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#1
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pictures of my solar installation
I just put 16 solar panels on the back of my house. We have a government program here in Ontario where they buy power produced by PV for .42 cents a kilowatt. This is a nice premium over the .12 cent they sell it for.
They should produce over $1000 a year in revenue, which should cover my hydro bill. This should pay back the total cost of the panels in about 6 1/2 years. Cost after rebates is about $7000 for the system Thats a solar water heater on the roof above the panels |
#2
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What kind of maintenance do you have to do on those, Mistel?
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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century OBK #55 1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles 2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles 2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles |
#3
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If you mean the solar panels, I imagine I will have to clean the snow off of them as they are at a pretty shallow angle. The ideal angle would be 43 degrees, but you can see I had a bunch of things to deal with. The windows above limited how high I could raise them, and I needed enough headroom to walk under them at the end of the deck. I will replace the old deck next and the new deck will be 6 inches lower to improve headroom.
I will just clean them with a hose every once and a while. The hot water tubes just need the occaisional cleaning as well. |
#4
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That's pretty cool!
My new home has a solar system for heating the pool, works very well. Perhaps I should consider expanding the system to include solar electrical panels as well...hmmm
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Chris 2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package 2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options 1998 E430 - sold 1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold 1977 280E - sold 1971 250 - retired "And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon |
#5
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That is pretty awesome!
With the cost of utilities (and the fact that we get little rain or snow here in Texas), those panels would pay for themselves in about a year! I can see however from the pics, that most homeowners associations would frown on such an install. I am hoping sometime in the future that there will be an aesthetically-pleasing design that can be integrated during home construction or into existing structures.
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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle 2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car 2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver 2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car Last edited by G-Benz; 09-05-2008 at 11:04 AM. Reason: spelling |
#6
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How does the solar array tie into the grid? Is there a transfer switch as with a residential generator?
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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles 2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed 2005 Toyota Sienna 2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible 1999 Toyota Tacoma |
#7
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That's a great niche business idea. I'd be surprised if someone, somewhere, wasn't working on just that.
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Chris 2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package 2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options 1998 E430 - sold 1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold 1977 280E - sold 1971 250 - retired "And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon |
#8
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Quote:
BTW- Nice set up. That is really cool. Your pay back will be much quicker than 6.5 years because of the savings on energy bills as well.
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2009 ML320 Bluetec 1985 300CD 1981 300TD Past Mercedes 1979 300TD 1982 300TD 2000 E320 4Matic Wagon 1998 E430 1984 300SD 1980 300SD |
#9
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Did that $7000 after rebates include the necessary electrical work to tie everything into your panel (inverter, storage batteries, etc) or was it just for the panels? Is that an additional panel on your roof or is it just the panels that you have set up as an awning?
I'm very interested in doing this to my home in the future. I'd kill to get off the grid, so if it works out revenue neutral that would be great. The idea of making money off of it is even better. Those panels last up to 20 years now, so if you pay back in 7 years you can expect to make money for the next 13.
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Jonathan 2011 Mazda2 2000 E320 4Matic Wagon 1994 C280 (retired) |
#10
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Quote:
There are a number of companies here in the states getting into leasing them now. Obviously the "payback" won't be as quick as if you bought them but you don't have the replacement costs either. We're looking at roughly $240K after incentives and rebates for a system large enough to support 50-60% of our peak needs (we're real seasonal energy-use wise). If we buy them we're looking at about 10 years to pay for itself which would give us (hopefully) 10 years of free energy, or even making some putting it back into the system during off-peak periods, which is considerable money in our pocket. Quote:
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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15 '06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod) |
#11
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My administrator at the office put in solar panels on a slope in her back yard, and it is connected directly to the grid.
Her meter actually runs backwards if the power she produces is greater than their consumption.
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Paul S. 2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior. 79,200 miles. 1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron". |
#12
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Quote:
- Peter.
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2021 Chevrolet Spark Formerly... 2000 GMC Sonoma 1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021 2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels 1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles. 1984 123 200 1979 116 280S 1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille 1971 108 280S |
#13
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That's an amazing payback rate! Every time I spec a system the payback is something like 40 years. Most people want to see results quick and don't plan for the long term. It really gets expensive when you add it all up - the panels, high capacity grid intertie, batteries (if you use them).
The water heating system is much more cost effective and should provide an even faster ROI. Is that one of those vacuum tube water systems? I've been planning on building a system here but I haven't gotten around to it.
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-Evan Benz Fleet: 1968 UNIMOG 404.114 1998 E300 2008 E63 Non-Benz Fleet: 1992 Aerostar 1993 MR2 2000 F250 |
#14
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Swwweeeet.
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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process." 2012 SLK 350 1987 420 SEL |
#15
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Forty years! Yikes. I have to show customers how to get payback within 1 1/2 to 3 years to sell the equipment I sell. Of course, this is commercial machinery, not household solar systems, but still, I would think forty years WOULD be a tough sell.
__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century OBK #55 1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles 2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles 2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles |
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