I have been intrested in solar for years but the upfront cost always stoped me. Due to having been quarantined 2times for covid exposure it looks like I can take some cash out of my 401 without the penalty. With Bidens environment and tax plans the markets will have to drop, and economy suffer as well.

So instead of taking the loss I can invest in a 10 kw grid tied system and have about a 8-10 year pay back. That should eliminate my electric bill except for in the summer wher I will still have about a $150 bill 3 months.
Rates will only rise as well reducing pay back time.

It looks good on paper but I'm sure I'm missing something.

One of the things I would look out for is to see if your homeowner insurance covers the solar equipment. I have been told that some do and some don’t. Most people that I have met appear to be happy with them. It also depends on how much sunlight one gets throughout the year.

We put in a 70 KW system. This is enough solar to bank generation and air dry our stored grain (90,000 bu). It runs through 4 inverters. Very pleased with the setup. ROI was 7 years. Warranty on the German made panels is 20 years, no brainer! Look into federal grants through USDA and state tax credits, saved us roughly 30% of the cost. Paradise Energy installed ours, check their website out, a lot of good info on there.

John

That's one big system. Good to hear you like it.

I see you're from IN. I'm in IN as well. I just finished some work for a solar company in Flora that are a good bunch of people. Depending on where you are, that might be good. If you want the number let me know.

I have a sister in Phoenix. They have had solar 6 or 7 years and they love it. Of course there is plenty of sun.

My parents just bought a place that has a tesla solar system.
The last ower still owed 40 grand on the system that they paid off. System works great but for those types of costs? Moms electric bill did hit $75 this summer but she keeps the house at 69 degrees. House is only 5 years old so the system is newer then that

Just got ours producing yesterday, awesome 11 kw system produces 110 precent of our needs, was 29 k
But with state and fed rebates that end this month we will get back 10k next year at refund time, will turn that right ack on the balance and refinance a lower payment to pay off quicker

I waited till the panels produced more at less cost, took five years and then the rebates ending and or dropping where you live, was time to jump, my panels are German 3.25 generators 34 panels, install two days, waiting for net meter two months, got first six months paid for buying a large system and a 25 year full warranty ,,15 year
Roof damage warranty as well, Ive already got credits building with even the use on home

I will be quad making payments to make my return only 8 years long, we have no regrets!!

If you have a system installed before the end of the year you can take a 26% tax credit. There is still a credit in 2021, but the percentage goes down to 22% and the credit ends in 2022 unless congress extend it.

I have a 10kw system.
Have had it since 2017.
Also have a a battery backup, lead acid batteries, 48V. (8 6v batteries).

Our house is all electric tho we heat with wood. Have all the usual items and maybe more, 2 freezers, ERV, lift pump for septic, water softener, Iron filter
Tho we use all LEd bulbs and our sump pump never runs. High efficiency water heater.
Have a 900 sq ft work shop that is heated with a elec. boiler.
Use the elec. heat in the house very little, only in early fall or late spring during cold snaps.

Our elec. bill runs approx $500-$800/yr.
Develop credits starting in April and run that till Oct., so a solid 6 months of the year.
We are only paid .04/kw for any power we produce over and above we pull from the grid. Know others that use different power co that get paid .014/kw and they do much better. If we got paid the same we'd only pay approx $150-450/yr total.
Plus we have to pay a "co-generation fee" that costs approx $20/month.

Biggest downside to solar many do not realize is that most systems do not use the power they generate. Its sent to the grid. So when you have a power outage your solar has to be disconnected from the grid (done automatically with a box provided by power co.) so that lineman can't get fried. So even tho you have solar when the grid goes down your out just like everyone else.

Unless your system is setup to actually use the power you generate. When there is a battery backup there is a "program" that determines an order of operations for the generated solar. Ours is 1st charge batteries, 2nd supply power to house and last is send excess to grid. There is a also an order for running the house. 1st draw from solar, 2nd draw from grid and last draw from batteries. So at night when grid is down and no solar we run on batteries.

Our small battery backup is only good for approx 1 night. even at reduced usage. But next day it doesn't take long to get batteries charged. Maybe 2-3 hours of sunshine.

As far as payback, hard to tell. At our last house we spent approx $4000/ yr on power between electric, LP gas and occasional wood. So we are saving approx $3200-$3500/yr on power bills. Not really apples to apples but I think it works. When all done and said we had to pay approx 25K for our system. So payback is approx 7-8 yrs.

A couple of things to consider.
Place panels on a steep roof if possible (45 deg is good). This will help in winter production and it will allow snow shed off panels much quicker.
Try to use as much power as you make and don't send back to grid if possible. Wife runs appliances during the days as much as practical.
Plan system for max winter production. Summer will exceed what you can use even with system set for winter production and you can't save the power for long periods of time.

Biggest issue in my mind is batteries. Tesla batteries can be used to full cap. while lead acid should not be fully drained (usually 50% is recommended). But there is no battery available unless you want to fill your basement up with batteries that can store enough power for 30-60 days usage.

Great info. I was thinking a ground mount so I can easily have axcess and change the angle for summer and winter sun angles.

great read I'VE always thought about getting a set up

I'm in Fairbanks Alaska. The experts here say that a solar panel here produces 1 kwh per watt of panel rating per year. The electric coop here put up a big solar farm based on that figure.
I have 8, 265 watt panels on my house. Each panel has a smaill inverter on it so they all produce AC. The power runs in to the house through it's own meter so I can see exactly what it produce per day, per week, or per year. 8, 265 watt panels is 2120 watts total and that is on average what I get from them in kwh per year. The panels were installed in fall 2014 and spring 2015. 4 panels each time. My total out of pocket cost after tax rebates, etc. was around 8400 bucks. Our kwh charge is noticeably higher than you all in the lower 48 but the return will be well over 10 years.
Anyone starting a solar system should look in to the per watt average return in their area before putting up a system. In my case I would have been dollars ahead to have put the 8400 bucks in the stock market!

Do your research if you are still considering solar install.

When improperly installed, solar energy represents a serious fire hazard,

It’s something I may do in the future. I’m looking for property to set up a nursery on, I want to grow and sell landscaping trees, and many of the properties around here are CHEAP....because there isn’t a power line for miles. I could go buy 640 acres for $70k right now, but it’d probably cost me $200k to run power to it. 20k to put in a well. So solar may be the rout I go, if I can viably produce enough power with a reasonably priced setup to run a household plus garage, grow lights, etc.

I have not done the math to see if solar, diesel generators or running power to such a property is the most economical.

Grow lights consume a lot of electricity. I think you'd need a solar farm.

Jim

Great explanation Dirty D, thanks. Our 70 KW system automatically disconnects in a power outage, as you mentioned, so it does not put power back in the grid to danger the lineman working on the outage.

Also, you are paid a reduced rate on banked credits because you are using the co-ops infrastructure. Lines, poles, etc so only thing you are providing is power generation. Some think this is unfair, I think we are treated fair. Very pleased with our system. Credit value went way down but is starting to rise again.

John