Sorry Toyota...roof leaked so I bought a Leaf

During these past few years CA has been in a drought...but there was still enough rain a few times for me to notice some ceiling and wall damage due to a small leak. I was just never aware of it as it happened to actually observe any wetness in the attic...the attic was also dry when I went up there. Finally, I did see it this past February.

Faced with a few thousand dollars for a roof repair (after estimates) I called a solar PV and roofing company. I was able to get the roof repaired and some needed attic vents for almost nothing if I got solar. But with my low electric bill (even with a 2012 PIP and charging at work) I don't really use enough kw-hrs to make it viable economically, and I have very little south-facing roof. But I did find out that with a low angle west-facing area good enough for 12 panels I can get a 3.3 kw (dc) system that produces ~4300 kw-hr per year.

The solution was to lease a Nissan Leaf to use up enough kw-hrs to get my payback down to 7-8 yrs (sooner if electric rates go up). I got my solar installed a month ago, leased the Leaf last week and sold my other Prius (2010) today. I would have liked to have gotten a Prius EV instead, but Toyota doesn't make one, since no one (apparently) has been asking for it. Probably my fault for not going to the Toyota dealer where I've purchased a Prius 4 times (2000, 2004, 2009, 2012) and asked to test drive the Prius EV. I did test drive the BMW, Mercedes, Ford, VW plus others at EV events.

I still need the PIP for my second car and for 80+ mile round trips, but in 3 years I'll be looking again for the PriusEV at the Toyota dealer (I know it will probably be hard to find with all the fuel cell cars on the lot)

Mike

 

No. PG&E will pay wholesale for the net metering rate if you over-produce (compared to your usage) every 12 months.
That rate is about 4 cents/kwh.

Mike

 

Which part don't you get?
I've wanted to go solar but it just seemed expensive, considering that my usage was so low. But saving a few thousand extra by getting the roof repair folded in made it more reasonable. It also made more sense to get a few more panels, dropping the price per kw if I could use the extra kw-hrs. The PIP is great and I really like driving in EV (65% of ~25000 miles in almost 3 years). Now I have a Leaf and a PIP, rather than a PIP and regular Prius. For sure my EV percentage on the PIP is going to drop, but my total EV to gas ratio will go way up. And the fuel cost per mile will drop.

The Leaf SL (high end) cost is about an even swap for the 2010 Prius, but is newer and has a few more features (better NAV, 360 surround camera, Carwings, solar trickle charge for 12v battery, etc) I am giving up whatever the 2010 would be worth in 3 more years. I'm also giving up the 500+ mile range of the Prius compared to the Leaf EV range...but I don't need it since I have the PIP.

Mike

 

Actually I was 3Prius+1PIP-2Prius before now I'm 3Prius+1PIP-2Prius+1Leaf.
We only had 3 Prius at one time for a few months, then a year later back to 3 (2Prius+PIP) for a couple of years.

Mike