New to Grid Tied Home Solar...

[Mat4644]

If solar is paying off for you then someone else is subsidizing your profits. That's either taxpayers or other people on your grid. There are environmental advantages but there's no such thing as a free lunch.

 

[cdaigle430]

I take it you dont need ac in summer at your place. Man, i wish my house only took less than 500 watts per peak hour in summer.... never would happen here. How many batteries can a 7 kw system charge to generate power in the evenings?

I just got done doing work on a ladies generator on an off grid system. Man i wish i never got involved in it. She refuses to allow power from battery and inverters to travel back to generator to keep system charged as she says she runs out of lights in the evening if she does. Shes sunk over $40,000 into this system over the years and still has power issues . I tried a solar charger on generator battery, but still having issues of dead battery. I told her either let me feed generator charger or find someone else that may have a solution. I try to stay away from any off grid house as it has bern a pain in my butt for too many years. I guess one that is used on a house that is still powered by utilities wouldnt be as much of a pain.

I also had a call from someone that has a Solar system thats tied into his panel thru smoke and mirrors. But when he loses utility the battery system does not power the house. The installer told him on utility fed systems the batterys cannot power house if utility is off. I didnt want to get involved....beyond my pay grade. On a generator repair website i belong to there have bern several posts about this same issues. As far as i know there is no legal way around it as its a public utility issue. Oh well, thats for smarter brains than me. Besides, now im retired so i could care less

in Maine I only need AC for several months out of the year. generally when its overcast here I dont need AC until later in the evening anyway for a few hours. I have 3 AC units and a hot tub.

With Solar-its better to keep it simple, I did not bother with batteries. However-that being said, solar is modular so you can easily add or subtract from it. You can add more panels or add battery. I did not go with the battery because I have a 16kw home auto generator that runs on NG.

Yes, you can only have battery if you go completely off grid to power whole house or if power is out from due to a temp outage. I think it has to do with the way inverters work to match frequency from grid. Inverters are only sold as off grid or tied to grid as far as I know. so if you have an off grid inverter you cannot be tied to grid, and if you have a tied to grid inverter you cannot go off grid. You can still have the battery pack but its mostly for use when power from grid is out or to charge a hybrid car.

 

[cdaigle430]

If solar is paying off for you then someone else is subsidizing your profits. That's either taxpayers or other people on your grid. There are environmental advantages but there's no such thing as a free lunch.

I am adding to the grid the excessive power I generate and dont use. The tax break I get is mostly environmental-so far my power plant has planted an equivalent of 84 trees and cut 11,000 lbs of CO2 emissions. That is the biggest payoff, the second biggest payoff is I will be retiring in a couple of years and on a fixed income. So I have reduced my one utility bill dramatically and added virtually no maintenance or maintenance cost at the same time-that is where it benefits me the most.

My power plant has generated 7.15 megawatts so far since it went online not last January but the January before.

 

[orezok]

Being in the desert, can you run ac units with solar?

My system is of sufficient to cover normal cool season use and run evaporative coolers in the shoulder seasons. BUT when the monsoons hit in August and September and I have to switch to regular AC it doesnt produce enough. BUT, it will produce enough to get my consumption into a lower tier and there is a possibility that production in the winter months will be enough to offset some or all of the summer use. I wont know until next year.

The backbone system can be upgraded about 20% without any changes except adding more panels and changing breakers. I can make that judgement after a year.

 

[ultrarunner]

If solar is paying off for you then someone else is subsidizing your profits. That's either taxpayers or other people on your grid. There are environmental advantages but there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Paying off can cover a lot of ground...

There are those quoted over a 100k just to bring in power and some can't get grid for love or money...

Bring grid tied here means several things... for most it means giving away or selling excess power... it also means the grid stays up because building new power plants isn't an option here as the race is to shutter coal and decommission hydro

 

[orezok]

If solar is paying off for you then someone else is subsidizing your profits. That's either taxpayers or other people on your grid. There are environmental advantages but there's no such thing as a free lunch.

I dont know that I agree with that. By installing solar, you are lessening the demand on the electric infrastructure. As temperatures rise demand for electricity will go up. Infrastructure improvements are very expensive and the resultant increased cost is passed to the customers. My belief is that solar actually helps control costs for other customers.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

If solar is paying off for you then someone else is subsidizing your profits. That's either taxpayers or other people on your grid. There are environmental advantages but there's no such thing as a free lunch.

The 30% tax credit was taxpayer funded. But, over times it can pay off, but not for a roof rental system.

 

[NorTracNY]

If solar is paying off for you then someone else is subsidizing your profits. That's either taxpayers or other people on your grid. There are environmental advantages but there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Yes, thank you. My system was certainly funded by the taxpayer. ~34K down to about 12K with rebates down to 5K by "leasing" it for 20 years with guaranteed production. The electric company has also paid me several years for producing more than I use and the solar company has paid me every year for the system not producing the guaranteed minimum. I do appreciate all that you fellow taxpayers have done for me. I'm grateful to you all.

 

[ultrarunner]

Not all installations are eligible for tax credits...

The most popular tax credit availability is limited to owner occupied property and is less than previous years.

So far I have not received a penny of tax credit or break on my 6 kW array.

 

[MossRoad]

Yes, thank you. My system was certainly funded by the taxpayer. ~34K down to about 12K with rebates down to 5K by "leasing" it for 20 years with guaranteed production. The electric company has also paid me several years for producing more than I use and the solar company has paid me every year for the system not producing the guaranteed minimum. I do appreciate all that you fellow taxpayers have done for me. I'm grateful to you all.

We had 2,150 trees planted and side-sprayed on 4 acres for $265.00 back in 1989 thanks to a government program (taxpayer money). Take advantage of those programs. They're out there for a reason.