I got my SDGE bill this morning in my e-mail and was shocked to learn that it was <.30>! I downloaded the bill to find out that, apparently, my energy usage was below the baseline in the last billing cycle simultaneous to receiving the “CA Climate Credit.”
I was home every day during the billing cycle (did not take any trips). I work out of my home and leave the surge protectors in my office on 24/7, with 8 items attached to them. Normally, my bill is $44 – $55 month, depending on time of year.
This is for a 4 bdrm/2 bath SFR of approx 2200 sf (although very well insulated with double-paned windows). I have never closed any vents while running the furnace.
Why the h@ll would I consider paying for solar? Seems like a huge expense that a homeowner may not recover any or all of at the time of resale.
In addition, I’ve gotten three “Home Energy Reports” from SDG&E since December telling me that I am doing GREAT due to using just 2/3 of the energy of my “most efficient neighbors” (which are the “top 20% of all neighbors”).
Yes, I will admit that I am now a “one-person” household (with occasional houseguests). But so are a good portion of my neighbors. Another good portion of them are two-person households. Even when I had kid(s) living with me, my SDGE bill was never over $90 in the dead of winter and $50-$55 month in the summer.
Why not consider R-30 insulation and double-paned “Low E” windows instead of solar? The Pella Encompass (“Low-E”) windows really enhance the look of a house (have a slight green tint).
If your house has a crawlspace, you can insulate directly under your floor, as well.
Would thicker insulation and new windows be cheaper than spending a small fortune for solar? Methinks you could recover most of the cost of “Low-E” windows upon resale due to their aesthetics alone. Not so sure about solar. Solar panels on the roof are ugly as sin. Your buyer must be looking for that and also willing to pay for it.
It just seems to me that some homeowners on this and other threads here have “boxed themselves in” to a particular property in trying mightily to recoup the cost of solar. In those ensuing years, anything could happen to one or more wage-earners in the household causing them to have to relocate, or, at the very least, the household would benefit greatly from moving over 20 miles away. Of course, this theory only applies to those homeowners with a mortgage who are wage-earners. Just my .02.
