Not really familiar, but solar systems, even when supplementary, tend to have a high initial investment with an often long payback period. Cool, though. Sent from Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
Not doing it, have looked into it/considered. Grid inter-tied, you won't get rich/recoup your cost, but it is a perk if you're gong to stay on the grid. Local utility >may< have additional requirements, like an external box they can lock (for safety) if there is maintenance/repairs nearby. Checkout Home Power magazine and dsireusa.org Cons-costs (many year payback, vary by state/fed pgms and incentives), insurance varies by state/carrier, same with Lenders if you intend to finance/sell; Pros - I can't provide much quantitatively, but there may be qualitative; potential economic-hedge; possible configuration variations can "keep the lights on" if you are vulnerable to grid outages.
There's tons of solar panels going up around here. I believe there are some major government rebates or something, because there's no way this many people are just doing this out of pocket. I really should look into it. I'd love to be able to get off the grid as much as possible.
I thought about it, but I spent a few months in Phoenix. There were hardly any homes there that had it. If they don't then it probably isn't worth it, because they would get the most return. But maybe worth it if it can be subsidized somehow. But I would want to know what the long term upkeep is. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My house has a perfect south facing setup for this. But the uncertainty of me staying there for a prolonged period of time makes me adding them out of the question.
PT looks like NY+ Fed tax benefits and incentives are around 60% of the installed costs. Does NY and your utility support net-metering?
Speak English! :D I am waiting for a consultation, after which I SHOULD be able to answer that question :P They are definitely pushing it, however... As far as I understand, the power will go to a box which will be shared with an electric company...I will produce more than I need, in which case the EC will use it and when I don't produce enough, I will have banked more than enough to cover it??
I'm definitely going to look into it when I build a new house in the not too distant future. I hate having to rely on the utility companies, power goes off here if a frog *isses.
Net-metering you can think of as spinning your power meter backward when you produce extra power...and the opposite direction if you are drawing from the grid. The pro here is you effectively get paid the same rate (whatever your kilowatt/hr rate might be) for producing power as you pay for grid consumed. The other scenario is they put a separate meter in and reimburse you at a different/lower price (maybe half what you'd pay for grid) -- make sure you understand this as it changes the deal economics. Though these aren't the only two approaches...
How common is it to have a surplus or positive net generation? If you don't mind me asking, Tony, what are your transmission/generation prices here?
Reduction of power use is 9 times out of 10, much easier and cost effective. Having said that, if we build up here, we will most likely go completely off grid. There are quite a few people and a few businesses (even in town) that are off-grid.
How common is it with these systems to produce more than you consume so that you could sell back to the power company? One of the things I remember reading on Hearth.com in the green building section (this was a year or so ago) in a solar thread was that many people weren't generating enough to sell back, but they were generating enough to supplement all or a high percentage of their needs (which is still awesome). Their only complaints were the higher costs even with government incentives. I don't know how NY does it, but in PA, electric is deregulated now which means it's a private market. We can pick who generates our electricity, and pay their rate for generation and transmission charges. PPL, in our area, still handles the distribution and charges a different rate. We only get one bill for one amount, but there are two different prices involved.
