Solar on a house in CenTex

[tomcatmv]

Anybody have solar panels on their house in Central Texas? I'm looking at a deal with an outfit called Sunrun where there is no charge for the install and they guarantee my power bill will be $140/mo.
Any advice would be appreciated, oh and our roof gets pretty much full sun even though we have about seventeen post oaks in the yard but they don't shade the roof much.

 

[Maggot]

Get everything in writing, read everything with a fine tooth comb, maybe have your Liar look it over.

Document
Document
Document.

That said, Solar energy has come a long way in the 50 years Ive been familiar with it. Some make enough energy that they can sell it back to the power companies. See if thats an option or do they keep any excess.

Warranty and your responsibility?

Check with the insurance co to see if it will affect your coverage.

 

[candyx]

Buy your own system for 10K at 140.00 /month 6 years to pay it off the rest of 14 years you can have free power plus sell some back to the power company.

 

[Crush]

Many of my neighbors have solar. Some bought their own panels and some made the solar company their new power company. Read and understand every word of that contract and figure out what your costs will be to remove and replace it all when your roof needs to be replaced. Nothing wrong with solar but the devil is in the details.

 

[candyx]

Many of my neighbors have solar. Some bought their own panels and some made the solar company their new power company. Read and understand every word of that contract and figure out what your costs will be to remove and replace it all when your roof needs to be replaced. Nothing wrong with solar but the devil is in the details.

I would imagine if a tree branch falls on the panels or your house catches fire your responsible for the cost of the equipment which you would have to add them to your home owners policy.

 

[NoDopes]

If you can afford the money up front, you'll get the federal tax credit and come out much further ahead in the long run.
If you do your own, or hire someone to just install, green mountain energy does straight buy back, but it's at 14.5¢/kwh. So that only works out if your annual production is close to or higher than consumption.
Octopus energy allows you sell back at wholesale (realtime) but will lock your consumption at 10.5¢/kwh for three years. (Only $10 ETF fee!) This is the route I'm going and in the middle of permitting process. Let me know if anybody goes octopus, I can provide referral code and we both save $50.
I'm adding batteries so will be able to do some automation to sell back more at high cost wholesale times and recharge from solar when rates aren't good.

 

[BAMCIS]

Solar has come along way..
There's some great info at NREL in Golden CO.

Solar Energy Basics

www.nrel.gov

Also a great free booklet from Backwoods Solar. It has some great info.
Description of set up per size home.

CATALOG REQUEST

BACKWOODS SOLAR – 2021-2022 EDITION – A MUST-HAVE PRODUCT INFORMATION & REFERENCE GUIDE The Backwoods Solar Planning Guide & Catalog is not only a comprehensive guide to our products and services…

backwoodssolar.com

 

[missed]

I'm in north Texas.

When they will "give" you a system.

RUN AWAY.

I repeat Run Away.

If you end up selling your house they will end up wanting way more than the system is worth. They don't give a F how it's installed or performs. They make there money on the fed rebates.

Find a good installer in the area and pay for the system yourself. Get the fed rebates ....

I have 7.6 kw solar edge inverter and 25 320w mission solar panels on each array. With a total of 2 arrays. My system did just shy of 40MW last year. Mine is on racks facing 168 degrees and at a 25 degree angle. I also wash my panels periodically. At least in my case I pretty much do not have a power bill. We got our stuff from the power store in Mansfield which was about the best on price I found anywhere.

Who is your power provider? If your on one of the co-op your in better shape.

Many of the Oncor or Texmex will charge for the power delivery and and you only get a generation credits which doesn't work out near as well.

Like others have referenced the NREL is a great resource.

 

[NoDopes]

Also, Sol-Ark has been dropping thier prices lately and support hybrid operation so you can run without grid, battery operation, and generator tie in. 8K and 12K systems. I have the factory direct DEYE version. Little more up front if you like those features. Most systems will go offline when grid goes down. Enphase micro inverters are nice and easy to install though, I'll actually have 10 of those on a separate run.

 

[tomcatmv]

Thanks for the info guys. I've got a few neighbors that have panels, guess I'll go talk to them and get their feedback as well.
Here in Texas we have a lot of choices with providers. I was with constellation but a few months ago switched to TXU but rates are going up with all of them because they basically all charge you with the Oncor piece. That and the last February debacle and subsequent State mandate that they all winterize their production has I'm sure had an effect on rates. Not to mention potato head's anti fossil fuel efforts.
Hell, we have enough natural gas in this country to last for a looooooooooong time.
And Crush, you're right about the details, even the solar piece aside, just researching and picking a provider here is a pain in the ass.

 

[missed]

Thanks for the info guys. I've got a few neighbors that have panels, guess I'll go talk to them and get their feedback as well.
Here in Texas we have a lot of choices with providers. I was with constellation but a few months ago switched to TXU but rates are going up with all of them because they basically all charge you with the Oncor piece. That and the last February debacle and subsequent State mandate that they all winterize their production has I'm sure had an effect on rates. Not to mention potato head's anti fossil fuel efforts.
Hell, we have enough natural gas in this country to last for a looooooooooong time.
And Crush, you're right about the details, even the solar piece aside, just researching and picking a provider here is a pain in the ass.

I'm on co-op line which I have seen is a much simpler arraignment. it can be done with Oncor. I'll ask my buddy what he wound up with. He does buy his power from TXU and is on Oncor line. He put same system in as mine just 1 array instead of two. We also put his in the back yard as a trellis next to the pool on a cedar structure it looks pretty cool. He wanted bi facial panels, but at the time they did not have bi facial panels that were residential or optimizers that work with them.

I do not have storage, I do have the inverters that are compatible with the backup interface and a 7kW Kubota generator, so even on a loss of power my system will disconnect from the grid and the generator will run so I will get power from the generator and solar during the day. The generator is enough to run the fridge, freezer, communication gear, and well. That and not burn retarded amount of fuel.

After snow maggedon last year the power prices are going to go up. United co-op which buys all there power from Brazos bases the power prices on the cost of natural gas which has just about doubled this year. Let's go Brandon .... Which normally our "Brazos power cost recovery" charge is typically closer to zero or a bit negative. Last couple months it's been $20-30 due to the huge increase in natural gas prices.

Also there is still a bunch of fall out from snowmageddon. Bankruptcies, insurance claims, lawsuits, new rules, laws.... Regulations......

Which in the end it just means the consumer pays more. That's one of the largest reasons I put my system in. At this rate we will be back to 0.20-0.25 cents a kW in no time.

 

[Maggot]

Which in the end it just means the consumer pays more. That's one of the largest reasons I put my system in. At this rate we will be back to 0.20-0.25 cents a kW in no time.

The consumer always takes it in the Keister, thats how the system is set up.

God Bless Capitalism.

 

[rjacobs]

but rates are going up with all of them because they basically all charge you with the Oncor piece. That and the last February debacle and subsequent State mandate that they all winterize their production has I'm sure had an effect on rates. Not to mention potato head's anti fossil fuel efforts.

Thats why I locked a 3 year plan at I think 9.1c average KW... Some people called me crazy for locking for 3 years but I see it going nowhere but UP UP UP....

 

[tomcatmv]

I'm on co-op line which I have seen is a much simpler arraignment. it can be done with Oncor. I'll ask my buddy what he wound up with. He does buy his power from TXU and is on Oncor line. He put same system in as mine just 1 array instead of two. We also put his in the back yard as a trellis next to the pool on a cedar structure it looks pretty cool. He wanted bi facial panels, but at the time they did not have bi facial panels that were residential or optimizers that work with them.

I do not have storage, I do have the inverters that are compatible with the backup interface and a 7kW Kubota generator, so even on a loss of power my system will disconnect from the grid and the generator will run so I will get power from the generator and solar during the day. The generator is enough to run the fridge, freezer, communication gear, and well. That and not burn retarded amount of fuel.

After snow maggedon last year the power prices are going to go up. United co-op which buys all there power from Brazos bases the power prices on the cost of natural gas which has just about doubled this year. Let's go Brandon .... Which normally our "Brazos power cost recovery" charge is typically closer to zero or a bit negative. Last couple months it's been $20-30 due to the huge increase in natural gas prices.

Also there is still a bunch of fall out from snowmageddon. Bankruptcies, insurance claims, lawsuits, new rules, laws.... Regulations......

Which in the end it just means the consumer pays more. That's one of the largest reasons I put my system in. At this rate we will be back to 0.20-0.25 cents a kW in no time.

Would appreciate a heads up when you find out what your buddy ended up with.

 

[waveslayer]

Anybody have solar panels on their house in Central Texas? I'm looking at a deal with an outfit called Sunrun where there is no charge for the install and they guarantee my power bill will be $140/mo.
Any advice would be appreciated, oh and our roof gets pretty much full sun even though we have about seventeen post oaks in the yard but they don't shade the roof much.

PM inbound

 

[HiDesertELR]

Run...

Build your own system.

Do NOT tie back into the grid.

 

[NoDopes]

Do NOT tie back into the grid.

Why? I can see not doing hybrid, but not trying back into the grid doesn't make sense to me. You get less for production than consumption but it's better than 0 for unused generation capacity.

 

[HiDesertELR]

Why? I can see not doing hybrid, but not trying back into the grid doesn't make sense to me. You get less for production than consumption but it's better than 0 for unused generation capacity.

OK, I guess it depends on what your end goal is.

If you want to be "free" of "their" system, then don't tie back in. Get your own batteries and have energy independence.

If you need, or want, to get some extra coin from the utility company and can't afford a battery bank, then you'll have to tie back in to the grid.

Personally, my goals are to be free of "them". Hence, my two pence.

 

[NoDopes]

You can also go to https://www.smartmetertexas.com/home and see how much total consumption you have and at 15min increments to help size your system.
I think most Texas homes are on this.
To go full off grid may require serious battery capacity since you can have several cold and cloudy days in a row in winter. With grid tie and automation, it's actually possible to make money. Would have been much easier before griddy went bankrupt last Feb.

 

[HiDesertELR]

Most systems will go offline when grid goes down.

This is why I made my statement.

I've got a 6kW Bluetti system expandable to 25kW coming in a week, maybe I'll do a little review and post here.

 

[hankpac]

Without a battery bank, you only have half a system. I looked at three different companies, all offering "free" Install of "free" panels. Each had a disclaimer on each page that they could not guarentee that the price wouldn't go up, and yes, you HAD to buy your energy from them. NOne install a battery bank. so, all promises about power generation and dropping prices are based on sunny days, cloudy days rainstorms, snowfall, and nighttime, you have no production.
Advise to install your own system is good, although it also comes with some caveats: panels last x amount of time (will the payback cover replacing them in a certain period?). Some panels are harder than others. In Hail country (central Texas for instance) that matters. Power generation should at least equal power demand in your house. If you have an Electric Range, you are going to really pull the amps, when you have two burners on. Storage is a must. Some form of Lithium battery bank is optimum, although seriously expensive. DIY'rs use scavenged Tesla or Prius battery banks. One system I saw used the 12 volt sealed batteries (Like on a feeder or alarm system) from the phone company (7 year life, changed by the phone company at 3 years, endless supply, way cheap). He had three stacks of batteries, two inverters, and a roof full of home built solar arrays. Building it by mail ordering everything new is seriously expensive, when you get to the batteries. Flooded batteries are cheaper but replace often enough to cost more than LiPo. My golf cart batteries seriously neglected are going on 7 years. Cycles count. Do a power usage audit before you spec your system.
Don't forget to use a solar water heating (which can be used for wash water AND space heating) as part of a total system. It isn't ALL about electricity.
I am no longer interested in re-doing my own home (too old to fuck with it), although I have a great system on my Toy Hauler, with batteries, inverter and panels.
Basically, the companies that offer to install for free, and keep your prices down are either lying or going out of business as soon as the Fed Credits expire.

 

[Jgunner]

Got me thinking about it, although where i am at, electric is cheap, however it fails all the time. However, a generator is way cheaper. Not sure id save much in 20 years

 

[TXAZ]

My 15 KW array north of you ~200 miles.
PM me.

 

[tomcatmv]

I've decided to bail on the whole solar thing, at my age not worth the eventual ROI. Plus most of these outfits seem like used car salesmen.

 

[Hobo Hilton]

Seems somewhere in the "Inflation Reduction Act" there is incentive to open solar panel factories...
Why open more factories when those that existed went broke ?
Things are not adding up, again.

First Solar announces new U.S. panel factory following the Inflation Reduction Act

CEO Mark Widmar told CNBC the Inflation Reduction Act was the key catalyst for building another factory in the U.S.

www.cnbc.com

SunPower will close former SolarWorld factory in Hillsboro, lay off 170

The 47-acre property appears snakebit.

www.oregonlive.com

 

[waveslayer]

Seems somewhere in the "Inflation Reduction Act" there is incentive to open solar panel factories...
Why open more factories when those that existed went broke ?
Things are not adding up, again.

First Solar announces new U.S. panel factory following the Inflation Reduction Act

CEO Mark Widmar told CNBC the Inflation Reduction Act was the key catalyst for building another factory in the U.S.

www.cnbc.com

SunPower will close former SolarWorld factory in Hillsboro, lay off 170

The 47-acre property appears snakebit.

www.oregonlive.com

Because there is a 70% subside for solar companies, so game on. My brother in law is an executive at one and made $49,500,000 million overnight when the bill passed! His stocks jumped 40%!

They will make so much money its ridiculous! He called and told me to get out of Healthcare and get into Solar, "there's so much money to be made."

My other buddy who owns the second largest energy company in all of Asia is now moving major operations to the US because of the bill.

Hopefully that sheds some light on why!

 

[RonA]

I'm paying 48 cents per kw here. Might be worth looking into.

 

[Hobo Hilton]

I'm paying 48 cents per kw here. Might be worth looking into.

How much did your total installation cost ?
How many years to pay for itself ?

Thanks

 

[Laser1]

Family member just got them installed. 19% interest on $27K loan for 40 years. They are paying the solar company $140/Mo instead of the power company. They are stupid for doing this deal, but they have never made good decisions. Do a cash deal and save the heartache and money.

 

[AllenOne1]

Seems somewhere in the "Inflation Reduction Act" there is incentive to open solar panel factories...
Why open more factories when those that existed went broke ?
Things are not adding up, again.

First Solar announces new U.S. panel factory following the Inflation Reduction Act

CEO Mark Widmar told CNBC the Inflation Reduction Act was the key catalyst for building another factory in the U.S.

www.cnbc.com

SunPower will close former SolarWorld factory in Hillsboro, lay off 170

The 47-acre property appears snakebit.

www.oregonlive.com

More money laundering done local this time. Again they are paying off debts to there friends and relatives just like under Obama. They make millions and produce nothing.

I don't suppose they plan on paying back any of the loans they defaulted on the last time.

 

[missed]

Family member just got them installed. 19% interest on $27K loan for 40 years. They are paying the solar company $140/Mo instead of the power company. They are stupid for doing this deal, but they have never made good decisions. Do a cash deal and save the heartache and money.

That is nuts. But I do kinda get F the power company. Price of power is only going to increase.

 

[Maggot]

Family member just got them installed. 19% interest on $27K loan for 40 years. They are paying the solar company $140/Mo instead of the power company. They are stupid for doing this deal, but they have never made good decisions. Do a cash deal and save the heartache and money.

19%

Thats over 200K.