Every roof is NOT a good solar roof due to shade, orientation, architectural features, slope and similar.
Some folks have a bill under $130/mo., and since there IS a fixed base cost for a slew of electrical work and controllers/combiners (not to mention the battery(s)) solar would be a POOR investment. Our home bill averaged about $270/mo. Now we AVERAGE (annually) about $35 for consumed grid electricity. The system costs us $202/mo. SO there’s immediate savings for us on an ANNUAL basis. As the cost of utility energy increase over the years, 75% of our usage will NOT increase in cost.
Lastly, since we live in ‘the sticks’ and have fact-based concerns about the durability of the US grid, we were ready to absorb a net cost in order to be able to have electricity when the grid is down. Read “The Power and the Light” by Peter Vincent Pry or follow Jonathan Hollerman for more information.
Having solar power on your roof means that during the high-sun months and day-parts you can use electricity with abandon because there’s so little an incremental cost to doing so. The “sell power back to the utility” farce is that our EMC will buy power at 2.8 cents, but sells it at 12 cents per kilowatt hour. This means that on days of excess power production from solar, any extraordinary electrical usage only ‘costs’ you an opportunity cost of 2.8 cents per kilowatt. So yeah, on a hot sunny August day, we can crank the AC down to 65, run the hot tub, use both ovens etc etc ... and still have a $25 electric usage bill for the month. Winter time? um, no ... Too many cloudy days, fewer hours of sun, lower sun elevation all add up to much lower power production. WE KNEW THAT GOING IN. On annual average, we WILL save net dollars every year from day zero, AND have the assurance of power when the grid is down.
Now back to the ‘every roof’ thought. Tesla has it right in concept - the solar roof as opposed to solar panels. These ‘solar shingles’ go on INSTEAD of a traditional asphalt, metal or tile roof. Right now, they are PRICEY and a toy for the well-heeled. But in the future, yeah - put them on every south-facing roof that makes sense AT BUILD TIME. We have LG panels and they work great, guaranteed to produce for 25 years. WE. Are. Happy. ... and realistic from day zero.
When a homeowner puts solar on their home THEY realize the benefits. When a utility builds solar, the utility realizes the benefits.
Happy New Year. Gotta run.
Excellent post.
I have been looking at small wind generators. There’s lots of You Tube info because in Europe/UK and India it is a big deal. It’s easy to make a very good and inexpensive vertical blade rotor to turn a small generator. The problem is making the generator but not to worry, there are several for sale on line.
In my case, I have a space that has wind nearly always. The generator will turn slowly at times and then faster at other times.
I can easily keep deep charge batteries up to max for when the power goes out. I have about decided not to make the effort because I have a battery charger invertor battery system that can produce enough to get by in my van