6 ms·

One of the best things about this tech is how effective it is at domestic scale. My small roof in London generated 26kWh of electricity today. About 3X what we

by edent 6y ago

One of the best things about this tech is how effective it is at domestic scale. My small roof in London generated 26kWh of electricity today. About 3X what we consumed. https://twitter.com/edent_solar https://twitter.com/edent_solar

sxates 6y ago
My house in California is peaking around 70kWh this time of year (April, 14kw system), well more than we're using. I can charge my tesla during the day and still be exporting to the grid. Most afternoons my house is probably powering every house on my street.
- richwater 6y ago
  How much was your system?
  - johne20 6y ago
    Not op but we just installed 12kw system in Seattle and will have cost us $23k after federal tax credit. Approximately $2/watt. Get quotes from 3+ credible local companies. Also check energysage.
    - robocat 6y ago
      If you have a mortgage then you are effectively borrowing $23k from the bank for the period of your mortgage - so the total interest could be a significant chunk of money. Assuming that you have some leeway to pay your mortgage off quicker (depending on your exact terms).
      - hilbertseries 6y ago
        How does interest factor in here? Your mortgage is fixed with the bank.
        girishso 6y ago
        OP means he could have prepaid the $23K of mortgage, instead of spending on the solar system.
        seabrookmx 6y ago
        If you pay off your mortgage quicker you pay less interest. Not sure what you mean by "fixed". Atleast where I live a standard 25 year mortgage can be paid off in ~10 if you were to double up your payments, because all of the additional money you're paying comes off the principal. Thus, the non-interest portion of the payment has _more than_ doubled.
      - sagarm 6y ago
        Homeowner mortgage rates are well below the long-run return on e.g. the S&P 500. A solar system is just another alternative investment option.
  - sxates 6y ago
    I actually talked about this in a previous comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25283461 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25283461
    - enraged_camel 6y ago
      >> Of that $15k, $4.3k was for the panels themselves, $2k for the inverter, $1k for mounting hardware, and $8k for installation. What about on-site battery? In any case, $15k is still a bit too steep for me, not because I can't afford it but because I want something that'll pay for itself in less than 5 years. My electricity bill is about $150/mo. so a solar roof doesn't make sense financially, even if I'm able to sell the excess to the grid.
      - sxates 6y ago
        Why is the 5 year payback critical, as opposed to 7 or 8? You're still coming out ahead.
        CydeWeys 6y ago
        Time value of money, opportunity cost, etc. An investment that merely pays for itself in a large number of years is a bad investment. An RoI of 5 years is a decent rule of thumb to use.
      - echlebek 6y ago
        If you view it as an improvement to your home, which increases your home's value, then it can make more financial sense than if you only look at the pure electricity savings.
      - PragmaticPulp 6y ago
        > What about on-site battery? Typical systems don’t have a battery, nor do they need one. The grid is used as the battery. An off-grid solar installation is significantly more expensive.
        6y ago
  - ShakataGaNai 6y ago
    Not OP but in NorCal (BayArea) is about $3/what. My 9.4kw system is generating about 55kwh a day right now. Because of the mild weather we've had, the last day we used more net power from the grid (than we produced) was March 18.
    - potatoman22 6y ago
      $3 per what?
      - 88840-8855 6y ago
        It should be "$3 per whom", obviously.
      - ShakataGaNai 6y ago
        Mobile keyboards. Sigh. Even when you type things right, they bite you. At least as of last fall, it was roughly $3/watt for solar installs - before incentives. Right now TSLA advertises about $2.2/watt, which is by far cheaper than anyone else.
    - perilunar 6y ago
      Is that a single family dwelling? If so, at 9.4 kW / 55 kWh per day, I would bloody hope you are exporting to the grid. That is an extreme amount of energy for a single family.
      - ShakataGaNai 6y ago
        Yes. Single Family Home. Last summer NorCal had some nasty heatwaves come through, with lots of "red flag" warnings. High winds, high heats. We had multiple days of 110F+. On those days we used more than 55kwh/day. That being said, the game with solar is that of averages. Right now we're making a lot and exporting a lot. When the summer heats up, we'll be making even more power, but not exporting as much. In winter time we generally need more from the grid than we make. Hopefully at the end of the year, we'll be near zero net.
burlesona 6y ago
How well does it work if you have at least partial tree cover on your entire property?
- FooHentai 6y ago
  There's some methods to work around that if it means a portion of the solar array is shaded at times (you separate them onto different 'strings' feeding power back to your controller, as I understand it). A single panel in part shade tends to produce a lot less than the fraction still exposed to sunlight, but I believe recent advancements in panel tech has made this less of an issue. Ultimately, situating the panels in areas where, barring cloud cover, they will receive full direct sunlight is always the optimum approach.
libraryatnight 6y ago
My wife and I recently bought our first home, I've lived in Arizona my whole life, and one of the selling points was this house came with solar setup and the units already paid off. I had no idea how huge a difference it makes. During the day we run entirely off our solar panels. This time last year our bill was beginning to climb as AC use increases significantly as April progresses. Our bill has barely budged, saving us hundreds of dollars and we're not even in to summer yet. I'm tempted at this point to get one of the battery offerings out there for power storage.
- johnohara 6y ago
  The number of 100+ degree fahrenheit days last year in Arizona was more than concerning. A collective breath is being held this year in the hope it doesn't repeat itself or worse, indicate it a new normal. You are miles ahead of the curve. However, where the pacific northwest, midwest, and east are concerned about energy, Arizona is concerned about water. As my friend used to say, "nobody gets it all."
ksec 6y ago
>About £8,000 from Sims Solar. T I wonder how much would it cost now? So that means I could, theoretically move to a remote or desert location, somehow install a solar panel myself, set a Starlink Internet, and live happily ever after? Assuming I could somehow grow potatoes in a small green house. Edit: Missing Drinking Water and Sewage treatment.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
GordonS 6y ago
Can I ask how power generation differs depending on weather conditions? For example, what might be typical daily power generation on a rainy day, on a cold, overcast day in winter etc.

by edent 6y ago

sxates 6y ago

My house in California is peaking around 70kWh this time of year (April, 14kw system), well more than we're using. I can charge my tesla during the day and still be exporting to the grid. Most afternoons my house is probably powering every house on my street.

richwater 6y ago
How much was your system?
- johne20 6y ago
  Not op but we just installed 12kw system in Seattle and will have cost us $23k after federal tax credit. Approximately $2/watt. Get quotes from 3+ credible local companies. Also check energysage.
  - robocat 6y ago
    If you have a mortgage then you are effectively borrowing $23k from the bank for the period of your mortgage - so the total interest could be a significant chunk of money. Assuming that you have some leeway to pay your mortgage off quicker (depending on your exact terms).
    - hilbertseries 6y ago
      How does interest factor in here? Your mortgage is fixed with the bank.
      - girishso 6y ago
        OP means he could have prepaid the $23K of mortgage, instead of spending on the solar system.
      - seabrookmx 6y ago
        If you pay off your mortgage quicker you pay less interest. Not sure what you mean by "fixed". Atleast where I live a standard 25 year mortgage can be paid off in ~10 if you were to double up your payments, because all of the additional money you're paying comes off the principal. Thus, the non-interest portion of the payment has _more than_ doubled.
    - sagarm 6y ago
      Homeowner mortgage rates are well below the long-run return on e.g. the S&P 500. A solar system is just another alternative investment option.
- sxates 6y ago
  I actually talked about this in a previous comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25283461 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25283461
  - enraged_camel 6y ago
    >> Of that $15k, $4.3k was for the panels themselves, $2k for the inverter, $1k for mounting hardware, and $8k for installation. What about on-site battery? In any case, $15k is still a bit too steep for me, not because I can't afford it but because I want something that'll pay for itself in less than 5 years. My electricity bill is about $150/mo. so a solar roof doesn't make sense financially, even if I'm able to sell the excess to the grid.
    - sxates 6y ago
      Why is the 5 year payback critical, as opposed to 7 or 8? You're still coming out ahead.
      - CydeWeys 6y ago
        Time value of money, opportunity cost, etc. An investment that merely pays for itself in a large number of years is a bad investment. An RoI of 5 years is a decent rule of thumb to use.
    - echlebek 6y ago
      If you view it as an improvement to your home, which increases your home's value, then it can make more financial sense than if you only look at the pure electricity savings.
    - PragmaticPulp 6y ago
      > What about on-site battery? Typical systems don’t have a battery, nor do they need one. The grid is used as the battery. An off-grid solar installation is significantly more expensive.
      - 6y ago
- ShakataGaNai 6y ago
  Not OP but in NorCal (BayArea) is about $3/what. My 9.4kw system is generating about 55kwh a day right now. Because of the mild weather we've had, the last day we used more net power from the grid (than we produced) was March 18.
  - potatoman22 6y ago
    $3 per what?
    - 88840-8855 6y ago
      It should be "$3 per whom", obviously.
    - ShakataGaNai 6y ago
      Mobile keyboards. Sigh. Even when you type things right, they bite you. At least as of last fall, it was roughly $3/watt for solar installs - before incentives. Right now TSLA advertises about $2.2/watt, which is by far cheaper than anyone else.
  - perilunar 6y ago
    Is that a single family dwelling? If so, at 9.4 kW / 55 kWh per day, I would bloody hope you are exporting to the grid. That is an extreme amount of energy for a single family.
    - ShakataGaNai 6y ago
      Yes. Single Family Home. Last summer NorCal had some nasty heatwaves come through, with lots of "red flag" warnings. High winds, high heats. We had multiple days of 110F+. On those days we used more than 55kwh/day. That being said, the game with solar is that of averages. Right now we're making a lot and exporting a lot. When the summer heats up, we'll be making even more power, but not exporting as much. In winter time we generally need more from the grid than we make. Hopefully at the end of the year, we'll be near zero net.

burlesona 6y ago

How well does it work if you have at least partial tree cover on your entire property?

FooHentai 6y ago
There's some methods to work around that if it means a portion of the solar array is shaded at times (you separate them onto different 'strings' feeding power back to your controller, as I understand it). A single panel in part shade tends to produce a lot less than the fraction still exposed to sunlight, but I believe recent advancements in panel tech has made this less of an issue. Ultimately, situating the panels in areas where, barring cloud cover, they will receive full direct sunlight is always the optimum approach.

libraryatnight 6y ago

My wife and I recently bought our first home, I've lived in Arizona my whole life, and one of the selling points was this house came with solar setup and the units already paid off. I had no idea how huge a difference it makes. During the day we run entirely off our solar panels. This time last year our bill was beginning to climb as AC use increases significantly as April progresses. Our bill has barely budged, saving us hundreds of dollars and we're not even in to summer yet. I'm tempted at this point to get one of the battery offerings out there for power storage.

johnohara 6y ago
The number of 100+ degree fahrenheit days last year in Arizona was more than concerning. A collective breath is being held this year in the hope it doesn't repeat itself or worse, indicate it a new normal. You are miles ahead of the curve. However, where the pacific northwest, midwest, and east are concerned about energy, Arizona is concerned about water. As my friend used to say, "nobody gets it all."

ksec 6y ago

>About £8,000 from Sims Solar. T I wonder how much would it cost now? So that means I could, theoretically move to a remote or desert location, somehow install a solar panel myself, set a Starlink Internet, and live happily ever after? Assuming I could somehow grow potatoes in a small green house. Edit: Missing Drinking Water and Sewage treatment.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

GordonS 6y ago

Can I ask how power generation differs depending on weather conditions? For example, what might be typical daily power generation on a rainy day, on a cold, overcast day in winter etc.