thinking about solar power for 50% of my home

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

we have natgas stove/oven/centralheat/waterheater...but even in the winter, we use 40 KW/day (our frig seems to run 23.9/7/365, and a deep freeze, and we have a constant aerator running on our aerobic septic tank,)

so usage is probably...1200 KWh/Month in winter and 4000 KWh/Month in Summer....so probably 2500 KWh/Month average.

our electric rate is $0.085/KWh...our house is one story 2500sqft and has very little shading...we've replaced roof to energy star shingles and have sprayed UltraBloc in the attic...and I plan to increase the ventelation of our attic.

but I want more savings and want to mitigate risk of rising electricity rates and am looking for safe investments.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

and we made the switch to compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) last year

[LastVoter]

Last time I looked at Solar panels that were sold at Costco they weren't that enticing/marginal at best, and Eastern Washington gets a lot of sun, but that could have changed. I guess if they are sold, there is probably a market for them. Also wouldn't the locals eat you alive/vandalize your solar panels anyway? Maybe higher sun angles in Texas make a difference.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

well, the solar panels would be on the roof  (which I think would help cool our roof? )

I'm seeing if the tax breaks are still in effect for 2012, but according to some web sites, a $50k system only costs around $20k after all the tax incentives.  the tax benefits sound insane and too good to be true, but if true, system would pay for itself in about 6 years

http://www.solar-estimate.org/?page=rightforme

[Joe Republic]

[John Dibble]

well, the solar panels would be on the roof  (which I think would help cool our roof? )

Apparently so.

http://www.gizmag.com/solar-panels-cool-buildings/19257/

[LastVoter]

If jmfcst installs Solar panels on his house, what are the chances of this happening? Keep in midn that tweed is a mormon now, and BRTD is a christian.
But seriously would solar panels really save you $3000 a year? That must be a huge electric bill, I wouldn't think it would be $500 a month on average(assuming that you can't use solar power half the time).

[Yelnoc]

If jmfcst installs Solar panels on his house, what are the chances of this happening? Keep in midn that tweed is a mormon now, and BRTD is a christian.
But seriously would solar panels really save you $3000 a year? That must be a huge electric bill, I wouldn't think it would be $500 a month on average(assuming that you can't use solar power half the time).

In the south during the summer our air condition runs constantly to battle the insane heat.  Running the fans and going shirtless is only bearable for the first few weeks.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

If jmfcst installs Solar panels on his house, what are the chances of this happening? Keep in midn that tweed is a mormon now, and BRTD is a christian.
But seriously would solar panels really save you $3000 a year? That must be a huge electric bill, I wouldn't think it would be $500 a month on average(assuming that you can't use solar power half the time).

It is all about bucks.   Everything else is just conversation

Though I do ha ve a couple of other projects to finish first

[dead0man]

I say do it if you can afford it.  Good for your wallet, probably good for the environment*, street cred with the green crowd....you might take some heat from your more....anti-hippy friends, but those people are almost as fun to piss off as hippies are.


*making and disposing of solar panels causes some environmental damage, I don't know if Science knows if it's less or more than the good they do....if somebody knows I'd be interested in reading more...

[LastVoter]

If jmfcst installs Solar panels on his house, what are the chances of this happening? Keep in midn that tweed is a mormon now, and BRTD is a christian.
But seriously would solar panels really save you $3000 a year? That must be a huge electric bill, I wouldn't think it would be $500 a month on average(assuming that you can't use solar power half the time).

It is all about bucks.   Everything else is just conversation

Though I do ha ve a couple of other projects to finish first

Jmfcst, if there is anything I learned in life from living in 5 different places now, it's don't piss of the locals. But conversation aside, this is on a much larger scale than I expected this to be, I didn't think the whole set up would cost more than $10k for you. I think the real problem here is, what kind of developer builds a 1 story house that's 2500 sqf, that's probably like at least 25% more surface area than same house as a 2-story.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Jmfcst, if there is anything I learned in life from living in 5 different places now, it's don't piss of the locals.

why would locals have a problem with it?  I think houses with solar panels look sharp, but, then again, I did major in EE....but my roof is only visible from 1 neighbor's house, and there are only five neighbor's who drive by our house (we're at the top of a 'T' in a double cul-de-sac )

[LastVoter]

Jmfcst, if there is anything I learned in life from living in 5 different places now, it's don't piss of the locals.

why would locals have a problem with it?  I think houses with solar panels look sharp, but, then again, I did major in EE....but my roof is only visible from 1 neighbor's house, and there are only five neighbor's who drive by our house (we're at the top of a 'T' in a double cul-de-sac )

I'm under the impression that Texans would want to vandalize anything that doesn't conform to their worldview.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

saving money conforms to their worldview....

...but I still need to do a lot of research.  I have decided that battery storage does not make sense for me since I am currently tied to the grid and can store my power much more effecently on the grid and without the cost of battery storage.

I've also looked at some build your own solar panel sites...I would just need to buy the rest of the equipment (cables, inverters, etc).

[memphis]

Jmfcst, if there is anything I learned in life from living in 5 different places now, it's don't piss of the locals.

why would locals have a problem with it?  I think houses with solar panels look sharp, but, then again, I did major in EE....but my roof is only visible from 1 neighbor's house, and there are only five neighbor's who drive by our house (we're at the top of a 'T' in a double cul-de-sac )

I'm under the impression that Texans would want to vandalize anything that doesn't conform to their worldview.

Pretty ironic given the overall tone of this thread Allow me disrupt your worldview
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Texas

[LastVoter]

Jmfcst, if there is anything I learned in life from living in 5 different places now, it's don't piss of the locals.

why would locals have a problem with it?  I think houses with solar panels look sharp, but, then again, I did major in EE....but my roof is only visible from 1 neighbor's house, and there are only five neighbor's who drive by our house (we're at the top of a 'T' in a double cul-de-sac )

I'm under the impression that Texans would want to vandalize anything that doesn't conform to their worldview.

Pretty ironic given the overall tone of this thread Allow me disrupt your worldview
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Texas

I was being facetious. I was hoping "locals" would give it away.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

wow, this is a LOT cheaper than I thought

http://www.bluepacificsolar.com/grid-tied-solar-pv-system.html

[King]

wow, this is a LOT cheaper than I thought

http://www.bluepacificsolar.com/grid-tied-solar-pv-system.html

Installation costs probably run it up.

[LastVoter]

wow, this is a LOT cheaper than I thought

http://www.bluepacificsolar.com/grid-tied-solar-pv-system.html

I saw panels sold for $400-600 at Costco last summer.