It's very interesting to see rumors circulating that public utilities are worried about solar energy adoption cutting into their business.
Is this actually true? Is the total cost of ownership becoming sufficiently low as to drive adoption?
Is this actually true? Is the total cost of ownership becoming sufficiently low as to drive adoption?
I did my own solar installation for about $1000, and it's enough for me to live lightly on (no AC, no microwave, no electric heater, but laptop and phone and hotspot stay charged, and fans can run indefinitely). Fridge runs on propane, when I'm off-the-grid. I'd need to quadruple that to turn on the AC or electric heat for any length of time, and would need a lot more batteries (I have three group 27 deep cycle batteries and a 3000 watt inverter).
Anyway, I got sidetracked a bit. We're currently at the point where a DIY installation can pay for itself in under 9 years. Maybe even as little as 7. Professionally installed systems, with subsidies, are probably around the 10 year repayment mark. And, the panels get cheaper every time I look into it. The batteries stay pricey, though.
Can you please explain what kind of batteries are you using?And what are your usage patterns? For example I'm using two 12V 200A lead batteries, I'm trying to use then only on 30% discharge so that they will last longer.
They're nothing special, just heavy as hell lead acid batteries. I also try to never discharge too low...my rule of thumb is 50%, though I've run them until the inverter shut off due to low power. So, I've obviously gone below 50% a few times. They're three years old, and starting to show signs of degradation. I bought them at Costco for, I think, $98 each, and I'm pleased with the return on investment, given that they've gotten me out of being stranded on more than one occasion (I'm in a motorhome, and the chassis battery has been an interesting component, having more than it's fair share of failures, always in very bad places to have a motorhome that won't start).
I should point out that when I am off-the-grid, I am extremely conscious of my power usage. I charge everything during the day, religiously, so that I don't even have to turn the inverter on, some nights (lights, fans, water pump, and fridge igniter are 12V). It's a ritual...actually, it's a really satisfying ritual that I miss when I'm living plugged in. I need to go get lost in the desert or in Mexico this winter; been parked too long.
Building a power plant is a multi-decade bet. The people who put up the money for that expected a certain rate of return. That gives them an incentive to cry, cry, cry at anything that would reduce their expected rate of return.
I think they'd be happy to build a lot of industrial-scale solar plants, but not before they've paid off and worn out their existing plants. It'd be sort of like the government mandating that everybody buy a hybrid. If it's just that all new cars are hybrids, people will deal with it. But if everybody has to go out and pay to replace a perfectly fine existing car, people will be pissed.