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Who's gone Solar

westie said:
Ack! Power bill was $130. this month. Panel productivity way down. Battery hardly gets past 30%. Still it's better than the $700. it was last year. C'mon spring!
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Haven't received my bill yet on line but it was $600 total last year.

We have cut gas use by perhaps 75 percent which was the biggest part of last year's bill by using Envi electric wall heaters.

Our percent produced over the amount used has dropped of course from a high of 192 percent in August when it was installed to 36 percent in December.

So even a $200 bill would be a huge improvement.

Pge raising rates next year shortens up our payback period of course.
 
I underestimated the drop in solar output and picked the wrong month to see how much it'd cost to run my hot tub 24/7.
It's going to be an expensive experiment. :/
 
mean dad said:
I underestimated the drop in solar output and picked the wrong month to see how much it'd cost to run my hot tub 24/7.
It's going to be an expensive experiment. :/
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Do you have a rough guess on how many KwH a hot tub in this area might use? is 2500 a reasonable estimate?
 
needles said:
Do you have a rough guess on how many KwH a hot tub in this area might use? is 2500 a reasonable estimate?
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I'm sure it's listed somewhere on the paperwork...it's a 4-person inflatable hot tub not a regular built in. I picked it up last year so I could see if I'd use it, or if I liked the idea of a hot tub more than actually having one.
And I have a little chingadera that can tell me the usage for any electrical appliance I plug it into. I'll put it on the hot tub this evening and leave it alone for a few days and see watt's watt.
 
Combined PGE bill down $463 this year vs last year.

$137 total bill with only $15 being actual charge for electricity used.

We are also using half the gas therms we did vs last year by using gas heat to raise the main rooms' temp to about 70 and then using wall mounted Envi heaters to maintain that at 66.

Averaging a $300/month lower bill TY vs LY for the 5 months thus far so payback forecast is under 7 years now.

Not bad.

Too bad PGE convinced the governor to essentially kill the market though for those considering solar now as now you must factor in at least one expensive battery to make the math work at all.

So payback on a system today would likely be 10+ years.

Of course even that drops as PGE rates will continue to ramp up.
 
HappyHighwayman said:
So I spent on average $65 a month on PG&E last year. Power delivery fees + gas.
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Averaging $76/month through five months in our 2150 sq/ft home.

We are moving our laundry inside this year so need to get new washer/dryer that is stacked/compact, so will switch to electric dryer from gas.

Using the current short entry hall into the kitchen area from the garage for that function so moving the entry door to the TV room, across from some French doors leading to the patio.

Means moving/replacing the gas heater so will be going with a heat pump electric water heater.

Anyone need a front load washer in a few months.

Bosch.

We are also giving away the gas Frigidaire dryer then as well.
 
Solar born on date 11/25/23 - SCE property

To date (2.5 months) we have an -80.xx credit other than base charges of $15.xx and $11.xx this month. I’d say that’s pretty fuckin amazing considering the lack of exported kWh due to clouds, rain and lack of sun.

Run my pool pump for 12 hrs during the day. Pellet stove has been cranking during peaks hrs when we get home from work and all weekend long. 1 ton of pellets cost $300 and should last the winter. The fan on it doesn’t even put a dent on the electric bill.

Get ready to start paying even more for the base charges. You’re going to start being billed based on your income in California. Coming soon!
 
scratchpad said:
Get ready to start paying even more for the base charges. You’re going to start being billed based on your income in California. Coming soon!
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Fuckers raised electric prices here as well, around 20% more than a year ago. Now my average bill is $120-130 per month.
 
Average electric bill is going up $22 at Pg&e. That’s only the beginning. Theyre shooting for more increase. Also, word is they want to start issuing dividends to shareholders in 2024. Related to increases, I don’t know. Income based charges in Ca are yet to be determined. Maybe next year.
 
TWF said:
Fuckers raised electric prices here as well, around 20% more than a year ago. Now my average bill is $120-130 per month.
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Average PGE bill right now before the 13 percent bump is $203 in Sonoma County.

At your pricing solar makes little sense.
 
GAJ said:
Average PGE bill right now before the 13 percent bump is $203 in Sonoma County.

At your pricing solar makes little sense.
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That is not that bad, I thought it is worse reading some posts.
My would be less but I have 2500sq shop with mill/lathe/welder/tire machines...etc. Helps I don't need or have AC.
I thought about putting few panels on the hill behind house but could never get numbers to make it worth doing.
 
GAJ said:
Averaging $76/month through five months in our 2150 sq/ft home.

We are moving our laundry inside this year so need to get new washer/dryer that is stacked/compact, so will switch to electric dryer from gas.

Using the current short entry hall into the kitchen area from the garage for that function so moving the entry door to the TV room, across from some French doors leading to the patio.

Means moving/replacing the gas heater so will be going with a heat pump electric water heater.

Anyone need a front load washer in a few months.

Bosch.

We are also giving away the gas Frigidaire dryer then as well.
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How old is it? Maybe I should take it when you're done with it :)

I'd be fine with an electric but an electrician would need to install the 220 volt dryer outlet as there is none in the washer dryer closet.

----

I don't get how PG&E is a publicly traded company.
 
scratchpad said:
Solar born on date 11/25/23 - SCE property

To date (2.5 months) we have an -80.xx credit other than base charges of $15.xx and $11.xx this month. I’d say that’s pretty fuckin amazing considering the lack of exported kWh due to clouds, rain and lack of sun.

Run my pool pump for 12 hrs during the day. Pellet stove has been cranking during peaks hrs when we get home from work and all weekend long. 1 ton of pellets cost $300 and should last the winter. The fan on it doesn’t even put a dent on the electric bill.

Get ready to start paying even more for the base charges. You’re going to start being billed based on your income in California. Coming soon!
Click to expand...

There's alot of savings to be had by running a pool pump at optimal speed, I have a variable speed one and optimized the pvc plumbing to reduce friction, which means I can run it for 16 hours a day 50 gpm at only 300 watts.

bill by income is such horse shit! Alot of power bills are gonna transfer under the names of the kids currently in college!
 
TWF said:
That is not that bad, I thought it is worse reading some posts.
My would be less but I have 2500sq shop with mill/lathe/welder/tire machines...etc. Helps I don't need or have AC.
I thought about putting few panels on the hill behind house but could never get numbers to make it worth doing.
Click to expand...

Summer months we were starting to get in the $7-800 range. At $100 month id never consider. You could easily DIY

It must be getting pretty bad for alot of these solar companies now that the NEM rules have changed here. Im starting to get emails and cold calls from the ones i had give me estimates.
 
HappyHighwayman said:
How old is it? Maybe I should take it when you're done with it :)

I'd be fine with an electric but an electrician would need to install the 220 volt dryer outlet as there is none in the washer dryer closet.

----

I don't get how PG&E is a publicly traded company.
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The gas dryer is from 2010 so I guess near the end of its expected life anyway.

Hasn't missed a beat in all those years so not sure you would want it when the time comes.
 
Glad I got solar some of the PGE bill horror stories out there are bananas.
 
Our bill has gone from around $200 to nearly $400 and our usage is pretty consistent
 
Over $800 last month more than doubled from a few years ago and we do not live any differently

Both of us work during the day so everything is off - 1600 sq ft

Both PG&E and the PUC can go "rhymes with pluck" themselves - god damn thieves
 
Can you post your territory, heat source, and total kwh?
 
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