I forgot to post this at the beginning of December so here it is. I generated 700kwh of electricity and I used a total of 0 according to Xcel.
The weird thing is that the last two months the meter for my electricity has slowly but surely gone up. On warm days when it's sunny I make some headway on lowering the number on the meter, but most days I use a bit more than I generate. So I guess the number that Xcel sends me is the total, as in I've generated more electricity total than I've used total this year. That would certainly be true. I really wish I had a better meter so I could keep track of that stuff better. There is some more data in the bill, so maybe I'll go through and compile that and see if it helps at some point.
Showing posts with label solar power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solar power. Show all posts
Monday, December 13, 2010
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Woohoo!
I just signed and paid for the start of my solar installation. Current projected install start is mid-September, and will take about a week. I'm so looking forward to this and the hot tub. I'm having short powerful panic attacks about the amount of money I've spent in the last month. Good god.
So I'm getting an 8.4kwh system made up of 40 Sanyo 210 panels. It should produce far more power than I use on a daily basis. I'll start researching some storage units and eventually add them assuming it is legal for me to do so with the agreement I'll have to make with Xcel. The total install cost is going to be just short of $24,000. I'll be keeping very close track of all the expenditures so I can do reports on how it's paying off.
So I'm getting an 8.4kwh system made up of 40 Sanyo 210 panels. It should produce far more power than I use on a daily basis. I'll start researching some storage units and eventually add them assuming it is legal for me to do so with the agreement I'll have to make with Xcel. The total install cost is going to be just short of $24,000. I'll be keeping very close track of all the expenditures so I can do reports on how it's paying off.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Solar power - 6 months on.
6 Months On is an article up on Slashdot about someone that installed solar power on their house in Northern California and some statistics about how the power generation is working for them at the 6 month point.
I'm back to trying to get the money together to get solar installed...Here's hoping it works.
I'm back to trying to get the money together to get solar installed...Here's hoping it works.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Solar related
I've got a rep from Standard Renewable Energy (formerly Sunflower) coming out to the house today to give me an estimate, then next week someone from Namaste Solar will be out. After that I'll be making an appointment for Independent Power Systems to come out for an estimate. I need to find out financing options from all of them since the housing market here is so messed up that I can't get enough money to do the solar install out of a house refinance at the moment. So...if none of the solar companies can give me financing that is affordable, I'll have to wait until my house is valuable enough to get me a big enough home equity loan to pay for it. But at least I'll have gotten the specific estimates from the companies and know which system I want to be installed and by whom.
Hopefully the amazing mortgage guy I talk to is correct and this will be a short term dip here and my house will be back to it's most recent value in a few months. I wish my house were actually valued the way Zillow.com says it should be, but my tax assessment was as low as the current Realtor assessed value. As he pointed out, the foreclosure rate during the Great Depression was something like 34%, and even now at the worst its been in a long time, its about 4%. Of course, it appears the average house value in the US is plunging faster than it did during the depression...so maybe that 34% is just in the future yet.
Hopefully the amazing mortgage guy I talk to is correct and this will be a short term dip here and my house will be back to it's most recent value in a few months. I wish my house were actually valued the way Zillow.com says it should be, but my tax assessment was as low as the current Realtor assessed value. As he pointed out, the foreclosure rate during the Great Depression was something like 34%, and even now at the worst its been in a long time, its about 4%. Of course, it appears the average house value in the US is plunging faster than it did during the depression...so maybe that 34% is just in the future yet.
Monday, June 2, 2008
More Solar information.
This isn't going to be very organized unfortunately. This is information I've received so far by doing more research on the web, talking to Jeff Martin@REC Solar and especially from this great site Solar Dave. He's even offered to interview me once I get my system installed, which would be interesting.
At this point, I'm waiting to get estimates from a few other companies before deciding on what I'm getting installed and by who. And of course...financing. If I can't get financing that suits my current income none of this will be possible. I'm still searching around for options and talking to my incredibly amazing mortgage guy.
So here's a chunk of info:
Getting the rebate through Xcel requires that you sign a 20 year contract of some sort. The implication I've heard/seen so far is that you have to agree not to go off grid or install power storage in your house for 20 years. It makes sense...they are giving a gigantic amount of other peoples money in the solar installation rebates, and that money is given to them with the agreement that they use it to promote renewable energy sources. So basically Xcel is paying me a bunch of money to stay attached to the grid and continue generating energy via my solar panels and putting it back into the grid. I'm ok with that. I'd rather have some sort of storage so that if the grid goes down when the solar isn't producing enough I still have power, but maybe some sort of compromise solution is possible. I'll have to find out from Xcel and from the contract when I see it.
I've seen estimates that having an electric car or plugin hybrid increases your system size by about 1kW. Of course, most of the time you're going to be recharging the car when the solar isn't producing, so the 1kW is an approximation for how much additional power you'll have to generate with the system when the sun is available to offset charging the car at night.
I've been looking at the Kyocera, Sanyo, BP and Mitsubishi panels. This is just my take on things, but it looks to me that the Sanyos are the best of the bunch with the Kyocera and BP panels being tied for second and then the Mitsubishi panels are in last. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they're all good panels. Here's why I rank them in my mind the way I do:
Sanyo
HIP-195BA are hybrid panels of single crystalline silicon surrounded by amorphous silicon layers. This apparently makes them higher efficiency and gives them the ability to generate energy at lower light levels. If I remember correctly they are more strongly affected by high temperatures, but where I live that isn't a big deal since it doesn't get hot enough to show a difference. Getting comparable efficiency numbers out of the panel makers seems to be somewhat difficult, but these are supposed to be 17% efficient. Higher efficiency means higher energy generation per square foot, so in theory I'm maximizing the amount of power I can generate using higher efficiency panels. The problem being that they are $7.69/DC Watt. The cells are 52"x35"
Kyocera
KD205 GX-LP are polysilicon and have an efficiency of 14.2%. They have a cost of $7.00/DC Watt so quite a bit cheaper than the Sanyos. The cells are 59"x39". So not only are they larger than the Sanyos, they are less efficient.
BP
I haven't looked into these very well, I've been told they are pretty close to the Kyoceras.
Mitsubishi
PV-UO185MFS are 13% efficient, they cost $7.08/DC Watt and are 65"x33". So more expensive, larger and less efficient than the Kyoceras. Apparently people that buy them are buying them for the name.
Xcels rebate is $4.50/Watt or something like that.
Hmmm...that's all I've got at the moment.
At this point, I'm waiting to get estimates from a few other companies before deciding on what I'm getting installed and by who. And of course...financing. If I can't get financing that suits my current income none of this will be possible. I'm still searching around for options and talking to my incredibly amazing mortgage guy.
So here's a chunk of info:
Getting the rebate through Xcel requires that you sign a 20 year contract of some sort. The implication I've heard/seen so far is that you have to agree not to go off grid or install power storage in your house for 20 years. It makes sense...they are giving a gigantic amount of other peoples money in the solar installation rebates, and that money is given to them with the agreement that they use it to promote renewable energy sources. So basically Xcel is paying me a bunch of money to stay attached to the grid and continue generating energy via my solar panels and putting it back into the grid. I'm ok with that. I'd rather have some sort of storage so that if the grid goes down when the solar isn't producing enough I still have power, but maybe some sort of compromise solution is possible. I'll have to find out from Xcel and from the contract when I see it.
I've seen estimates that having an electric car or plugin hybrid increases your system size by about 1kW. Of course, most of the time you're going to be recharging the car when the solar isn't producing, so the 1kW is an approximation for how much additional power you'll have to generate with the system when the sun is available to offset charging the car at night.
I've been looking at the Kyocera, Sanyo, BP and Mitsubishi panels. This is just my take on things, but it looks to me that the Sanyos are the best of the bunch with the Kyocera and BP panels being tied for second and then the Mitsubishi panels are in last. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they're all good panels. Here's why I rank them in my mind the way I do:
Sanyo
HIP-195BA are hybrid panels of single crystalline silicon surrounded by amorphous silicon layers. This apparently makes them higher efficiency and gives them the ability to generate energy at lower light levels. If I remember correctly they are more strongly affected by high temperatures, but where I live that isn't a big deal since it doesn't get hot enough to show a difference. Getting comparable efficiency numbers out of the panel makers seems to be somewhat difficult, but these are supposed to be 17% efficient. Higher efficiency means higher energy generation per square foot, so in theory I'm maximizing the amount of power I can generate using higher efficiency panels. The problem being that they are $7.69/DC Watt. The cells are 52"x35"
Kyocera
KD205 GX-LP are polysilicon and have an efficiency of 14.2%. They have a cost of $7.00/DC Watt so quite a bit cheaper than the Sanyos. The cells are 59"x39". So not only are they larger than the Sanyos, they are less efficient.
BP
I haven't looked into these very well, I've been told they are pretty close to the Kyoceras.
Mitsubishi
PV-UO185MFS are 13% efficient, they cost $7.08/DC Watt and are 65"x33". So more expensive, larger and less efficient than the Kyoceras. Apparently people that buy them are buying them for the name.
Xcels rebate is $4.50/Watt or something like that.
Hmmm...that's all I've got at the moment.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Solar power for my house
I recently found out there is a company already doing solar power installations in my area called REC Solar
so I called to talk to one of their sales people. I'm definitely planning to go with solar power on my house, but I had expected the price to be quite a bit larger than it is, so I'd expected it to be several years down the road. However, with this information and a call to my brilliant financial guy, it turns out that there is a good chance I could get this done right now without destroying my finances. So I'm very excited about this. I'm calling today to get the installation estimate done which will give me more specific information.
Here's the info I have from REC Solar so far.
He said it sounded like I was using about 600 kWh electricity per month, which turns out to be drastically too low. But with that as a base, he said that a 3 kW system would provide about 2/3rds of the power I use. Apparently that's about what they shoot for in their installations. I said I wanted at least 100% solar because I was expecting my electricity use to go up in the future due to switching to an electric furnace. He said that was good planning and that I should mention it during the installation estimate. Anyway, here are the cost figures he then gave me (these are very general estimates).
3 kW
$23,000 cost - $13,000 rebate - $2,000 tax credit
6 kW
$16000-$17000 after rebate - $2000 tax credit
9 kW
$22000-$23000 after rebate - $2000 tax credit.
10kW is the largest installation I believe they do, and I might end up needing to get that. Either way, while that's still a lot of money, even the most expensive system from REC is about 1/4 the price I thought I was going to have to pay. Hopefully I'll find out soon.
warranty 10 year from rec on the installation
25 year warranty on panels (this includes specifics like 90% of original power generation at 10 years, 80% at 20 or something like that)
15 year warranty on inverter
The way I understand this to work at this point is that the solar panels will be installed on the roof (happily I have a good quality fairly new roof) and the power then run through an inverter and connected to my main house panel. I remain attached to the local power grid and I'm apparently not allowed to use any sort of power storage devices while attached to the grid.
The panels generate electricity during the day, likely a lot more than I use, and the power company pays me at some very low rate for whatever power I put into the grid. Then when there is no electricity generated by the panels, or when I use more than the panels generate, I pull electricity from the grid at the normal ridiculous power/kW price. Happily electricity is almost always more expensive during the day than during the dark, so the difference in cost will be somewhat in my favor. Still, it's very likely that I'll have to pay the power company money every month anyway. We'll see how that turns out.
There are many questions I still need to ask, details of the installation, options for equipment, shading, all kinds of things. One I need to know is if monitoring software/hardware is included in the installation. I'll definitely want a good power monitoring solution. I have to assume that when I have to get the house re-roofed that the solar will all have to come down and be re-installed. That seems like a fairly significant future cost. I suppose I should consider getting a bio-diesel generator also for times when the grid and it's dark.
If I'm really lucky I'll be able to get a refinance that gives me enough money to install the solar, fix the other small electrical problems, change some things about the plumbing, and get the rock and tile work done that I need. But that might be asking too much.
More as the story develops!
so I called to talk to one of their sales people. I'm definitely planning to go with solar power on my house, but I had expected the price to be quite a bit larger than it is, so I'd expected it to be several years down the road. However, with this information and a call to my brilliant financial guy, it turns out that there is a good chance I could get this done right now without destroying my finances. So I'm very excited about this. I'm calling today to get the installation estimate done which will give me more specific information.
Here's the info I have from REC Solar so far.
He said it sounded like I was using about 600 kWh electricity per month, which turns out to be drastically too low. But with that as a base, he said that a 3 kW system would provide about 2/3rds of the power I use. Apparently that's about what they shoot for in their installations. I said I wanted at least 100% solar because I was expecting my electricity use to go up in the future due to switching to an electric furnace. He said that was good planning and that I should mention it during the installation estimate. Anyway, here are the cost figures he then gave me (these are very general estimates).
3 kW
$23,000 cost - $13,000 rebate - $2,000 tax credit
6 kW
$16000-$17000 after rebate - $2000 tax credit
9 kW
$22000-$23000 after rebate - $2000 tax credit.
10kW is the largest installation I believe they do, and I might end up needing to get that. Either way, while that's still a lot of money, even the most expensive system from REC is about 1/4 the price I thought I was going to have to pay. Hopefully I'll find out soon.
warranty 10 year from rec on the installation
25 year warranty on panels (this includes specifics like 90% of original power generation at 10 years, 80% at 20 or something like that)
15 year warranty on inverter
The way I understand this to work at this point is that the solar panels will be installed on the roof (happily I have a good quality fairly new roof) and the power then run through an inverter and connected to my main house panel. I remain attached to the local power grid and I'm apparently not allowed to use any sort of power storage devices while attached to the grid.
The panels generate electricity during the day, likely a lot more than I use, and the power company pays me at some very low rate for whatever power I put into the grid. Then when there is no electricity generated by the panels, or when I use more than the panels generate, I pull electricity from the grid at the normal ridiculous power/kW price. Happily electricity is almost always more expensive during the day than during the dark, so the difference in cost will be somewhat in my favor. Still, it's very likely that I'll have to pay the power company money every month anyway. We'll see how that turns out.
There are many questions I still need to ask, details of the installation, options for equipment, shading, all kinds of things. One I need to know is if monitoring software/hardware is included in the installation. I'll definitely want a good power monitoring solution. I have to assume that when I have to get the house re-roofed that the solar will all have to come down and be re-installed. That seems like a fairly significant future cost. I suppose I should consider getting a bio-diesel generator also for times when the grid and it's dark.
If I'm really lucky I'll be able to get a refinance that gives me enough money to install the solar, fix the other small electrical problems, change some things about the plumbing, and get the rock and tile work done that I need. But that might be asking too much.
More as the story develops!
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