20 replies to this topic

[Nvyseal]

Hi all, As you may all know, my house went solar back in January. I've conserved a bit by using CFL and unplugging the vampire suckers, but the Air is running using the sun to power it, and its a nice 71F in here. Take a look at my past usage. Those were my 600.00 and 400.00 past years bills

My current bill:

[hog]

Wow, really, it's great. But I wonder, how much did it cost to get the solar panels and all that stuff installed? I remember seeing a show on TV that was talking about those houses that produce more electricity than they consume and other environmentally-friendly electricity sources, and they were all amazing ideas but couldn't be massively implemented because of the initial cost for the consumer. I know they have some program here in Quebec for people who want to produce electricity with their house but I think there are like less than 10 houses that actually do it...

[Nvyseal]

Initial costs are a bit high, mine was about $40,000, but with the tax incentives, i got a $11,000 rebate from my Electric provider, and a 30% tax credit from our government. basically i paid only half the cost. and am generating a surplus which is fed into the grid for me to use if i have a more demand for power or for someone else to use.

I expect my ROI (return on investment) to pay off in 4 years given the increase on electric charges from the providers. and my guarantee is for 30 years I am only one in 6 houses that currently have solar in my city

[hog]

Nice, I would have expected something in the range of 10+ years, and with those incentives I think it's really worth it. I can't understand why people prefer to pay more for a bigger car for instance instead of something like this that actually gives you something back, both in terms of money and of the fact of not polluting.

[Nvyseal]

hog, on Jul 19 2009, 01:19 PM, said:

Nice, I would have expected something in the range of 10+ years, and with those incentives I think it's really worth it. I can't understand why people prefer to pay more for a bigger car for instance instead of something like this that actually gives you something back, both in terms of money and of the fact of not polluting.

I love the fact im not polluting the earth. so far i've saved us from 3.895 Tons of Carbon being released into the air. I'm hoping to get a internet based tracking system up so you all can follow me on my usage and tracking

[Sphere]

Especially one thing...

Your electric bill is actually understandable!

You should see mine! It's a whole list of things I get back, I have to pay, taxes, etc. etc.
Here, pretty much nobody actually understands their electric bill and just pays it because they want electricity

[Nvyseal]

You bring up a good point. When you generate your own power, you dont pay those taxes either, along with power imported (from other sources at a higher rate)

[Sphere]

Aren't you supposed to GET money from your power-supplier in stead of paying them?

[Nvyseal]

No, any surplus that I generate is a wash at the end of my NM'd year

[banj0]

That's awesome Nvy, good on ya. I'd love to see an electric bill like that. Are there any regular upkeep or maintenance charges that go along with being fully solar? And, do you know if they're easily upgradeable to a newer design when/if they become available?

[Nvyseal]

The panels dont require much maintenance except a quick hosing off every once in a while. since they are guaranteed for 20-30 years there isnt much need to upgrade on a full system, but you can get started with a few panels and a good inverter and add more panels to the system over time

[David_Heavey]

-4.6 .. that's awesome Dave. I think I'll look into this myself. Very cool.

[Nvyseal]

Here's an update on my quest for a greener world through solar power. As you probably know, July and August have been HOT months in Cal. 90 and 100 degrees. I've been running the Air Conditioner mostly 24/7, and have maxed out my solar generation vs power usage to a tune of 34kWH this month. Now being new to solar, I thought generating a surplus would save me money, but as it turns out if i use a slight amount of SCE's energy, (or the energy I supplied them as a surplus) I save even more by the amount of about a dollar. At any case, I present you with my August bill, a whopping .82 cents

[David_Heavey]

Nvyseal, on Aug 15 2009, 08:30 PM, said:

I present you with my August bill, a whopping .82 cents

Dave, if you need any help paying it I'm sure we can get a whip around for ya

[Sphere]

Yeah, just send me your paypal-account. It'll be fine, we'll help you!