The Truth About EVs And Solar

[FASTNF]

I only get a bill ot payment once a year. If I produced exactly what I needed in the three coldest months then my warmer months would have an even higher excess production and the overall production excess would go up and I would get a larger check at the end of the year. For net metering the ideal is to have you annual usage and production be equal, but that is diffcult to predict so I sized the system a littel larger and to include EV electric usage.

Sponsored

 

[Maric]

I have had solar last two homes. I’ll never buy a house without solar. My current array powers my home and I sell electricity back to the city. I guess depends where you live how viable solar Is but when it’s added to a Home when it’s being built the cost is negligible and expense quickly recouped.

 

[FASTNF]

That one way to look at it.
I consider a purchase as what I pay for. Since I pay nothing, did purchase any thing?

Another way of looking at it is that I am just taking back some of what I already gave them.

My billing year runs from August to August so I have usually generated an excess prior to heading in to the cold months. The calender year for billing is based on the month the system was intially put in operation.

 

[buffasnow]

I guess depends where you live how viable solar Is but when it’s added to a Home when it’s being built the cost is negligible and expense quickly recouped.

Yeah, I have to go brush the snow off mine every time we get an inch or more......... ?

 

[bruceski88]

Another good video by our friend Alex on autos.

This system is so complex and large it doesn’t relate to a typical suburban house. I have an 8 panel system that is only 250w per panel because it is 7 yrs old. I power a grid tied 2500 sq. ft. house with power to spare. We are able to purchase 100% green energy from our community aggregator and receive a bonus for selling back solar energy. There is a micro inverter attached to each panel, a cable you purchase that connects all the microinverters together, and # 10 wiring back to the electrical panel. We power the house on an average of 8kWhr per day. We do not need AC where we live because the house is so well insulated and we use natural gas for heat. Everyone’s situation is different. I will probably double capacity this spring with 6 additional more efficient panels. We pay an outrageous $.27 a kWHr in Northern CA so solar is a great deal. I installed this system myself and it is permitted. Check out mysolarpod.com

 

[Maric]

Yeah, I have to go brush the snow off mine every time we get an inch or more......... ?

Snow is one thing I will never see unless I drive an hour to Tahoe. ???

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Another good video by our friend Alex on autos.

Nice find @trutolife27.

Interesting he has a 10Kw system with 40 panels. We have a 16.5 kW system with 36 panel, all on our roof. Lead acid isn’t the only choice other than lithium ion now either. We have 2 batteries made in Hawaii with no rate earth metals.

Net effect of all that is that we should be able to charge the MME from roughly 11 am on without resorting to grid power.

 

[FASTNF]

I not sure we are understanding each other. Let me put it this way. I do not get a monthly bill from the utility company ever. I get one bill from the utility company in August for the entire year. That bill either says I used more than I produced and I have to pay, or it says I produced more than I used and they will send me a check . Since I installed the system I have never had to send a check to the utility company, but they always send me a check.

If I produced enough electricity to cover my usage in each cold months I do not get a lower bill. What I get is a bigger check at the end of the year.

If you read my response in post # 17 I didn't use the word lower at all. What I did say was the my excess would be higher. or in other words I would have a higher creidt not lower bill

 

[jhalkias]

You might try pole mounting. It is more expensive but I was able to fit a 6.7 kw array in a pretty small area and I am able to manually adjust the tilt to account for the wide variance in seasonal sun angle here. This is in September.

What direction is the ideal direction up here in the frozen North? Is it Southwest? My roof faces primarily West in the front and that is where they were going to put it. I also have to see if there are any HOA restrictions. I like that solution.

 

[Mopey]

What direction is the ideal direction up here in the frozen North? Is it Southwest? My roof faces primarily West in the front and that is where they were going to put it. I also have to see if there are any HOA restrictions. I like that solution.

You can obviously mount the array on the pole whichever way you need, although my array, like most, is oriented due south.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

some of these pictures suggest what I kind of wish I had but don't - I'm on a typical American suburb-sized lot - a corner lot, actually - which means that something like pole mounting would never fly - there's no room for it, and the neighbors would burn it all to the ground with me in the house to avoid the eyesore. I suppose I could put fencing in to hide it some...

I keep looking at roof panel planners and haven't seen anything that comes out as not looking kind of ridiculous, but there's always next summer.

I kind of wish Tesla's solar roof tiles were a real, actual, thing, and not a "three people in the world have them because lucky and rich and everyone else can't afford them and they aren't available to buy anyway" (*) because that seems like a really great way to "cheat" on it.

(*) exaggerating

Sponsored