School me on solar or wind energy

[txbowhunter08]

I’m fed up with my power company! My bill is always stupid high! I’m stuck with one company in rural area! My house is pretty energy efficient higher seer ac as well as all new appliance all lights leds Total remodel! New insulation and new double pane windows as well as 75 percent new insulation! Project was just completed and power company put out rates are being increased! With that said pros and cons of going solar or wind power! Im ready to pull the trigger if the long haul investment would be worth it!

[RiverRat1]

I'm 99% sure there is no pro to either.

I'd be glad to be proven wrong though. I hate paying the electric bill also.


It's this simple. If one could buy either solar or wind turbine and it pay for itself and make the homeowner money, then it would be a no brainer and everyone would be doing it. But they can't prove jack squat. Just fill heads with a bunch of hope like one of those get rich infomercials and then say you didn't do it right.

[BTLowry]

I think you might be able to install solar and decrease usage of traditional electricity but not just go full "off grid" with a full size house and all of the amenities that go with

But I will keep an eye on this and see

[Pedernal]

I think you might be able to install solar and decrease usage of traditional electricity but not just go full "off grid" with a full size house and all of the amenities that go with

But I will keep an eye on this and see

^^^^ This here is the key. You can add solar/wind and reduce your bill.

Things you need to now. Most solar companies will take you to the sack without buying you dinner. So you will need to find the right company.

Batteries are just to expensive and still not proven to be worth the investment. Full off grid won’t be worth it.

How much are you paying per kilo watt??

Can you change anything in your home to fuel it with something other than electricity?? I.e. stove, water heater, furnace, and or drier??

Lastly, do you have a large car port or barn?? I personally would not have solar panels installed over my home’s roof. A large car port or porch could partially shade your home. That would creat some saving of the cooling needs plus provide the structure to hold the panels.

[flywise]

Solar will never pay for itself and i doubt wind would either

[Mission408]

First thing I would do is solar hot water. Can reduce your hot water power usage to almost zero. And a typ electric tank heater is 20% of your electric bill on average. No batteries, it's a "passive" system and roi is about 5 years.

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[KX500]

Solar (without incentives) is a break even kind of thing (maybe).

We had looked at them for years, but the incentives weren't quite to the point where we could pull the trigger.

A couple years ago, we looked again and found that the incentives (in Illinois) were better and we would now only need to pay a bit more than 1/4 of the whole cost.

So we got solar panels and no regrets so far.

Total project cost was about $40,000. After all the rebates & everything, we're paying about $11,000 of that.

About the most important thing I learned through it all was this - Our solar panels are projected to make about $40,000 worth of electricity in their 30 year life span - and the cost was $40,000. With the rising cost of electricity, maybe we'll do even a little better than that.

But the bottom line is this - without the government subsidies, NOBODY is going to shell out $40k just to hopefully make $40k! Which leads right back to my 1st sentence.

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure the math for wind power doesn't work out any better.

[hopedale]

I'm reading up on it, and still learning.

Here is one of the videos that had some good information

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXk5AFH2LaY&t=22s"]I've had Solar for 10 Years... Was it Worth it? - YouTube[/ame]

I do know two people that have solar install. What they both have said is it is nice not having the big bill surprise.

One is paying the solar panel company $150 per month and the grid power is costing him $35.

The other is paying $185 (bigger system and house) and is paying the grid $50. However, he's getting another panel added at no additional cost and thing the $50 for power company is going to come down.

As for wind power, haven't a clue. But do check out that video the guy has a lot of information worth listening to.

Here is another video worth checking out -

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vox2ZYlGo2I"]8 Costly Solar Mistakes to Avoid When You Design Your Solar Panel Kit - YouTube[/ame]

[ken800]

I’m fed up with my power company! My bill is always stupid high! I’m stuck with one company in rural area! My house is pretty energy efficient higher seer ac as well as all new appliance all lights leds Total remodel! New insulation and new double pane windows as well as 75 percent new insulation! Project was just completed and power company put out rates are being increased! With that said pros and cons of going solar or wind power! Im ready to pull the trigger if the long haul investment would be worth it!

Lots of people have lots of opinions on solar and wind. I can only share my experience and knowledge. I'll try to state only facts below:

Fact: There aren't any companies that are going to install a solar system cheap enough for a short-term payback. Period. Labor and markups will crush you.

Fact: Unless your power company supports true "Net Billing" it will be even harder to recoup your investment.

Fact: The sales pitches and numbers the installation/sales companies make to sell you are highly optimistic. You'll never get those numbers. Most are selling 5kW systems. It's not enough to offset the cost -- not even close.

I installed my OWN system and it took forever. I did everything including all the electrical work. When I started the process my provider was a net billing provider. This means they total up used minus generated and then netted out. If I used more, they pay me. If I use less, I pay for the balance. They didn't like this so now they charge me for every electron I use (including those I generate!) and any overage goes back to them where they pay me about 1/2 what I pay them for the same electron. This simple little stroke of the pen increased my payback time on my solar by about 40%!

I put in 8kW on the ground with micro inverters. Though the system can theoretically output about 7200 watts peak in a best-case scenario, I'll never see that. I peak about 6533 due to losses from heat, sun angle, dust, and every other little thing that induces loss. I average about 40kWh every day over the month and about 1.1-1.2mWh per month. Some days I produce very little because of cloud cover and some days I crush it. Amazingly enough the extreme heat noticeably cuts output through losses due to very hot equipment.

I angled my panels to peak spring and fall and be a little less than peak summer and winter so that I get an "all-around" best overall output based on NREL solar data. I'm fortunate as I could align the angle and direction on ground where you are fixed by your roof angle and direction. This could cut your output by half if it isn't ideal.

Bottom line is the only way you can make this work is get the panels in bulk from a wholesaler and install it yourself. If you have net-billing you can probably get your payback in less than 10 years. If you pay someone you will never get there with today's technology level at about 21% efficiency. About the time you break even, it will be time to replace the system in 20-25 years.

[dbaio1]

Look at your annual taxes paid. Solar and wind doesn't come close to competing with out government funding and kickbacks. Aka our tax dollars. Then there is dependability and the truth on how green they truly are.

[sahunter]

tagged

[kyle1974]

School me on solar or wind energy

If you Put solar panels on your house, it comes with a 20 year financing bill and if you ever stop paying for them they can put a lien on your house.

Added to that, how many 15 year old electronic devices does anyone have in their house? Why would you tie yourself to technology long term that will likely be outdated before it’s paid off?

Solar and wind are both supplemental. They will never be the primary energy source.

[BlackoutRam2500]

If you do decide to go solar make sure you buy your system upfront and don't get wrapped up in one of those leasing contracts. I've heard horror stories about those.

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[rebelbow]

i recently priced out a 6kw tesla system with batterys that could also work as a emergency power back up for my whole house. north of $50000 not including incentives.
payout was 25- 30 yrs. i'm sticking with conventional and a propane emergency generator

[rebelbow]

i recently priced out a 6kw tesla system with batterys that could also work as a emergency power back up for my whole house. north of $50000 not including incentives.
payout was 25- 30 yrs. i'm sticking with conventional and a propane emergency generator