Last month we had a solar array installed on the roof of our house. It consists of 27 solar panels (made in the USA!). Here's what it looks like:
For more, please jump over the orange solar flare...
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We had been talking about installing solar panels for years, nearly since we bought the house 10 years ago. There are several reasons why it took so long. First, other renovation projects took precedence (the kitchen, the bathrooms, the deck, etc). Second, once those other projects were done, we had to wait until we were sure we had the money to cover the project. We also wanted the installation to happen during a period of time when not too much else was going on in our lives (unlike last year, when we had multiple trips throughout the summer, including our wedding). Finally, I was just a little wary of how cost effective, and trouble prone, a system of solar panels is.
In fact, I needn't have worried on that last point. Solar panels of proper quality are almost maintenance-free, and some of the first panels made back in the 1960s are still working, producing electricity.
So this summer, we decided that installing a system of solar panels on the roof would be one of our big renovation project this year. It turned out to be very easy to arrange, and, relatively speaking, not all that expensive. The fellow in the area who installs these systems (there's only one company) quickly brought us an estimate for the cost of installation, as well as a list of previous customers we could contact who could attest to how well their own systems work. The references we talked to and visited all were very positive about their systems, and the estimated cost was about the same amount of money as what I paid to buy my Subaru when it was new in 2004. (Message: if you can afford to buy or lease a new car, you can afford to put solar panels on your roof, and unlike a car, a photovoltaic system will eventually pay for itself.)
Since July 23, the first day it went on-line, the system has produced a total of about 805 kilowatt-hours. On a bright, sunny day, the system produces nearly 50 kW-hrs, but even on a cloudy and rainy day (like yesterday), it produces just shy of 30 kW-hrs. Given that, on average, we use about 25 kW-hrs a day, as of now, there hasn't been a day when we haven't produced more electricity than we've consumed. That will change, of course, as we proceed from summer to winter. Hours of daylight will drop, and we'll have more clouds and precipitation, but where we live, we often get a foot or two (or more) of snow on the roof. Under that much snow, the panels will not produce any electricity. We're trying to figure out a method to brush the snow off of at least some of the panels in a way that won't damage either the panels or ourselves. While there are fewer hours of daylight during the winter, the panels work more efficiently at colder temperatures, so that compensates somewhat the drop in electricity produced during the winter.
The panels will pay for themselves in about 10 years, less if electric rates go up. However, how this happens is a bit complicated. First, off the top, there's a federal tax deduction of 30 % of the cost of purchase and installation. As for getting paid for the electricity produced, that's what gets complicated. Our system is such that we use our own solar electricity before we take any from the electric company; however, while we produce electricity during the day, the time that we use electricity is at night, which is thus drawn from the electric company. We have to pay for any electricity drawn from the electric company regardless of the fact that we're producing more than we're using, simply due to the time of day when we're using it. We now have two electric meters on the house: the first measures the amount of electricity produced by the solar panels; the second measures both the amount of electricity we draw off the electric company, and the amount of our solar-produced electricity that is sent to the grid.
We have to pay the electric company for the electricity we draw from them, but they don't have to pay us for the electricity our panels produce. It's necessary to find a buyer for the electricity we're producing. So we have contracted with a green electricity broker in New Jersey to buy our electricity. We send them our meter readings monthly, and they send us a check quarterly. I don't yet know how the costs and the profits will balance. Over the year, more money will come in for electricity produced in the summer, while costs will certainly be greater than profits in the winter. The estimate from the proposal stated that, over the year, the electricity we produce should nearly balance the amount of electricity we consume. But that's just an estimate.
There's a website where we can go to observe how much electricity our system produces per 15 minute intervals. Just what I need: another way to waste time on-line. "Honey, we made another 1021 watt-hours in the last 15 minutes!"
So begins our new big adventure in reducing our carbon footprint. In the nine days it was in operation in July, the system produced a carbon offset of 613 lbs. Anybody in the (admittedly shrinking) middle class ought to be able to afford to do this, and it's important to the future of the planet that as many people as possible do so.
Now on to the comments!
TOP COMMENTS
August 11, 2015
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From JG in MD
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From ericlewis0:
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From kbman:
This comment by One bite at a time addressing the common, destructive fears that Democrats express. From james321's recommended post Bernie Sanders in LA: Over 27,000 in attendance! This thing is real. The media needs to get serious.
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From Village Vet:
In Well left of center's diary Annoy a liberal about conservative bumper stickers, the following comment appears, written by Konnie.
From ZenTrainer:
In David Harris Gershon's diary of his response to Jeffrey Goldberg, was this most excellent comment by Kurt from CMH.
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August 10, 2015
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