Solar Power around the KC area ***MEGATHREAD!!!!***

[Lzen]

Just wanted to show you all this. This is the energy produced by my panels and how much used from Evergy. This goes all the way back to when I got panels up and running last year about July 18th. I took this screen cap off my solar monitoring app the other day. I have 27 panels for a 2400 square foot home. Now we just started using the AC again. Also, just plugged in the above ground pool filter. So, the daily will go up. Still, that's found exactly what I wanted it to do.

If anyone is interested, I can give more details about the price I paid and even show you my Evergy bill(s).

[Lzen]

Here's a current daily screen cap. Pool filter is running and so is AC. Home usage isn't much because nobody is home right now.

[Lzen]

Here was my latest Evergy bill.

Review & Pay Your Bill

Your Evergy bill is available for review and payment.

Evergy Account Number
**********

Amount Due
$4.40

Due Date
05-23-2023

[DaFace]

Granted my experience in Colorado is probably pretty different than those in other areas, but I got my system turned on at the beginning of May. Looks great this time of year - tons of production, and almost no AC usage.

The one big tip I'll give is to at least consider a cash purchase rather than a loan if it's at all something you could make work. For my install, the loan price was $29k vs. $21k for the purchase (and you get 30% back from the feds on either). It's obviously nice to just have the low payments for ~25 years (or however your installer sets it up), but man...~40% origination fees is nuts. We managed to move some things around to make it do-able, but even if you plan to pay it off in a few years (rather than a long-term loan), a personal loan or HELOC will probably work out in your favor.

If by any chance anyone's interested in Blue Raven Solar (which is one of the larger companies out there), hit me up. They do referral credits that'll save you $500 and save me $500 as well.

----

For context, mine is a 5.67 KW system, so it's on the small side. It only covers ~80% of our costs, but unfortunately I don't have enough south-facing roof to do much more than that.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

My array was $52K. I got $9400 back from the city and $15,000 back from the feds on an 18kWh system with an independent controller that works off-grid if necessary. I went net-positive for the year in April and have exported roughly 840kWh this year.

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

My array was $52K. I got $9400 back from the city and $15,000 back from the feds on an 18kWh system with an independent controller that works off-grid if necessary. I went net-positive for the year in April and have exported roughly 840kWh this year.

Damn. I'd probably go solar if I could land a return like that.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Damn. I'd probably go solar if I could land a return like that.

Yeah he paid not much more than I did with a system that's about 5kWh larger. That city rebate must be nice.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Yeah he paid not much more than I did with a system that's about 5kWh larger. That city rebate must be nice.

Yeah, that's a hell of a bonus. I was surprised that there's nothing else offered by the state (Colorado). Seems like we've got rebates for just about every other green product, so it's a little odd that solar isn't one of them.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Damn. I'd probably go solar if I could land a return like that.

Yeah. Projected break-even point is about 6.5 years assuming 3.2% inflation on energy costs.

The city also gives us retail prices on the credits we get from feeding the grid rather than wholesale, so that's a really nice incentive to defray costs. The only thing I needed was an additional rider on our homeowners' policy due to the size of the system

I plan on getting an EV in about a year or two, so I had a 60 amp circuit put in the garage when the house was built. I'm hoping that the system will take care of most of my charging burden.

[Lzen]

I'll have to look at the paperwork but I think my system is a 12-13kWh system, 27 panels. In Kansas, they don't allow you to do off grid with these. Though I'd be curious what they could even do about it if you wanted to go off grid. We paid 34k for it with a loan through Clean Evergy Credit Union in Colorado. Got something like $9200 back on my taxes this year and will claim the other $1000 on next year's taxes. So, the system will end up costing me $25k. The system is guaranteed to still produce at 90% or so after 25 years or they will replace panels.

[Lzen]

Looking at those numbers, we will definitely come out way ahead by the time all is said and done. And the system will continue producing electricity after we break even on the cost vs energy savings.

[Lzen]

Just wanted to chime in on this again. I feel like this was a great decision. This is a screen shot of my solar panel app. After 1 year, I've produced slightly more than I've used. That's a 27 panel system, mind you. After the 30% tax incentive, it was about $24-25k but it will pay dividends long after I pay it off.

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Just wanted to chime in on this again. I feel like this was a great decision. This is a screen shot of my solar panel app. After 1 year, I've produced slightly more than I've used. That's a 27 panel system, mind you. After the 30% tax incentive, it was about $24-25k but it will pay dividends long after I pay it off.

I am looking at this now as well, but I've heard that in 10-15 years you will need to replace the batteries at 10k or more a piece?

[KobesPilot]

Originally Posted by IowaHawkeyeChief

I am looking at this now as well, but I've heard that in 10-15 years you will need to replace the batteries at 10k or more a piece?

The replacement of storage batteries for a Solar panel system would depend on many factors. What type of batteries do they have? Lead acid last the shortest time 4–8 years and Lithium last the longest 10 plus years. Also nickle Iron last about 10 years and then can be replenished for about 10 or maybe again for a total of 30 years.

Also how are they maintained? How deep of a cycle and how often do they cycle? So for example a lead acid string gets discharged to 40% Depth of Charge in the 1st year it could be the last year for them. They should only get discharged to 50% or less. The fewer deep cycles the better. A Lithium battery can discharge to 20% depth of charge.

Are the batteries housed in a temperature controller area or do they get frozen in winter and baked in Summer. Extreme temperatures shorten the life of all types of batteries. So treat them well and they will last a long time. discharge them to often or too deep and keep them in extreme temperatures and they will only last 1 year.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by IowaHawkeyeChief

I am looking at this now as well, but I've heard that in 10-15 years you will need to replace the batteries at 10k or more a piece?

The potentially missing point here is, why do you need batteries? Unless you're talking about an off grid cabin or something, most people don't. It's a little complicated, but you basically use the rest of the power grid as your "battery" instead (search for "net metering" to learn more).

You do need a battery if you're otherwise trying to eliminate power outages, but that's really it.