New Solar Panel system on our house....

tz666 · January 2015

Im curious if anyone else has them? Our first 2 electric bills were cut over 50%. I switched to all LED lighting and added the grid tie solar system. In Louisiana our main problem is running AC almost all year and so far I have cut over 1200 KWH per cycle. Its kicking butt, our last two bills were 40 bucks each. You will have to excuse the tall grass in the pic, the old gasser, and electric smoker. Sice the pic I have added BGE and sold somker and gasser. I also let the horses in the back yard to "cut" the grass for me. Im ready to see how they preform against a Louisiana summer.

Travis

walleyv · January 2015

I've been wanting to look into this more. I live in south Miss. and the power bill in the summer is outrageous. Was this a DIY project or did you get someone else to install it?

tz666 · January 2015

I used www.gosunpro.com because to get the federal and state tax credit you have to use a licensed installer. I know the federal tax credit is 30% and in Louisiana the state is 50% up to 25000 spent, not sure what it is in MS. So for a $25000 system I paid $5000. It is a 7KW system, 25 each 280 panels. Check on your state tax credit and I think the credits are supposed to run out at the end of 2016.

logchief · January 2015

That's a hell of a deal, unfortunately in CA the only credit left is the fed's 30%. With that much of a gov't credit people would be crazy not to go solar in LA. We put solar on in Nov 14, 8 kW 32 275 watt panels and right now in the shortest days of the year it's definitely making a difference, can't wait to see what it does come spring.

Pacific Gas & Electric does a true up statement once a year for your electricity when you're on solar, so we pay a $4.40 a month connection fee and get a statement of net use and pay once a year or they pay us. Hopefully it will kick butt this spring before the A/C

nolaegghead · January 2015

We have had ours for about a year. I'll elaborate later, busy at work.

caliking · January 2015

Wow! For that price i would love to go solar, but i thought when I last looked it was not a viable option for me because of windstorm insurance. Maybe i will look into this again.

How old is your roof? Ours is about 11 yrs old, not a custom build, so I think the roof is on borrowed time after 15 yrs. If i can go solar, I may have to make a decision about redoing the roof now vs. later.

logchief · January 2015

caliking said:

Wow! For that price i would love to go solar, but i thought when I last looked it was not a viable option for me because of windstorm insurance. Maybe i will look into this again.

How old is your roof? Ours is about 11 yrs old, not a custom build, so I think the roof is on borrowed time after 15 yrs. If i can go solar, I may have to make a decision about redoing the roof now vs. later.

You should double check on credits or rebates in TX, I was shocked seeing the 50% credit from the state of LA.

tz666 · January 2015

logchief said:

That's a hell of a deal, unfortunately in CA the only credit left is the fed's 30%. With that much of a gov't credit people would be crazy not to go solar in LA. We put solar on in Nov 14, 8 kW 32 275 watt panels and right now in the shortest days of the year it's definitely making a difference, can't wait to see what it does come spring.

Pacific Gas & Electric does a true up statement once a year for your electricity when you're on solar, so we pay a $4.40 a month connection fee and get a statement of net use and pay once a year or they pay us. Hopefully it will kick butt this spring before the A/C

I have 25 280 watt LG panels with Enphase 250 Microinverters

Smokinpig · January 2015

I do not know what I am talking about but I noticed your panels are in the shade @tz666, I am sure that has to have some sort of impact or how they work. I think we are banned for doing anything solar due to HOA rules.

tz666 · January 2015

That pic was taken late in the afternoon and there was shade from a large oak in my yard but that late in the evening the loss is minimal because the sun is so far away and at a bad angle. During peak hours say 930 to 3 im direct sun with panels at 30 degrees facing due south. I start to get shade around 430. Here is a daily chart of production, you can see I have no shade issues. I dont know about Atlanta but you should check, Louisiana has a state wide law that HOA can not ban homeowners from using alternate energy, even solar panels on the front facing roof.

Zmokin · January 2015

Smokinpig said:

I do not know what I am talking about but I noticed your panels are in the shade @tz666, I am sure that has to have some sort of impact or how they work. I think we are banned for doing anything solar due to HOA rules.

Even if your HOA says No, you may want to see if the state or the feds have a law over-riding that rule. Someone told me that CC&R's and HOA rules banning Solar panels are invalid for electric production. I don't claim this person is a solid source, so I could be wrong, but that is what I heard. My new job starting next week is selling Solar Energy, so I hope to have a more official and definitive answer on the topic next week.

You still need to search your own specific state but this link supports what I was told.
http://blog.solargaines.com/solar-panels-hoa-rules

lkapigian · January 2015

Reduce the need by doing passive measures such as insulation, tightening the home LED Lighting ( Like you have) get a blower door test done with Thermal Imaging-- In The green Grass States Whole House dehumidifiers rather than running A/C........But Tighten The home.................Then get solar ---You will need a lot less panels

Smokinpig · January 2015

Very interesting guys. I will have to look into this further, thanks for the tips on the HOA.

tz666 · January 2015

Hopefully this year I will get spray foam in my attic, I hear that makes a big difference. I think the switch to LED made a good difference, it was tough laying out 10+ bucks per bulb

lkapigian · January 2015

tz666 said:

Hopefully this year I will get spray foam in my attic, I hear that makes a big difference. I think the switch to LED made a good difference, it was tough laying out 10+ bucks per bulb

Spray Foam is great!

blind99 · January 2015

At a cost of 25 grand for solar panels, I'm not sure how long it takes for the economics to make sense - but living up north it's not really an option.

I've been replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs and LEDs. At 6hrs/day of use and a cost of 10cents/kwh (which is low), a 13W bulb saves 94 cents/month vs a 65W bulb. So I figure a $10 bulb pays for itself in a year in energy savings alone. I also like that they make less heat and I don't have to ever change them again. The only issue is dimmer compatibility but that's another story.

NPHuskerFL · January 2015

@tz666‌ What are you looking at getting done open or closed cell?

buzd504 · January 2015

We put 22 panels on our house in New Orleans before LA put the 25k cap on the rebate. Cut our (absurdly high) energy bill by about 60%. I've been very happy with them.

We are currently building a new house, and while looking at the solar options, we were pointed at solar thermal - essentially using the heat of the sun to run the compressor of your A/C unit. This turns out to be more efficient than converting light to electricity, basically removing the power consumption of your A/C from your bill (big deal in Louisiana). That combined with brand new insulation, should keep us super energy efficient.

More on solar thermal: http://www.sednaaireusa.com/Products/SolarCool/HowItWorks.aspx

NPHuskerFL · January 2015

@buzd504‌ along those same lines an AC/Heat Pump can be tied into an ECU system to the water heater and you can almost always have hot water without the elements ever energizing and this also increases the efficiency of the AC/Heat Pump. Downfall is it also can void warranty by some manufacturers (or at least it used to).

tz666 · January 2015

NPHuskerFL said:

@tz666‌ What are you looking at getting done open or closed cell?

open cell

buzd504 · January 2015

NPHuskerFL said:

@buzd504‌ along those same lines an AC/Heat Pump can be tied into an ECU system to the water heater and you can almost always have hot water without the elements ever energizing and this also increases the efficiency of the AC/Heat Pump. Downfall is it also can void warranty by some manufacturers (or at least it used to).

Yeah, we looked at doing that, but ending up going with a tankless on demand water heater. With gas being reasonable, it seemed like a good option.

nolaegghead · January 2015

We have 18 Sunpower 320 watt panels on 3 strings.

Here's our production: http://mysolar.southcoastsolar.com/Meter/Index/58175652

Legume · January 2015

blind99 said:

The only issue is dimmer compatibility but that's another story.

You can get dimmer-compatible LEDs now, just a couple of bucks more and you need to change out your dimmer switches to LED compatible digital switches - these do cost more especially if you have a three-way, but still worth it. I did this recently on a four bulb ceiling fan fixture and it has worked out great. Added benefit of not having the bulbs wear out from the fan vibration and zero hum or flicker.

blind99 · January 2015

@legume I changed out one dimmer - which cost about 25 bucks. I put in some dimmable LEDs on another circuit and they worked fine with the old dimmer. I think there's some trial and error to see which bulbs work with which dimmers. But overall I'm happy with the LEDs I've put in. I figure it's a semiconductor so it should continue to drop in price - as they get less than $10 a bulb I'll probably get more.

Very cool to see these solar panels and such. Must be nice writing a smaller check to the utility company!

Legume · January 2015

@blind99 I totally agree. I've swapped out most of the heavy use lights and the rest that are old school or CFL as they burn out. I've not had good luck with CFLs at all, so I'll be glad to see LED pricing continue to drop.

Zmokin · January 2015

Legume said:

@blind99 I totally agree. I've swapped out most of the heavy use lights and the rest that are old school or CFL as they burn out. I've not had good luck with CFLs at all, so I'll be glad to see LED pricing continue to drop.

Same here, I've never had a CFL live up to it's claimed longevity. I still have 4 incandescent bulbs that are 21 years old. Large clear globe shape in the hallway bathroom. Because it is a decorative bulb, there is no finding a replacement at this point in time if one of them burns out. They get turned on & off multiple times everyday and are still going strong. I got a rebate offer from my local utility for 6 LED bulbs from Cree for $20 instead of the normal $60. If they work well and last, they will be my go to replacement as other bulbs (mostly CFL's at this point) die.

blind99 · January 2015

@legume @zmokin I've also had varied luck with the CFLs. I think they're getting better in quality, but I had a few burn out in less than a year, and found that very frustrating. Most of mine seem to be doing well now though. Can't remember if I'm using Cree or Feit, but look for the 2700K bulbs - anything cooler and they get a blue tint. Another thing I don't like about the CFLs - have you read the clean up instructions if they break? Good grief. I don't care about myself much

but I'm not crazy about my wife/kids handling mercury dust.

Zmokin · January 2015

blind99 said:

@legume @zmokin I've also had varied luck with the CFLs. I think they're getting better in quality, but I had a few burn out in less than a year, and found that very frustrating. Most of mine seem to be doing well now though. Can't remember if I'm using Cree or Feit, but look for the 2700K bulbs - anything cooler and they get a blue tint. Another thing I don't like about the CFLs - have you read the clean up instructions if they break? Good grief. I don't care about myself much but I'm not crazy about my wife/kids handling mercury dust.

Yeah, that's one of the arguments why CFL's aren't environmentally friendly. They use toxic substances, are far more complicated to manufacture than a simple incandescent and should not be disposed of in your trash can. LED's also are not environmentally friendly to manufacture, but they aren't as toxic in the home or trash as a CFL is.

Legume · January 2015

I used these for the fan - you can't really tell they're LEDs unless you look. Totally agree about the wavelength of the light - even the bulbs that are sold as 'natural' light were too cool and harsh in the house we we've stuck to warm white only.

tz666 · January 2015

my next plan is to change out the 5 4' long double tube fluorescent lights under my carport. You can buy LED tubes and take the ballast out of the fixtures.

Zmokin · January 2015

tz666 said:

my next plan is to change out the 5 4' long double tube fluorescent lights under my carport. You can buy LED tubes and take the ballast out of the fixtures.

I will look into that when my stock of fluorescent tubes runs out.
My kitchen light fixture uses 6 tubes.
I have 16 tubes in my garage shop lights.
Not sure how long the box of tubes in my shed will last, but I expect it could be a few years before I'm looking at LED replacements for my 4 foot tubes.

New Solar Panel system on our house....

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