I think we might be going solar. Your experience?

Those whole house gensets are nice to have, but I think most of the people who have them will be shocked at the cost to run them the first time they really have to run the generator for any length of time.

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Gary in Central Ohio

But they can also require some expensive interconnect devices that make it not worth the effort.

When I mentioned grid tied system in my original post, I was not really talking about buy back system, but using the grid as an adjuct source of power when you exceed your solar capcacity. This allows you to build out your solar system in smaller chunks. At some point your power is covered and you can drop the grid or just keep the grid for large loards that are not cost effective on solar.

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Gary in Central Ohio

I think if its going to take 10-25 years to make your money back in saving i dont think its worth the price. What about wind generators, lot less money. I think right now solar isnt worth the investment/payback with the lenght of time it takes. Most people wouldnt invest in something that takes 25 years to pay out~

The paperwork got signed last night, the check was written, and the deal's in motion. Now all the paperwork for the state and feds have to be filed. We decided to go with a ground installation but I was surprised at how little ground they take up. I'll have to fence off a 14'x30' strip and I should be fine. They said they'd pay for the fence so they don't have to get up on the roof of the barn. ;D

Thanks so much for the discussion here. TnAndy, we have the state energy credit figured in; thanks for adding that. I was concerned that it was from state funds, but no; it's energy company funds (the law mandates that they kick in money) that is managed by the state. I haven't crunched the numbers myself, but DH sure did. Among the other figures he did a month by month spreadsheet about it's impact on our consumption and costs, with several different return scenarios. If he feels comfortable with it, I'm totally fine. He's been a wizard with our investments so far.

Gila Dog, you make a terrific point. Yes, it makes a lot of sense to start by being more efficient with what you use already. We've done a lot of that-- all appliances are super efficient, we don't do air conditioning, we have honest-to-Pete six inch studs in our house so we have a very thick insulation barrier, etc. One place we've been discussing a change is on a point of use hot water system. We have a big fat tank now, because *I* like looooong hot showers in the winter. My little luxury. But yes; beginning by reducing what you use is the smart thing to do.

I agree with those who don't see the generator as anything but emergency backup. Gasoline is still close to $4 a gallon here, so it's not realistic to use it for everyday use. We heat with propane, but that's pretty darn spendy too. I expect to spend about $2600 this year, and that's with a 96% efficient furnace. That's the only thing we use the propane for, too. And no, I'm not turning down the thermostat any more. I've had my days of freezing, and I hate being cold. It's 66-68 degrees most of the time, and that's cold enough.

Jenn, your figures are interesting! I don't think we'll be moving; we've been here 28 years and have no plans to relocate. Your figures look similar to ours, and after rebates the cost should be around $10K. We debated about leaving the funds in the instruments they're in, but this was just too fun to leave off the table. DH isn't very crunchy but he's certainly nerdy, and the whole idea has long appealed to his Prius driving side. It's just that this weekend his Prius driving side met up with his MBA side, and came to an agreement.

Thanks so much, everyone! You've made it a very interesting and helpful discussion.

Uh, no, what I was telling you about SRECs is NOT the state energy credit.....this a WHOLE SEPARATE deal where the power companies ( and it could be one a completely different State ) buy a "credit" from you for the renewable energy you produce. Do not confuse the two.

PLEASE go to the website, and keep up with what is going on in your State as far as that market, because it's a HUGE deal if you can participate in terms of ACTUAL CASH BACK IN YOUR POCKET year over year. ( we can't in most of TN, the area covered by TVA, and the contract I have with them specifically assigns any credits to them....which I suspect is one of the ways they pay the 12cents over retail for my power...I believe TVA sells these credits up in the Northeast corridor, probably making money on the deal. In New Jersey, for example, SREC credits have been going for 50-60 cents per Kw/hr.....NOW you're talking some serious payback !!)

Well, sounds like congratulations is in order here! Hope it turns out to be a good move for your family. I know it was for us. Good luck.

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Homesteading On The Internet
Solar Baby
Reflections of katlupe

Thanks Andy; I thought it was the same thing. I'll fork this over to the old man and see what he can do with it. The part under my state does indeed mention my electric company. This could be an interesting adjunct.

Thanks again!

Congratulations! We are still hedging- the local installer wants to put panels and I carefully got the right roof for these things http://www.uni-solar.com/products/co...-products/pvl/ so I'm hoping the local guy will get bored enough to do them for me.

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US Army veteran, military retiree spouse, and military; civilian; British NHS; and VA doctor.