Solar Power - Shingles/Panels? Who's got what?

You should really ask questions regarding PV on a forum with experts in PV. I think you'll find that the ROI is very long and current PV tech still has the degradation factor which can make the ROI non-existent for most users.

Add in the $$$ for a energy storage, inverters, etc and you are looking at a serious amount of money that will likely never be recovered by you and will not add to the value of the home.

I wish you luck. Alternative energy is not what it's being marketed to be.

 

$600/month for utilities?

I would be buying everyone in the family snuggies...lol
http://www.thesnuggieshop.com/index.html

Thats alot of propane to go through.

 

Find a new propane contract. i filled my tank (500gal) twice over a year. So about $1200 last year, and that is here where we actually get cold weather for more than a couple of weeks. Not as big a house, 2000sq.ft, but still, holy bend over batman!

 

Those heating costs sound like a lot for NC.

 

A few years ago I read an article about PV. The jist of the article was, until you see a PV factory powered by solar cells, it does not make sense for home owners.

 

+1. It might make sense to insulate it heavier, seal any air leaks, and upgrade all those windows.

 

Forget about the solar crap. You will need the $45,000 to re-shingle the roof when the time comes. Or more. Jesus H that place is just fucking huge! If I have to stop even for a second and think about what something will cost me to maintain or keep caught up to monthly expenses, I know its probably not something I should do. But if you do dive in, I seriously hope the best for you. God help you. Oh and I just have to say this. Don't do it just because that's the one she loves. Women don't think about the reality of a place that big. Maintenance, taxes. They just want a nice house they can show their friends and family. I've seen so many marriages ruined over people living beyond their means. Seems to be a popular irresponsible thing to do these days.

 

I have a friend that works for Honeywell and deals with projects involving renewable energy. He tells family and friends not to invest in solar energy for our homes and at this point is just a waste of money.

 

And, I wish our electricity bills were $200/mth. My last one was $300. Our damn provincial government keep putting up f'king windmills and paying the operators 80cent/kwh.

 

$380 10 months pf the year? Lol someone was an idiot and signed a fixed contract. No way should it cost you that much!

We are on propane as well and so far 3 months of water heater only the 500gL tank needle has barely moved. Refil should cost about 200ish to being it from 30% to 80%. We'll see what winter does.

As far as PV. Here in Ontario we have MicroFIT program where you sell PV power back to the grid at 32c a kw. Our peak is 13c kw. Farmers, and large property guys all have PV in their fields and on their barns. With government subsidies the average return is 10 to 12 years.

Next door neighbour has a 10kw system on his horse stable abd its strickly for selling back to grid. Averages out to $1100 a month. $50 grand was his price. I think he mentioned 6 year return. After that its all $$ in his pocket even eith reduced efficiencies.

 

12c a kw for windmills 28c for ground mounted PVs and 32c for roof mounted.

 

Yep. You don't necessarily need energy storage to have solar panels. My parents neighbor has them and the power goes into the grid. Some months he produces more than he uses and gets money from the electric company. My understanding is that the feasibility of this kind of setup depends on what kind of rate your electric company will pay you. Some are more fair than others.


I was at another guys house that was completely off the grid. Not even hooked up. Batteries are the weak link in his setup, and he does have to conserve at times, but doesn't have an electric bill.


Ask around and get a bunch of opinions/estimates. There's lots of anti solar propaganda out there, and probably also people jacking up the instillation price.

 

Forget making your own electricity and focus on using less of it. Propane is petroleum, which means you get the same fickle market that drives pump prices up and down 200% every few years. Electricity, however is pretty consistent.

Geothermal is nice, but the initial investment is substantial, and in my experience most contractors who install geothermal probably have no business doing so.

I'd switch to an air source heat pump. Carrier/Bryant has some really trick stuff with fully modulating inverter compressors which, in a NC climate, probably run COP near or better than geo with less install cost.

 

Geo is good for new construction. The main sell is not having the heat exchangers as an eyesore. The geo lines can be run through the foundation. You still have a compressor, fan, coil, etc to deal with. And they cost a lot more than conventional.

Condensing furnace with 95% or better efficiency, variable output, and variable speed fan would be a good upgrade.

But in NC I'd be more worried about keeping the place cool in summer.

 

I looked hard into Geothermal. Hot climates like texas and such? Works great.

The system works well when it comes to cooling, not so much for heating.

Even at best the air coming out of the vents will only be a few degrees C hotter than ambient = the system working for a long time. How does the heat pump get the temp up there when you really need it? Electric heater elements.

I was reading first hand posts a guy on a forum was posting. In winter time his electric bill was so high he might as well have installed electric baseboard heaters and not spent 20k in doing geothermal.

4000 sqft is a biiiig house. Good luck with that one.

 

insanely wrong statement.

electricity cost legit just went up 150% in MA year over year while heating oil is now 1/3 of the price it was 18 months ago.

 

Really.
You're buying that pile and worrying about a few hundred dollars in heating costs? If it's an actual concern, you need something smaller, but I'm doubting it.

 

hope you're getting a good discount on the house cause that propane deal is ridiculous.

 

Nice place, I like the outdoor fireplace next to the pond, cool patio.
One question though….does the chimney on the home have black smoke stains on top, or is that mildew? It's not a good sign having chimney soot on the top of the flue. The flue definitely looks tall enough, so it shouldn't be wind or backdraft causing that.

 

That place is beautiful. I have a few friends that are in the solar business, out here. Im told out here your bill needs to consistently be over $300 per month to make it pay off, unless you have San Diego Power and Electric. They have a program that drops your KW electricity rate by 50% if you install a system.

How much is propane out there per gallon? Out here it is all over the place, but I found a company that for the past 4 years is under $2 per gallon, while others are up to $4. I use it at work for my forklift business.