(Sorry this is a long one)
Back in 2022 I documented my Morton Building build of a relatively modest 32x24 with 14' walls here on on GJ in this thread:
www.garagejournal.com
Concurrently we had begun working with a reputable company for a fairly robust grid-tied solar system for net metering here in NH. At the time there was some interest in how that solar build progressed etc. and as life sometimes moves quickly I never got around to following up on that project until now. But, I can now also provide some thoughts on what it has been like living with the solar system for the past 2+ years.
We needed the Morton completed as we were going to put 15 of the 39 panels on the roof. The other 24 panels were going to be on 2 stand-alone 4x3 arrays along the driveway adjacent to the Morton. Those 39 panels make up our 16kw system. The feeds from the 3 panel locations are consolidated at the Morton and then a trench was dug down he driveway to our garage and into an Enphase unit. There is also a system switch built in for when we lose grid power as we also have a Kohler full house standby generator setup and when that kicks on we need the solar tie to the grid to be killed to avoid issues.
Clearly, we use a boatload of power here as we both work from home, we are on well-water which of course uses power every time we turn on the faucet, hot tub, A/C, Forced hot air heat etc. so we are prime for supplementing with solar. For me, it is really a retirement play to minimize our power expenses (we're 50yo now). Can't control property taxes, healthcare costs etc. but I can do something about minimizing our power expenses and if we decide to add an EV to the vehicle collection we could also supplement that as well.
I say supplement as we are in New Hampshire and surrounded by trees and have the shortened winter sun as well as snow cover, newsflash solar panels don't really do much with 2' of snow on them and clearing them isn't really a great option without risking damage.
The Financials & Numbers:
The system was pricey (~$90K before tax rebate) as we opted for nothing on our house roof as I didn't want to pay off the system only to have to remove it to replace our roof, whereas the Morton is a metal roof that will outlast us most likely. Given our high cost of electricity and relatively high consumption (we had seen monthly bills of $400-650) the payoff timeline is really only ~8-9 years. 2024 was our first full year with the solar system and we made 62% of what we consumed for the entire year. We made 11.4MWh last year and consumed 18.4MWh. We make great power from March through the first couple weeks of October, December through February are relatively useless due to sun angle. We could and may take down some strategic trees to allow for some key additional mins/hours of good sun. We could also think about trimming consumption but all the large power consumers are efficient for what they are, but they exist and therefore **** power.
EDIT:
I forgot to mention, the reason for the 2 conduits is that we also took the opportunity to add a power panel to the Morton, and right now I have a couple outlets wired for quick power and lighting and will build out a full electrical plan in the coming months.
Back in 2022 I documented my Morton Building build of a relatively modest 32x24 with 14' walls here on on GJ in this thread:
Morton Building Build in NH 24x32
So last week I took the leap and signed papers for a basic Morton Standard building of 24' x 32' with 14' walls and a 12x12 door (and a 'people door'). Built building is ~$40K without site prep. With the prices of darn near everything being insane these days I elected to go with a "pole barn"...
www.garagejournal.com
Concurrently we had begun working with a reputable company for a fairly robust grid-tied solar system for net metering here in NH. At the time there was some interest in how that solar build progressed etc. and as life sometimes moves quickly I never got around to following up on that project until now. But, I can now also provide some thoughts on what it has been like living with the solar system for the past 2+ years.
We needed the Morton completed as we were going to put 15 of the 39 panels on the roof. The other 24 panels were going to be on 2 stand-alone 4x3 arrays along the driveway adjacent to the Morton. Those 39 panels make up our 16kw system. The feeds from the 3 panel locations are consolidated at the Morton and then a trench was dug down he driveway to our garage and into an Enphase unit. There is also a system switch built in for when we lose grid power as we also have a Kohler full house standby generator setup and when that kicks on we need the solar tie to the grid to be killed to avoid issues.
Clearly, we use a boatload of power here as we both work from home, we are on well-water which of course uses power every time we turn on the faucet, hot tub, A/C, Forced hot air heat etc. so we are prime for supplementing with solar. For me, it is really a retirement play to minimize our power expenses (we're 50yo now). Can't control property taxes, healthcare costs etc. but I can do something about minimizing our power expenses and if we decide to add an EV to the vehicle collection we could also supplement that as well.
I say supplement as we are in New Hampshire and surrounded by trees and have the shortened winter sun as well as snow cover, newsflash solar panels don't really do much with 2' of snow on them and clearing them isn't really a great option without risking damage.
The Financials & Numbers:
The system was pricey (~$90K before tax rebate) as we opted for nothing on our house roof as I didn't want to pay off the system only to have to remove it to replace our roof, whereas the Morton is a metal roof that will outlast us most likely. Given our high cost of electricity and relatively high consumption (we had seen monthly bills of $400-650) the payoff timeline is really only ~8-9 years. 2024 was our first full year with the solar system and we made 62% of what we consumed for the entire year. We made 11.4MWh last year and consumed 18.4MWh. We make great power from March through the first couple weeks of October, December through February are relatively useless due to sun angle. We could and may take down some strategic trees to allow for some key additional mins/hours of good sun. We could also think about trimming consumption but all the large power consumers are efficient for what they are, but they exist and therefore **** power.
EDIT:
I forgot to mention, the reason for the 2 conduits is that we also took the opportunity to add a power panel to the Morton, and right now I have a couple outlets wired for quick power and lighting and will build out a full electrical plan in the coming months.
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