My first ZERO ELECTRIC BILL thanks to a DIY Solar installation!
I knew last month was pretty good for solar, but when I got my bill, it CONFIRMED it!! This is a real milestone for me. If you take a look at the attached copy of my bill, you’ll notice that it goes back and includes the amount from last April, before I had installed the 20 panel 4,320 watt system. Duke does not “pay” for the excess electricity I produce – but it DOES make my “NET METER” go backwards, for all practical purposes “banking” the extra energy I produce. Eventually, I’ll spin the digits the other way, either when I run my AC in July and August, or later in the fall when the sun-hours are much lower and the lights are on a much greater part of the day. My home is 1600 square feet, average insulation and construction with double pane windows. I’ve replaced all but a few of the light bulbs with CFL or LED types. We keep the thermostat around 68 in the winter and even lower at night when we’re sleeping, and we open the windows when the weather is nice. Just all PRACTICAL things to do to help conserve energy. I can show you how to do this on YOUR home for about $2.75/watt, including my consulting fee!! Drop me an email and lets get started on YOUR system tonight! There’s lots of summer sun coming our way and the temps are perfect for working on the roof right now!
Please tell me how much I will have to pay so I won’t have electric bills of over $150 a month with your DIY Solar Install?
Assuming an electricity cost of .10/kwH, that’s 1,500 KWH/month, or about 12kwH per day that you’d have to generate. A 5KW array facing Due South with no shading would generate enough to cover this. That would be TWENTY 250 watt panels. Average DIY cost, including my fee would come out to about $2.50/watt or $12,000. If electricity costs rise, your payback time would be reduced. At your current cost, payback time would be about 7 years. After that, your system is paid off and it’s all Free power. Your system should last AT LEAST 25 years. Your 25 year ROI would be $28,800, not counting compounding interest if you were to invest your electricity savings in a good Money market fund! If you put the savings into a fund that had a 5% yield, this would raise your ROI closer to $50,000. Not bad considering what CD’s are paying currently. If electricity costs go up, your return would rise proportionately!