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Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022

mattbruenig.com

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Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022

#181

Post by usefulcat »

UmYeahNo wrote: post #84
mrits wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Austin I'd like to see some studies on solar vs tree coverage. My empirical evidence would suggest that great tree coverage alone keep the inside livable on 100f+ summer days. On my house without trees I could barely keep some of the rooms cool.

That makes me wonder if the installation of solar panels on a roof act as "shade" similar to partial tree coverage in some way, since in many cases they add a thin cushion of shaded air between the panel and the roof. I wonder if that provides any meaningful shade or temperature reduction. Not making an argument either way, I just hadn't really considered if this was a factor until I read your comment.

The shade from the panels does make a big difference in summer, according to a friend of mine in Colorado who has had panels for many years now.

Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022

#182

Post by encoderer »

lostlogin wrote: post #152
matwood wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just bake new panels into the cost of a new roof. It's probably time for both after 25 years.

Eh? My crappy roof was installed in 1945 and has some life left. What sort of roofing lasts 25 years?

Asphalt singles

Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022

#183

Post by Jemaclus »

brianbreslin wrote: post #131

Slightly off topic, but is there a service that would quote out a new roof + solar install? We're waiting on doing solar until we need a new roof as ours is ~9-10 years old, and not near EOL.

You could consider getting a solar roof! I have no particular expertise here, but a guy down the street from me got one, and he loves it so far (~1.5 years into it).

Here's an article about it with a few vendors, including Tesla, that might help: https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/solar/solar-shingles...

Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022

#184

Post by hinkley »

secabeen wrote: post #155
eppp wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because net metering is forcing the utility to purchase power at the retail rate. It doesn't make any sense. It isn't a profit margin issue. There is a massive infrastructure and expense to deliver wholesale power to an individual customer and it has to be recouped. Either you sell back your power at some percent of wholesale or solar installs need to get a corresponding increased delivery fee.

What we need is a fundamental change in electricity billing. The value in a grid connection is in its reliability, availability and demand response (you can demand anything from 1 Amp to 200 Amps at any time, with no notice). The current usage-only billing model is broken. What we should do is pay a large flat monthly fee for the grid connection, then a lower rate for generation/usage, rather than bundling the delive…

I think you’re missing a different piece of the puzzle here which is that if I pay $10 for the first gallon of water and next to nothing for the next 500, I have an incentive to use more water and not less. I’ve paid for it anyway.

When you’re trying to solve public policy problems especially where conservation is concerned the notion of math gets complicated very quickly.

Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022

#185

Post by francisofascii »

eppp wrote: post #128
hbarka wrote: post #109

Assuming you are grid-tied, the reduction of electric bills is predicated on net metering, where the utility company gives you (ideally) 1-for-1 credit for the electricity you produce. In California, this was called NEM 1.0 and NEM 2.0. Every few years the California utilities lobby the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to chip away at the NEM program. This year the PUC voted unanimously to cut net energy metering an…

Because net metering is forcing the utility to purchase power at the retail rate. It doesn't make any sense. It isn't a profit margin issue. There is a massive infrastructure and expense to deliver wholesale power to an individual customer and it has to be recouped. Either you sell back your power at some percent of wholesale or solar installs need to get a corresponding increased delivery fee.

You have valid points. But it does make sense if you are trying to 1) incentive solar and 2) keep the pricing super simple for the average Joe customer.

Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022

#186

Post by jwineinger »

Dries007 wrote: post #90
atonalfreerider wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not affiliated, but Solar Wholesale is a DIY that can be 1/4 the cost of hiring a contractor: https://www.solarwholesale.com Even the wiring is DIY. Most people think this requires a lot of skill, but you are just adding an input to your panel board on your house.

Unfortunately where I live (Belgium), this kind of options result in a disqualification of any subsidy. They always require that the install is done by a pro with some certificate (even though DIYing electrics is actually legal here). I understand that there are reasons for this, but as someone with the qualifications but not the certification, I hate that I have to pay someone else to do things like this.

If the DIY discount (minus your time and risk) is greater than the subsidy, then doesn't it still makes sense to DIY?

Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022

#187

Post by eppp »

londons_explore wrote: post #172
eppp wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because net metering is forcing the utility to purchase power at the retail rate. It doesn't make any sense. It isn't a profit margin issue. There is a massive infrastructure and expense to deliver wholesale power to an individual customer and it has to be recouped. Either you sell back your power at some percent of wholesale or solar installs need to get a corresponding increased delivery fee.

Another option is to split the fee into a 'connection fee', 'transmission fee' and a 'power fee'. Have the power fee set realtime by a market. The price might go to zero if there is excess generation. Have the transmission fee capped by a regulator - and charge it for any kilowatt hours that enter the power network. Allow third parties to arbitrage and offer 'fixed rate' deals, so consumers aren't at the whims of an…

Congratulations you invented Enron.

Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022

#188

Post by mrguyorama »

Analemma_ wrote: post #159
hbarka wrote: post #109

Assuming you are grid-tied, the reduction of electric bills is predicated on net metering, where the utility company gives you (ideally) 1-for-1 credit for the electricity you produce. In California, this was called NEM 1.0 and NEM 2.0. Every few years the California utilities lobby the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to chip away at the NEM program. This year the PUC voted unanimously to cut net energy metering an…

Net metering is a regressive tax on the poor, because when rich people get solar panels and sell back to the grid at retail prices, the utility has to raise rates on everyone else to pay their large fixed costs. It may have been a good idea at one point when residential solar was so rare as to be effectively nonexistent, but now it has to be abandoned.

In my state, generation is still pretty "regulated" and the cost of generation is a separate line item on my bill, technically from a different company, from distribution. There's no reason at all I shouldn't be paid the same price per kWh for generation.

Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022

#190

Post by eppp »

oso2k wrote: post #161
eppp wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because net metering is forcing the utility to purchase power at the retail rate. It doesn't make any sense. It isn't a profit margin issue. There is a massive infrastructure and expense to deliver wholesale power to an individual customer and it has to be recouped. Either you sell back your power at some percent of wholesale or solar installs need to get a corresponding increased delivery fee.

No (potential) customer is required to make any company profitable.

And should a company be forced to subsidize a customer?
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