zeitgeist57 Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Been following SolarCity/Tesla news, as it is impressive how cheap solar panels are becoming. I'm optimistic about the future, where solar roofs really could provide an alternative source of cheap electricity for our homes. https://www.solarcity.com/residential - I had to hit a few zip codes until I found my grandma's house in Long Island, NY is eligible. Hoping technology/cost/building codes will allow for this in the future here in Ohio! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Our neighbors had some installed on their house this winter. They have a large credit with Westerville now through the summer. The key for us is Westerville is not paying the wholesale rate, they are paying the retail rate to residents. It was still a pretty big investment though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Hoping technology/cost/building codes will allow for this in the future here in Ohio! What makes you think it's not now? It's just that Solar City hasn't expanded their business into Ohio, plenty of other companies doing it. It's on our horizon of house projects. If you can do it yourself, parts are <$10k, which would be <$7k after tax rebates. My calc on payback is something like 7-15 years depending on how you sway the calcs. Big difference is if you do it or have someone else do it. For any good panel you'll see the life quoted at 25 years. This is when the panels are at 80% capacity, I think it's pretty easy to argue that there is some life left there. Solar will only get cheaper over time too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 What makes you think it's not now? It's just that Solar City hasn't expanded their business into Ohio, plenty of other companies doing it. ^^This. I can't put money toward it until the battery technology moves forward. Tesla is on the edge of that. But, it is only now being fielded and tested in homes in Australia. The better bet is buying Tesla stock, wait for this battery to come out, then sell the stock and pay for the solar. We still have at least 5 years, I'm guessing, before the affordability and more technology comes around. Like Jesse said, 7-15 years to break even and at that time you'll be out of date, like an iPhone 3. So at that point, you are up grading and in the negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted September 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Here's my break-even: - Little or no OOP (out of pocket) for installation. - Competitive rates for electricity. - Passes UA building code. I realize there are other residential solar solutions, you dingbats. Just loving the package offered to other markets that SolarCity provides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyM3rC Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 I'd probably be more excited if I wouldn't have to cut down all my nearby trees to get decent sunlight, but NOPE! Maybe out in the country or somewhere with more room that had better exposure. My dad was doing pretty well with his solar for awhile but the power company did something? and now he doesn't get anywhere near the credit he used to. The amount of fucking around he had to do with permits and inspections and such was pretty ridiculous, even having a contractor do the install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted September 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 ^^^Gets it. You NEED a big conglomerate to come along and make sweeping changes in the industry to gain mainstream acceptance. I think SolarCity has as good of a chance as any company out there.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted March 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 http://www.autoblog.com/2017/03/25/tesla-solar-roof-orders-april/?hcid=hp-tile-small-4 Still holding out hope that this tech will make it to Ohio in the next few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbs3000 Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 Solar roofs are such a game changer because unlike the panels you install on a roof, the roof you need anyway, being able to roll those costs together would be amazing. It could cost 2x as asphalt roof and still be a great deal but if they can keep it close to one in pricing sign me up. Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 Are any of you working in the actual amount of sunlight Ohio gets per year? If so thats pretty cool that you could even break even. Total win for sunny states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 Photovoltaic cells still work in cloudy conditions. Ohio gets about 60% of the sunlight that Arizona receives. The tech still works, albeit admittedly at a lower efficiency level.:thumbup: Still a heck of a durable roofing option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10phone2 Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 It won't happen until the electrical companies can make a profit. In Hawaii, you have to pay 5k to disconnect from the electrical grid and all sorts of others hurdles to show how you not turning on the lights will not cause any damage. The laws may have changed, but that shows what current hurdles folks have to jump through even though it's cheaper and better towards the environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGU Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 A buddy of mine put regular solar panels on his house and he watches his usage close just because if you give back to much power then you will be charged a generation fee. He does however make enough power to cover his electricity for the year, some months he owes, some months he gets money back, all in all he breaks even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 It won't happen until the electrical companies can make a profit. In Hawaii, you have to pay 5k to disconnect from the electrical grid and all sorts of others hurdles to show how you not turning on the lights will not cause any damage. The laws may have changed, but that shows what current hurdles folks have to jump through even though it's cheaper and better towards the environment. The only reason to disconnect if you are already connected is if your some conspiracy freak nut job who wants to lose money. It might make senes if you are not already connected, are really far from the lines and it would be prohibitively expensive to connect. In that case, yes, it's BS if they charge you to not connect. In Ohio last time I looked at it, you get the generation fee back for every piece of energy you put back into the grid. The net charge/credit was calculated on a daily basis; so you can use in the evening and produce during the day and hopefully break even for that day. This isn't true in every state. I think in some states you get the wholesale amount for any net output per day or maybe not even per day, maybe real time. If it's real time and you are in a state with peak metering, it could be a bad deal to feed back in during the day and consume at night. It may/b] start to make sense to have some battery storage. Basically, the cost of the batter per kwhr has to be LESS than your delta from your current electrical cost to what you would get back for anything you feed into the grid. Right now I think our Total electrical cost is something like 12~15c/kwhr. The tesla battery, if used to it's full extent, cost something like 15c/kwhr. Even if it made financial sense for the batter, it would still behoove you to be connected so you can feed back when you're battery is full, or draw when you have no sun/battery left. Again, unless you are some special kind of nut job that like to lose money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 A buddy of mine put regular solar panels on his house and he watches his usage close just because if you give back to much power then you will be charged a generation fee. He does however make enough power to cover his electricity for the year, some months he owes, some months he gets money back, all in all he breaks even. To reiterate from above, and unless it's changed since I looked into it a year or two ago this is how it works. You have a net meter and are charged all fees (generation+transmission+fees) for your net usage per day, or credited per day for your net production (generation only). Of course that's totaled and billed on a monthly basis, like you said above, just like everyone else. There are some issues if you produce more for the year than you use, but I'm not sure what happens at that point. Maybe this is what he was referencing. At least AEP looks at your last year of usage and want's your system sized at most to cover 80~90% of your usage for the year so that you'll be unlikely to run into that problem. Additionally, you can get money for carbon credits if you have a 'total production' meter installed. The house I went and toured said they broke above even for the year, basically covering that other 10% by selling their carbon credits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 For those interested, this guy has a lot of good vids on Solar, and other sources of "alternative" energy. https://www.youtube.com/user/LDSreliance/videos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergwheel1647545492 Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 My parents just had 70 panels installed on their new roof. they are producing about 68kw a day i guess. Here are some pics of the panels, install and the inverters. the app that the company has is pretty awesome to login and see what each panel is currently producing. Also they didn't go the battery route, since their power company allows them to feed back into the grid they get credits for generation and all that jazz. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7&pictureid=8814 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7&pictureid=8813 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7&pictureid=8810 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miller Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 ^ Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 That's a sweet setup, Gerg. Any idea what the ballpark cost of all that is? That's a good amount of electrical work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supplicium Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 Going through the process now at my parents place in FL. Solarcity panels and tesla battery wall installed came in at 61k. Rebates and tax credits available atm knocks off 20%. The setup is enough to completely go off the grid while heating the pool to 88 in the "winter". They are selling a 7 year breakeven return analysis. Still gathering info but I think it will soon be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koolrayz Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 As Stated above net metering with a "grid tied system" is the only way it is remotely feasible. You have to remember the inverter life is about half the solar panel so you need to include that in the total cost calculations. Below is the system I have looked at closely. I have enough land that I would not be putting it on my house. I can also optimize the placement or put a sun tracker system in. 848 KWA kilowatt hours a months. KWA is the same number that you are billed for monthly. This system is under 10K but is a total do it yourself deal. https://www.wholesalesolar.com/1890515/wholesale-solar/complete-systems/6.24-kw-grid-tied-solar-system-with-solaredge-and-24x-astronergy-260-panels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 Going through the process now at my parents place in FL. Solarcity panels and tesla battery wall installed came in at $61k. Rebates and tax credits available atm knocks off 20%. The setup is enough to completely go off the grid while heating the pool to 88 in the "winter". They are selling a 7 year breakeven return analysis. Still gathering info but I think it will soon be worth it. That's really helpful, thanks. Curious what the size of the house is? While my cheapa$$ recognizes that is a CHUNK of change, a 7-year breakeven is incredible, considering the roof should last another 30+ years after that. Florida is wacky...I remember $300-400/month electric bills just to heat our house in winter (and that was really just to keep the inside around 68-70 when it got down to upper 40s/low 50s at night). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supplicium Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 That's really helpful, thanks. Curious what the size of the house is? While my cheapa$$ recognizes that is a CHUNK of change, a 7-year breakeven is incredible, considering the roof should last another 30+ years after that. Florida is wacky...I remember $300-400/month electric bills just to heat our house in winter (and that was really just to keep the inside around 68-70 when it got down to upper 40s/low 50s at night). 3,350sqft, heating the pool and spa kills our electric bill, my mom blasts the AC 24/7.. makes solar more attractive. We looked at the water heating systems where you pump the pool water to your roof or w/e they are only about 5k but max temp is like 80. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergwheel1647545492 Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 That's a sweet setup, Gerg. Any idea what the ballpark cost of all that is? That's a good amount of electrical work. It was between $46k - $50k installed and setup. Should pay for itself in 8 years, that is what they were told. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koolrayz Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 It was between $46k - $50k installed and setup. Should pay for itself in 8 years, that is what they were told. I find it hard to believe that system will generate 6,000$ worth of electricity a year? you posted 68kwa a day that's 24,820 a year. divide the $6000 a year by the 24820 and that shows .24 per KWA. nobody pays that much for electricity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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