Eric and I are scheduled for solar installation this coming spring.

Solar installation is like the wild, wild west out here. The technology is moving fast, there is very high interest in our sunny area and there is not a lot of regulation yet. It took us a while to find two reputable companies to submit estimates. Random contractors call all the time offering to install solar, but if somebody is going to put holes in my roof, I want to make sure they know what they are doing.

The company we are using predicts a break-even point for us in 4.2 years, and yes... I believe our meters will run backwards whenever we produce more energy than we use. This is likely in the summertime, less so in the winter.

I remain mildly skeptical about the 4.2 year break even point. I think the calculations assume that I will have our front yard trees trimmed super aggressively initially and that I will keep them well trimmed all through the growing season. I am not planning to sacrifice all aesthetics in the name of energy efficiency. If our system breaks even in 5-7 years, I am fine with that.

I have planned a wind/solar system for several years now. With what I spend in electricity each month, $375-$475, a system would pay for itself in about 8 years. That includes solar panels, two 3000 watt mag-lev wind turbines, a huge bank of batteries, a charge converter, and a power inverter, all of the appropriate wattage.

When I am fully converted, I can get rid of my oil heat, and propane water heater. The trick is to make the system handle everything. I get power outages here in the North East US, so not only would I be independent of power outages, but my monthly bill would be zero, or a surplus sold back to the utility company.

As I grow older, this is a win-win situation.

Steve

Vic, I hope you can achieve this, as it is a really good thing.

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Warning, addicted to SETI crunching!
Crunching as a member of GPU Users Group.
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Sorry I missed a lot of this discussion.
Vic, first don't buy one panel at a time. Panels degrade in storage and degrade even faster if exposed to light without a load. We put huge resistors on the rows of installed panels to bleed off the energy waiting for the interconnect. Remember I just finished building the worlds largest solar power plant. Topaz Solar Farms Also you would need to buy a new inverter each time you changed the energy configuration. So forget buying one this year then another next. Plus the panels made today will not be the panels made in a year. Our panels went from 75 watts each three years ago to 105 watt now and our R&D people expect to break the 200 watt mark…(sorry I was told I can’t say that).
Second avoid thin film (stick on) panels. The panels need to be kept cool. The cooler the better, but stuck to a metal roof with no air flow would be bad. They might not last even a year in that condition. Our panels are thin film (Cad-Tel). I have all the technical documentation on this but it's propritary. Just don't do it.
Third contact Grid Alternatives. They are a non-profit that installs solar power for economically disadvantaged people in California for free. They have an inland empire division. They might be able to help you if you ask. I have worked with them in San Luis Obispo County. I know they are now in Riverside.

I sent an email to Grid Alternatives, since they have installed systems in nearby Barstow CA, though they may still say I'm not in their area, I don't have anything to lose.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

My brother has a full solar roof in the mountains outside Salt Lake City and is making a killing. If it wasn't for our gray falls I'd consider it

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I received an email from the Grid Alternatives SASH program, I left the required info, now I wait.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Our government doesn't grant any subsidies anymore for solar panels since last year. They've become quite popular here.

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rOZZ
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My parents just got in before the government killed the subsidies (by about a week). They have a large 16 panel system with a total theoretical output of 4kW. They get paid 21p/kWh generated, regardless of whether it's used in the house or goes to the grid (feed-in tariff).
In the two years or so that it's been on the roof it has generated just over £1700 return, which at an installation cost of £11,000 is just under 13 years to break even.
So one needs to stay in the house for quite a while to start saving money on such a system, fortunately my mother plans to leave the house feet first so that's not a problem.

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Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.

Eric and I are scheduled for solar installation this coming spring.

If our system breaks even in 5-7 years, I am fine with that.

I would say that you would be doing very well if it did. I assume of course that you have factored in how much interest that you would have earned on the capital sum that you will be paying to have the system installed. But I am quite sure that Eric & you would have carefully researched all this and would not be going ahead unless it costed in within a reasonable timescale.

Californian sunshine is of course quite different from the lukewarm stuff we get here on occasions. I and the raccoons will be interested to to see how things pan out.

We are not going solar with a primary goal of saving money, although of course that is a nice long term benefit! We are going solar because in sunny California it is the right thing to do, if one reasonably can, in order to reduce one's carbon footprint.

A consideration of potential interest earned on capital expended was not part of the calculation that was done by the solar company. They reviewed, with our permission, only our energy bills paid out over a duration of one full year. If Eric and I did not have a primary "green" goal in mind with this installation, we might have taken other factors into consideration.

What will be the expected KW/H output on a good day?

Based on our roof size and orientation our annual energy production is predicted at 6,529kWh. I don't know yet what a "good day" vs a "bad day" will look like. Our array is expected to measure 318 square feet.

What will be the expected KW/H output on a good day?

Based on our roof size and orientation our annual energy production is predicted at 6,529kWh. I don't know yet what a "good day" vs a "bad day" will look like. Our array is expected to measure 318 square feet.

Your numbers may vary but a square yard receives about 1000 watts of sun so at 10% conversion a square yard produces about 100 watts peak power.

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What will be the expected KW/H output on a good day?

Based on our roof size and orientation our annual energy production is predicted at 6,529kWh. I don't know yet what a "good day" vs a "bad day" will look like. Our array is expected to measure 318 square feet.

The real question is

"Will you now have to do more cooking, to use all this "free" energy?

What will be the expected KW/H output on a good day?

Based on our roof size and orientation our annual energy production is predicted at 6,529kWh. I don't know yet what a "good day" vs a "bad day" will look like. Our array is expected to measure 318 square feet.

Is that your total yearly usage Angela? Seems a lot... A regular family of 4 people in Belgium uses around 3500 kWh without electrical heating. Of course, when your heating is on electricity, then the usage on your exclusive nightmeter can go up to 10000 kWh a year.

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rOZZ
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our annual energy production is predicted at 6,529kWh

Reading what she says, that should be what the solar installation produces, not what Angela's household uses.

Upon that basis, maths says that is equal to 745W/h output per 24 hour day. Assuming an 8 hour night, that gives 16 hours of daylight so it would need to generate 1117W/h, approx 1KW/h during that time.

Not enough to run a washing machine or a microwave I would have thought, but less needed to be bought from the grid during that daylight time. It will save them some money when the payback period is over, but as Angela says, that is NOT the prime reason for doing this.


p.s. Julie, are you sure your figures are yearly and not monthly?

Yes Chris, I see them everyday. Belgians are known though for their small ecological footprint:)

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rOZZ
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UK figures

The average electricity consumption is 4,800 kWh per household
The average gas consumption is 18,000 kWh per household.

For October 2013 to October 2014 our own figures were

Electricity 7,757 kWh
Gas 14,326 kWh

No wonder Belgian energy suppliers can't make any money!!

Average gas consumption from a 4 people household would be 19000 kWh over here and believe it or not, Luminus makes a hell of a lot of money! They obtain their capital mainly because of their professional customers and their extra services like the Comfort Service.

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rOZZ
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Ok after doing some searching for 1 whole years worth of electric bills, I know how many KW I used in 2013-2014...

6,852 KW

And this is with just 1 PC with 1 gpu...

I don't know what it will be like with,

3 PCs, using 20 gpus and 4 Platinum psus...

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

3 PCs, using 20 gpus and 4 Platinum psus...

Vic ........

They will be using up electricity, just being complete.

Those might 3 might add another 1,679 KW + 6,852 KW = 8,531 KW.

And I have no idea how much real central a/c would add, probably 200-500KW a month since 2 months are in the 400KW hour range, most are in the 500-800KW hour range. That's a guess on My part.

This might require 6,000w of panels or 24 - 250w panels.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

3 PCs, using 20 gpus and 4 Platinum psus...

Vic ........

They will be using up electricity, just being complete.

Those might 3 might add another 1,679 KW + 6,852 KW = 8,531 KW.

And I have no idea how much real central a/c would add, probably 200-500KW a month since 2 months are in the 400KW hour range, most are in the 500-800KW hour range. That's a guess on My part.

My rigs use a lot as well, I used up around 3000kWh total on day and night meter and 6000 kWh on the Excl nightmeter the last year, I paid sufficient monthly invoices. I will get my yearly invoice in Februari with a credit of 533 euros! (made the calculation today) Woohoo!!

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rOZZ
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3 PCs, using 20 gpus and 4 Platinum psus...

Vic ........

They will be using up electricity, just being complete.

Those might 3 might add another 1,679 KW + 6,852 KW = 8,531 KW.

And I have no idea how much real central a/c would add, probably 200-500KW a month since 2 months are in the 400KW hour range, most are in the 500-800KW hour range. That's a guess on My part.

My rigs use a lot as well, I used up around 3000kWh total on day and night meter and 6000 kWh on the Excl nightmeter the last year, I paid sufficient monthly invoices. I will get my yearly invoice in Februari with a credit of 533 euros! (made the calculation today) Woohoo!!

I`m burning approx 10.000 KWH a year.
6000 is just my PC.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

3 PCs, using 20 gpus and 4 Platinum psus...

Vic ........

They will be using up electricity, just being complete.

Those might 3 might add another 1,679 KW + 6,852 KW = 8,531 KW.

And I have no idea how much real central a/c would add, probably 200-500KW a month since 2 months are in the 400KW hour range, most are in the 500-800KW hour range. That's a guess on My part.

My rigs use a lot as well, I used up around 3000kWh total on day and night meter and 6000 kWh on the Excl nightmeter the last year, I paid sufficient monthly invoices. I will get my yearly invoice in Februari with a credit of 533 euros! (made the calculation today) Woohoo!!

I`m burning approx 10.000 KWH a year.
6000 is just my PC.

Oh my...

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rOZZ
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