My new solar and Powerwall installation

[JSkrehot]

I didn’t do it for the cost benefit, I don’t think there really is one. I did it for emergency backup power and because it just seems like the logical thing to do. Solar plus batteries can power most of the world. The more early adopters there are the faster costs will come down, accelerating a more widespread adoption.

I installed a Solar Edge Inverter to be compatible with a PowerWall, so I will do in the future if the cost is significantly less, just couldn't justify it for the almost non existent blackouts we have had from 09'-17' in this home.

 

[JSkrehot]

Maybe I didn’t read my bill correctly. But I did generate more than I consumed. My calculations showed I produced about 13% more but PG&E calculated only about half that since they have no visibility “behind”the meter. At least that was their excuse for paying me less than I anticipated.

You called and asked and they said they paid less because of no visibility behind the meter? They only pay about $0.03/kWh for your excess production, so it is far less than what you would pay them for the same amount of electricity. Nobody should expect to make $$$ on their solar. Oversized mine just a little to account for the Model 3, and not by a ton as I get 8 hours of free charging at work/day. Interested in the excuse they are giving though.

 

[ecarfan]

You called and asked and they said they paid less because of no visibility behind the meter?

Yes. I was told their calculations would differ from mine. They can’t see what my system stored in the Powerwall and what I drew from it, of course.

They only pay about $0.03/kWh for your excess production, so it is far less than what you would pay them for the same amount of electricity. Nobody should expect to make $$$ on their solar.

yes, I understand that. Thanks.

 

[JSkrehot]

Yes. I was told their calculations would differ from mine. They can’t see what my system stored in the Powerwall and what I drew from it, of course.

This is confusing. I don't understand why having a PowerWall would change anything. All they need to calculate is power pulled from the grid versus power pushed back to it from excess generation.

 

[NanoGrid]

... I did it for emergency backup power and because it just seems like the logical thing to do...

If you read (and take seriously) Gretchen Bakke's book "The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future", you will appreciate that grid outages are likely to be ever more frequent until investor-owned utilities have stronger incentives to invest in their distribution systems. Bakke explains how electrical deregulation split generation and distribution into separate corporations, and left the distribution companies with the burden of accommodating distributed solar under the thumb of slow-reacting and unimaginative PUCs.

So they cut corners on tree-limbing and other preventative maintenance. The more their top-end revenues shrink under net-metering, the smaller the box they are in, spreading system costs over an ever-smaller number of kWhs sold. Hence all the reaction in rate-setting nationwide and NEM 2.0 in California. The recent San Diego rate decision suggests that SCE and PG&E customers will enjoy a longer grandfathering period, while the big bump up in SGIP funding shows that the CPUC is more encouraging of the solution: energy storage.

The Powerwall 2 arrives just in time for upper-income homeowners seeking reliable power, and lucky, liquid middle-income folks who win the SGIP lottery may well share too. But I keep an eye on Tony Seba's Facebook page: cleandisruption for the latest on storage tech.

 

[Timothy]

How are you guys getting money back from PG&E on true-up? I usually end the year with a ~$1000 credit but it's forfeited. I assume that's because I'm a net consumer of electricity despite running a credit (TOU related). Do you actually generate more than you use?

My situation is just like yours. I generate up to $1000 a year more than I use--but I generate fewer kWh than I use. So Cal Edison keeps the extra $$$--all to their benefit!!

 

[patrick40363]

My situation is just like yours. I generate up to $1000 a year more than I use--but I generate fewer kWh than I use. So Cal Edison keeps the extra $$$--all to their benefit!!

I use to have a small credit at the end of the year. I switched my hot water heater to electric and put electric floor heat in the bathroom. I now run a debit at year end but feel I am getting my moneys worth.

 

[Letigre]

I know this is a super old thread, but I am just starting out and @ecarfan I think you're the same person from eichlernetwork (since all the pics look the same). I'm hopefully moving into an eichler in the next few weeks and was hoping to get some of your thoughts on both durafoam the installer and how things have been going since.