Solar Panels for my home

No, not in a federally insured saving account, but easily in a non-insured investment account. I did my calculation, $35K invested with a 4% annual return will easily beat the ROI from spending the same on my rooftop solar panel for the next 30 years.

 

I still must stay on-grid, due to the huge seasonal mismatch between production and load. Fortunately, the regional hydroelectric dams fill in that mismatch reasonably well, even if not perfectly. They generally have lots of water when my production is low, while my solar produces very well after the rains slow and the snowmelt winds down.

Thanks mostly to hydro, Seattle City Light has been carbon neutral for well over a decade, the first large utility to do so. Snohomish County PUD looks equally good on its basic fuel mix chart, but I see no indication that it buys any offsets to reach the same goal. The private utilities around here get last pick at the cleanest sources, leaving them dependent on carbon to fill their remaining needs. At least my home efforts free up other renewables for them to access.

I've been somewhat leery of the integrity of offsets and credits and renewable contribution programs, so have been more inclined to put money into things where I have more direct visibility or control. Though that isn't a practical path for everyone. But like you, I also contributed to a community solar project.

Part of my reason for pushing the house to net zero was that it also focused attention on conservation through improved building envelope and infrastructure (especially heat and hot water). It seems that many people simply throw money at other programs but then don't put any mind-share into their own consumption, so a lot of lower hanging fruit on the conservation side goes unharvested. I was able to cut my all-electric home's energy consumption in half, while simultaneously making it warmer (we become less cold tolerant with age) and draft-free with better lighting. This goes a long way towards towards reduced carbon emissions, and helps drive the market for more efficient appliances and buildings too.

 

Look at the math again, apply an escalator on the electricity you buy from the utility of about 3 percent annually. Basically, at that point your payback from the solar system increases about 3 percent a year. But if the utility is screwing you that way, I would build out a smaller 16-20k system with east, south, and west facing panels and instead. So that you are always generating electricity, just not more than you are using. Essentially takes your bill from say 200 a month down to 100 a month and if you have a big enough house, use the excess power on something else that you need or could use. Buddy of my used his on a well pump to keep his tanks full. Another runs his pool heaters longer, etc. You'll always find something.

 

Many people fail to realize how much there is to gain from making the home more comfortable.

 

Our utility has not increased at an annual rate of 3% in the last 15 years I have lived here. It has not changed much for the last 10+ years I have the record. See the graph of our household monthly electric cost $/kWh for the last 10+ years.

Yeah, investing $35K in a large 12.7kw system that supposed to produce 100% of our electricity use is not very economical, but even an upfront investment of $10K+ on a smaller system to save 50% of our monthly bill still is not going to be much of a saving. I can save 15% on the bill just by signing up for the community solar. No upfront cost or maintenance. Of course, there is no guarantee that the electricity rate will stay the same, but there is also no guarantee that the solar panel on my rooftop will keep producing the same kWh of electricity year after year hassle-free either.

When the smaller say 5kW grid-tied PV system can be installed for less than $5K (i.e. less than $1/w... the current average is $2.91/w), that's when I will jump on the bandwagon. Until then, I will keep the money in the investment account earning a minimum of 4% but realistically around 12% in the current market condition, although I know very well that is also not guaranteed.

 

I went ahead and bought solar panels for my house despite it not being a great investment. It is not a great money saver but I did it to lesson my impact and I believe in solar technology to lesson my environmental impact. I could afford to do so but I feel without government subsidies it is not viable for most people which is a shame. I think that power companies should be state owned and controlled to promote clean energy as they do in Europe. Without that American market capitalism will need subsidies to promote clean energy for the foreseeable future.