ebinmaine , maine power costs , ideas

[peter lena 8,609]

the new London day , local newspaper , on line , NOV  5, Maine power costs article , just a thought , with all your projects , how about a sun following , solar power sun following grid ?  guy not to far from me , has one , open field , has to be at least 15x15 ft. that moves on its own swivel point . it follows the sun , charges batteries , and makes power , you might try this out on a smaller scale ,  your interest , creativity  could surely come up with a change to your costs , WWW.THEDAY.COM .  sparky , Pete  

[ebinmaine 67,421]

I'll share that site with Trina and read it later on today.

We've been thinking about adding partial solar for several years now.

 

[Handy Don 12,212]

46 minutes ago, peter lena said:

the new London day , local newspaper , on line , NOV  5, Maine power costs article , just a thought , with all your projects , how about a sun following , solar power sun following grid ?  guy not to far from me , has one , open field , has to be at least 15x15 ft. that moves on its own swivel point . it follows the sun , charges batteries , and makes power , you might try this out on a smaller scale ,  your interest , creativity  could surely come up with a change to your costs , WWW.THEDAY.COM .  sparky , Pete  

Vermont dairy farmers have gotten onto this technique planting the units in pastures. They are raised up out of the way of the cows.

Siting can be a challenge--as noted, you need open ground around it to assure adequate access to the sun/sky as close to the horizon as possible.

Of note, when used in snowy areas, they can use the tilting feature to shed snow or to avoid buildup.

[Achto 27,565]

Solar power is a great alternative. My only issue with it is that it involves either drilling holes in your roof or taking up land that will no longer be useful for anything else. Don't really care for for either of these side effects.

[CCW 1,293]

This past summer we put solar on our house.  Our front roof has a 96% solar exposure rating which is phenomenal.  There are rules about how much electricity you can produce based on the house's yearly load.  The system is designed to produce 106% of my yearly requirements.  On sunny days the twelve panels produce well over 150% and upwards to 350% depending on our usage that day.  It has been active for three months and our electric bill has been zero for each of those months.    Also, I am building up credit with the electric utility that will be tapped for those months I do not produce 100% of what I need.  We bought our system and each month I put $250 back into the account to pay ourselves back.

 

Regarding the roof.  Like all things done on a home by a contractor there are permits and inspections and all penetrations of the roof are fully weatherized.  I am not worried about the roof.  We also had a new roof put on at the same time which has a warranty that will outlive me.

@Achto @ebinmaine 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,535]

@CCW thanks for info...

 

Do you mind sharing two things?

Total solar installation cost and average electric bill? That'll get folks to a payback time horizon.

 

Ive looked into it here in michigan a bit but the payback for my situation wasn't there...

[ebinmaine 67,421]

Part of the consideration for Trina and I is that here in Maine we a VERY scant sun angle for several months of the year.  

The back of our house and the right side of the barn could be potential panel mount areas.  

The yard... Not so much. We're so thickly treed in that the panels would have limited application for large parts of the day throughout the year.  

Clearing large swaths of forest is NOT an option.  

 

Just now, SylvanLakeWH said:

the payback for my situation wasn't there...

Then there's this. 

Last we checked maybe 2 or 3 years ago a new system would have to work flawlessly for over 20 years before the investment payed back.  

 

 

[CCW 1,293]

@SylvanLakeWH

The cost of the solar was approximate 20k.  When looking at payback keep in mind that currently you get 30% of that back off the top of your income when doing taxes making the investment much more attractive.  My pay back will be in five to six years.  My average electric bill is less that what I am putting back in to my account, but I do not have an exact number.  My wife pays the bills I and I ignore them completely.  I just spend until she tells me to stop.

Edited November 7, 2023 by CCW

[CCW 1,293]

@ebinmaine  Now you can factor in a 30% of the cost of solar against your income making it more attractive. 

[CCW 1,293]

Today's solar generation so far and the other image is the amount we have generated since installation.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by CCW

[JoeM 7,873]

3 hours ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

Ive looked into it here in michigan a bit but the payback for my situation wasn't there

me too, to old now to recoup the investment.

Reran numbers. 

I just looked and my avg monthly KWH usage is 1600, we pay .15 cents per. looks like i about 8 years to break even and not sure what if any maintenance costs would be during that span. 

[CCW 1,293]

@JoeM Absolutely no maintenance.  They just sit on the roof doing their thing without a single sound.  Must be the most maintenance free thing I have come across.  Some friends have had panels for years and though less efficient than the new ones their electric bill each month is less than $10. 

 

[oliver2-44 9,731]

4 hours ago, JoeM said:

 

I just looked and my avg monthly KWH usage is 1600, we pay .15 cents per. 

Here our electric bill is essentially made up of 3 parts:

Energy kwh

High Voltage Transmission

Local Distribution. 

Each of those is roughly 1/3 the total cost per kwh, with Energy being a slightly higher percentage on the hottest and coldest months.

So out of that .15 cents we would still pay the High Voltage Transmission and Local Distribution cost for the privilege of having wires hooked up to your house when you need them.  These are loosely referred to as "Wire Charges"  

So you save about .05 cent  a kwh.

People complain about this, but it makes sense to me.  I'm going to need those wires on the coldest and hottest days which mean the heaviest loaded times.  So they have to size the equipment for the highest load times.  

 

2 hours ago, CCW said:

Some friends have had panels for years and though less efficient than the new ones their electric bill each month is less than $10. 

That amazing that there are no "Wire Charges" in your area! 

[JoeM 7,873]

4 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

I'm going to need those wires on the coldest and hottest days which mean the heaviest loaded times

Yes, out wire charges are about 4 1/2 cents per KWH. 

This thread made me revisit the whole matter. 

I suppose I am looking mostly at return on investment. The tax break is really not a deal maker.

Looking deeper, I would prefer the solar with battery and not need a backup generator. Figure the maintenance on batteries might kick in some extra cost over time.

Another factor now vs. when I first looked at these, is the new electric car chargers. Those add significant cost to the initial install, that train is on the track too. I just figure if your going to go, "go big!"

And of course the time to install is when a new roof is required but that is going to happen anyway. (not an add on but still cost)

So the upfront cost of the system I would want is about 40K, about 14 years at 0 power bill cost.

Hmmmm. Not much there for a retired guy.

If I was younger and building a new home, all the cost and planning could be incorporated in the build and mortgage. That would be the way to go. 

[ebinmaine 67,421]

6 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

That amazing that there are no "Wire Charges" in your area! 

That's part of our issue here.  

Just to HAVE an account we pay about $29 a month for the barn and more ((??)) For the house. More because it's a "primary" account. 

With NO heat or AC figured into the price we pay about $140 a month and we live conservatively. You figure half of that is the absolute minimum. Not able to be eliminated.  

Most of the year it's higher. 

 

It's possible the numbers may make sense here over a long term. 

But..... Trina and I are both very open minded about moving further north given the right opportunity. 

We have a realistic understanding that we'll be in this house for either one day or two decades. That has to be accounted for as well. 

Return on investment.....??

 

[CCW 1,293]

9 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

That amazing that there are no "Wire Charges" in your area! 

 

We do have wire charges but those are covered by the solar we generate.  Let's look at how it works.

When solar is installed a new meter is put on the building.  It is a net meter.  When I generate more than I use the extra is sent back into the electric grid and I am credited for every KW sent.  Essentially it becomes an electrical bank account.  If I have enough in this account then it covers the wire charges.  As of the end of the last billing cycle I have $87 in this account and each month I generate more than I use this fund increases with the $10 wire charged paid for.  

 

[CCW 1,293]

4 hours ago, JoeM said:

I would prefer the solar with battery and not need a backup generator. Figure the maintenance on batteries might kick in some extra cost over time.

 

 

I gave a look at batteries but they are really expensive and only good for a day or two.  I think it was 18K for one battery and I would need two.  I sticking with the generator that is not used very often.

[CCW 1,293]

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

 

We have a realistic understanding that we'll be in this house for either one day or two decades. That has to be accounted for as well. 

 

 

My wife often spoke about moving and I told her is has to be done before I turn 70. Now just a few months shy of my 70th we plan on being in our home for years to come.  This did factor into our decision.

[RJ Hamner 1,007]

On 11/7/2023 at 1:49 PM, CCW said:

@SylvanLakeWH

The cost of the solar was approximate 20k.  When looking at payback keep in mind that currently you get 30% of that back off the top of your income when doing taxes making the investment much more attractive.  My pay back will be in five to six years.  My average electric bill is less that what I am putting back in to my account, but I do not have an exact number.  My wife pays the bills I and I ignore them completely.  I just spend until she tells me to stop.

Does she have a sister?

Just asking for a friend.