Solar Question

Do you have a space for a ground based system without eating into your usable outdoor area? My roof also has very many cuts and dormers… A ground based system worked out best. They can put the system all the way to the property line because setbacks do not apply to solar.
If the back of the house is south facing, you make be able to have a patio cover that has solar panels.
 
With NEM3 you won't get paid much for your excess generation.. Even with NEM 2.0 you did not get paid for excess at the same rate that you are charged for consumption. You need to size your new solar generation to be about what you expect to consume. Solar is still worth it as long are you don't buy a bigger system than you need. It works without the battery.When bidirectional charging is available, it will support any excess/surplus solar generation.
You always have to size your system based on usage. You are incorrect about NEM 2. See buy/sell. Summary from my app. Maybe you are not in a PGE area?

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SCE in Southern Cal. You are getting a better price on excess. For 12 yrs, our annual net is close to zero. The couple of times, we had net generation, I recall maybe 10 cents per kWhr.
 
SCE in Southern Cal. You are getting a better price on excess. For 12 yrs, our annual net is close to zero. The couple of times, we had net generation, I recall maybe 10 cents per kWhr.
NEM 2 was very solar friendly. NEM 3 will kneecap the industry because most people aren’t able to afford the batteries.
 
NEM 2. See buy/sell. Summary from my app.
What's this app? I'm not familiar with this interface, and I am a PG&E customer.
 
Hey, I'm back for more collective wisdom. It's looking like our solar install will start shortly. Using REC panels, which should, in theory, provide ~60-65% of our yearly power needs. My next question would be batteries. It's my understanding that I can get a 30% fed tax credit on them, but only if they are included in the cost of the original installation. My local power supplier does offer net metering and I also have a 12KW back up Generac. So, do I really need them?? And if so, how much storage? Recommended batteries?
 
I have powerwalls, and you can install them any time as of new tax credit rules.
They are useful for peak shaving , but you have net metering so probably not effective for that use.
only issue would be back up. Powerwalls can provide back up power to an entire house which can be useful depending on how many power outages you have.
In theory power will be traded by auto bidder systems in future, so it would depend on how much value you have for stored power.
I value all power.
 
We have solar, net metering, and a 14kW Generac. I've decided not to get batteries because the Generac can supply power for far longer than the expensive batteries would. It's one of those things that sounded good in concept to me, but I couldn't get the math to justify it.
 
Natural gas or propane
 
Yea, that was kinda my thoughts. My son was discussing something about even if I had net metering, the utility co. could buy the excess at a bargain rate and sell it back to me at a premium, plus the transmission charge, but if it's a kw for a kw, not sure how they'd do that.
 
Powerwalls backup is pretty seamless and you actually have stored power and software is not bad.

And it’s a green technology so 30% off tax credit
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Powerwalls backup is pretty seamless and you actually have stored power and software is not bad.

And it’s a green technology so 30% off tax credit
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When we ordered Tesla solar, we specifically did not opt for powerwalls(they are required now). This was as we do not make that much energy, and any energy generated during the day(where lights are off, etc) goes to the grid in exchange for money by pseg.
 
Hey, I'm back for more collective wisdom. It's looking like our solar install will start shortly. Using REC panels, which should, in theory, provide ~60-65% of our yearly power needs. My next question would be batteries. It's my understanding that I can get a 30% fed tax credit on them, but only if they are included in the cost of the original installation. My local power supplier does offer net metering and I also have a 12KW back up Generac. So, do I really need them?? And if so, how much storage? Recommended batteries?
You don't need batteries. The Generac will provide your backup power during outages, planned and unplanned. The battery would help offset peak hour consumption. You can collect data on peak hour consumption for a few months to determine if a battery will offset your peak hour costs. Based on the size of your solar system, there may not be much excess to charge the battery. The battery could offset the peak hour consumption by charging at night during lower rates and using the battery during peak hours. You would have to have a lot of peak hour consumption (post solar) to get a return on the battery costs.
 
You don't need batteries. The Generac will provide your backup power during outages, planned and unplanned. The battery would help offset peak hour consumption. You can collect data on peak hour consumption for a few months to determine if a battery will offset your peak hour costs. Based on the size of your solar system, there may not be much excess to charge the battery. The battery could offset the peak hour consumption by charging at night during lower rates and using the battery during peak hours. You would have to have a lot of peak hour consumption (post solar) to get a return on the battery costs.
Actually, I don’t believe our rates vary by time of day. No peak/off peak.

I basically decided to see how it goes without batteries for awhile since I’m told I can now get the tax credit on a battery install at a later date.
 
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