Solar Panels

[rbbarry]

Curious how many of you have solar panels on your homes and if it helps in a big way to reduce cost for charging your EV.

 

[HC_79]

I was quoted around $50K to install solar panels and battery wall. For me with the current power bill it would be a 10 year ROI and that's banking on the fact I would never receive a power bill again. Speaking to owners in the community some say they don't get a power bill and others say they do so I didn't want to drop or finance $50K on solar to still have a monthly bill. It's expensive and not even sure if it adds value to your home if you sell. Eg: You pay $50K does it add $50K to your homes value or only $10K etc.

 

[rbbarry]

I was just quoted about 30k, but with incentives, and rebates, it will end up costing me closer to 12k. It will take me about 7 years to recoup the costs after all rebates and tax incentives...

 

[DeaneG]

I installed solar in 2010 when it was close to $10/watt. Still waiting for the payback.

 

[rbbarry]

I installed solar in 2010 when it was close to $10/watt. Still waiting for the payback.

I think now it is like 3.4/watt

 

[hydbob]

I was quoted around $50K to install solar panels and battery wall. For me with the current power bill it would be a 10 year ROI and that's banking on the fact I would never receive a power bill again. Speaking to owners in the community some say they don't get a power bill and others say they do so I didn't want to drop or finance $50K on solar to still have a monthly bill. It's expensive and not even sure if it adds value to your home if you sell. Eg: You pay $50K does it add $50K to your homes value or only $10K etc.

If you are on SCE, you will always have a bill no matter what, actually anyone who tells you otherwise is lying because there is a minimum of roughly $30 for grid connection stuff. My electric bill went from $750/mo in summer to $100 this past 30 days. I'd call it a win

 

[Bobby]

We installed a 13kW system in late 2014; it paid for itself within about five years, and now we are living on free electricity, including an electric car (soon to be 2). The laws have since changed here in San Diego and solar is not as economical as it once was, though. When we got it, it was a direct offset to usage. No longer, but we are grandfathered in to that system for a total of 20 years. Lots of sun here!

 

[borski]

If you are on SCE, you will always have a bill no matter what, actually anyone who tells you otherwise is lying because there is a minimum of roughly $30 for grid connection stuff. My electric bill went from $750/mo in summer to $100 this past 30 days. I'd call it a win

Same with PG&E. Their is a minimum grid interconnection fee, plus delivery charges for any power you take from the grid. Still saved me a buttload of money.

 

[SubSailor]

Curious how many of you have solar panels on your homes and if it helps in a big way to reduce cost for charging your EV.

As mentioned before, I have a 9.6kW system with two Tesla Powerwallls. I live in Tucson so summer heat is horrendous and the HVAC system is going. I spend less than $280 a year on electricity but my ROI is around 8 years. I have 3 HVAC units and charge a Tesla M3 plus 2 golf carts. I think it is the only way to go in AZ but not sure if I lived in CT still. I will be charging QG/Tahoe GT soon so I am ready. I use powerwalls after sun goes down and use very little grid power if I power down by 10 pm. The summer dictates my highest bills because of the HVAC systems including the ductless system in the garage. At my age, I am enjoying life and what it entails...I am where I am, because that is where I wanted to be. Bring on my GT soon!!!!!

 

[Tim-in-CA]

I have solar and 2x Powerwalls here ... I am on my LAST DAY of my first year TrueUp. I currently have about 2500kWH excess generation for they year which will equate to a piddly ~$100 excess generation refund back to me. With one year under my belt, I now know how I can adjust my usage. I have been running the AC and charging my Tesla more at home the last few months seeing as I knew I was trending to have excess, I was previously using either free charging at work or free super charging when needed. Once the Lucid arrives, I'll probably use a mixture of home charging and free EA charging. For me, solar was the smart choice as my bills frequently have either been negative (the had the California Climate Credit) or less than $15 per month for the year. I estimate my payoff to be approx 8 years but honestly will be sooner with electricity prices going up and not having to pay for gasoline!

 

[EVCar]

I was just quoted about 30k, but with incentives, and rebates, it will end up costing me closer to 12k. It will take me about 7 years to recoup the costs after all rebates and tax incentives...

I was quoted 30K for 3 Powerwalls added to my existing 9Kw system. This is after all the incentives and rebates.

 

[Tesla2.0]

I was quoted around $50K to install solar panels and battery wall. For me with the current power bill it would be a 10 year ROI and that's banking on the fact I would never receive a power bill again. Speaking to owners in the community some say they don't get a power bill and others say they do so I didn't want to drop or finance $50K on solar to still have a monthly bill. It's expensive and not even sure if it adds value to your home if you sell. Eg: You pay $50K does it add $50K to your homes value or only $10K etc.

You also need to factor in inflation down the road. Power isn’t getting cheaper with more EV adoption in coming years and summer is getting a lot warmer.

 

[Sandvinsd]

Since 2004! Paid for itself many years ago.

 

[MorganB]

I live in a townhouse and I would have to get an HOA variance for installation. My home is 3 stories so it makes it difficult to do anything on the roof as there are few willing to go up on a ladder and a cherry picker rental is costly. In addition generating excess power to put back into the grid is overly complicated with only certain power companies allowing it and only on certain plans.

 

[stratus]

Cost me 42,000 in Idaho, but with tax incentive not too bad. Was quite pricey due to my extremely steep roof and the necessity of having more panels than typical, including a few on the east side.
So far I am very happy with the results. 0 electric bills since, and I suspect that even now in the summer with constant AC going every day since July 1, it will still be zero.
I believe it is a worthy investment.

 

[GEWC]

We went with a Tesla roof as it was the cheapest and seemingly smartest option since no one would touch our roof (slate). I don't expect to ever see any return as they set it up all wrong and refuse to fix it because, according to them, since we didn't realize they were lying to our faces when they installed it wrong, it is our fault. I still think it is worth getting solar for its purpose but would never go with tesla again. Our SD house has regular panels and they have probably paid for themsrlves at this point.

 

[stratus]

We went with a Tesla roof as it was the cheapest and seemingly smartest option since no one would touch our roof (slate). I don't expect to ever see any return as they set it up all wrong and refuse to fix it because, according to them, since we didn't realize they were lying to our faces when they installed it wrong, it is our fault. I still think it is worth getting solar for its purpose but would never go with tesla again. Our SD house has regular panels and they have probably paid for themsrlves at this point.

Sorry that you had a negative experience with Tesla. Very unfortunate.

 

[GEWC]

Cost me 42,000 in Idaho, but with tax incentive not too bad. Was quite pricey due to my extremely steep roof and the necessity of having more panels than typical, including a few on the east side.
So far I am very happy with the results. 0 electric bills since, and I suspect that even now in the summer with constant AC going every day since July 1, it will still be zero.
I believe it is a worthy investment.

That is impressive. Our true up in San Diego used to be around $300 once a year. Here, even with our 16kw system, it was over $7k!

 

[stratus]

That is impressive. Our true up in San Diego used to be around $300 once a year. Here, even with our 16kw system, it was over $7k!

Ouch!!!

 

[GEWC]

Sorry that you had a negative experience with Tesla. Very unfortunate.

Yeah. It was literally 9 months of bad experiences (they trashed my yard too) then a year of silence and finally an "oh, we never fixed this? well, actually, it's your fault for not knowing any better, so there is nothing we can do". And i still find bits of glass and small screws all over every time we have a lot of wind.