We have had a couple of threads on solar - here is the latest one:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...8&highlight=solar+system+finally+home+stretch
From my experience of having solar in California
Subsidies and Credits. There is currently a 30% Federal Tax Credit of the total cost of the system. On the next years tax returns, you apply for the credit and it reduces the amount of Federal Taxes you owe. Since most people pay taxes everytime they get a paycheck, you will probably end up with a nice check from the government. Your local city or utility company may also have some incentives
When most people talk about solar, they are basically talking about a 'grid tied' system. Excess energy you produce during the day goes through your meter and onto the grid to be used by your neighbors. Conversely at night or during inclement weather and your panels are not producing, you pull electricity from the grid. The 'grid' is basically your storage battery. The only problem is when the grid goes down, so does your solar. The Tesla Power Wall is still pretty new and still pretty expensive. I received a bid that would cost me about $10k to have a couple of Tesla batteries installed and at this point, it is not worth it to me
Sellling power back to the power company - does not really happen. What does happen is you have what is called an annual "True UP". During the course of a year, some months your panels will probably produce more power than you can use, and for that month you will receive a credit usually equal to the cost of the electricity per kWh - but this does vary from state to state. Some months you are going to use more electricity from the grid that you produce. So after 12 months, you settle up. If you used more electricity that you produce, you will have to pay your bill, If you produced more electricity than you used from the grid - they will pay you for the electricity at the WHOLESALE rate which is about $.02 kWh ( a fraction of what you pay for it)
Payback. You need to know how much you spend over the course of 12 months for electricity. Then get several estimated from contractors and take the total cost of the system and divide it by how much you spend each year on electricity. Example - $20k system minus the federal rebate or other incentives would put the actual cost of the system at $14k. $14,000 divided by an annual electric bill of $2,500 is 5.6 years would be the approximate break even point
Cost - For an apple to apple comparison, you need to find out how much a system cost per watt ($/W)
To calculate $/W, take the total out-of-pocket cost of the system that you are considering and divide it by the number of watts of capacity in the system. For example, a 5kW DC solar system has 5000 watts. If that system costs $15,000, then the cost per watt is ($15,000 / 5000W =) $3/W.
Roofing - In S Cal, most roofs are concrete tile so that is not an issue. I have heard that some solar contractors will write in their contract that if your roof does need to be replace down the road, they will pull all their equipment off, the roofers come in and do their thing and then the solar company comes back and reinstalls. So it depends on the area you live in.
VHS/DVR - valid point. Technology is always improving. Panel output has been increasing. You can buy panels that output 250w up to 400w, it all depends on how much you want to pay and how much space you have available. "Waiting" for the next big thing that comes along usually doesn't get you much
