New to Grid Tied Home Solar...

orezok · Mar 5, 2021

I installed a 5200 watt ground mount system which was commissioned last June. Being a General Contractor I did the full install myself. Since then in the sunny Mojave my electric bills have been connect charges only which is about $12 per month. Prior to solar my summer bills could run $300 to $400. I am in SCE which has net metering, but net doesn’t mean full net as it is TOU metering with a smart meter. The net costs are below.

My net usage this month is below.

My daily output on a full sun day which is 90% of the time is below.

Right now I have a credit with SCE that will be paid to me on my annual anniversary day. I don’t know how much that is, but even if it is $0, my payback will be about 4 years.

Total cost for my install was $14,000 before 26% rebate but I received Solar Company quotes in the $27,000 range before I did the install myself.

MossRoad · Mar 5, 2021

orezok said:
even if it is $0, my payback will be about 4 years.

That's fantastic.

ponytug · Mar 5, 2021

That is a great ROI!

What kind of ground mounts did you use?

All the best, Peter

orezok · Mar 5, 2021

24” Dia footings 4’ deep (120 MPH wind zone) with 2”iron pipe and Iron Ridge racking.

Erik M · Mar 6, 2021

Installed a 18.49 kW ground mounted system in Nov and it is performing very well. With a $10K rebate and no interest financing I will pay $348/month for 12 yrs after which I will only pay $40/month for net metering and tax. Hydro cost was averaging $350/month in 2019 and rates have risen since. I overdesigned by 50% so will have plenty of power to keep the heat up in three buildings all winter. It really is free as I didn’t have to provide any money up front and it costs less than I was paying for hydro and is fixed. Panels are warranted for 30 yrs which will see me out. House and shops are heated with geothermal heat pumps so not contributing to global warming by burning fossil fuels. This ground mounted system can be adjusted for seasonal variation in sun location which is important as I am at 45 degrees North. I will tip the panels back a bit this weekend for spring and in April adjust to the summer position.

ultrarunner · Mar 6, 2021

Always interested to learn what panels/inverters being used...

ultrarunner · Mar 6, 2021

A few pictures from today...

Just checked... Blue Sky, Clean Panels, 55F temp and panels are putting out 72% which matches the best since I bought the place.

There are clock drives available to track but not cheap... don't really see them in use and was told more cost effective to add a couple of panels to compensate.

The Permit 14 years ago was almost 2k which covered the inspection of the piers/re-bar, concrete slump, mechanical and electrical... The hardware from www.power-fab.com was also not cheap as was the freight.