Electricity cost more than gasoline these days.

Think how much cheaper a bunch of panels on new homes is, compared to all of the hurdles necessary to open up a new gas-fired turbine power Generating Station. Between construction costs, Environmental Studies NIMBY law suits, etc you might be waiting a long time. And with battery storage becoming so feasible now? Who knows, those massive new generating stations may be a thing of the past in the not-too-distant future.
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Yes, if I am building a new house. I definitely include PV on roof top as a part of my house structure. Problem is what to do now with THIS OLD HOUSE!

 

My problem / concern with adding PV to my house is that my roof is heavily shaded. I could have trees removed, but that would increase my home’s heat; not to mention the enjoyment / exercise I get in the Fall raking all those leaves!

I had my home surveyed for PV three years ago when I bought my Fiat 500e, but I just couldn’t see cutting down the trees.

 

This cost in electricity bill, would tend to make people think twice about going for a plug in vehicle.

I just hope plugins won't suffer in the short term.


Dxta

 

Yes, if you really want energy efficient house, then it is important to do site analysis BEFORE you built your house. BTW, I cut down 1-2 tree/year just from naturally fallen trees in my backyard, and using the wood in my wood burning stove.

 

With any luck Oregon will follow California's footsteps and allow sharing arrangements with neighbors who have better solar resource.

 

In Minnesota there are what we call 'community solar gardens'. Centralized solar arrays from 30kW to mW sizes. Individuals than lease panel production.
Pretty good deal, and participation in them has been hugely popular.

 

that theme;
"someone has to pay" often gets used against environmental causes. Take residential PV for instance. One complaint of electricity customers is, "my rates are going up just to subsidize my neighbor's rooftop solar farm! & now he gets a break with low electrical costs in perpetuity!! Unfair!!"
Ironically this falsity gets pushed primarily from the utility companies here in SoCal. Truth be told, the overpaid administrators fail to properly plan for urban sprawl. They fail to build more power generating stations. Solar & wind & battery backup has actually helped cure administrator's shortcomings. The problems start when utility administrator's get greedy. How can they justify raising their incomes (already in the 6 figures, + expense accounts in the 5 figures) . . . when the utility isn't generating more power? The utility has to lie to the customer; we have to raise poor fixed-income Grandma's rates, because those mean Rich solar panel people aren't paying anything. PLEASE give support - next Public Utility Meeting so we can charge them, instead of grandma's fixed income.
Truth is PV users stabilize SoCal's shaky grid by providing power during Peak demands. The residential PV home owner has simply paid for his juice up front, with the hope of someday reaping a bigger benefit once the system is amortized. You seldom ever hear that side of the coin from the utility company.
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You forgot to add in the utility costs to buy the vote, politicians and PUC that get passed on to the end consumer ;-)

 

Gs prices are is creeping up here and I just switched to a "Time of Use" plan because I mostly charge at night. So now I am paying 12 cents per kwh which gets me about 4.2 miles.

Right now $1.44 gets me about 50 miles-- as opposed to $3.30 for a gallon of gas. I'll take it.

I may rue the TOU when using ac at home on Summer days, but we do a lot of passive house-cooling.

 

Gas here has gone from 2.35 to 2.79 over the past few weeks. Temps are high 90s to 100 yesterday. In May. Ave temp should be 77. AC is required in home and car.

 

We have a "dry heat" in the desert!

So if it's 90 out we can just open the windows and get a breeze going.

It won't work during monsoon season, though.

 

We do the same. I'm skeptical that you will be happy with the TOU plan, but let us know after a year. My napkin math says you save ~ 60 cents a day on charging. I will not be surprised if your savings are eaten up with the first 3 - 4 kwh use during peak rate.

 

There is a huge difference when you add in tons of humidity on top of high temperatures. I’ve lived in San Antonio, Tampa, Memphis, and the desert in Oman. No doubt that many times Memphis was worse than Tampa or the Middle East. It’s true—humidity makes a big big difference.

 

I am a member of a CO-OP that is my electric supplier. Here is a program you can buy into their solar panels at their headquarters.

Alternative Energy

WHAT IS CO-OP SOLAR?
Co-Op Solar is a new solar energy program from Kankakee Valley REMC. Unlike individual rooftop solar systems, Co-Op Solar is a "community solar" system that allows many co-op members to get the benefits of solar energy.

When you participate in Co-Op Solar, you purchase blocks of solar power. Each block you buys gives you access to solar energy. Members can purchase Co-Op Solar blocks at the current rate of .20 cents each per month, per block, for up to one half of your average annual electricity use. The charge for the number of blocks you agree to purchase will be billed on your monthly electric bill.

 

I lived for years in a 100F , 90% humidity climate for 8 months of the year without AC. A fan or three let me sleep at night. My experience outside is that the most comfortable solution is to be on a bicycle. The wind aids evaporation enough to keep things tolerable if not pleasant.

 

I had to read the contract to figure out out the per kWh cost. They say that a 'share' costs 20 cents a month and

Either my arithmetic is off or they have errors since almost surely they are not selling ~ 500 kWh a year for $2.40

 

I never really got into the deal with the CO-OP I just knew it was a program they offer. They have actually changed it from their original program. I didn't look into it because my wife didn't want solar panel at our home or spend the money on the CO-OP program. Status Quo.

 

Here is another of their websites:
Solar Dashboard - POWER MOVES

It indeed looks like they are selling energy for 0.5 - 1.0 cents a kWh, depending on panel generation.
It is a fantastically good deal, and clean energy to boot. They might as well give away the energy for free.
You have to be crazy to not subscribe unless there is other small print.

To be clear: absent other small print,
When the solar farm catches their error and increase the rate 10x to $2 a month to rent 300 watts, it will STILL be a very nice offer.

Is this a Dan Quayle moment ?