- This topic has 13 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 3 months ago by
Former SD resident.
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August 30, 2013 at 10:20 AM #20750August 30, 2013 at 10:45 AM #764929
no_such_reality
ParticipantHow they handle the components would be critical on a front house installation.
Having panels on the front roof wouldn’t make me necessarily walk away from a house, depending on how diligently they were installed in consideration of the aesthetics of the house, could seriously impact curb appeal.
Done cleanly, and you won’t really see much more than the panels, not so cleanly and you see funny looking conduit runs that will just make it look haphazard.
That said, if electrical projections hit the 30%+ they’ve been saying in the next few years and we have weather like today, no one may care if they walk into your nice AC cooled 75 degree Fullerton home and you tack an electrical bill up next to thermostat saying $1.77.
August 30, 2013 at 12:07 PM #764945patb
Participantover the next 5 years, figure somewhere between 20-75% of all
houses will have 5 KW on the roof, and over 75% will be street visible.People will get used to them,
August 30, 2013 at 12:29 PM #764947Former SD resident
Participantthanks for the feedback. still trying to weigh our options, if it wasn’t for being on the front of the house we would have already done it. I’m home all day with 2small kids and while it hasn’t been especially hot this summer it has sucked not turning on the air some days, tho it is running today! and has been the last few days, think next months bill is going to be a doozy.
NSR I like your response of tacking up an electric bill.
August 30, 2013 at 12:41 PM #764948The-Shoveler
ParticipantGot to go with what patb says,
Electricity from the utility wire is just going to get more and more expensive, (would not want to be in L.A.-DWP’s area, they got a lot of pension funding to make up).
More and more people will be installing these.
August 30, 2013 at 11:53 PM #764981CA renter
ParticipantJust a sidenote, but in case people missed it, SDG&E is trying to get their high-rate customers (like us) to help lobby on their behalf to flatten the tier pricing.
Even though we’re well into Tier 4 in the hot summer months (and often throughout the year), we do not want flat pricing. IMHO, the reason they are trying to flatten the rates is because more and more people are getting solar. SDG&E is probably worried about losing their most profitable customers in the higher tiers, so are trying to push up profit margins on the lower end.
Just a public service announcement for the Piggs. 🙂
August 31, 2013 at 11:37 AM #764988bearishgurl
Participant[quote=CA renter]Just a sidenote, but in case people missed it, SDG&E is trying to get their high-rate customers (like us) to help lobby on their behalf to flatten the tier pricing.
Even though we’re well into Tier 4 in the hot summer months (and often throughout the year), we do not want flat pricing. IMHO, the reason they are trying to flatten the rates is because more and more people are getting solar. SDG&E is probably worried about losing their most profitable customers in the higher tiers, so are trying to push up profit margins on the lower end.
Just a public service announcement for the Piggs. :)[/quote]
That’s pretty interesting CAR. I wouldn’t want “flat-rate” pricing either, because my bill varies between $35 and $55 month about 8 mos per yr (depending on if I’m actually even home or running a whole-house fan 24/7 … like NOW) and $65 to $85 mo for 4 mos year (when I’m running heat intermittently).
This is for a 4/2 SFR (approx 2200 sf) with R-30 insulation over, under and all the way around situated ~1 mile from SD Bay.
Obviously, I wouldn’t be a good candidate for solar. Nor would I want to have to try to find a buyer who would be willing to assume a lease which I already signed :=0
August 31, 2013 at 3:15 PM #764989CDMA ENG
ParticipantFormer SD…
There is a development in San Elijo Hills were the pannels come standard. All of the houses have a southern exposure and so in this development where the homes have front doors pointed to the south the solar panels are on the “front” of the house. Granted they are all two stories but they are noticible and I didnt really think they looked that bad. In fact I thought it had a little bit of cool factor to it. Not only do they produce power but they reduce the overall temp of the house as they act as a solar shield coupled with the fact they were spaced correctly enought to create a convection current over the roof…
For me, it wouldn’t be a gating issue unless it didnt look professional…
Hope this helped…
Oh… and I was out house shopping at the time…
CE
August 31, 2013 at 6:51 PM #764996Participantbg- I’m jealous of your bill, even on months where we haven’t run AC our bill is still close to 200! we have a pool so the pump runs everyday but I can’t imagine it takes that much electricity. must be all that laundry I’m doing all the time :). may need to switch to gas.
ce- yes I’m an seeing that more often, lots of new communities installing solar standard. the more we think about it the more we are leaning toward doing it especially after this long hot week and the week to come. it’s HOT here in inland OC.
what drives me crazy about all this is we moved from NC where we ran the AC 24/7, our house was mich bigger and our bill was about the same. how can it cost 4x more here?!
August 31, 2013 at 8:48 PM #764997moneymaker
ParticipantCorrect me if I’m wrong but isn’t SDG&E buying back solar at like 6 cents per KWH. I personally think they should buy it back at the average rate that they charge, probably more like 13-15 cents per KWH.
August 31, 2013 at 8:49 PM #764998Participant[quote=Former SD resident]bg- I’m jealous of your bill, even on months where we haven’t run AC our bill is still close to 200! we have a pool so the pump runs everyday but I can’t imagine it takes that much electricity. must be all that laundry I’m doing all the time :). may need to switch to gas…[/quote]
Absolutely, switch to gas cooktop, gas water heater and gas dryer. And gas furnace if you can afford it and will keep your residence at least ten more years. Or whatever of those items you DON’T have as gas now. I was told this by my first LL in the seventies, when I moved here. Back then, I lived in 1920’s apts which had gas stoves where you had to light the oven first, boiler rooms for heat and gas dryers in the laundry rooms. SD has always been one of the highest-priced cities/counties in the nation for electricity and so I have NEVER had any of the above as electric in any of my homes.
Yes, pool pumps use a LOT of electricity, ESP in the winter when you try to heat an in-ground spa. Back in the mid-’90’s, we figured it cost us $7.45 for ONE TIME to heat our in-ground spa to 102 deg in the dead of winter. It took 45 mins to heat it up, only to sit in it for 20 mins to an hr. Then the next night we wanted to use it, we had to heat it up all over again (it had a plastic bubble cover cut to fit). Above-ground redwood tubs are less than half the price to heat, because they have a very thick folding cover to hold in the heat. I have no doubt that pool utilities are twice that now.
I don’t have AC and am situated only ~1 mile inland (technically, ~2 mi … from Strand State Beach). The whole house fan installed by the owner before me comes in handy about once per year … like NOW. It doesn’t use up anywhere NEAR the electricity that A/C does but you have to get used to the blower sound.
A couple of other things making my bill low (it’s been as low as the “baseline” (abt $33).
I understand the vast majority of Piggs prefer a *newer* house but you can’t insulate under a slab foundation. Many houses built prior to ~1960 have a 3-4′ crawlspace. Thick insulation can be attached right under the floor and all the way to the stemwalls, still leaving enough space to crawl around and sit up under there to work on plumbing, etc. Installing thick insulation in the walls, attic and attached to the subfloor in the crawlspace saves a LOT on utilities.
I only have about 7-10 loads of laundry per month and use a gas dryer. I only run the d/w once per week. I wash the dishes I use every day by hand.
In the past several years, I have only had 1.5 to 2 people residing in my home because my last kid stays with their dad, also. In addition, I’m not home for a few weeks per year (varies by year) and my pet-sitter(s) don’t use much utilities.
FSD, hopefully you are in an older home in the urban OC which has a crawlspace you can insulate. Besides making sure the above 4 appls/systems are gas, if you can install heavy insulation all around, I think you could see at least a ~$75 mo reduction on your utility bill.
September 2, 2013 at 1:12 AM #765030ocrenter
Participant[quote=CA renter]Just a sidenote, but in case people missed it, SDG&E is trying to get their high-rate customers (like us) to help lobby on their behalf to flatten the tier pricing.
Even though we’re well into Tier 4 in the hot summer months (and often throughout the year), we do not want flat pricing. IMHO, the reason they are trying to flatten the rates is because more and more people are getting solar. SDG&E is probably worried about losing their most profitable customers in the higher tiers, so are trying to push up profit margins on the lower end.
Just a public service announcement for the Piggs. :)[/quote]
SDGE is quite hypocritical with this. Obviously the tiered system creates a drive to conserve as well as a drive to solar. Both of these are what they publicly advocate. By lobbying to get rid of the tiered pricing, it is very clear to us all that ultimately, the environment still takes a backseat to the company’s bottom line.
September 2, 2013 at 4:51 PM #765038Participant[quote=ocrenter] By lobbying to get rid of the tiered pricing, it is very clear to us all that ultimately, the environment still takes a backseat to the company’s bottom line.[/quote]
As always, unfortunately. 🙁
September 2, 2013 at 9:38 PM #765047Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=Former SD resident]bg- I’m jealous of your bill, even on months where we haven’t run AC our bill is still close to 200! we have a pool so the pump runs everyday but I can’t imagine it takes that much electricity. must be all that laundry I’m doing all the time :). may need to switch to gas…[/quote]
Absolutely, switch to gas cooktop, gas water heater and gas dryer. And gas furnace if you can afford it and will keep your residence at least ten more years. Or whatever of those items you DON’T have as gas now. I was told this by my first LL in the seventies, when I moved here. Back then, I lived in 1920’s apts which had gas stoves where you had to light the oven first, boiler rooms for heat and gas dryers in the laundry rooms. SD has always been one of the highest-priced cities/counties in the nation for electricity and so I have NEVER had any of the above as electric in any of my homes.
Yes, pool pumps use a LOT of electricity, ESP in the winter when you try to heat an in-ground spa. Back in the mid-’90’s, we figured it cost us $7.45 for ONE TIME to heat our in-ground spa to 102 deg in the dead of winter. It took 45 mins to heat it up, only to sit in it for 20 mins to an hr. Then the next night we wanted to use it, we had to heat it up all over again (it had a plastic bubble cover cut to fit). Above-ground redwood tubs are less than half the price to heat, because they have a very thick folding cover to hold in the heat. I have no doubt that pool utilities are twice that now.
I don’t have AC and am situated only ~1 mile inland (technically, ~2 mi … from Strand State Beach). The whole house fan installed by the owner before me comes in handy about once per year … like NOW. It doesn’t use up anywhere NEAR the electricity that A/C does but you have to get used to the blower sound.
A couple of other things making my bill low (it’s been as low as the “baseline” (abt $33).
I understand the vast majority of Piggs prefer a *newer* house but you can’t insulate under a slab foundation. Many houses built prior to ~1960 have a 3-4′ crawlspace. Thick insulation can be attached right under the floor and all the way to the stemwalls, still leaving enough space to crawl around and sit up under there to work on plumbing, etc. Installing thick insulation in the walls, attic and attached to the subfloor in the crawlspace saves a LOT on utilities.
I only have about 7-10 loads of laundry per month and use a gas dryer. I only run the d/w once per week. I wash the dishes I use every day by hand.
In the past several years, I have only had 1.5 to 2 people residing in my home because my last kid stays with their dad, also. In addition, I’m not home for a few weeks per year (varies by year) and my pet-sitter(s) don’t use much utilities.
FSD, hopefully you are in an older home in the urban OC which has a crawlspace you can insulate. Besides making sure the above 4 appls/systems are gas, if you can install heavy insulation all around, I think you could see at least a ~$75 mo reduction on your utility bill.[/quote]
pretty much everything in our house is gas already with the exception of the dryer and AC of course. we even have 2 water heaters but thankfully those are on gas and i dont think our gas bill is bad (avg 28/mo). when we moved in we looked into getting a gas line installed for dryer in garage but the way our house was situated we would of had to rip out the workbench and cabinets in garage to move washer and dryer so we could get proper ventilation, and it would have been a couple grand to install. we are on a crawl space but its really low, in some places you have to crawl on your belly to move, from the front it looks like its on a slab. may have to look into getting better insulation. we have a long to-do list of upgrades to do.
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