I have solar power. Do you?

[special ed]

Offset by the cost of equipment, installation and maintenance. What is the pro rata break even time?

 

[SaparotRob]

Offset by the cost of equipment, installation and maintenance. What is the pro rata break even time?

You should live so long.

 

[buffnut453]

You should live so long.

Our estimation was that solar power would make the house more attractive to potential buyers if/when we move. It's not a straight $ "break even" conversation, but it's a valid factor.

 

[SaparotRob]

When I read your post, out of context BTW, I just heard one of the voices (Murray) in my head say that.

 

[syscom3]

Offset by the cost of equipment, installation and maintenance. What is the pro rata break even time?

Depending on the rate increases, about 15 years or more. But that doesn't bother me. I'm doing it for my own reasons. I kind of like looking at this like it was a bathroom or kitchen remodel. No payback at all, yet plenty of money is spent.

 

[Wild_Bill_Kelso]

Where he is in Orange County the power needs for AC etc. are maybe not so critical because the weather is almost perfect year round. Even during heat waves the humidity is typically pretty low so it's not so bad if you are in the shade (especially if you can run a fan).

But anywhere in the Gulf South or Atlantic Seaboard, and I'd say also pretty much all of Texas based on recent events, quite aside from the financial benefits an off-grid solar capacity is very desirable, if you can afford it, as a power backup. Going without AC in say, Houston or Tampa in August / September is potentially life threatening. I experienced this first hand after Hurricane Ida last year, my neighbor across the street has two Tesla power walls and 32 panels on his roof, he had power during the 10 late Summer days when the rest of us were sweltering in the heat and / or using generators. His refrigerator and freezer worked etc.

Generators may sound like a fine alternative but after a major weather event like that, gasoline and diesel can be hard to come by. For about a week after Ida you couldn't get any within 100 miles of me. In a bigger storm that can be more like a month or two, if you can even get out on the roads. More serious weather events will also impact natural gas systems as well because there won't be any power to pump it, and / or the lines can be broken by uprooted trees and so on. Due to the limitations on fuel I have a small generator, and I was running an AC only at night so we could sleep. During the day I ran it for a few hours to cool down my freezer, then let it rest. You also have to do maintenance on them.

They are already talking about possible rolling blackouts in Texas this year due to summer heat taxing their power grid. This is not a good time to be sitting in your house in the summer with no power.

During a heavy cold snap like they had in Texas in 2021, it would again be nice to have power, though I wonder how well a Tesla power wall would hold up to that? My neighbors battery units are on the outside of his house, which is probably standard due to potential fire risk. But they are exposed to the elements. Do they work well in 15 degree F ? How well do solar panels work with ice on them? (Serious question as I don't know)

 

[Wild_Bill_Kelso]

Interesting video on the subject here:

 

[syscom3]

Where he is in Orange County the power needs for AC etc. are maybe not so critical because the weather is almost perfect year round. Even during heat waves the humidity is typically pretty low so it's not so bad if you are in the shade (especially if you can run a fan).

But anywhere in the Gulf South or Atlantic Seaboard, and I'd say also pretty much all of Texas based on recent events, quite aside from the financial benefits an off-grid solar capacity is very desirable, if you can afford it, as a power backup. Going without AC in say, Houston or Tampa in August / September is potentially life threatening. I experienced this first hand after Hurricane Ida last year, my neighbor across the street has two Tesla power walls and 32 panels on his roof, he had power during the 10 late Summer days when the rest of us were sweltering in the heat and / or using generators. His refrigerator and freezer worked etc.

Generators may sound like a fine alternative but after a major weather event like that, gasoline and diesel can be hard to come by. For about a week after Ida you couldn't get any within 100 miles of me. In a bigger storm that can be more like a month or two, if you can even get out on the roads. More serious weather events will also impact natural gas systems as well because there won't be any power to pump it, and / or the lines can be broken by uprooted trees and so on. Due to the limitations on fuel I have a small generator, and I was running an AC only at night so we could sleep. During the day I ran it for a few hours to cool down my freezer, then let it rest. You also have to do maintenance on them.

They are already talking about possible rolling blackouts in Texas this year due to summer heat taxing their power grid. This is not a good time to be sitting in your house in the summer with no power.

During a heavy cold snap like they had in Texas in 2021, it would again be nice to have power, though I wonder how well a Tesla power wall would hold up to that? My neighbors battery units are on the outside of his house, which is probably standard due to potential fire risk. But they are exposed to the elements. Do they work well in 15 degree F ? How well do solar panels work with ice on them? (Serious question as I don't know)

Something is always better than nothing. I figure that after the big earthquake happens here, the grid will be down for days. And my batteries will keep me up and running with no problem. Although being the good neighbor I am, I will let my neighbors run extension cords to me to keep their fridges cold and their phones and laptops charged.

As for your questions, They can best be answered by the solar vendors where you live. And look into other battery manufactures. Mine is Enphase.
Ice on panels? They will have a degradation in output. But you can always use antifreeze on them to melt it. LOL

 

[MIflyer]

If you find Chinese Crap on your roof you'd better notify the USAF.

I'd guess Orange County CA might be one of the few safe places for a photovoltaic system. One lighting strike can ruin your whole day for a month or two. FL may also be a good choice for such system since we have plenty of sunlight and our lightning season is only 12 months long.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Something is always better than nothing. I figure that after the big earthquake happens here, the grid will be down for days. And my batteries will keep me up and running with no problem. Although being the good neighbor I am, I will let my neighbors run extension cords to me to keep their fridges cold and their phones and laptops charged.

As for your questions, They can best be answered by the solar vendors where you live. And look into other battery manufactures. Mine is Enphase.
Ice on panels? They will have a degradation in output. But you can always use antifreeze on them to melt it. LOL

Thats the main reason I am considering solar power as well. We get huge severe thunderstorms with Tornados very often, and power can go down for quite some time. Imagine if the tornado takes out the power grid. Additionally the New Madrid Fault Line which is also a major earthquake and seismic activity zone capable of major quakes in the 7.0-8.0 range. In fact it is responsible for 4 of the largest eathquakes in North American history including the the 1811-1812 New Madrid Quakes which were estimated as high as 8.6 which caused part of the Mississippi River to change direction and flow backwards creating Tennessee's largest lake the Reelfoot Lake. Anyhow, I want power if the next "big one" hits here.

 

[Wild_Bill_Kelso]

If you find Chinese Crap on your roof you'd better notify the USAF.

I'd guess Orange County CA might be one of the few safe places for a photovoltaic system. One lighting strike can ruin your whole day for a month or two. FL may also be a good choice for such system since we have plenty of sunlight and our lightning season is only 12 months long.

We have tons of solar systems around my neighborhood and we get thunderstorms practically every day in the summer, (every day for the last 21 days for example). I've never heard of anyone losing one around here to a lightning strike. I would assume they have something like a lightning rod for that.

 

[Wild_Bill_Kelso]

Thats the main reason I am considering solar power as well. We get huge severe thunderstorms with Tornados very often, and power can go down for quite some time. Imagine if the tornado takes out the power grid. Additionally the New Madrid Fault Line which is also a major earthquake and seismic activity zone capable of major quakes in the 7.0-8.0 range. In fact it is responsible for 4 of the largest eathquakes in North American history including the the 1811-1812 New Madrid Quakes which were estimated as high as 8.6 which caused part of the Mississippi River to change direction and flow backwards creating Tennessee's largest lake the Reelfoot Lake. Anyhow, I want power if the next "big one" hits here.

Substantial power outages are becoming much more common in much of the US.

US power outages from severe weather have doubled in 20 years

The nation’s aging electrical grid is battered by an increasing number of destructive storms caused by a warming climate

www.theguardian.com

They are blaming it on Climate Change but I don't think that is the only reason. Around here since they privatized the local electric company they basically stopped doing maintenance, we lost a massive electrical tower during a hurricane last year and it turned out to be completely eaten up with rust.

I think having a good backup is a good idea, and Tesla powerwall is probably one of the better options.

It does concern me a little though to learn from that video that the guy was having some trouble restarting his units because the regional cell service was down. That's not "off grid" if it's relying on the cell service working. After a really big Hurricane cell service goes out for a while, for a wide area.

 

[syscom3]

Thats the main reason I am considering solar power as well. We get huge severe thunderstorms with Tornados very often, and power can go down for quite some time. Imagine if the tornado takes out the power grid. Additionally the New Madrid Fault Line which is also a major earthquake and seismic activity zone capable of major quakes in the 7.0-8.0 range. In fact it is responsible for 4 of the largest eathquakes in North American history including the the 1811-1812 New Madrid Quakes which were estimated as high as 8.6 which caused part of the Mississippi River to change direction and flow backwards creating Tennessee's largest lake the Reelfoot Lake. Anyhow, I want power if the next "big one" hits here.

The Madrid seismic zone is a great reason to. Although I would think the tornadoes and ice storms as being more probable. But if another 1811 event happened, it could knock out power for weeks.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

The Madrid seismic zone is a great reason to. Although I would think the tornadoes and ice storms as being more probable. But if another 1811 event happened, it could knock out power for weeks.

The storms are certainly the main reason. From April through October storms are pretty nuch weakly.

 

[syscom3]

The storms are certainly the main reason. From April through October storms are pretty nuch weakly.

Another thing to factor in for your system is performance in the winter. In the summer, your latitude means the system will be screaming. But in the winter, an ice storm outage might impact how long your battery will last because of shorter daylight hours and ice's now buildup. Of course a local vendor who knows your area can advise you.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Another thing to factor in for your system is performance in the winter. In the summer, your latitude means the system will be screaming. But in the winter, an ice storm outage might impact how long your battery will last because of shorter daylight hours and ice's now buildup. Of course a local vendor who knows your area can advise you.

Yeah, that is something to think about. We can have some pretty cloudy, snowy, and icy days.

I'm also concerned with hail damage. We can literally get softball size hail.

 

[Wild_Bill_Kelso]

A lot of the newer panels seem to be pretty resistant to hail, though it's for sure a consideration.

I don't have a whole house system but I play around with panels for stuff like charging phones and running the pump on a pond in my back yard. I notice the newer ones don't seem to be nearly as phased by clouds and don't need to be pointed directly at the sun to generate power the way they did even ten years ago.

I suspect if you do get a system, it matters a lot what panels you get as there seems to be a wide range in quality.

 

[syscom3]

Yeah, that is something to think about. We can have some pretty cloudy, snowy, and icy days.

I'm also concerned with hail damage. We can literally get softball size hail.

The panels can handle those extra large hailstones. If not, they wouldn't be marketed in many areas. Again, check with your local solar companies.

And, my production charts do show a reduction in power when thick clouds roll over. But during most of the day, its really insignificant. For my area at least.

 

[syscom3]

Deradler, This was my production yesterday. In the morning you can see the lower power produced because of thick morning clouds. By late morning they burned off and the production went back to normal.

 

[Wild_Bill_Kelso]

So can you help translate this a little? Looks like some baseline even at night, but I assume that is just noise. How much do light, medium and heavy clouds affect power generation by your panels? Are your panels facing south?