Solar is very inefficient still and companies are making huge money by making empty promises and locking people into 20 year contracts.
And that 21% is maximum efficiency new. Kind of like the BS gas milage shown for new cars. And solar panels start losing efficiency relatively quickly. Unless you are getting it heavily subsidized, I wouldn't bother.
You guys have any personal experience to share?
Since we have about 2 months before the season starts and we're slamming the board with OT stuff, I thought this would be a good time to post. If we can get through this without comparing solar to pizza or figuring out who might be a solar insider, that would be great.
Thinking about putting solar on my house. I have an awesome southwest facing roof that has a ton of area and will never be shaded by trees or chimneys. I figure about 12' x 60' so I think I could easily get 36 standard panels no problem and in Southern California, I get tons of days per year with sun. If my math is correct, 10kW sounds doable.
I have no interest in leasing or renting - I'll buy them and own them. A friend did his house and recommended Sunpower panels. It seems they are 21% efficient which is far higher than the industry standard.
Does anyone have experience and advice about doing this? What about batteries to carry the load on cloudy days and overnight?
First thing you have to consider is which side of the house is south-facing. I personally think panels are cool, but not too attractive (especially on a lighter colored roof). We were lucky and are able to put panels are on the back southeast facing slope. The house is on hill compared to my backyard and they aren't really noticeable unless we're down by the tree line, about 75-100 feet behind my house. They are not visible from any part of a public street.
Secondly, How old is your roof? I doesn't make sense to put up panels if they have to be uninstalled/reinstalled for a new roof.
Third, put it out of your mind that you will offset your entire electricity bill. You may come out ahead in certain months, but companies are barred by law from "design" a system to offset your average yearly energy consumption 100%. Also there are certain fixed service charges regardless of how much grid energy you use. Connecticut has the 2nd highest energy costs in the lower 48 states. So depending on the system, cost, and your sun exposure, it might be worth it.
Finally , energy storage is not yet commercially offered because the technology is not cost-effective. In addition, you would have to build an addition garage bay to store the batteries. Also, you still produce energy on cloudy days, just not as much as sunny days. They install a net meter next to your existing meter. You generate energy during the day and whatever is not used by the house is forced out to the grid. At nightfall, your system turns itself off and you consume from the grid as you do now.
I have a southwest facing back roof with a minimum of 95% exposure (no tall trees) and we bought a system with 19 panels. It was installed over Veterans' Day and the following weekend, and went online at the beginning of December 2014. December is the shortest month of the year, in terms of daylight hours , and we still saved $50 over 12/2013. In January (you may remember the 90 inches of snow), the savings increased to $85 from the previous year. Come April, May and June, We produced more energy than we used, banked about $300, and only paid the $19.25 fixed service charge. I expect similar savings coming up in the Fall as well, but the pool pump burns up a lot of energy during the summer. We still cut about 85% off our CL&P (Eversource) bill this past July and August (hottest months of the hottest year on record). Put another way, our highest electricity bill since the install was $104 (July 2015). Our lowest bill during the 2 years prior was $107.56 (April 2013).
It's a pretty penny, no doubt, but cost is also offset by a 30% federal tax credit (which can be carried forward) and a state rebate (which is shrinking). In addition the company that sold us our panels offered discounts on installation and a sign on bonus. Considering estimated savings on electricity, credits, rebates and discounts, We are actually expecting to come out ahead over the life of the loan. If you rent, you may get locked into a contract and the Company takes all the discounts, credits, and rebates. If you buy, the panels are yours (covered by a 25 year warrantee) and the only contract is a loan.
