Recent Solar install experiences Calvert and St Mary's?

[Gilligan]

How much is everyones electric bill a month

The monthly electric bill for the place we're installing the 16kw solar system roughly $1000 on average.

 

[itsbob]

Thinking about taking the plunge with the increased incentive from the new Inflation Reduction Act.

Just wondering if anyone has had any recent experiences positive or negative in the area.

Or any specific companies they know about or have worked with

Thanks in advance.

I am working an additional install right now. We have panels on our house that cover about 80% of our electric. We built a barn that has a massive South facing roof that we will put additional panels on;

We went back to our original company to add panels, but they are North of Baltimore (21st Century Power) and didn't want to work with St Mary's County. There were additional steps to take to have two separate arrays, aggregating electric bills, permits to have two solar arrays that weren't interconnected (trenching between buildings). I asked the county who the better local companies would be in our situation, and they gave me the name of 3 or 4, but the one with the most experience was Energy Select.

Before 21st Century decided they didn't want to do business with us, they did provide an estimate, and Energy Select was a little lower with a better (I think) system.

Our current system has a Solar Edge converter that is maxed out to the number of panels we have, to put on more panels we would need an additional converter, at about $5,000 cost. The new system will have Enphase microinverters on each panel, with no restriction or additional cost if we want to add more panels in the future.

We do have one advantage over most, we are zoned agriculture.. we have fruit trees, and a farmer plants and harvests our front yard, this allows us to produce up to 200% of the power we need in Solar, residential you can't produce more than you need, so we are going to move up from 80% to 125%, to hopefully cover future needs. Our install will also include the installation of an EV charger (we don't currently own an EV, but with the future ???)/

I will say.. do NOT do Solar City, or any lease program, it's not worth it, and you don't get any of the tax breaks, or incentives, THEY do.. you can borrow 100% of what you need from their financing company at a decent % rate, it will be less than what you are paying now if you have to finance, but not a great deal less (at least not today, 5 years from now it could be significant savings), and you'll still get 30% of it back in a tax refund (30% is taken from taxes owed, or as addition to your tax refund NOT deducted from taxable income)
If you want to come look at our current install, and/ or keep track of our progress, you're free to come take a look.

 

[itsbob]

With all that being said.. IF You are looking for an EV as well, check out Hyundai and Kia.. they are not only killing it with their designs, and style, BUT their cars are bi-directional charging.. they identify as charging walls. Instead of putting out HUGE money for power walls, your EV can store energy in it's batteries, and at night, or when the power goes out the EV will back charge the house. EV batteries are MUCH bigger than any power wall, so if power does go out, the EV could power your house indefinitely, while using Solar to power your house and charge its batteries during the day

 

[Kinnakeet]

Mine is regularly more than twice that. I cannot figure out how on Earth anyone can have electric as low as yours.

the insulation in the walls and attic was upgraded from I think r-13 in the walls to r-19 and r-38 or 40 in the attic plus the high efficiency windows had some type of sun light reflective coating and the HVAC was a 12 seer heat pump and gas backup 90 plus furnace Im still amazed that its still that low my friend down the street from says his bill is in the 300- 400 dollar range and his home is smaller than mine

 

[itsbob]

Energy Select is also a SMECO energy auditor. They came in measured our insulation, checked for leaks in the entire house, checked furnace/ heat pump efficiency, water heater..etc.. etc.. then came back with a list of improvements we could do, with included incentives from SMECO and MD. We ended up doing about 5k of improvements, and out of pocket was $1600.

 

[SamSpade]

the insulation in the walls and attic was upgraded from I think r-13 in the walls to r-19 and r-38 or 40 in the attic plus the high efficiency windows had some type of sun light reflective coating and the HVAC was a 12 seer heat pump and gas backup 90 plus furnace Im still amazed that its still that low my friend down the street from says his bill is in the 300- 400 dollar range and his home is smaller than mine

Mine's about your size - but it is also old, which means, brick house, which is thin cinder block, furring strips and sheet rock. Even if I wanted to put insulation in there, it might not be possible.

I did spend a small fortune a while back to insulate the attic. That did seem to knock the usage down about 50 bucks a month. But with the new rates, that savings was lost.

And of course, it doesn't help that the only time of the year wife wants it freezing is during the summer - during the winter, it's always very warm.

 

[Kinnakeet]

Energy Select is also a SMECO energy auditor. They came in measured our insulation, checked for leaks in the entire house, checked furnace/ heat pump efficiency, water heater..etc.. etc.. then came back with a list of improvements we could do, with included incentives from SMECO and MD. We ended up doing about 5k of improvements, and out of pocket was $1600.

after the house was done smeco came and sealed off he fireplace and put a fan in the front door and blew air and and recorded the readings the house was 2 points away from them having to cut a hole somewhere to let air in but I would think the reading would not be that low if they did not seal off the fireplace and chimney top,2 yeas ago I installed a 14 seer heat pump old one took a crap and in 2020 i had new windows installed as they started to fog on the inside of the double panes

 

[phreddyp]

LOL. In our case though, we're excited about the un-costed factors, especially the aggravation and effort involved in hauling and burning so much diesel fuel every year.

Major Edit: I just went back and double-checked the proposal from the prime contractor. The 11 year payoff was based on a grid-connected assumption. The payoff period for our particular generator-powered off-grid situation is only about 4 years.

That just doesn't seem correct, maybe you could get clem72 to run the numbers again objectively for you. After all he is an Electrical Engineer .

 

[itsbob]

The monthly electric bill for the place we're installing the 16kw solar system roughly $1000 on average.

What percentage do you think 16kW will cover? We have a 13kw system on the house and it covers about 80% of our electric for all 12 months.

 

[StmarysCity79]

How much is everyones electric bill a month I had my home built in 2000 and I just got my highest bill ever 204.00 and that is because my wife turned the temp down to 70* and my beer fridge in the garage runs 24/7 now before that it was around 120 130 a month and when I first moved in the highest we paid was maybe 90.00 sometimes it was as low as 72.00 our home is 3100 square feet when we had the house built I upgraded the insulation package

Mine is roughly $100 a month if you take the year as an average. Some months are $35 but this is only part time use for many of the lower months

 

[Gilligan]

The only time we anticipate exceeding the 16kw peak is during really hot summer days when every mini-split and window AC unit is running flat out and the well pump comes on while someone is running the deep fryer or other resistance-heated appliance(s) like that. We spent a lot of time assessing our current loading and paid an electrician to re-wire one of our main panels to better balance the load for the existing generator. We'll see how it turns out.

 

[Gilligan]

That just doesn't seem correct, maybe you could get clem72 to run the numbers again objectively for you. After all he is an Electrical Engineer .

What does not seem right about it?

 

[StmarysCity79]

I am working an additional install right now. We have panels on our house that cover about 80% of our electric. We built a barn that has a massive South facing roof that we will put additional panels on;

We went back to our original company to add panels, but they are North of Baltimore (21st Century Power) and didn't want to work with St Mary's County. There were additional steps to take to have two separate arrays, aggregating electric bills, permits to have two solar arrays that weren't interconnected (trenching between buildings). I asked the county who the better local companies would be in our situation, and they gave me the name of 3 or 4, but the one with the most experience was Energy Select.

Before 21st Century decided they didn't want to do business with us, they did provide an estimate, and Energy Select was a little lower with a better (I think) system.

Our current system has a Solar Edge converter that is maxed out to the number of panels we have, to put on more panels we would need an additional converter, at about $5,000 cost. The new system will have Enphase microinverters on each panel, with no restriction or additional cost if we want to add more panels in the future.

We do have one advantage over most, we are zoned agriculture.. we have fruit trees, and a farmer plants and harvests our front yard, this allows us to produce up to 200% of the power we need in Solar, residential you can't produce more than you need, so we are going to move up from 80% to 125%, to hopefully cover future needs. Our install will also include the installation of an EV charger (we don't currently own an EV, but with the future ???)/

I will say.. do NOT do Solar City, or any lease program, it's not worth it, and you don't get any of the tax breaks, or incentives, THEY do.. you can borrow 100% of what you need from their financing company at a decent % rate, it will be less than what you are paying now if you have to finance, but not a great deal less (at least not today, 5 years from now it could be significant savings), and you'll still get 30% of it back in a tax refund (30% is taken from taxes owed, or as addition to your tax refund NOT deducted from taxable income)
If you want to come look at our current install, and/ or keep track of our progress, you're free to come take a look.

Thats very helpful. I'lll reach out to Energy Select. I appreciate the offer of coming by to take a look too. I might take you up on it as i get a little further in my research so i know what questions to ask.

Were you able to take full advantage of the tax benefits? And will your new addition be able to get to the 30% tax rebate in the Inflation reduction act?

 

[itsbob]

Thats very helpful. I'lll reach out to Energy Select. I appreciate the offer of coming by to take a look too. I might take you up on it as i get a little further in my research so i know what questions to ask.

Were you able to take full advantage of the tax benefits? And will your new addition be able to get to the 30% tax rebate in the Inflation reduction act?

Yes, and Yes.. we got 30% refunded the first time, and I think this time it's something like 28% (just from Federal).. I believe there are still rebates from MD and SMECO.

I will suggest drive around some local neighborhoods and look at some installations.. some are just UGLY, and after awhile you'll be able to say who did which installs. We were VERY happy with the way our first install looked, they were very aware of hiding conduit, and cables the best they could. Won't take you long to point out Solar City installs.

 

[StmarysCity79]

With all that being said.. IF You are looking for an EV as well, check out Hyundai and Kia.. they are not only killing it with their designs, and style, BUT their cars are bi-directional charging.. they identify as charging walls. Instead of putting out HUGE money for power walls, your EV can store energy in it's batteries, and at night, or when the power goes out the EV will back charge the house. EV batteries are MUCH bigger than any power wall, so if power does go out, the EV could power your house indefinitely, while using Solar to power your house and charge its batteries during the day

I am. I started looking at Tesla's but cant justify their price tag over so many newer models coming on the market. Hopefully charging stations will become more and more available too.

I like the RAV4 plug in too. and its gotten god reviews.

Thinking i'll probably buy a EV in the next year or so.

 

[StmarysCity79]

Yes, and Yes.. we got 30% refunded the first time, and I think this time it's something like 28% (just from Federal).. I believe there are still rebates from MD and SMECO.

Nice. Yeah that really makes it an attractive option financially not just environmentally.

I appreciate you advice.

 

[itsbob]

I am. I started looking at Tesla's but cant justify their price tag over so many newer models coming on the market. Hopefully charging stations will become more and more available too.

I like the RAV4 plug in too. and its gotten god reviews.

Thinking i'll probably buy a EV in the next year or so.

If going to put out the money for an EV, ask if they are bi-directional capable.. there are only two or three that are. We were looking at the Soltera (Subaru and Toyota are selling the same SUV EV), but it isn't as capable as the Hyundai, and not bi-directional. I honestly believe Hyundia and Kia are taking the lead on EV's..

 

[StmarysCity79]

If going to put out the money for an EV, ask if they are bi-directional capable.. there are only two or three that are. We were looking at the Soltera (Subaru and Toyota are selling the same SUV EV), but it isn't as capable as the Hyundai, and not bi-directional. I honestly believe Hyundia and Kia are taking the lead on EV's..

So the idea is that one day you will be able to put energy back into the grid through the charging station from the battery?

 

[itsbob]

So the idea is that one day you will be able to put energy back into the grid through the charging station from the battery?

If the power goes out, it uses the car battery to power the house at night.. etc.. Solar will charge the car, the car will power the house. Car batteries are much larger than any Power Wall or separate battery installation. I haven't asked yet, but a grid attached system will not work with the power out, I would ASSUME, if you have a charger for a bi-directional EV it will still charge the car, car will power the house, but I don't have the details yet.

 

[StmarysCity79]

If the power goes out, it uses the car battery to power the house at night.. etc.. Solar will charge the car, the car will power the house. Car batteries are much larger than any Power Wall or separate battery installation. I haven't asked yet, but a grid attached system will not work with the power out, I would ASSUME, if you have a charger for a bi-directional EV it will still charge the car, car will power the house, but I don't have the details yet.

Intersting. looks like only a few 2vg cars are available at the moment but it seems to be changing.

Porsche Taycan
Nissan Leaf (ZE1)	36-62	1.7-3	Chademo				Yes
Mitsubishi Outlander (plug-in)	13.8	0.7	Chademo				Yes
Ford F-150 Lightning	98-130	4.7-6.2	CCS				July 2022 (US)
Hyundai Ioniq 5	54-77.4	2.6-3.7	CCS		TBC	TBC	Yes
Kia EV6	54-77.4	2.6-3.7	CCS		TBC	TBC	Yes
BYD Atto 3	50.1-60.4	2.4-2.9	CCS		TBC	TBC	July 2022 (Aus)
MG ZS EV (2022)	49-68	2.3-3.2	CCS		TBC	TBC	July 2022 (UK)