4 ms·

A few points this person probably didn't think about: •Nobody knows what California electricity prices are going to do in the next 20 years. By terminating the

A few points this person probably didn't think about: •Nobody knows what California electricity prices are going to do in the next 20 years. By terminating the system, they just traded certainty for volatility. With that attitude I hope they financed using an ARM loan. •They whined about how expensive it was, but also expressed a desire to have one or two kids someday. When you have kids, your electric bills tend to go up, and they did their math based on their "expected" usage today. •Santa Barbara has a very mild climate, but I expect in the coming years it will get hotter and muggier much more of the year, and for health reasons they'll have to put a room A/C on. Whoa, now you're using as much juice as Jug did. •PV rooftop panels in California nowadays don't quite "help the planet" to the extent their owners believe they do. The duck curve continues to get worse. •A silent majority of people think PV panels are ugly. Like, hideously ugly. They're afraid to speak out, but not to act out and point the finger at a different reason. The end result of this whole thing reminds me of one of those people 10 years ago who bought a top-end $500 cellphone locked in to a carrier on a 3-year-plan but only $50 a month, let the payments lapse 3 months in, and then tried to sell it on eBay, angry at the cellphone company for financially hobbling them when it wouldn't sell or it got returned.

sjg007 8y ago
You don't need AC at the beach.. Very rarely, maybe 4 days a year during Santa Anas it gets that hot... and then you will probably have evacuated due to wildfires anyway.
- mchannon 8y ago
  And thank you for shopping at your Goleta Home Depot store. I respect what you say, but it'll be $532.78 for that window air conditioner. Cash or charge?
Dylan16807 8y ago
> Nobody knows what California electricity prices are going to do in the next 20 years. That's true but with the way most utility costs have been dropping, the rates are probably not going to skyrocket. > using more power The problem is the rate being too high. More use doesn't help the problem. > duck curve Sure, but not very important to this choice. > A silent majority of people think PV panels are ugly. Like, hideously ugly. Do you have evidence of how common that is? Does that include installations that are well-integrated into the roof? > cell plan A typical cell phone contract breaking fee is $350, with some pro-rating. This roughly covers the cost of a phone discount. They don't try to charge you $1400 for the entire remaining contract term.
- gwern 8y ago
  > That's true but with the way most utility costs have been dropping, the rates are probably not going to skyrocket. With strict liability for wildfires, 'green deals', cap-and-trade or Pigovian tax proposals, California's classic policy insanities, grids potentially struggling with renewables and load sharing, you certainly cannot be >99% confident that there will be no large increases in the offing.
  - Dylan16807 8y ago
    We'll see, sure. Though when you're looking at a 20 year term it's easy to get solar panels reactively instead of proactively.

sjg007 8y ago

You don't need AC at the beach.. Very rarely, maybe 4 days a year during Santa Anas it gets that hot... and then you will probably have evacuated due to wildfires anyway.

mchannon 8y ago
And thank you for shopping at your Goleta Home Depot store. I respect what you say, but it'll be $532.78 for that window air conditioner. Cash or charge?

Dylan16807 8y ago

> Nobody knows what California electricity prices are going to do in the next 20 years. That's true but with the way most utility costs have been dropping, the rates are probably not going to skyrocket. > using more power The problem is the rate being too high. More use doesn't help the problem. > duck curve Sure, but not very important to this choice. > A silent majority of people think PV panels are ugly. Like, hideously ugly. Do you have evidence of how common that is? Does that include installations that are well-integrated into the roof? > cell plan A typical cell phone contract breaking fee is $350, with some pro-rating. This roughly covers the cost of a phone discount. They don't try to charge you $1400 for the entire remaining contract term.

gwern 8y ago
> That's true but with the way most utility costs have been dropping, the rates are probably not going to skyrocket. With strict liability for wildfires, 'green deals', cap-and-trade or Pigovian tax proposals, California's classic policy insanities, grids potentially struggling with renewables and load sharing, you certainly cannot be >99% confident that there will be no large increases in the offing.
- Dylan16807 8y ago
  We'll see, sure. Though when you're looking at a 20 year term it's easy to get solar panels reactively instead of proactively.