💚💚💚 .... welcome back 😊

Good info. Solar is scaling fast here in sweden. Finding it difficult to recommend batteries aswell and most buyers agree to wait. :)

@M.mierwa

Жыл бұрын

I think that is a financially smarter move for now.

Doing a great job.. ty

@solartimeusa

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Chris! :) I appreciate the comment.

New to the channel. Great information!

@solartimeusa

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Dane! Hope you subscribed! I am working on a lot new projects now, but will be back here in May! Hope to see ya! Martyna

With majority of what was said here I agree, except the battery. If your installer installs grid-tied inverter without battery support, you might have serious re-work and you might end up with device costing $2k+ that will, at best, be sold to 2nd hand market. So this is worth consideration - even buying small battery that might only be able to drive VERY limited circuits (lights) is better than no battery at all.

@solartimeusa

Жыл бұрын

Hey Robert! Thank you for sharing your opinion on back up and thanks for the comment. :) I agree to some point. Unfortunately in Texas people have extremely high expectations for battery back up, and they tend to expect 1 x 10 kWh battery to run their whole 4,500 sq ft home... where their daily consumption is around 120 kWh. I explain to homeowners all the time the limitations, and even if you back up small circuits they tend to complain and dont want to spend the amount of money... I personally am waiting, I have had solar for years now, and still cant make myself spend the money for just lights. How would you convince me? :D ( 1000% friendly tone here) Martyna

It sounds like are advocating for "buy the capacity now" if you think you might need it vs "buy it when you need it" philosophy? A couple of questions? Are you saying that because there is no tax credit for upgrading your system later? A somewhat related but separate question, if you generate much more capacity then you need today and you are getting credits through your electrical supplier can the credits get "banked" to offset future utility bills? I realize an answer may differ based on your suppliers rules on credits but I'm hoping that there is some general norm for how electric suppliers handle this situation. If not maybe you can comment on what you know from your local area.

@daneflanigan

Жыл бұрын

Hi Jet, just commenting from a Los Angeles perspective here. The advantage of buying capacity now is with the solar credit and selling back to the utility at a solid rate. The investor owned utilities here in the state have capped that rate for new buyers that they will buy power NEM 3. It is only three utilities that have new rates not the entire state but there’s speculation that our utility will do the same in the future for new purchases of solar and I am curious will that be the same for updating the system when adding more panels.

I know this is a very general question, but is it possible to pre-wire for a future battery system during a solar panel installation? That way if I do go with a battery in the future, it's just basically a plug-in-play install.

@solartimeusa

9 ай бұрын

Hey! Actually a very good question, so the way you could "pre-wire" is to do a hybdir system. So instead of a Simple string or microinverter system, look for a Hybdrid inverter such as SOl-Ark or EG4, they are a bit more expensive but in a few years you can just buy ANY 48V battery and with a few wires hook it up to an existing system. Does that make sense? Need to make a video about it! Martyna

Thanks for the video, Martyna. Good info. However, probably would not recommend vehicle to grid or vehicle to home at all for the following reasons: The life cycle for EV battery pack is usually (and I am generalizing here) ... usually 8 years or less. By hooking that EV battery up to your house, in addition to the regular driving, you essentially drop the lifespan of that battery 1 cycle each time you drain it. You could theoretically wipe out half or more of your EV batteries life cycle. Additionally since this use would almost definitely fall outside of the car's warranty, you would end up buying a new EV battery and the cost would be in the many thousands of dollars... EV batteries cost more than battery storage for the home.

@solartimeusa

Жыл бұрын

Hey Marc! Thank you for the comment, and definitely so much yet to learn and develop as far as batter technology in EVs and using it as back up. I am very curious to see how this becomes applicable in homes! :) I will keep a close eye out for more info on it. Thanks for the info!!

@marcfruchtman9473

Жыл бұрын

@@solartimeusa Yea, if the car manufacturers actually get on board with it and consider it an "allowable" use... it would be a tremendous boost to the solar industry.

I want to install a 5kw solar system with a provision for home to EV and EV to home. What grid tie inverter would you recommend?

@solartimeusa

Жыл бұрын

Hey Michael, Unfortunately there is nothing out there yet that was well tested that I could recommend just yet. I would so a solar system now, and based on talks in industry it looks like the EV inverter will be AC coupled so you should be able to easily add it to the future.

I only have 41 years of monthly kWh data for my all electric home. I've been keeping a spreadsheet ever since we moved in November 1981. Maximum annual consumption was 26025 kWh back in 2004, and highest monthly was 4528 kWh in January 2001. We have 2 electric cars, also. The back of the house faces south with no tree obstruction. I would consider a solar shade structure over the patio in lieu of panels on the roof. So what would you advise? Residing in northern Kentucky.

@marcfruchtman9473

Жыл бұрын

That's really great that you have been keeping track! (I would have to pester my utility for that much data!)... Considering you have 2 Electric Vehicles, it seems like you really should consider a solar system! Your ROI is much faster when you take into account the savings you get not paying for gas and also not paying for the recharge from the utility. I am surprised tho that your monthly bill was highest in 2004, but not after you got your electric vehicles considering they can use a lot of electricity if used frequently.

@darkenergy5686

Жыл бұрын

@@marcfruchtman9473 Well, we really don't drive the cars that much, a Nissan Leaf for around town and a Tesla for trips. Winter heating is the big factor for consumption. December thru March can be half our annual consumption. Truth be told, at our age, I'm not sure I will last long enough to see a meaningful ROI. If I were 30 years younger, I would do it without hesitation. Thanks for the input.

@marcfruchtman9473

Жыл бұрын

@@darkenergy5686 Ah. Since a great deal of your budget is in heating, you should consider Solar Thermal Panels instead of PV specifically for your heating needs.

@darkenergy5686

Жыл бұрын

@@marcfruchtman9473 What I really need is a ground source heat pump + solar array + batteries.

@marcfruchtman9473

Жыл бұрын

@@darkenergy5686 Honestly, given your earlier statement about your "age"... a ground source heat pump will definitely not improve the speed of the return. It will however, improve your heating AND cooling bill. So, if you want to really eliminate the heating and cooling bill... a solar array + geothermal would be a really great way to go. But, you are talking a significantly higher upfront cost. And, you would want a very reliable contractor to do the install.

17k for a partial home back up 😹😹😹 we do a whole home for about 14k

@solartimeusa

11 ай бұрын

What kind? 14 k seems awfully low for whole home back up. Asking friendly :) Martyna

@RVAdventure

11 ай бұрын

@@solartimeusa 6 eg4 life pro 4