Going Solar

With my wife working from home our electric bill jumped $60 a month. Plugging in the freezer didn't help either. SDG&E 32 cents a kw is just too much.
So now we are looking at going solar. We have received 9 quotes ranging form $14k to $23k. I am surprised at how much the cost of solar has gone down. We looked into it in 2012 it was close to $30 for a 3kw system now a 4.5hw is less than $20k
With all the quotes in now, we spent all day yesterday reading reviews on the companies. All the big Sun____ are off the board. We are looking at the 3 local companies and will most likely contact the one offering veteran and nurse discounts of $1000.
I always thought looking for a car was bad, some of these sales guy's were just over the top on being pushy jerks. One guy even said my house is 20 years old and will need a new roof and electric panel.. gee how can he tell without looking at it.
So now we are looking at going solar. We have received 9 quotes ranging form $14k to $23k. I am surprised at how much the cost of solar has gone down. We looked into it in 2012 it was close to $30 for a 3kw system now a 4.5hw is less than $20k
With all the quotes in now, we spent all day yesterday reading reviews on the companies. All the big Sun____ are off the board. We are looking at the 3 local companies and will most likely contact the one offering veteran and nurse discounts of $1000.
I always thought looking for a car was bad, some of these sales guy's were just over the top on being pushy jerks. One guy even said my house is 20 years old and will need a new roof and electric panel.. gee how can he tell without looking at it.
When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
Family Room:
Samsung UN75RU710DFXZA,
Denon AVR-X4400H, Emotiva XPA3 GEN3
Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM, WD Live HUB.
Main: Polk LsiM 705
Center: Polk LSiM 704C
Front High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT
Surrounds: Polk S15
Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room;
Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270
Main: Polk Signature S20
Center: Polk Signature S35
Rear: Polk R15
Sub: HSU STF-2
Working Warehouse;
Sony 2100ES AVR, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc
Cerwin Vega AT-12 (blasters) Advent Prodigy (listening)
Old sony 12" Sub
Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
Family Room:
Samsung UN75RU710DFXZA,
Denon AVR-X4400H, Emotiva XPA3 GEN3
Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM, WD Live HUB.
Main: Polk LsiM 705
Center: Polk LSiM 704C
Front High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT
Surrounds: Polk S15
Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room;
Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270
Main: Polk Signature S20
Center: Polk Signature S35
Rear: Polk R15
Sub: HSU STF-2
Working Warehouse;
Sony 2100ES AVR, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc
Cerwin Vega AT-12 (blasters) Advent Prodigy (listening)
Old sony 12" Sub
Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
Comments
Would you be able to provide all your electrical needs with the solar system alone, or would you still have a power bill?
We will probably go solar this year too. Our electric bills average out at under $100 per month, even with a/c, but we have to replace our roof due to age, and would like to do both at the same time.
Currently, the options we are considering are:
Our electricity charges are split into delivery costs, and generation costs. Delivery is by far the most expensive. The total on our last bill was somewhere between 14¢ and 20¢ per kWh, depending on the time of day (approximately 2/3 of our usage is the lower of the two). July and August are always the most expensive months, and sometimes September and October.
Sony XA-5400ES SACD
Pass XP-22 pre, X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers, SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
Sony XA-5400ES SACD
Pass XP-22 pre, X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers, SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
No we are not going off grid. We are getting a 135% of what our current electric usage is. This will let us run the A/C now or once it is installed.
Yes we will still have a power bill, neighbor has solar their bill went from $200+ to nothing more than $60. The other day it was topping 100f outside we didn't use the A/C don't want that bill. With the wife working at home and the freezer plugged in we moved up a tier, our last bill was 32 cents a kw X the 596kw used add in fee's, taxes and gas just too much. It's not called San Diego Greed and Extortion for nothing.
Family Room:
Samsung UN75RU710DFXZA,
Denon AVR-X4400H, Emotiva XPA3 GEN3
Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM, WD Live HUB.
Main: Polk LsiM 705
Center: Polk LSiM 704C
Front High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT
Surrounds: Polk S15
Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room;
Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270
Main: Polk Signature S20
Center: Polk Signature S35
Rear: Polk R15
Sub: HSU STF-2
Working Warehouse;
Sony 2100ES AVR, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc
Cerwin Vega AT-12 (blasters) Advent Prodigy (listening)
Old sony 12" Sub
Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
With all the quotes in now, we spent all day yesterday reading reviews on the companies. All the big Sun____ are off the board. We are looking at the 3 local companies and will most likely contact the one offering veteran and nurse discounts of $1000.
[/quote]
With this quote did you tell the company after or before they quoted the job that you were a veteran or a nurse.
With this quote did you tell the company after or before they quoted the job that you were a veteran or a nurse. [/quote]
before the quote,
2 of the big SUN_____ and the local companies all came in within $500. Company we are going with dropped it by a grand with the veteran and nurse discount. Same equipment and warranty as the others.
Family Room:
Samsung UN75RU710DFXZA,
Denon AVR-X4400H, Emotiva XPA3 GEN3
Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM, WD Live HUB.
Main: Polk LsiM 705
Center: Polk LSiM 704C
Front High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT
Surrounds: Polk S15
Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room;
Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270
Main: Polk Signature S20
Center: Polk Signature S35
Rear: Polk R15
Sub: HSU STF-2
Working Warehouse;
Sony 2100ES AVR, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc
Cerwin Vega AT-12 (blasters) Advent Prodigy (listening)
Old sony 12" Sub
Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
That's insane! Ours went up to 9 cents from 7.5 last year and I thought that was high.
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
https://www.savesolar.org/?sourceid=1036116&fbclid=IwAR3Kv7YREc5UNB8c509JvBN1MkSkbfmQa5usiudXcC79GwBb3yrGTj37Nrw
It's to my understanding that the federal residential tax credit expires at the end of 2021. Does anybody know if the carry over from a previously filed credit will be available after 2021? If I install this year it will tax us at least 3 years to be able to get the full credit since our federlk tax liability is not very high.
Parasound HCA1500(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Oppo BDP93, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B.
An installer has proposed a south facing roof that does not have much of a pitch. We can get some heavy wet snow here and I'm concerned that the panels would be covered too long on those days. We are also considering batteries for power outage back up. I've read that this technology is advancing and it may be prudent to wait a few years before investing in them?
Parasound HCA1500(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Oppo BDP93, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B.
Sure. It will only get cheaper per kW -- you might want to think about the "net" of not generating while you wait and try to do a net present value type of assessment, though.
We're at about 17 megawatt-hours of juice generated since the second bank of panels went on line.
Our roof is steep, but we sometimes get clingy snow. I bought a roof rake and put a piece of pipe insulation on it. I can clear some of the panels by hand -- that gets 'em going, and the process of clearing the panels by (solar) heat becomes autocatalytic.
Usually they clear themselves, though.
Just over a week ago we got permission to operate our nice little 13 panel system. Just in time for this heat wave.
Looking at the monitoring system we are generating between 25-29kWh a day. Our last (July) SDG&E bill we had an average daily usage of 19kWh, that was with 5 days of the AC on.
We'll see how it is at the end of the month.
Family Room:
Samsung UN75RU710DFXZA,
Denon AVR-X4400H, Emotiva XPA3 GEN3
Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM, WD Live HUB.
Main: Polk LsiM 705
Center: Polk LSiM 704C
Front High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT
Surrounds: Polk S15
Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room;
Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270
Main: Polk Signature S20
Center: Polk Signature S35
Rear: Polk R15
Sub: HSU STF-2
Working Warehouse;
Sony 2100ES AVR, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc
Cerwin Vega AT-12 (blasters) Advent Prodigy (listening)
Old sony 12" Sub
Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
Solar doesn't make sense around here(SE Pa). I'd be dead before it paid for itself.
Here is central TX (otherwise known as Satan's bunghole) we are paying almost $400 a month in the summer with two new large units (the house is 4300 square feet) and we keep it at 77-78 most of the time (upstairs its a little cooler at night). I know people here with smaller homes that keep them much cooler like you who pay over $500 in the summer...so yea, this would probably be a worthwhile investment for us...
Game Room HT: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology SM450; Definitive Technology LCR2000; Definitive Technology StudioMonitor350; Mirage Nanasats; Sub - HSU VTF-2 MK5
Master Bedroom
Cambridge Azur 551r; Definitive Technology promonitor 800; ACI Titan Subwoofer
Sony XA-5400ES SACD
Pass XP-22 pre, X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers, SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
Here in the PRC we are around 32 cents a kwh. My mom is in Oklahoma paying around 9 cents and my bro in GA is at like 6.5 cents. Even with paying this high price for electric we are having rolling black outs.
Right now it's 90 outside with about 70% humidity glad I have AC and can now use it without fear of a $400 bill.
Family Room:
Samsung UN75RU710DFXZA,
Denon AVR-X4400H, Emotiva XPA3 GEN3
Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM, WD Live HUB.
Main: Polk LsiM 705
Center: Polk LSiM 704C
Front High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT
Surrounds: Polk S15
Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room;
Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270
Main: Polk Signature S20
Center: Polk Signature S35
Rear: Polk R15
Sub: HSU STF-2
Working Warehouse;
Sony 2100ES AVR, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc
Cerwin Vega AT-12 (blasters) Advent Prodigy (listening)
Old sony 12" Sub
Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
Need some cooler temps so I can get up on that roof and paint it before the install.
Parasound HCA1500(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Oppo BDP93, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B.
Parasound HCA1500(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Oppo BDP93, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B.
Payback on our solar is 4.5 to 5 years. Made for a decent weekend not sweating my ### off. Nice cool breeze right now.
Need this humidity to go away, today we only generated 22.78kWh our best day was 29kWh, a little overcast today.
Family Room:
Samsung UN75RU710DFXZA,
Denon AVR-X4400H, Emotiva XPA3 GEN3
Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM, WD Live HUB.
Main: Polk LsiM 705
Center: Polk LSiM 704C
Front High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT
Surrounds: Polk S15
Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room;
Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270
Main: Polk Signature S20
Center: Polk Signature S35
Rear: Polk R15
Sub: HSU STF-2
Working Warehouse;
Sony 2100ES AVR, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc
Cerwin Vega AT-12 (blasters) Advent Prodigy (listening)
Old sony 12" Sub
Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
So it's a cheap situation for us but we have to be aware of our water usage during dry times. Have yet to run dry and want to keep it that way!
Parasound HCA1500(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Oppo BDP93, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B.