The system is 6.2 Kwh, 23 panels, but the panels are a bit bigger than industry standard. I must have a micro since they told me I can add panels if I need to. Has been generating 39-41 Kwh/day.
We noticed a big difference in our electricity bill after completing the pool in Feb, bill went from about $350 to almost 600, so the solar was a no-brainer. The biggest offender seems to be the hot tub. When we use it the pool pump runs and there is another dedicated pump for the auxillary jets. When we use it a lot we see a big differnce in the bill. I know the solar won’t do much for the gas portion, but I’m hoping it will generate enough to offset the gas a bit.
By the way, when do pools get warm around here? After 3 days of almost 100 degrees I expected my pool to be warmer than 75. I actually like it, but my wife’s family finds it a bit cold. Their calling us “The Resort”, and are wondering when the water’s going to warm up.[/quote]
Navydoc, do you have a deep/diving pool? That can really keep it cold, too. I’ve had a pool for most of my life, but our current pool is very shallow and I’m always surprised by how fast it heats up (and cools down!). We’re getting a solar cover this year to keep the water in because the water seems to evaporate much faster than any of the other pools we’ve had, and because it really does help to heat the water up a bit and, most importantly, it keeps it warmer through the night.
Glad to hear we’re not the only ones with such high electricity bills. The bills in our current house were higher than our other house (the one we were renting around the corner) even when this house was empty. It has to be the (very old) pool pumps — two of them because our pool vac has to use a dedicated pump and it would cost a fortune to convert to another type of vacuum system. We’ve been told that it would be more difficult to get the newer variable-speed pumps because of the system configuration; still have to do some more research on it, though. Add to that the A/C that we like to keep at 71 degrees, and getting solar is a no-brainer. We once had a $750 bill for one month!!!! 🙁 As crazy as this may sound, we’re getting an 11KW+ system in an attempt to completely eliminate our bills. SDG&E is moving to a two-tiered system (and then to a TOU system), so solar customers won’t be able to lower their bills by as much as they can with the current 4-tiered system.
