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Who's gone Solar

HappyHighwayman said:
Did some thoughts on my break even...my electricity bill is effectively zero, but that cost $18,000. It appears i was doing $200 a month in electricity before, so that's like a 7.5 year break even...but that was based on costs before recently so I guess as energy costs rise my break even actually decreases?
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I'm curious since you brought it up. Did you include the cost of decreased money earning compound interest into your break-even equation? Are you seeing an average credit rate, or are you net zero?
 
kingmoochr said:
I got my quote from west coast, they seem nice but I'm not sure they sell the equipment I'm interested in. Anyone having Sol-Ark or Schneider inverters installed?
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Don't have them but have install a few, good stuff, as good as any really.
 
HappyHighwayman said:
Wow amazing question I did not include lost opportunity cost of investing the money.
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In my case it makes a way bigger difference. I'm low use so I don't need big credits to offset my usage. I think in that case, with a smaller system, it makes less sense. There's definitely an up side, but not as big of one as they market.
 
Starpower said:
Don't have them but have install a few, good stuff, as good as any really.
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I want a system I can DIY a battery in to. Seems like solaredge and enphase operate with a proprietary backup battery. I got a permit to install my transfer switch myself. I may look into that for the Sol-ark as well, since I can use it battery-only.
 
HappyHighwayman said:
Wow amazing question I did not include lost opportunity cost of investing the money.
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This is why you calculate the internal rate of return of the investment. It allows you to compare one investment with any other one on apples/apples basis so you can answer questions like: which would be a better way for me to invest $10,000? In solar panels or the stock market?
 
I have to believe $18,000 in the stock market would have a good chance of beating $18,000 in solar but I also need to factor in the environmental factors, house appreciation...also if I got an electric car it would be basically free fuel.



Hard to say.
 
HappyHighwayman said:
I have to believe $18,000 in the stock market would have a good chance of beating $18,000 in solar but I also need to factor in the environmental factors, house appreciation...also if I got an electric car it would be basically free fuel.

Hard to say.
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Not hard at all. Just math. Numbers don't lie. My CAGR for our solar install came out a lot better than my expected returns in the market.

You know how much electric you use in a year. You know how much you spend on gas in your car in a year. No mysteries here. XIRR function in Excel will do the heavy lifting.
 
Sounds like it'd be a good exercise for you to do - no more guessing about where to put money. :laughing :twofinger
 
HappyHighwayman said:
I have to believe $18,000 in the stock market would have a good chance of beating $18,000 in solar but I also need to factor in the environmental factors, house appreciation...also if I got an electric car it would be basically free fuel.



Hard to say.
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As I mentioned the double digit returns on solar are guaranteed and only go up. This will never be true of stocks!

I'm off grid with batteries, in over 40 years I've not paid a single cent to a utility and never had a power failure. You get free beer when the power is out locally and a game is on TV!
 
We're setting up appointments with solar companies now. We live in the town of Sonoma FWIW. I've followed this entire thread closely, understanding about 10% of it probably :laughing

Would anyone be willing to list information I should have prepared before the meetings and the most important questions to ask? We're planning on getting an electric car for my commute too.
 
I'd start with writing down what the problems are that you're trying to fix, or everything you dislike about the current setup. Maybe categorize into things that must be addressed and things that would be nice to address.
 
One years' worth of electric usage
Projected increased electrical needs (ev, etc)
Your address for their solar calculations
Will paperwork be filed with utility prior to April X deadline for NEM2


Might be more.
 
mean dad said:
One years' worth of electric usage
Projected increased electrical needs (ev, etc)
Your address for their solar calculations
Will paperwork be filed with utility prior to April X deadline for NEM2


Might be more.
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Yep. I'd get two years worth just to be extra accurate. Also, think about anything that may have changed during your measurement period that would affect your electric load. New appliances or furnace would both be worth noting.
 
Thanks for the info! I've got an appointment on Friday with Solar Craft. We also called Citadel in Santa Rosa but they haven't returned our call yet. Any thoughts on either of the two companies? From info in this thread, I have chosen to avoid Sun Run.
 
Site assessment done. Everything looks good. Now waiting on them to file the permitting paperwork with the city.
 
bojangle said:
Site assessment done. Everything looks good. Now waiting on them to file the permitting paperwork with the city.
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I think the next step is the design team will reach out to you (us) in 2-3 weeks after the assessment. I think that happens BEFORE the permit is submitted because at that point you can still add more panels, powerwalls, etc. At least that is what the guy told me on his way out the door.
 
TwistedGRAY said:
I think the next step is the design team will reach out to you (us) in 2-3 weeks after the assessment. I think that happens BEFORE the permit is submitted because at that point you can still add more panels, powerwalls, etc. At least that is what the guy told me on his way out the door.
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Yeah, my guy did tell me I'd probably hear from the design team in a couple weeks or so. But he also said it depends on how long each city/county takes, but the permits migh5 be issued in a couple weeks.

Between that and the web site, I was under the impression that once you approved the design on line, that was it. But maybe I'm wrong.
 
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