aja8888
Moderator Emeritus
OK, enough of the LED stuff. Let's (including me) get back on the PV topic.
Even LED bulbs are not rated for 25 years. Half that at best.
I'm an Amazon Prime junkie and have bought all but a few of our LEDs and dimmers from them. But the 40W (equiv) are costly, even there. So until the prices come down, I have CFL's in those fixtures.
A question for the group...
Is there a cheap device that you could use to determine how much sunlight you get a different locations in your yard
As I said, we have a lot of trees.... I am looking at my garage roof and it is getting some good sun right now... but I also see a part that is shaded because of a tree... so a foot or two can make a big difference...
.... I find an article about a new law that changes the maximum commercial output from 100kW to 125% of peak usage, and allows power companies to charge solar customers a fee just because they are connected to the grid What? The supposed upside of the bill is allowing customers to lease systems, which from what I have seen is just a bad idea, at least here where power is cheap. ... I was getting excited about this and now it basically makes no sense at all. 125% of my peak usage is probably 5kW.
I don't understand why power companies don't want to buy back solar, couldn't they just do it at slightly less then their cost to burn coal and call it a day?
Georgia legislators are idiots!
The sketchy availability of solar just makes it less valuable to the power company than coal. If they could "pull" it from you when >they< need it, rather than having you "push" it in when available, it would have a higher value. But, in that case, they'd just buy their own solar panels and make their own solar power on an industrial scale a lot cheaper than we can do it.I don't understand why power companies don't want to buy back solar, couldn't they just do it at slightly less then their cost to burn coal and call it a day?
This year is one of those years where I am searching for tax deductions, so I got the idea of a solar installation for my business. I have 12k square feet of metal roof that gets baked all day long. I live in georgia and for a variety of factors, I know it is not the best investment here. But, it is something I would enjoy.
After reading this thread, researching and watching a few youtube installations for the micro-inverter systems. I find an article about a new law that changes the maximum commercial output from 100kW to 125% of peak usage, and allows power companies to charge solar customers a fee just because they are connected to the grid What? The supposed upside of the bill is allowing customers to lease systems, which from what I have seen is just a bad idea, at least here where power is cheap. Georgia legislators are idiots! I was getting excited about this and now it basically makes no sense at all. 125% of my peak usage is probably 5kW.
I don't understand why power companies don't want to buy back solar, couldn't they just do it at slightly less then their cost to burn coal and call it a day?
People do not realize that solar and wind power cannot be stored and stockpiled like coal, oil, or uranium rods.
Well, if you are connected to the grid, you are using that infrastructure. You still want power for your building if the sun goes down right? Gotta pay for that.
The payback on solar PV would be far longer than the life of the system if you were getting paid less than they pay for coal generated kWh. You get paid the retail rate now - where else can you take a product back to the supplier, and have them pay you retail instead of wholesale prices? It's already a screaming deal (not counting the externalities of burning coal, which should be counted).
Try taking the extra gallon of gas you have left over from the lawn mower at the end of the season - you think they will give you $5 for it? No way.
What, you were expecting Georgia legislators to be different from the rest of them?
-ERD50
Billing for an energy producer to tie in to the grid is much different than a retail electric customer. Paying for generation, transmission and distribution on the producer level is different than for the retail customer.
A roof top solar generator is not getting paid by the utility company at retail rates. It's only banked at retail rates. Over generation, ...
This year is one of those years where I am searching for tax deductions, so I got the idea of a solar installation for my business. I have 12k square feet of metal roof that gets baked all day long. I live in georgia and for a variety of factors, I know it is not the best investment here. But, it is something I would enjoy.
After reading this thread, researching and watching a few youtube installations for the micro-inverter systems. I find an article about a new law that changes the maximum commercial output from 100kW to 125% of peak usage, and allows power companies to charge solar customers a fee just because they are connected to the grid What? The supposed upside of the bill is allowing customers to lease systems, which from what I have seen is just a bad idea, at least here where power is cheap. Georgia legislators are idiots! I was getting excited about this and now it basically makes no sense at all. 125% of my peak usage is probably 5kW.
I don't understand why power companies don't want to buy back solar, couldn't they just do it at slightly less then their cost to burn coal and call it a day?
You need to find out how your power company handles solar. In my area of FL we have net metering which works well for me. In some municipalities the power company purchases excess.
I'd go for it. Any opinions before I make that recommendation?
What I have wondered are what are the likely annual maintenance costs? What is the life span before they become out of date?
...
Provided all components last 8 years her costs should be fully recaptured. If they last 15 years or longer she will do very well. Even if the inverter fails and the installer declares bankruptcy, a new replacement is "only" $1500..
I have no experience with the product. The ability to plug in for power when the sun is shining during a widespread outage could be very handy. It might be enough to recharge cell phones, recharge cordless tools which might be handy after a hurricane, etc, keep the food in the fridge/freezer from going bad, run some fans or even a very small window AC unit during the heat of the day, run a sump pump to move water, etc. If the cost is really just $200, I'd think it would be well worth it in most places--if it comes in handy just once, it could easily pay for itself.As an aside I'm thinking of suggesting a sunnyboy 3000TL-US inverter (rather than the quoted sunnyboy 3000-US) so than she will have 1 "protected" socket that will operate during power outages when the sun is shining. I'm guessing it will add $200 to the install but will get a quote. Will this be valuable? Anyone have experience with these fully isolated circuits?
Sunny Boy 3000TL-US
SMA has recently unveiled its newest line of grid-tie inverters with a variety of new and improved features to help system owners get the most out of their systems. These new UL certified inverters continue to raise the benchmark in solar inverter technology. The Sunny Boy 3000TL-US comes standard with an impressive list of features.
Transformerless for higher efficiency and lighter weight
Dual maximum power point tracking for more design options
Reduce effects of partial system shading with OptiTrac™
Secure Power Supply (SPS) provides daytime power if grid goes down
Sunny Boy 3000TL-US comes with a Secure Power Supply that is able to send up to 1,500 watts of power to a dedicated outlet in the case of daytime grid failure.
So from what I have read GA is a net metering state but there is no rules on how low buyback rates can be.
I started calling around today and my situation is not very fun. My power is billed and maintained by the city. It is a relatively small city, so just getting to someone who can give me information about permitting and net metering rates is going to be a struggle, currently I am waiting for a call back that I know I won't receive.
Assuming the buyback rates will be low if anything, I am starting to lean towards just covering my needs, getting my feet wet and going from there.