me to find a solution I will either

1) Know I am over the top
or
2) get one of these

electrical-tower-thumb14134699.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top