ASD Dad Posted April 9, 2019 We've been debating going solar a long time. Old house wasnt really setup for it with many tall trees covering the south roof with shade. New home is wide open for home and garage. With the tax credits going away soon and net metering possibly expiring here in SC unless locked in we decided to take the plunge. Installed 38 panels on our detached garage (15kWh system). This was a month and a half ago. SC has had record rainfall all 2019. Last I looked we were 12" above normal for the year already. Lots of clouds, lots of rain. But - it is spring time so we are not using our AC yet and no longer really need the heat pumps either so usage is down. We just got our first bill from Duke today. $8.95 which is 100% admin fees! We actually made more than we used even with all the clouds so that goes into our credit bank at Duke for when we do use more power. Charged for $0 for electricity. Also got both our Fed and State tax credits approved by our CPA so that will cover 55% of our system costs. So far I am very happy we made the decision! 3 Bamps, radin2son and Mark Rogers reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted April 9, 2019 Time to put your house on wheels and boondock off the grid... 2 Bamps and Chris J. Dempsey reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark Rogers Posted April 9, 2019 How long do you think it will take to recover your initial investment? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ASD Dad Posted April 9, 2019 (edited) How long do you think it will take to recover your initial investment? Approx 7 years after the tax credits are applied to the loan. House is 2500 sq ft, 2 story farmhouse. Open concept top and bottom. We built it about 2 years ago. Electric heat pumps for heat and AC. Pretty energy efficient other than our pool. We did things like added a lot more insulation, thermal barrier roof sheeting, etc. Whole house is LED lights. Pool does have a VS pump to help bring that cost down but its a big 24,000 gallon pool. Edited April 9, 2019 by ASD Dad 2 Bamps and Mark Rogers reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted April 9, 2019 You would think Tucson would be “solar city,” but TEP is fighting for a reduction in what they pay homeowners. We have a small home and average $41 a month for electric; we would never pay it off. Now, if they came up with a plan to put “free” solar on our roof and charge us for what we use, we would jump on that. 2 Bamps and ASD Dad reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ASD Dad Posted April 9, 2019 We have some companies that offer solar leases where they install the panels but you dont own them, they do. You get a reduced rate on your electric bill. After the lease is up they come get the system or you buy it out. Duke is fighting both the net metering to get credits back and the rebates. They are also looking at hiking the min service charge from $9 to $30 due to so many solar systems going up lately. We have at least a dozen around us in the past year. They also wanted to hike rates 17%. it is a total scam but Duke has always gotten their increases in the past so we were not taking chances. We have a State bill that just passed unanimously to extend the net metering for now along with the rebates but we'll see how long it lasts. 2 Bamps and radin2son reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bamps Posted April 20, 2019 We ran solar for about ten yrs. in fact, we were completely “off grid”. Water was hauled in, house (700-800 sq ft mobile) was totally powered by solar. Very remote desert area. Heat kills batteries is what I found, you would think Arizona with it’s baking sun would be ideal for solar and we produced a lot. What we hadn’t planned on was the heat weakening the batteries to the point that much was lost. About every two years or so, we were spending thousand to replace battery banks. Two 1500w inverters could not power frig, AC etc all at once. Right now, I really appreciate my air conditioned house “on grid” with a 700’ water well and the power to run the pump to deliver that water. 1 ASD Dad reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chphilo Posted April 24, 2019 Got some pictures of your set-up? 1 Bamps reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ASD Dad Posted May 7, 2019 Got our new bill today - $0 in power used. Just owe the connection fee of $9. Made more than we used so building up credits too. 2 radin2son and Bamps reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andy_george Posted May 8, 2019 That’s awesome! 2 Bamps and radin2son reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ASD Dad Posted May 8, 2019 After looking at the raw numbers we made almost a full months worth of electricity extra that got banked as credit. Spring and Fall are the big months to bank power as the AC/Heat (we have heat pumps) are not running as much. Definitely happy so far. 2 Bamps and radin2son reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
