our whole house solar system cranked up for the first time today...

[msongs]

also posted this in the efficient living group on DU.

4.9 KW system expandable to 4 more panels, 20 rooftop panels on south and west facing roof sections, 2 converters, a nice digital electric meter n all that.

so nice to see the meter going backwards even though we are using a modest amount of electrical stuff right now at 5pm.
the solar input is declining as the sun heads down, so we will start drawing from the city power grid soon.

lots still left to learn about the system, reading the information, dials, gages etc, AND how to start conserving to the max to gain the most credit against the city. We have net metering, so we cannot sell back more than we use in balance.

Yahoo!

Msongs
Riverside CA

PS - will have a complete dailyKos diary with photos in a week or so

[NNN0LHI]

1. Does that operate your central air compressor too?

I was told I would need about 5 KW just for that alone.

Don

[NYC_SKP]

2. "Inverters". You have two inverters, not converters. And, Congratulations!!!

Since you said, "lots to learn", I thought I'd help.

You'll have LOTS of conversations and I'm sure you'll sing the praises of your system to all who ask!

You are now one of thousands of contributors to the concept of "distributed" electricity, local production is so much more efficient than centralized generation that requires heavier infrastructure and involves so much line loss sending power over distances.

:toast:

Please post a link to your Kos diary here when you've posted it.

[BeFree]

3. Damn! People keep doing that and

They'll have to start shutting down some of the dirtiest power plants.

Imagine that, energy from the sun.

[babylonsister]

4. Very cool! I hope you share what your savings are eventually.

What do you mean by gaining credit against the city? It'd be really great if they had to pay you! ;)

[JDPriestly]

5. May I ask a personal question? How much did the whole system cost?

How large a house are you supplying with electricity? Are you using gas appliances and heat in conjunction with the solar?

If you don't want to give exact amounts, could you please give a range for those of us who have no idea how expensive such a system would be? I have looked at websites on solar energy systems, but, frankly, I don't understand how it works or how you figure out how much it really costs.

Thanks. I think a lot more people would be interested in solar if we could just have an idea about costs and how it really works.

[ContinentalOp]

6. I know somebody who has done this in the $20k range.

I think that was without any inverters though. It just provides power during the day and runs the meter backwards, then at night you're running off the grid. The inverters are quite expensive AFAIK.

There was a company that was installing panels for free (which they would then own) and selling you power at the same price as your current electrical bill plus a discount rate depending on how long of a contract you sign up for. I can't remember the company's name though. edit: may have been this one http://renu.citizenre.com/index.php?p=svc_overview

[ContinentalOp]

7. Congratulations! I really want to do this.

Which company did you use?

[msongs]

8. hey thanks for the comments......

yes I will post numbers (general numbers) and some details on the diary after we've played with it a few days. as to several particular questions:

the way the city credit works is - what we generate cancels out what we get from the city. the best deal is we break even and pay no electric bill. The city will not pay us for electricity we generate above and beyond if we actually generate more than we ever buy from them. Not likely we will generate that much with our system, but in theory the city should have to pay for excess.

Air conditioner - our system will not cancel out the AC. what happens is we generate excess energy credit during the non-AC periods and apply that to when we use the AC.

Conservation - for this to work we really have to conserve. turn off everything we are not actually using. The electric vampires go on power strips (anything that is instant on will no longer be instant on).

there is no value to a system that generates more than we would otherwise buy from the city since the city will not buy excess from us.

We bought from Pacific Sun Technologies. City of Riverside pays a rebate of $3 per kilowatt and the federal tax break brings rebates to about half the total cost, which was near $30K.

Msongs
Riverside CA

[msongs]

9. btw...

city of Riverside has its own utility, so rates are lower than with Edison for example. People who have hijackers like Edison and PG&E will save much more and get a faster payback.

Edison wants to build massive solar plants and avoid us having our own systems if possible. go figure, corporate america.

Msongs

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. There is also a state rebate of $2.20/watt

Though the $3.00/watt may include that.

[msongs]

11. told my councilman the city could pay for it & I would be a pilot project. he said...NO nt