I’m thinking there was some fuzzy math going on there to convince the spouse of such expense
DFW area.
$2,000 in annual electric costs at $0.075/kWh would be 26,600 kWh. You would need a 16 kW PV array to get that amount of an annual production, plus more to cover the two EVs.
The solar array is about 7.5 kW; it faces nearly perfectly south.
www.mp2energy.com
Probably a silly question, but have you had any damage from hailstorms to your panels.The solar array is about 7.5 kW; it faces nearly perfectly south.
The $8k cost was back in 2013 for a one-payment, 20-year, lease, with a 20-year warranty (from the former SolarCity. now Tesla Energy). This was pre-Powerwall, of course. As it turned out, the up front pricing was an absolute steal, but as I wrote above, even if it had been twice as expensive, it would still have been a "no-brainer" choice to get those panels on our roof.
A huge part of this savings is from our power company, MP2 Energy, as they use 100% renewable energy, and give us 100 cents on the dollar for our excess power during the day--the grid is our battery:
Go Green with Our Alternative Home Energy Plans | MP2 Energy
Greenify your power usage for a sustainable future. Sign up for one of MP2's residential energy plans, all at competitive market rates.
The only catch was/is that we noticed that we produced so much more than we would get back over any given year, and that the excess kWh would all go into a "bank." Every twelve months MP2 Energy takes that excess and zeros it out--with no credit or payment to us. That's been pissing me off which lead to some additional changes.
Late last year we replaced two eleven-year old HVAC units with pure electric, 20-SEER, heat pumps and are currently in the process of foaming the back of our roof deck and sealing our attic so as to make the attic semi-conditioned space. (Texas and Arizona home builders can be remarkably stupid: so many houses insanely "make ice cream in the oven" by placing air handlers and ducting in the 160F+ attic, leaving homeowners wondering why the AC takes so long to cool the house . . . .) Likewise, we also replaced our two gas water heaters with electric units and had the gas meter removed from the house to abide with The First Rule of Holes--when you're in one, stop digging. We are in a massive GHG-dumping hole. It's hard to say you're "Making a difference" and still be writing a check to a fossil fuel company every single month, so we've stopped doing that . . . .
Not sure how this will all play out a year from now as some of these steps increased our electrical load, but hopefully less than the annual excess we were "gifting" to MP2 Energy. But knowing then what we know now, we would have installed a larger solar array--bigger is better, and the marginal cost would have been insignificant.
Cognitive dissonance time; this may make some uncomfortable: In the end, it's about getting smarter about the planetary-scale threat we have created, and making better choices. If you're still buying gasoline, or paying for "natural" gas, you are part of the problem. We prefer to be a part of the solution, and we hope that all reading this will as well.
“Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want.”
― Anna Lappe
The solar array is about 7.5 kW; it faces nearly perfectly south.
The $8k cost was back in 2013 for a one-payment, 20-year, lease, with a 20-year warranty (from the former SolarCity. now Tesla Energy). This was pre-Powerwall, of course. As it turned out, the up front pricing was an absolute steal, but as I wrote above, even if it had been twice as expensive, it would still have been a "no-brainer" choice to get those panels on our roof.
A huge part of this savings is from our power company, MP2 Energy, as they use 100% renewable energy, and give us 100 cents on the dollar for our excess power during the day--the grid is our battery:
Go Green with Our Alternative Home Energy Plans | MP2 Energy
Greenify your power usage for a sustainable future. Sign up for one of MP2's residential energy plans, all at competitive market rates.
The only catch was/is that we noticed that we produced so much more than we would get back over any given year, and that the excess kWh would all go into a "bank." Every twelve months MP2 Energy takes that excess and zeros it out--with no credit or payment to us. That's been pissing me off which lead to some additional changes.
Late last year we replaced two eleven-year old HVAC units with pure electric, 20-SEER, heat pumps and are currently in the process of foaming the back of our roof deck and sealing our attic so as to make the attic semi-conditioned space. (Texas and Arizona home builders can be remarkably stupid: so many houses insanely "make ice cream in the oven" by placing air handlers and ducting in the 160F+ attic, leaving homeowners wondering why the AC takes so long to cool the house . . . .) Likewise, we also replaced our two gas water heaters with electric units and had the gas meter removed from the house to abide with The First Rule of Holes--when you're in one, stop digging. We are in a massive GHG-dumping hole. It's hard to say you're "Making a difference" and still be writing a check to a fossil fuel company every single month, so we've stopped doing that . . . .
Not sure how this will all play out a year from now as some of these steps increased our electrical load, but hopefully less than the annual excess we were "gifting" to MP2 Energy. But knowing then what we know now, we would have installed a larger solar array--bigger is better, and the marginal cost would have been insignificant.
Cognitive dissonance time; this may make some uncomfortable: In the end, it's about getting smarter about the planetary-scale threat we have created, and making better choices. If you're still buying gasoline, or paying for "natural" gas, you are part of the problem. We prefer to be a part of the solution, and we hope that all reading this will as well.
“Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want.”
― Anna Lappe
As the owner of a home with a SolarRoof and Powerwalls, I understand the benefit of solar. But as I said this is a rental property. The renters will be paying utilities, so I get no immediate benefit except the possibility of increasing rent due to having solar. But in Texas, their electricity is very cheap plus they have things like free nights and weekends, thus the conundrum.
An EV is not free. Seems one has to put the cost of the car in the ROI.
Never, despite many hail storms.
As a leased system, SolarCity kept all tax credits. Yes, one-payment leases are uncommon, but they are an excellent way to reduce total system cost. Part of the lease payment is the cost to finance the system over the term of the lease. If the lease is paid in full, all upfront, that finance cost becomes ZERO.
Well then.
I guess this is why 1 our of 5 folks who buy EV's return them/get rid of them.
I did hear some guys posting a video of them rolling past the gas lines in NC in their EV. They were at the station to buy some beer.
I remember folks who could not drive anywhere when we had our multi day power outages. There EV's looked great in the garages as folks with ICE cars went to eat.
I don't have any issues charging my EV at home for the same reason you don't have an issue keeping your lights on when the grid goes down. We both have solar and battery storage.
