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Didn’t know that. Are they located on Phoenix way?

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[quote=bearishgurl][quote=skerzz][quote=bearishgurl][quote=skerzz]Coronado Hills Neighborhood of San Marcos (epicenter of last year’s Cocos fire).[/quote]

skerzz, is the fire the reason you no longer have gas service or were gas lines never installed there?

I seem to remember that area was near (or overlooking) CSUSM (predated CSUSM) … not sure.

I guess you must be paying $3K+ yr homeowner’s insurance premiums as well … with a limited selection of carriers to choose from ….[/quote]

An,

SDGE only provides electrical service to the area (gas lines never put in), so it’s all electrical unless you pay for a propane tank. That’s the area. The west side of the hill overlooks CSUSM and the east side looks out over parts of San Marcos, Escondido, Ramona, Poway.

I’m insured through statefarm for less than $2K per year. I’m a loyal customer with several policies and they have always treated me right. Not sure if it would be difficult to find another insurer because of the recent fires (the risk of fire is low now that all the brush has burned)…I’ve haven’t tried since statefarm is one of the few insurers that doesn’t discriminate against dog breeds (I have a “scary” rottweiler).[/quote]

Oh, I just remember the area where the fire started from the TV coverage. That’s great your home is still eligible for coverage by a well-known, reputable carrier, skerzz. <$2K yr is not too bad for a fire prone area. I pay <$1K yr for a Farmer's "Protector Plus" (replacement value) policy but I live in an urban area which is not close to any fire-prone areas. I find it odd that your micro area does not have access to natural gas. Did your area predate the incorporation of SM? Is there a reason that gas lines could not be dug there? Maybe other longtime SM dwellers can shed light as to why .... svelte??[/quote] Not sure, but perhaps has something to do with the low density (1 acre min lot size, and most homes have lots many times larger). We're also not on city sewer, everyone has their own septic tank, there are no sidewalks, we know all of our neighbors by first name, and we frequently have deer visit the property. It's truly like living in the country just minutes from freeways and PUD track homes.

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[quote=Clifford][quote=skerzz]That’s correct. You get full retail billing credit for the energy produced up to the point where you are a net zero energy user. If you’re left with overproduction at the end of the true-up period you get paid out at some reduced rate (not full retail). I have not had my system on for the full year, so I can’t tell you what that reduce rate is, but I know it’s not enough to justify (financially) purchasing a system that overproduces.[/quote]

>> … at the end of the true-up period

Is this the same as the end of the calendar year ?[/quote]

The true up period corresponds with when you entered the NEM agreement (date solar was installed).

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[quote=bearishgurl]Gas is more economical than electricity, esp in SD County. And gas cooktops, gas water heaters and gas dryers are superior to electric models, IMO. I’ve never lived anyplace in SD County where I wasn’t able to have the above three items in my home.[/quote]

I used to think the same way. But decided the trade-offs (Huge view, lot size, wildlife, etc) were worth it. I don’t notice the difference in the dryer and water heater, but I do occasionally miss having a gas range.

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[quote=LAAFTERHOURS][quote=skerzz]When you are under a net energy metering (“NEM”) agreement, SDGE will net your monthly over/under production on an annual basis and bill or refund on the net amount. ex. If I use 1,000kWh more than I produce Jan – May, and produce 900kWh more than I use June – December, I’ll pay SDGE for the 100kWh at the annual true-up period. I believe there’s a cap on the amount of systems that can be installed under the current NEM agreement, so these rules may be changing soon (my understanding is that the new NEM agreement will not be as favorable as the current NEM).[/quote]

best site for all of these answers is solarpaneltalk.com. Based upon a thread in that forum, the NEM will run out middle of 2016 at its current install rate. The rate you get at the end of a 12 month period is something like 35 cents so yes better than tier 1 but not enough to make up for oversizing considerably.[/quote]

Per SDGE, the rate paid for excess is somewhere around .04 per kWh. Tier 1 rates are .17 per kWh. Cost of solar per kWh is somewhere in the range of .06 – .07 per kwh in Southern CA, so it’s not economical to pay for a system that overproduces.

Per the SDGE website (http://www.sdge.com/clean-energy/excess-generation-credit/annual-compensation-excess-generation):

“Compensation is made up of two components, one for the wholesale value of the commodity, and one for the Renewable Energy Credit (REC). The wholesale compensation price is a rolling average based on the utility’s Default Load Aggregation Point (DLAP) price from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is a wholesale market price that the utility pays other generators. It’s currently averaging just under 4 cents per kWh. Your account will automatically be credited for the wholesale value should there be any excess generation after your annual true-up. We’ll multiply the number of excess kWh you have by the average price applicable to your true-up month. See true-up table below.”

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[quote=bearishgurl][quote=skerzz]Coronado Hills Neighborhood of San Marcos (epicenter of last year’s Cocos fire).[/quote]

skerzz, is the fire the reason you no longer have gas service or were gas lines never installed there?

I seem to remember that area was near (or overlooking) CSUSM (predated CSUSM) … not sure.

I guess you must be paying $3K+ yr homeowner’s insurance premiums as well … with a limited selection of carriers to choose from ….[/quote]

An,

SDGE only provides electrical service to the area (gas lines never put in), so it’s all electrical unless you pay for a propane tank. That’s the area. The west side of the hill overlooks CSUSM and the east side looks out over parts of San Marcos, Escondido, Ramona, Poway.

I’m insured through statefarm for less than $2K per year. I’m a loyal customer with several policies and they have always treated me right. Not sure if it would be difficult to find another insurer because of the recent fires (the risk of fire is low now that all the brush has burned)…I’ve haven’t tried since statefarm is one of the few insurers that doesn’t discriminate against dog breeds (I have a “scary” rottweiler).

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AN,
I’m in the Coronado Hills Neighborhood of San Marcos (epicenter of last year’s Cocos fire).

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That’s correct. You get full retail billing credit for the energy produced up to the point where you are a net zero energy user. If you’re left with overproduction at the end of the true-up period you get paid out at some reduced rate (not full retail). I have not had my system on for the full year, so I can’t tell you what that reduce rate is, but I know it’s not enough to justify (financially) purchasing a system that overproduces.

[skerzz]

When you are under a net energy metering (“NEM”) agreement, SDGE will net your monthly over/under production on an annual basis and bill or refund on the net amount. ex. If I use 1,000kWh more than I produce Jan – May, and produce 900kWh more than I use June – December, I’ll pay SDGE for the 100kWh at the annual true-up period. I believe there’s a cap on the amount of systems that can be installed under the current NEM agreement, so these rules may be changing soon (my understanding is that the new NEM agreement will not be as favorable as the current NEM).

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Any reputable Solar company will not suggest that you install solar unless your SDGE electric bill (excluding gas) is in excess of $125/month. So I agree, as do most in the industry, that solar does not make sense in your situation.

I live in an area that does not have access to SDGE gas service. My wife and I with one infant child were running SDGE bills in excess of $250/month without using the A/C (the unit was non-functional). To reduce my SDGE bills down to a more reasonable level, I would have had to put in new insulation ($3K+), replace the single pane windows ($8K+), put a new energy efficient A/C and air handler ($10K+), take cold showers, and possibly install a propane tank/run gas lines, and replace water heater, dryer, stove-top to run on propane ($expensive).

Instead (and for less money), I installed a solar system for $23K (after tax credits) that reduces my SDGE bill to $0 and paid less than $1,500 to replace my A/C with one of those out-dated, but brand new, energy inefficient R-22 A/C units that works with my air handler (luckily I’ve got a family connection in the industry that was able to get one of these units for me). I now use as much energy as I want without pause and have locked my $0 SDGE bill in for the next 20+ years. Perhaps in the future I’ll make the energy efficiency home improvements you suggested and use the savings to charge an electric and reduce my monthly payment to the local Chevron station.

Not all buyers are the same, but if deciding between two identical houses, I’d definitely assign a premium to the one without an SDGE bill.

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Sullivan Solar does not recommend micro inverters. Here’s their argument against micro inverters:

http://www.sullivansolarpower.com/about/solar-power-blog/daniel-sullivan/dangers-of-micro-inverters

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I’d recommend reading through the IRS publication at the following web address: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p523/ar02.html

This is fairly straight forward, but if you still have questions, I’d consult your CPA.

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PM me if you’d like more information about getting a quote from Sullivan Solar. I highly recommend them based on experience; if you go through their referral system (you’d need to contact me) we’ll both get a $500 referral check a month after the install. High recommended with or without the referral bonus, the $500 is just icing on the cake. Can’t beat their professionalism, knowledge of the industry, clean install crews, low pressure sales, warranty (inverters are warrantied for 20 years), web based production monitoring for 25 years, and 10 year production guarantee. Well established Company so you can trust they will be around long enough to make good on their warranty (not just a fly by night Company that will be out of business after the sunset of the SDGE net metering agreements and federal tax credits).

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Install date: November 2014
System Size: 7.771 KW, 13,798 kwh (+/- 12%) annual kwh production guarantee for 10 years, 20 year warranty on the two inverters, 25-years of web based system monitoring
Cost: $33,250 before 30% federal tax credit and $500 referral cash rebate.
Contractor: Sullivan Solar
Family Size: 2 adults, 1 child. System purchased covers 110% of pre-child electrical use (we purchased larger system for growing family and plans to add A/C unit). Natural Gas is not offered in our area, so we use more electrical than most.
Payback period is 6.5 years based on current SDGE use. System has been producing more than expected; we are on track for $60 ($5/month charge for net metering agreement) annual SDGE bill vs. $300+ monthly bills before install.

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[quote=scaredyclassic][quote=flu][quote=AN][quote=flu][quote=harvey][quote=flu]I’d like to see folks try to defend this one….[/quote]

So have you actually looked at the numbers?

It doesn’t seem that these changes would result in a net increase in taxes for most families/students.

With the $2500 credit, it could be a net decrease.[/quote]

Except for households above the cap..[/quote]Cap is $180k as a couple or $90k as a single. Don’t you know that you’re rich when you make that much more than the middle class? Be happy that you’re rich and quit ya whining.[/quote]

So basically, almost every enginerd here in san diego that is single or every double income family in California that actually values their kid’s education…is…well screwed….[/quote]

you can value learning and go to call state and pay little. In my uneducated but semi informed opinion the engineering program at SDSU is very good or at least good enough. We write a small check each semester. My kids on the dean’s list and I don’t think he studies relentlessly, socompetition must be reasonable.[/quote]

Shhh… Don’t give away the Cal State secret or it won’t be affordable for much longer. Actually, The accounting program at SDSU is a decent option, join the right firm out of school and you’ll be making enough to be considered “rich” within 4-5 years. I do get a kick out of those who racked up big college debt at an elite school only to land the same job my sdsu degree got me.

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