The Truth About EVs And Solar

Fat Mach

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Uh, no. Not even close. If it were cheaper to use renewables, we'd already be using renewables.
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bruceski88

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I have had my system 8 years. People think it’s the panels that fail, but it is the inverters. I believe it is cheap capacitors from China. I had to replace my inverters last summer. New inverters are much more sophisticated with instantaneous monitoring. They really should last 25 years, but it really depends on the quality of the construction and the components
 

B25Nut

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With a pool (non-heated), hot tub and water booster pump, our PG&E used to average over $300 a month. We added solar three years ago, along with a heat pump to warm the pool and a Tesla battery. This month it is producing 40kwh a day and will reach a peak of a little over 50kwh this summer. We pay PG&E less than $10 a month for being hooked up to the grid. Once a year we pay them an average of $425. This is due to the fact we go overboard with Christmas lights for six weeks, and sizing the system to handle this doesn't work out economically. Without the battery, we would still be affected by power outages at night. We've never been in the dark.
With the miles I'll be driving my MME, I plan on plugging it in to a home charger all the daylight hours on Saturday or Sunday, with our pool and irrigation systems turned off. Do you experts out there think this will qualify my Mach-E as a solar powered vehicle? I'm hoping it will be about 90% toward this status. I am getting the ER battery.

Fusion-Solar.jpg
 

dbsb3233

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I watched the video and I am not sure I agree with him regarding off grid versus grid tied. I put in 6 kw of grid tied solar several years ago and have not purchased electricity in over 8 years. I charge two EV's and run my main house and the guest house off of the system. The guest house is all electric. I use more than I produce the coldest three months of the year but during the rest of the year I generate more than I use and generally get a check form the utility at the end of the year for about $100. Also there is a lot of green energy prodution in the area where I am so all around it pretty good and a lot less expensive than his system Below is a picture of my system and the Wind farms over the hill form me
You've purchased electricity, you've just sold more back.

You're basically paying for the equivalent of storage and backup services.
 

buffasnow

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I have had my system 8 years. People think it’s the panels that fail, but it is the inverters. I believe it is cheap capacitors from China. I had to replace my inverters last summer. New inverters are much more sophisticated with instantaneous monitoring. They really should last 25 years, but it really depends on the quality of the construction and the components
Less than 2 years in, have had my inverter replaced already. Not a horrible problem, but had to wait a week for shipping while the sun was shining. Something to ensure you have written answers on should you be negotiating with an installer............
 


Scarpia

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Less than 2 years in, have had my inverter replaced already. Not a horrible problem, but had to wait a week for shipping while the sun was shining. Something to ensure you have written answers on should you be negotiating with an installer............
The newer tech is microinverters, so there is one for every panel. That way if one of them goes down, the whole system doesn't go down with it.
 

buffasnow

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The newer tech is microinverters, so there is one for every panel. That way if one of them goes down, the whole system doesn't go down with it.
That makes perfect sense and sounds awesome. Something to discuss next time I chat with them......
 

engnrng

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Panels, inverters are warrantied for 10 years. Batteries for 10 years. However, expected life of both solar and batteries is in excess of 20 years. It is my understanding the lead acid batteries in his type of installation need replacement every 3 to 5 years.
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