DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Climate check in

WOw, that's some heady stuff there.. .Kinda over my head to be honest...

For me energy independence is better served by Wind Power

We are having solar put on our house, install date is currently Jan 18th. 31 panels to produce 11.45KwH

Florida is a Net Metering state, so if we can produce enough power throughout the sunlight hours to cover our usage over a 24hr period, we will net at $0 owed to FPL on a monthly basis. Most likely during winter months I will have s small bill <$20 due to the limited sun hour (but less AC needs during cooler months so it offsets some).

Based on my calculations, I will get a return on the investment in 11-13 years, not including increases in KwH costs in the future, after which I will have free electricity. So it's really like I am making a lump sum payment for lifetime electricity. Panels are fully guaranteed labor and parts for 25 years.

For someone who doesn't expect to still be around in 10-15 years it probably is not worth it, but if you're younger and plan to stay in your house for 15+ years, it would be worth it.

If you don't mind my asking. How much did the panels cost you? Also how much does your electric bill run each year? Living in Ohio VS Florida means less Sunlight (I'm guessing as I didn't look for any facts on that) We also don't use much electric. Our total electric Bills last year were just under 1,000 for the year. I am not new to solar. 50 years ago my Dad looked into getting solar panels on our house. Back then companies swore half the homes in the country would be using solar within 20 years but here we are 50 years later and about 4 percent of homes in this country have solar panels.