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Who's gone Solar

No problem, it's lots of fun. Nothing wrong with cutting your teeth on the last setup, but you won't learn a ton. At some point, I highly recommend getting any of the Victon smart charge controllers with bluetooth, because you'll get the app for your phone and you'll see a bunch of settings that will prompt you to research. Low voltage cutoff, oh what's that....then you'll learn about the low voltages relative to various battery chemistries and how they affect lifecycles, and all that stuff is really the core knowledge needed if you ever scaled up to any DIY version of solar.
 
I just paid my PG&E bill. I generate more than use. This was not true when Sally was with us, but yeah, I have no net electricity usage in the last nine months. Pretty cool. I seem to have sized my system just about right. I'm pretty lucky like that.

Edit... I don't know how many years we have had the system, but the payback was much quicker that we had calculated. Good deal.
 
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Butch said:
I just paid my PG&E bill. I generate more than use. This was not true when Sally was with os, but yeah, I hav no net electricity usage in the last nine months. Pretty cool. I seem to have sized my system just about right. I'm pretty lucky like that.
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We have 8 months under our belts and are even with four more much sunnier months ahead and we too are already generating as much as we've used over that time so looks like we will be squarely in the plus column at the end of 12 months.

So nice to have had the opportunity to control our electricity costs with an investment that might have a 20 percent ROI at the end of those 12 months.
 
Enjoy it while it lasts - the power mafia aka PG&E are going to end up nailing all of us with a fixed charge regardless of consumption. :mad
 
ThinkFast said:
Enjoy it while it lasts - the power mafia aka PG&E are going to end up nailing all of us with a fixed charge regardless of consumption. :mad
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Those charges make up most of my bill now.

No doubt they will raise them.

There really seems like there is nothing to stop them though they binned the fixed charges for higher incomes idea IIRC.
 
Last month $65. Month before $100. Here's this month. Smooth sailing till December. Not looking forward to July's true-up but I guess PG&E got to make sure they get their cut.
 

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Month 7 since my PTO. - $787.41

20 days to go in this month. - $143

Started kicking on the AC a few days ago and living more comfortable. Solar has been kickin ass. Im on SCE so i dont know how they operate at true up but i wont expect a check or banked funds. Ill try to break even. As far as ive heard its use it or lose it with PG&E.

Anybody know.
 
scratchpad said:
Im on SCE so i dont know how they operate at true up but i wont expect a check or banked funds. Ill try to break even. As far as ive heard its use it or lose it with PG&E.

Anybody know.
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Sonoma Clean Power provides a small amount of payment, very close to whosale rates, if you generate more than you use. PG&E does not pay for extra at true up.

Flip
 
Had our system installed August 4th of last year and we produced 197 percent of what we used that month.

213 this month so it seems that perhaps the panels like this time of year's sun angle better?

Panels have not been cleaned in all that time so a bit surprised.

Overall, FYTD we are at 108 percent despite switching in that time from gas to electric for a lot of heating in winter, dryer, stove and stovetop as well as water heater, (heat pump electric).

Looks like we are "right sized" in terms of panel kwhr/usage.
 
Had a power outage yesterday and it was frustrating that my panels were functional but temporarily useless.
 
Thought I’d drop this pic here. My friend is a solar electrical engineer on Orcas Island, WA. She had to text me back because she was up in a tree and doing this with her company today. Yup, the answer to solar with big trees. Nope, not a job for me.
 

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JesasaurusRex said:
Is sunroof with Google still a valid estimator?
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+/- 20 percent seems to be the google answer.

My savings have exceeded forecast by Sunpower in the 9 months we've had our setup which cost $24 k for twenty 400 watt panels.

If it had cost $34k the breakeven would have been 9 years instead of the 6 years (and dropping) we are experiencing.

The thinks is Solar not only reduced our electricity cost, it has cut our gas cost in half as we shifted half our heating from gas to Envi electric wall units over the winter.

That is something most don't consider or do.

We used gas to get our two main rooms up to 70 degrees and then the electric wall units to keep it at 66.

In the same time we have gone from gas to electric on the stovetop, water heater and clothes dryer.

FYTD we are at 110 percent production over usage despite all those "new" electrical uses. Obviously that percent will rise until True up end of July.
 
I installed 24 455W panels and 2 EG4 6500 inverters on my shop. Once the new home is complete, I will have the power lines removed from my shop and go completely off grid.
Shop PV Array.jpg
 
GAJ said:
Very pro install.
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Thank you. I watched Will Prowse youtube videos and followed that. I would love to say I did it on my own accord however I only did the labor. When our house is completed, I will add a larger system to the house which is a hybrid grid tie system.
 
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Nice mounts make a huge difference. Super cool you're just down the road from signature solar. I assume you went there to pick everything up?
 
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