trojan4life, I think $160 mo. is high, too, esp. since you do not run A/C. I can’t see the pool pump costing more than $12-$20 month. Are you running a spa heater as well?
I have a 2200 sf 4/2 house and my last SDGE bill was $56. It’s been as high as $88 in the winter. I don’t have a pool but I have a sprinkler system. Don’t think that uses too much elec.
That said, I have seen these installed on a few homes. At $29K, I figure it will take you about 12 years to break even, assuming a $200 mo. energy savings from it ([29,000/200] /12). This is a rough est. which assumes your bills REALLY WILL go up to $400 without the solar panels installed. If you have overestimated this, it could take 14-18 yrs. to break even.
I don’t like the looks of these on the roof, but if you insist your pool be heated so you can use it year-round, it is probably the only way to go if you can afford to install them.
