Considering Solar

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by Ws6

I agree that right now, it is not appropriate for off-grid. However, my HVAC is a 13 SEER heat-pump. By the time I go off-grid, I will have replaced that. Winter hits the hardest, and with a more efficient heat pump, it will dramatically lower consumption. How much remains to be seen, but I suspect it will be significant.


Sure, as long as you are going into it with both eyes open, I expect you should be OK

As you can see, this couple hovers around 1,000kWh/month here in Canada, regardless of time of year. However the ability for a solar array of your size, at this latitude, to satisfy demand only works in the summer months for them. In fact, if we consider the round-trip penalty for storage, the over-capacity that your system would provide them likely makes it "just about right" for that period. Given the 40% CF figure we saw for the winter however, they'd realistically need a system 3x that size for it to work year-round! Pretty wild.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by Ws6

I agree that right now, it is not appropriate for off-grid. However, my HVAC is a 13 SEER heat-pump. By the time I go off-grid, I will have replaced that. Winter hits the hardest, and with a more efficient heat pump, it will dramatically lower consumption. How much remains to be seen, but I suspect it will be significant.


Sure, as long as you are going into it with both eyes open, I expect you should be OK

As you can see, this couple hovers around 1,000kWh/month here in Canada, regardless of time of year. However the ability for a solar array of your size, at this latitude, to satisfy demand only works in the summer months for them. In fact, if we consider the round-trip penalty for storage, the over-capacity that your system would provide them likely makes it "just about right" for that period. Given the 40% CF figure we saw for the winter however, they'd realistically need a system 3x that size for it to work year-round! Pretty wild.

Yes, Canada is a different animal in that regard, for sure.

 

[Pew]

Discussions like this make me wish I went into nuclear physics or continued on with Geology in school....

 

[mbacfp]

Shannow, does Oz or your local government offer any tax credits like in the U.S.? My final system ended up being 28×310W panels. Personally, without the 30% Federal Tax credit my break even would be further than I would have been willing to invest in this system. Excited to get this up and running.

Thanks to JeffKeryk for the help. Will update once it gets installed next week...though usually takes 2-3 weeks to get Edison to get it up and running on their end. Have a great weekend all.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by Pew
Discussions like this make me wish I went into nuclear physics or continued on with Geology in school....

Posts like that make me wish I went into that, too, lol!

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by mbacfp
Shannow, does Oz or your local government offer any tax credits like in the U.S.? My final system ended up being 28×310W panels. Personally, without the 30% Federal Tax credit my break even would be further than I would have been willing to invest in this system. Excited to get this up and running.

Thanks to JeffKeryk for the help. Will update once it gets installed next week...though usually takes 2-3 weeks to get Edison to get it up and running on their end. Have a great weekend all.

Congrats!

My break even is nearly on year 1, even without tax credits, as my utility bills and payment are near = ($189/mo vs. $203mo), and the system has added value.

What did you end up paying per watt for the install?

I'm just going to take the tax credit money and pay on other stuff. Solar loan = 2.99apr fixed for 20y. Best terms you'll EVER see on a personal loan not from the Bank of Mom and Dad, rofl!

 

[mbacfp]

I will have to confirm from the paperwork...but I think it is just under $2.90/watt. My break even is less than 5 years or so. I got 5 quotes and this is what my area is charging. Yours sounds really low compared to mine.

 

[JeffKeryk]

mbacfp - who earned your business? Did you speak with Chase at Infinity?

And congrats on your solar. You will love those $15 electricity bills...

 

[mbacfp]

Thanks Jeff.

Spoke with Chase and he helped in reviewing my solar quote. He gave me a name of a counterpart in my location to provide a roof quote, but never got it. It seems like my solar quote was competitive...so I stayed with the local company. Chase spoke highly of you and he helped...I appreciate it. Out of curiously, what was/is your price per watt? If I take whole project as a solar project for tax credit purposes my price per watt will be reduced by a lot more. I'm actually excited and ready to do a battery down the road.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I don't know price per watt. Here's my break down:
5.1 kW System

17 LR6-60-300M panels and
1 IQ7-60-2-INT inverters

Est Production 7,356 kWh

$17,085
tax credit $5,125
net price $11,959

Additionally I got a new roof, $12,000 minus 30%

 

[mbacfp]

Thanks Jeff. I appreciate your assistance and advice. Next is Tesla battery but will probably wait...they said 2-3 for my system...expensive.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by mbacfp
Thanks Jeff. I appreciate your assistance and advice. Next is Tesla battery but will probably wait...they said 2-3 for my system...expensive.


I wouldnt own anything made by Tesla. Wait until someone else makes it so you know it wont burn your house down. Their solar products are as terrible as their cars.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.bu...become-nightmare-some-homeowners-2019-10

 

[Shannow]

Finally got the inverter replaced yesterday,and was looking forward to a sunny day...alas its a bit overcast today, with patchy clouds.

Still happy 'though.

Peaked at 5KW, which is the inverter limit.

Late afternoon, and its 1.5KW, which us enough for my sauna and a few things

At 27KWh for the day, wondering if it will hit 30.

Since the family moved out, consumption is around 10KWh per day.

 

[Shannow]

Two weeks and a half a MWh

 

[Shannow]

Two weeks later...a MWh

 

[Skippy722]

Looks like you're coming out pretty far ahead vs your consumption!

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted by Skippy722
Looks like you're coming out pretty far ahead vs your consumption!

You could say that...since having the smart meter, can see my gross consumption...

Paying 30c for each of those imports, saving that for about 5-7Kwh per day, and getting about 11.7c for each export KWh...so earning enough to pay off my 86c per day supply fee...and a bit more over summer...payback is under 3 years.