Does Solar Pay for Itself? Is it worth it?

[houseofancients]

Because of Russia?

that, and other things.
electricity price are coupled with the natural gas price here..
once that seemed a good idea, maybe not so much now

 

[wattmatters]

Please take the talk of guns, public health policy and other non-relevant stuff to the right part of the forum:
Chit Chat Zone (Non-Solar Discussion)

This thread is about whether solar pays for itself.

 

[curiouscarbon]

please, can we keep the thread on topic so it stays in the DIY solar discussion forum, for the benefit of newcomers.

if off topic discussion continues, it will be moved to chit chat forum, and new solar builders will be deprived of the insights

thanks, kind regards.

 

[Lt.Dan]

Dear lord guys, take the hint.

 

[timselectric]

Please

 

[curiouscarbon]

anyways.

whether solar "pays for itself" seems largely a matter of goals and values.

comparing energy prices with the locally available grid is a popular metric.

assurance of independence seems to be another.

valuing self sufficiency highly can result in a much faster "return on investment" as compared to straightforward comparison with grid energy costs per kilowatt hour ?

 

[OzSolar]

Does anyone ever ask if a bass boat or a Corvette pays for itself?

 

[timselectric]

Probably not. But, every pick up truck I've owned has.

 

[OzSolar]

Probably not. But, every pick up truck I've owned has.

yep. I just bought 3 new F250 4x4 long beds. They will make me money while they are in use then once the accelerated depreciation plays out I'll sell them for more than my first year net cost. That will be the 5th time I've done that in the last 30 years.

Of course that's not what I was talking about.

 

[RV8R]

yep. I just bought 3 new F250 4x4 long beds. They will make me money while they are in use then once the accelerated depreciation plays out I'll sell them for more than my first year net cost. That will be the 5th time I've done that in the last 30 years.

Of course that's not what I was talking about.

I heard once the most feared organization in the world is the IRS.

 

[OzSolar]

I heard once the most feared organization in the world is the IRS.

They say tax evasion is what did Capone in. Numerous drug dealers, big and small time, as well. This is my 30th year in business. We don't fool around with the IRS, even report the cash jobs that could be EASILY hidden. The only tax issues we've ever had were minor and ironically caused by others. IE: customers or GC's that we were sub's for get caught playing around and we get asked to verify our sales/billing.

And I spoke too soon on the new trucks. Dealer came back with revised "market adjustment" price so that was the end of that deal.

edit to fix typo.

 

[Darren67-72]

As for me, I did the math.... about 20 times, and my payoff would be at the 10 year mark. I think I built the system as economical as possable, without kicking safety totally in the wind! As of year one, we are on track, within a small margin of error. I did figure in some maintenance as well but, this part can be hard to figure due to the thought that everything has warranties... for whatever that's worth, in real life.
I'll post an update on this at year 5. Lol

As for the fun factor and the feeling of control over my life and the sense of security AND that I think I'm the cool kid on the block.... these things don't have a dollar value but, I do really enjoy them.
Lastly, it is really hard to give a real "pay for it self" figure because once I started this system, i just kept going. Such as, getting rid of our propane furnace, then the propane stove, then I just decided to get rid of propane all together. Next... you get the point.
Yes, so worth it.

 

[Warpspeed]

All this has some hobby value as well, especially in retirement.

 

[HowlerMonkey]

It pays for itself when no fuel is available to run generators.

Then, when the have nots, come for your stuff, your guns will pay for themselves.

 

[houseofancients]

I heard once the most feared organization in the world is the IRS.

facts..

 

[LeoThomson]

I heard once the most feared organization in the world is the IRS.

That would be organized religion, not only do they have taxes prescribed in their holy books, (tithing) they also have things like slavery, stoning people to death for making love, killing all men, women and children of entire villages, except for the female virgins. Then we have wars faught over which god is best, or even wars over which interpretation of the god is "correct".

I am not afraid of paying taxes, or even being audited, I do fear people who deny evolution.

 

[Hedges]

Only those who have not evolved, deny evolution.

 

[Johneb]

No offense, but we are straying off subject again. Go to chit chat forum and talk about God, Guns and Country there. We want to keep this thread alive.

 

[Hedges]

I'm planning to do a PV install on a family house, but need to make drawings, get permits, work completed, and permission to connect before NEM 3.0

All-electric is being pushed in California, but I just checked rates and gas at $0.90 per therm is $8.53/Giga Joule. Electricity in the $0.25 to $0.50/kWh range is $70 to $140/Giga Joule. Even if heat pumps are 300% efficient, doesn't come near closing the gap.

Then I looked to see how gas rates vary by season and saw this:

Perfect Storm Fuels Massive Natural Gas Price Spikes on West Coast; Northern California Hits $55/MMBtu - Natural Gas Intelligence

Against a backdrop of mostly mild weather across the Lower 48, winter unleashed its fury on the West Coast a bit early this season. The frigid

www.naturalgasintel.com

Am I correct in seeing that gas just quintupled since start of December? That would close the gap.

If I can install GT PV for $1/W and roll my own power for $0.025/kWh (amortized over 20 years), it puts resistance heating on parity with last month's gas bill. Heat pump comes out ahead. If natural gas rates just went through the roof, a clear win.

My present place I use electric heat, only because it is use-it-or-lose it annually, and I put in excessive GT PV two decades ago.

 

[timselectric]

I'm planning to do a PV install on a family house, but need to make drawings, get permits, work completed, and permission to connect before NEM 3.0

All-electric is being pushed in California, but I just checked rates and gas at $0.90 per therm is $8.53/Joule. Electricity in the $0.25 to $0.50/kWh range is $70 to $140/Joule. Even if heat pumps are 300% efficient, doesn't come near closing the gap.

Then I looked to see how gas rates vary by season and saw this:

Perfect Storm Fuels Massive Natural Gas Price Spikes on West Coast; Northern California Hits $55/MMBtu - Natural Gas Intelligence

Against a backdrop of mostly mild weather across the Lower 48, winter unleashed its fury on the West Coast a bit early this season. The frigid

www.naturalgasintel.com

Am I correct in seeing that gas just quintupled since start of December? That would close the gap.

If I can install GT PV for $1/W and roll my own power for $0.025/kWh (amortized over 20 years), it puts resistance heating on parity with last month's gas bill. Heat pump comes out ahead. If natural gas rates just went through the roof, a clear win.

My present place I use electric heat, only because it is use-it-or-lose it annually, and I put in excessive GT PV two decades ago.

I can't speak to your area. But the gas bill in my area doubled, this year. Switching to heat pump, before next winter.