The Time Has Come .....I've gone solar

[KeithR]

3. The rising annual cost of electricity by 4-6 cents per kWh

Not sure where you got this, but it isn't true.

 

[steve williams]

Not sure where you got this, but it isn't true.

Do you have SDGE

 

[steve williams]

I just forgot about audio and enviously looked at your first post concerning economics - you refer that you spend around usd 7000 per year with an average anual use of 14,452 kWh - you really pay electricity at more than the the double of the average price of Europe ~around 24 US cents. At those prices people with available area should surely invest in solar panels and sell electricity to others - it looks very profitable. Nowhere in the world I have seen alternative energy investments being fully paid in less than four years!

BTW, I find astonishing that a company can supply a full warranty of 25 years on consumer items, particularly as they are subjected to outdoor conditions and service should be expensive due to access and labor.

$0.24 is a bargain. If you are using electricity and are in Tier 3 (between 4:00-9:00 Mon to Fridays) the cost is $0.45

My consumption is as you stated 14,452 KWH however my first year production will be over 19,000 KWH

 

[WLVCA]

In Tucson the rate per KWH is right around $0.12, so considerably lower than the rates in southern Orange County / San Diego.

Rates are constant, no discount for off hour use. My solar system is fairly large at approximately 24,000 KWH annually. High temps here mean lots of air conditioning.

To my knowledge my only option is to sell excess power back to the utility, Tucson Electric Power. As I recall that buy rate is about $0.03 per KWH.

Hope you system works out well, Steve. We've been very pleased with ours.

 

[the sound of Tao]

It is why I pointed that we should be careful about generalizations and should dig in the technical issues and implementations - Steve owns Lamm equipment, known to be intensively filtered by special RFI power line filter and particularly RFI insensitive - Valdimir Lamm takes this subject very seriously.

Very much so, everything in our game is context related so the data needs to be qualified as well as quantified.

The realisation that the problems and the fixes are identifiable is actually the biggest take away for us as a community rather than this just being about who’s right and who’s wrong. Bit of argy bargy as expected because this is relatively new turf but it’s a developing circumstance and since renewable energy is likely the way forward and so where there’s light there’ll likely also be PV so its great to get a bit of clarity and understanding on the real implications.

 

[DaveyF]

It is a no brainer Davey and my gut is telling me that those with problems have older generation solar systems that use string inverters or a central inverter

BTW I spoke to them today about replacing the wire from the street to the panel box. Can you tell me exactly what you did. Do I remember your saying that the concrete had to be removed to get at the wire conduit

Steve, in my case, I decided that I would replace my feeder cable and upgrade the connections at the transformer at the street.In my instance, this proved to be a very costly undertaking as I indeed needed to remove my concrete driveway and also trench along the street to the transformer. The old existing underground cable was then replaced with a 500 amp cable in a special conduit...and dug down to a lower level than what was there before.
Now, you may not have to go through this exercise, it will depend on where your transformer that feeds your house is located. IF it is near the home and the feeder wire is buried beneath soft scape, then the price is but a mere fraction of what I paid.My electrical contractors were hired to replace all of my lines to my house at this time...and also to add dedicated lines into my audio room. Since the main panel was going to be upgraded to accept the solar arrays, it was a decision that made sense to me...as the electrical work could all progress at the same time.
As I stated before, the difference in power delivery and the decreased noise in the system with the new feeder cable and the upgraded connections at the transformer were quite impressive.
I suspect that most people have not gone to the trouble of upgrading their feeder cable to their residence, nevermind making sure their transformer is upgraded, which could lead to issues...perhaps like the problems being reported by some members. That plus the fact that they are using the old fashioned single main inverter.
OTOH, my friend with the multi million dollar system is having no issues.. and he is using an older system with sixty inefficient panels and a single inverter.

 

[steve williams]

Can you elaborate on the upgraded connectors that were used

 

[DaveyF]

Can you elaborate on the upgraded connectors that were used

Well, these were connectors that the utility company supplied...and are more robust than the old connections. I believe that they were made out of Copper vs. the older brass versions( in my instance...this may not apply to your particular transformer...based on its age). Only the utility company can actually work on their transformers, but you can request this upgrade from them...IF you are replacing the feeder cable...which BTW ONLY the utility company ( SDG&E) can install at their connection to the transformer.
You, the customer can pay for and supply the upgraded feeder cable and conduit. SDG&E will ask you to pay for all of their work (including upgrading their transformer ) in addition to whatever you are paying your Solar/electrical contractors.

 

[KeithR]

Do you have SDGE

4-6 cents would be a 25% annual increase in power costs - don't think so. these are regulated utilities, guys.

face it, Doc - you use a lot of energy if you're in Tier 3 a lot (that's 400% higher than base) and pay for it. that's really all. LEDs and a Nest isn't going to change things that much at that load. I assume you already have low E double pane argon windows, etc. to reduce your usage footprint.

 

[Gregadd]

Solar Power? What happens when it rains or it's cloudy at nighttime? What about winter? Maybe someone builds a high rise office and blocks out your sun?

 

[Ron Resnick]

Solar Power? What happens when it rains or it's cloudy at nighttime? What about winter? Maybe someone builds a high rise office and blocks out your sun?

Hi Greg,

Have you ever visited Southern California?

I am from New York, originally. I moved to Beverly Hills for supernaturally perfect weather approximately 330 days per year. By East Coast standards the weather here is so absurdly perfect (unless you like heat, rain, snow, humidity, cold or a change of seasons) that the locals have a special name for the dreaded phenomenon of a couple of hours of cloudiness in the mornings during the month of June: they call it “June Gloom.”

No developer could build a high-rise office building in the residential “hills” areas from Hollywood to the Pacific Ocean.

 

[DaveyF]

Solar Power? What happens when it rains or it's cloudy at nighttime? What about winter? Maybe someone builds a high rise office and blocks out your sun?

Actually, you post a good question. Rain is something that is almost an anomaly in S.Calf. However, what happens when it is cloudy, or at night. This is actually a pretty good question. The answer is that one is always connected to the electrical grid, so when you are not supplying power to the grid...(think of it like you are a mini generating plant); then you are taking it off the grid...like all other electrical consumers. At night, you are using the grid, when it is cloudy, same thing, when it is raining, same thing...
Part of making sure that you have an efficient system, and one that will maximize generation, is to be sure that the panels are mounted so that they see the sun as much as possible during the day...therefore away from chimneys, overhanging tree limbs or anything else that happens to shade the panel...including other buildings or overhangs.

Rain...have you never heard the term, ‘ it never rains in S.calif’...or on the plain for that matter.

 

[PeterA]

Davey, you bring up an interesting subject, and one that may be a bit off topic. Energy is one thing. Water is another. When will So. Cal, Arizona, Nevada run out of adequate water supplies? Perhaps a subject for another thread.

 

[Gregadd]

So what you are saying is that I am just paranoid and uniformed. Maybe the proponents of "climate change is just a myth or left wing conspiracy" might actually benefit from this technology. Huh? ' Who'd uh thunk it?"


Hi Greg,

Have you ever visited Southern California
?
Maybe soon.

 

[steve williams]

4-6 cents would be a 25% annual increase in power costs - don't think so. these are regulated utilities, guys.

face it, Doc - you use a lot of energy if you're in Tier 3 a lot (that's 400% higher than base) and pay for it. that's really all. LEDs and a Nest isn't going to change things that much at that load. I assume you already have low E double pane argon windows, etc. to reduce your usage footprint.

Keith

really

I've been in Tier 3 only rarely . You don't have a clue about the cost of SDGE. It may be regulated but their cost per kWh in Tier 1, 2 and 3 are the highest in the nation

Please don't lecture me as to how to conserve energy as you did with your recommended changes to my stereo system rather than what I did because after a while it becomes boring and somewhat passive aggressive

If you lived down here we could compare apples to apples but right now Keith you're nothing but chatter and know-nothing about SDGE. WE are energy misers and live in the kitchen, family room and master bedroom each day with virtually everything turned off. This summer has been the hottest on record with July having daily temps well over 100 so everyones' AC was running and everyone in July was Tier 3. My electric bill was almost 2 1/2 times normal.

4-6 cents would be a 25% annual increase in power costs

not where we are. Keith perhaps you are talking about the utility costs where you live. Totally different with SDGE

 

[steve williams]

Hi Greg

For me everything is ideal as to my location. The back of my house faces south west and I am directly on the fairway of one of the holes our community's south golf course so I hav e completely unobstructed sun passing over me from noon until sundown and as Davey stated every panel has a slightly different azimuth in order to maximize how much solar is captured

They provide this with everyproposad and call it a shade diagram and basically shows which location of panels are the best to use to maximize your capture. These diagrams are so accurate that they can predict the amount of annual energy your system will make to with in 2% accuracy using the soft ware applications they have for the longitude, latitude of your home together with the size and shape of your roof

 

[steve williams]

Keith

as to the 4-6cents per year rise you are correct and I was wrong. I must have been brain dead. My intent was to say a 4-6 "per" cent annual increase in electric costs. Nonetheless we remain under the control of the highest in the nation

 

[WLVCA]

Davey, you bring up an interesting subject, and one that may be a bit off topic. Energy is one thing. Water is another. When will So. Cal, Arizona, Nevada run out of adequate water supplies? Perhaps a subject for another thread.

That is a very interesting question. All 3 of the states you mentioned pull much of their water from the Colorado River and there hasn't been enough rain of late feeding the watershed. We drove to Lake Tahoe via Las Vegas last year and there is a white ring around Lake Mead near Hoover Dam indicating its previous, much higher water level. Now it is at or near its historic low.

Seeing that ring really brings the water issue home - it is a visible reality.

 

[steve williams]

Or driving by the Salton Sea and watching it disappear

 

[rockitman]

so is this solar going to run the stereo or is it to sell back to power company, hence lowering the power bill ? The later makes sense to me unless you have solar charging up 3 storm tanks (batteries)....