Home editor's blog on going solar

Musings on going solar

solar panels with head shot of SCD editor superimposed on themIn the Editor’s “On Going Solar” blog section, I’ll write about experiences I have with going solar. While many of the entries will involve a description of the process of going solar, some will also be general musings on going solar. The entries about my, really, our – my wife and family are also part of the whole experience -- going solar experience will be more informal and more current than the articles about my solar-charged driving experience and my general experience going solar I’ve posted to the “SCD primer” and “Going solar” sections. I hope some of you find at least some of my musings on "going solar" interesting, potentially useful, and, ideally, thought-provoking.

Solar payback comes early for solar-charged driver

leaf-plus-solareditors-blog-entry3Solar-charged driving can, and does, save money.

I'll use our own example.

We're not solar-charged yet, but we're hoping to be within the next two years.

In June 2010, REC Solar will install a 5.5 kW solar system on our Colorado home. It will produce 8,000 kWh per year.

After the 30-percent Federal Tax Credit and an Xcel Energy Rebate, our out-of-pocket costs for the system will = $8,500.

Yes, this is a great deal, not one everyone will be able to get. But those in solar friendly states like Colorado, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, etc. certainly can get a deal approaching something like ours.

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High short-term costs barrier to long-term savings

afford-to-solar-chargeeditors-blog-entry3The interviews we have been conducting of current solar-charged drivers for SolarChargedDriving.Com make it clear that long-term savings are one of the great benefits of powering a plug-in vehicle partially, or fully, via home solar-generated electricity.

For example, after eight years and 137,000 solar-charged miles, J. Marvin Campbell of Culver City, Calif. estimates he's saved $27,000 (assuming gas costs of $3 per gallon). Similarly, Darell Dickey says he's saved $20,000 after seven years and about 107,000 miles of solar-charged driving. Several other solar-charged drivers we've talked to also say they've realized substantial economic savings by solar-charging an EV.

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What comes first - the solar system or the EV?

House.

We could put a 10 kW solar system on our home's roof -- but Xcel Energy won't give us a rebate if we do.

Want to solar-charge an EV (electric vehicle) but don’t have a solar system or an EV yet?

editor's blog logoYou might want to consider buying the EV first, then installing your solar system.

Why?

As we recently discovered, some utilities, including Xcel Energy, the utility for Colorado’s so-called Front Range where we live, might make life hard for you if you try to do what we tried to do:

  1. Oversize your solar system so that the system will cover 100-percent of your home electric use and 100-percent of the annual miles you log on an EV that you have not yet purchased or driven;
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Micro-inverters: Part II

Here's a quick follow-up to the entry I wrote about micro-inverters two days ago. First, I should clarify that Enphase Energy's micro-inverters have a projected lifetime of 25 years, not 119 years. Of course 25 years is considerably longer than the 10- to 15-year projected lifetime for traditional inverters.

editor's blog logoSecond, Enphase Energy responded very quickly to an e-mail inquiry I sent to them. It helps to further clarify some of the potential benefits of a micro-inverter based system. So, I've pasted it below -->

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Solar rebates falling nationally

solar panels

Utility rebates for solar are generally dropping right now in the U.S.

Nationally, rebates for solar residential systems are on their way down.

editor's blog logoThis isn't really news to me -- but the fact that the New York Times is now covering the drop on its green blogging pages is making me very anxious -- especially since we're still waiting to hear from Xcel Energy and whether or not they will approve our proposed 5.5 kW solar system with REC Solar for a rebate based on two brand new Econo-Heat, Envi heaters we just purchased on Saturday.

I estimate the heaters will boost our annual kWh consumption by about 2,200 kWh.

I know, it seems crazy that we have to add to our electric use to get the solar system we need to power a future EV, but that's how it is.

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