Solar?

[briansd1]

Now is as good as ever if you want to install solar.

As of 2006:

More than 3,000 customers of SDG&E are currently selling power back into the grid, “net metering” as the industry calls it, said Ed Van Herik, a spokesman for the utility.

“While customers that are net metering electricity will realize significant benefits, electrical corporation customers that are not will suffer significant cost shifts,” Sempra said in statement about SB 1.

The number of customers that sell power has been growing in recent years, going from 10 completed applications for net metering in 1999 to 941 last year, Van Herik said.

All three investor-owned utilities (including Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric) currently have about 20,000 homes producing 155 megawatts of solar power, said Claudia Chandler of the California Energy Commission.

If successful, the new plan will result in a million homes with 3,000 megawatts of solar power by 2017.

http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20060822-9999-1n22solar.html

[Aecetia]

SDG&E is required to have a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources so when you put a solar system in, they get credit for the power your system produces in terms of meeting their “green” requirements. It is not exactly a win win because you are reimbursed for your power at a lower rate than what is generally charged, but for us, it still beat the high bills in the summer. We also have window tinting, use the energy saver light bulbs and we have a lot of trees to provide shade for the house. Solar is still expensive, but there are many companies out there and it is getting more and more competitive and the panels have improved.

[Aecetia]

SDG&E is required to have a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources so when you put a solar system in, they get credit for the power your system produces in terms of meeting their “green” requirements. It is not exactly a win win because you are reimbursed for your power at a lower rate than what is generally charged, but for us, it still beat the high bills in the summer. We also have window tinting, use the energy saver light bulbs and we have a lot of trees to provide shade for the house. Solar is still expensive, but there are many companies out there and it is getting more and more competitive and the panels have improved.

[Aecetia]

SDG&E is required to have a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources so when you put a solar system in, they get credit for the power your system produces in terms of meeting their “green” requirements. It is not exactly a win win because you are reimbursed for your power at a lower rate than what is generally charged, but for us, it still beat the high bills in the summer. We also have window tinting, use the energy saver light bulbs and we have a lot of trees to provide shade for the house. Solar is still expensive, but there are many companies out there and it is getting more and more competitive and the panels have improved.

[Aecetia]

SDG&E is required to have a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources so when you put a solar system in, they get credit for the power your system produces in terms of meeting their “green” requirements. It is not exactly a win win because you are reimbursed for your power at a lower rate than what is generally charged, but for us, it still beat the high bills in the summer. We also have window tinting, use the energy saver light bulbs and we have a lot of trees to provide shade for the house. Solar is still expensive, but there are many companies out there and it is getting more and more competitive and the panels have improved.

[Aecetia]

SDG&E is required to have a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources so when you put a solar system in, they get credit for the power your system produces in terms of meeting their “green” requirements. It is not exactly a win win because you are reimbursed for your power at a lower rate than what is generally charged, but for us, it still beat the high bills in the summer. We also have window tinting, use the energy saver light bulbs and we have a lot of trees to provide shade for the house. Solar is still expensive, but there are many companies out there and it is getting more and more competitive and the panels have improved.

[carli]

A couple years ago, we bought a teardown in a north county coastal town, less than a mile from the beach (so it’s frequently a little overcast).

No matter, we were convinced that when we renovated the house, we would absolutely get solar, even if the numbers didn’t pencil out completely. Maybe things have changed, but we were still interviewing solar companies and trying to find a way to make this happen within the past year, and surprisingly, it just didn’t make sense for us to pull the trigger.

Our house is 3700 sf and has no pool or A/C, and with the right windows, the right lightbulbs, a tankless water heater and new appliances, our SDG&E bill is almost always less than $100/month. We have two teen daughters who LOVE to take long showers and blow-dry their hair everyday (at least once)! And, my husband and I are both home all day. Sure, we try to be conscious of saving energy, but we don’t go crazy. I think we probably only turned the heat on a dozen times this winter, and we tried to remember to put on a sweater if we were a little chilly before heating the house. For us, bottom line was that it didn’t make sense to go solar because we realized we don’t use that much power anyway.

That was our experience, and obviously your needs vary. Good luck w/your decision.

P.S. I found out that Sequoia Solar in Solana Beach (one of the companies we were interviewing) went out of business last week.

[carli]

A couple years ago, we bought a teardown in a north county coastal town, less than a mile from the beach (so it’s frequently a little overcast).

No matter, we were convinced that when we renovated the house, we would absolutely get solar, even if the numbers didn’t pencil out completely. Maybe things have changed, but we were still interviewing solar companies and trying to find a way to make this happen within the past year, and surprisingly, it just didn’t make sense for us to pull the trigger.

Our house is 3700 sf and has no pool or A/C, and with the right windows, the right lightbulbs, a tankless water heater and new appliances, our SDG&E bill is almost always less than $100/month. We have two teen daughters who LOVE to take long showers and blow-dry their hair everyday (at least once)! And, my husband and I are both home all day. Sure, we try to be conscious of saving energy, but we don’t go crazy. I think we probably only turned the heat on a dozen times this winter, and we tried to remember to put on a sweater if we were a little chilly before heating the house. For us, bottom line was that it didn’t make sense to go solar because we realized we don’t use that much power anyway.

That was our experience, and obviously your needs vary. Good luck w/your decision.

P.S. I found out that Sequoia Solar in Solana Beach (one of the companies we were interviewing) went out of business last week.

[carli]

A couple years ago, we bought a teardown in a north county coastal town, less than a mile from the beach (so it’s frequently a little overcast).

No matter, we were convinced that when we renovated the house, we would absolutely get solar, even if the numbers didn’t pencil out completely. Maybe things have changed, but we were still interviewing solar companies and trying to find a way to make this happen within the past year, and surprisingly, it just didn’t make sense for us to pull the trigger.

Our house is 3700 sf and has no pool or A/C, and with the right windows, the right lightbulbs, a tankless water heater and new appliances, our SDG&E bill is almost always less than $100/month. We have two teen daughters who LOVE to take long showers and blow-dry their hair everyday (at least once)! And, my husband and I are both home all day. Sure, we try to be conscious of saving energy, but we don’t go crazy. I think we probably only turned the heat on a dozen times this winter, and we tried to remember to put on a sweater if we were a little chilly before heating the house. For us, bottom line was that it didn’t make sense to go solar because we realized we don’t use that much power anyway.

That was our experience, and obviously your needs vary. Good luck w/your decision.

P.S. I found out that Sequoia Solar in Solana Beach (one of the companies we were interviewing) went out of business last week.

[carli]

A couple years ago, we bought a teardown in a north county coastal town, less than a mile from the beach (so it’s frequently a little overcast).

No matter, we were convinced that when we renovated the house, we would absolutely get solar, even if the numbers didn’t pencil out completely. Maybe things have changed, but we were still interviewing solar companies and trying to find a way to make this happen within the past year, and surprisingly, it just didn’t make sense for us to pull the trigger.

Our house is 3700 sf and has no pool or A/C, and with the right windows, the right lightbulbs, a tankless water heater and new appliances, our SDG&E bill is almost always less than $100/month. We have two teen daughters who LOVE to take long showers and blow-dry their hair everyday (at least once)! And, my husband and I are both home all day. Sure, we try to be conscious of saving energy, but we don’t go crazy. I think we probably only turned the heat on a dozen times this winter, and we tried to remember to put on a sweater if we were a little chilly before heating the house. For us, bottom line was that it didn’t make sense to go solar because we realized we don’t use that much power anyway.

That was our experience, and obviously your needs vary. Good luck w/your decision.

P.S. I found out that Sequoia Solar in Solana Beach (one of the companies we were interviewing) went out of business last week.

[carli]

A couple years ago, we bought a teardown in a north county coastal town, less than a mile from the beach (so it’s frequently a little overcast).

No matter, we were convinced that when we renovated the house, we would absolutely get solar, even if the numbers didn’t pencil out completely. Maybe things have changed, but we were still interviewing solar companies and trying to find a way to make this happen within the past year, and surprisingly, it just didn’t make sense for us to pull the trigger.

Our house is 3700 sf and has no pool or A/C, and with the right windows, the right lightbulbs, a tankless water heater and new appliances, our SDG&E bill is almost always less than $100/month. We have two teen daughters who LOVE to take long showers and blow-dry their hair everyday (at least once)! And, my husband and I are both home all day. Sure, we try to be conscious of saving energy, but we don’t go crazy. I think we probably only turned the heat on a dozen times this winter, and we tried to remember to put on a sweater if we were a little chilly before heating the house. For us, bottom line was that it didn’t make sense to go solar because we realized we don’t use that much power anyway.

That was our experience, and obviously your needs vary. Good luck w/your decision.

P.S. I found out that Sequoia Solar in Solana Beach (one of the companies we were interviewing) went out of business last week.

[faterikcartman]

We are shopping for the house we hope to die in and take solar siting into consideration. Our electric bill is currently $400 – $600 a month and we expect it to go up.

With these new “smart meters” we expect electrical usage to be eventually limited or rationed in some way. Especially when our Dear Leader declares oil drilling evil (thanks BP) and causes another energy crises. I want to be able to use electricity like our Dear Leader plays golf.

Frankly, I would like a well as well so we “could” go completely off-grid if necessary or desired. Mmm, how are areas like Cielo and Santa Luz when it comes to drilling wells?

Frankly, how are they about solar panels. It looks like Cielo will let you put up enough panels to light a stadium, but I’m not so sure about Santa Luz. They just had a community bulletin about solar installs needing to pass guidelines and be approved. Can they satisfy legal requirements by saying you can have one panel, but only one, or limit the size of your array to, say, 1KW, when you want an 8KW system? Sure, sure, I could track down the right person to ask through a slew of phone calls, but there always seems to be someone here who knows…

[faterikcartman]

We are shopping for the house we hope to die in and take solar siting into consideration. Our electric bill is currently $400 – $600 a month and we expect it to go up.

With these new “smart meters” we expect electrical usage to be eventually limited or rationed in some way. Especially when our Dear Leader declares oil drilling evil (thanks BP) and causes another energy crises. I want to be able to use electricity like our Dear Leader plays golf.

Frankly, I would like a well as well so we “could” go completely off-grid if necessary or desired. Mmm, how are areas like Cielo and Santa Luz when it comes to drilling wells?

Frankly, how are they about solar panels. It looks like Cielo will let you put up enough panels to light a stadium, but I’m not so sure about Santa Luz. They just had a community bulletin about solar installs needing to pass guidelines and be approved. Can they satisfy legal requirements by saying you can have one panel, but only one, or limit the size of your array to, say, 1KW, when you want an 8KW system? Sure, sure, I could track down the right person to ask through a slew of phone calls, but there always seems to be someone here who knows…

[faterikcartman]

We are shopping for the house we hope to die in and take solar siting into consideration. Our electric bill is currently $400 – $600 a month and we expect it to go up.

With these new “smart meters” we expect electrical usage to be eventually limited or rationed in some way. Especially when our Dear Leader declares oil drilling evil (thanks BP) and causes another energy crises. I want to be able to use electricity like our Dear Leader plays golf.

Frankly, I would like a well as well so we “could” go completely off-grid if necessary or desired. Mmm, how are areas like Cielo and Santa Luz when it comes to drilling wells?

Frankly, how are they about solar panels. It looks like Cielo will let you put up enough panels to light a stadium, but I’m not so sure about Santa Luz. They just had a community bulletin about solar installs needing to pass guidelines and be approved. Can they satisfy legal requirements by saying you can have one panel, but only one, or limit the size of your array to, say, 1KW, when you want an 8KW system? Sure, sure, I could track down the right person to ask through a slew of phone calls, but there always seems to be someone here who knows…

[faterikcartman]

We are shopping for the house we hope to die in and take solar siting into consideration. Our electric bill is currently $400 – $600 a month and we expect it to go up.

With these new “smart meters” we expect electrical usage to be eventually limited or rationed in some way. Especially when our Dear Leader declares oil drilling evil (thanks BP) and causes another energy crises. I want to be able to use electricity like our Dear Leader plays golf.

Frankly, I would like a well as well so we “could” go completely off-grid if necessary or desired. Mmm, how are areas like Cielo and Santa Luz when it comes to drilling wells?

Frankly, how are they about solar panels. It looks like Cielo will let you put up enough panels to light a stadium, but I’m not so sure about Santa Luz. They just had a community bulletin about solar installs needing to pass guidelines and be approved. Can they satisfy legal requirements by saying you can have one panel, but only one, or limit the size of your array to, say, 1KW, when you want an 8KW system? Sure, sure, I could track down the right person to ask through a slew of phone calls, but there always seems to be someone here who knows…

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