Sonja saves all our power bills cleaning out the file cabinet just for the hella of it I totaled all the bills over 18 years here.Understand I live where the AC runs almost 6 months out of a year,with my shop, well, house and people visiting pugged in over a 18 year span I have paid Mohave Co-op $61,814.56 damn that is a lot of money for electricity lol not really bus related but a lot of buses do come here and are plugged in
Not too bad. I have to check a guy's set up that runs about 600 a month year round. You averaged less than 300. He is in a single family house and pays that. I told him that it seems like is renting his house from the power company but we would check it out.
Melbo
Quote from: Melbo on October 18, 2021, 10:09:42 AM
Not too bad. I have to check a guy's set up that runs about 600 a month year round. You averaged less than 300. He is in a single family house and pays that. I told him that it seems like is renting his house from the power company but we would check it out.
Melbo
As long as they make aluminum cans for me to pickup It will be alright Mel :^
That doesn't seem terrible for Arizona. My former co-worker who moved to Phoenix was complaining about how he was averaging $300 a month for electricity for his modest suburban house. It was two to three times as much as he was paying in a Minneapolis suburb.
Solar panels!! You might even get them to pay you. I'm in net zero, so can only zero bill. LOL
Quote from: windtrader on October 18, 2021, 12:02:38 PM
Solar panels!! You might even get them to pay you. I'm in net zero, so can only zero bill. LOL
If you tie solar into the grid most suppliers here charge a fee like SaltRiver charges $60.00 a month but will buy the surplus power makes not 1 bit of sense to me.A long time friend of mine that owns Northern AZ Sun and Wind is pricing me a 4000 killowatt per month systems for Globe and it is not going to be cheap
Glad to hear some power companies buy net from consumers. Naturally, each install needs to sort out the financial aspects. There is a real cost for you to send the power you generate onto the grid, you are using their infrastructure. It is the distribution assets that you utilize, not generation. Then there is the rate at which they will buy. Hopefully, more during the day and less at night.
I think PGE provides credit at retail but limits purchase to zero your balance. SMUD is quite reasonable so there aren't many solar panels around, even with the credits, I think the calculators never show full cost recovery, so why bother when cheaper to buy off the grid.
Here in Southern Nevada, they keep offering me free install of solar. My best friend had it installed, the free solar roof panels, cost him $18,000, lvmci...
Clifford that only 286.00 a month. We pay $135.00 a month in the bus when not on solar and on the pole.
Time to put a toll both at your back :^gate eh...
Since I will need a new roof soon and was interested in solar, I have been in the process of getting a Tesla solar roof. I really like the concept, and Tesla has consistently offered a better deal than other solar companies when the cost of the roof is included. The problem that may stop me from proceeding is that their customer service seems to be sub standard. I have tried several times to get answers to some questions regarding the battery backup Powerwall, and they have completely failed to respond. The customer relations people I talk to on the phone really try but lack the necessary knowledge. They have no way of connecting me to an engineer. They never call back probably because they can not find the information themselves.
Lin,
so solar panels and Powerwall are two different technologies and independent of each other. The new generation of solar panels that serve as the actual roof look nice but expensive. It's not new, other countries have been using them.
The Powerwall is a battery storage system. If you need the power off-grid then you need on-premise energy storage but it is expensive when compared to just pushing the solar energy output into the grid via a grid-tied system. The other factor why the lack of response from Tesla may be a change in battery technology. I know Tesla is rolling out better, new batteries and the slow transition and production ramp up is slowing up the release of the electric semi-truck as well as the Y (i think).
Lin that is a joint venture with Panasonic could be they need to get answers from Panasonic on the system and Panasonic engineers are tight lip when you ask 1 a question I found that out
Windtrader. Sorry if I was unclear. I understand that the Powerwall is just the battery backup, and I originally was not going to get it. But aside from it being useful during a power outage by supplying electricity for a day or so, it can be used to self power the house during peak usage times and save by not paying those higher rates. Those hours here are from 4-9, so much of it will not have sunlight.
We do not have many power failures here, but who knows what the future will bring. California is currently in the process of shutting down a nuclear plant and several natural gas facilities that provide 10-15% of the states power, so loss of power may become more frequent. Tesla says that 2 Powerwalls will back up everything, but I don not want to pay for that (about $10,000 each). They say one Powerwall will at least back up all 120v circuits. I have asked them if the one Powerwall can also back up my 240v heat/AC circuit and maybe the one for the 240v induction cooktop (I realize that backing up the cooktop would not mean it could be used to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people. I just want to be able to turn one burner on if needed). The problem is that I have gotten both positive and negative answers to the same question. I have even been sent Tesla documents that contradict each other on this question.
I have spoken to numerous customer service people but, even though they try their best, they do not really know what they are talking about. And I simply can not get connected to someone or a call back from someone who does. They have already requested a permit for the project with my county. At this point, I figure I will just wait until they contact me to schedule the work. Then I will refuse to go ahead with it until they tell me what I need to know. Based on how I am feeling that day, I will decide if I want to proceed.
My biggest concern is that if customer service it so bad now, how much worse will it be when they actually have my money. By the way, I have gotten several estimates for solar aside from this one. One was from a national company and the other from a local solar contractor. Tesla beats them both.
Clifford, That may be the case, but you'd think that someone at Tesla should be able to answer this relatively simple question. It seems hard for me to believe that this is the first time it has come up.
Interesting approach, arbitrage the time of day electric rates. Buy it cheap, store it, then consume at higher rates. Seems like it would take a very long time to make up the sunk cost getting it going. Check Generac stock these days. everyone wants a generator when power goes off. Every day more and more this country is starting to take on 3rd world conditions. Oh well. Good luck on the Powerwall. Just make sure you are not stuck or out costs until you are totally satisfied with the answers should they arrive.
Yes your right. It is not worth it for the payback alone, but it does offset the costs a bit and we would have the power failure backup. We are an all electric house and I expect that rates will continue to increase.
As I understand it, California is shutting down various generators in an effort to be greener. However, since the state is going to be left with inadequate production, they are looking to contract huge amounts of electricity from the out-of-state grid. The greenhouse gas footprint of those generators will be at least as bad as the local ones they are shutting down, maybe worse. But of course, our leaders surely know what they are doing, right?
Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant is going to be shut down in 2024/2025. Where is this loss of electricity going to come from? Here are the statistics:
Diablo Canyon Power Plant, which sits on approximately 1,000 acres on the Pacific coast, has operated safely since 1985 with its two Westinghouse Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) units that are licensed until 2024 and 2025 respectively.
The two units produce a total of 18,000 gigawatt-hours of clean and reliable electricity annually, which is enough energy to meet the needs of more than three million Northern and Central Californians (nearly 10% of California's energy portfolio and 20% of the power that PG&E provides throughout its service area).
For years, Diablo Canyon has continued to safely produce clean and reliable energy without greenhouse gases (GHG), avoiding 6 to 7 million tons per year of GHGs that would be emitted by conventional generation resources. Built to withstand extreme natural disasters, including earthquakes, Diablo Canyon's design features state-of-the-art seismic supports.
The Palo Verde nuke plant west of Phoenix had 3 part owners from CA so LA and San Diego got 1/2 the power generated now the plant is owned by APS,Salt River and El Paso Electric ,Edison ,Southern Ca Power and LA Water and Power have no say .Phoenix is growing so fast they want to keep the power in AZ I guess.In a 50 mile radius from us they built 3 gas fired power plants about 5 years ago they never produce but 2 months in a years time, that is during the summer when rates go sky high or CA is in blackout,The part that really bugs me is AZ has maybe 30 gas fired plants,around 20 hydro plants ,4 wind farms and no telling how much solar and we pay through the nose for power I think
Since Japan's Fukushima catastrophy all coastal nuclear power plants have been put on a red list and having a past career in construction of building cooling towers for nukes I can tell you a score of new coastal nukes were scrubbed.
Quote from: dtcerrato on October 19, 2021, 03:41:03 PM
Since Japan's Fukushima catastrophy all coastal nuclear power plants have been put on a red list and having a past career in construction of building cooling towers for nukes I can tell you a score of new coastal nukes were scrubbed.
Politics nuke power is the cleanest and most reliable power. out there, they scrubbed the nuke plant in Sealy Tx and built 2 coal fired plants and then converted those to NG costing more than the nuke plant that produced more KW .Nuke plants don't need to be on coast Palo Verde is 300 miles from the ocean the one in Russellville Ar is a long journey from the coast
Won't be a problem. Go to wants to build huge wind farms off Ca. coast. Course beautiful view at sunset. This summer, we went past a huge pile of old wind propellers. They weren't piled to reuse. Wonder what they do with them.
chessie4905 asked: Wonder what they do with them.
Here is your answer. Nothing. Big problem.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-02-05/wind-turbine-blades-can-t-be-recycled-so-they-re-piling-up-in-landfills
Never saw that one before. Maybe grind them up some how and put the powder or pieces in concrete like the do now with FG strands. Or make lumber out of them for decks and siding. What a waste.
Quote from: Dave5Cs on October 19, 2021, 06:10:20 PM
Never saw that one before. Maybe grind them up some how and put the powder or pieces in concrete like the do now with FG strands. Or make lumber out of them for decks and siding. What a waste.
Those blade are metal with fiber glass carbon coating ,they haven't figured out a economic way to get the toxic glass from the blades to recycle the different metals in the blades I was told
They will eventually figure it out or China will buy them, recondition and sell them back to us. Or just bury them along with spent nuclear fuel rods.
We pay $383 a month during the summer (Mesa Arizona) for a 3050sqft house. I dare not turn on the garage 3 ton mini split otherwise it adds another $80. No solar since we will most likely sell within 10 years and relocate somewhere else. (With land of course!)
Our winter electric bill is $174 or less. House is all electric.
pretty good for all electric. ours runs about 225 to 250 a month. ac in summer. coal furnace in winter with oil furnace as backup. Includes days in shop with half of lights on and waste oil furnace.
switched half of lights last year. company went out of business so have to find just as good. 40 more tunes to buy. got tired of constantly changing flourescent.
Commefornia was $.26/kwhr. Idaho is $.115/kwhr. So our $260 July bill would have cost $588 in Commefornia. Good Luck, TomC
Quote from: TomC on October 22, 2021, 09:08:46 AM
Commefornia was $.26/kwhr. Idaho is $.115/kwhr. So our $260 July bill would have cost $588 in Commefornia. Good Luck, TomC
Power in the Treasure Valley of Idaho (Boise area) was always higher than what we paid in Garden Valley in Boise County,when we lived in Boise the water bill was $5.00 a month in the winter and $15.00 in the summer no meter times have changed there now
Sun is free.
Quote from: windtrader on October 22, 2021, 11:11:04 AM
Sun is free.
LOL the components to make electricity from the sun is not free,I can tell you that from the prices I am getting
Sun would not be free if they could figure out a way to tax it.
Jim
I suppose that with utility companies charging fees to let you use solar, they are already starting to tax sunlight.
Quote from: Lin on October 23, 2021, 09:15:54 AM
I suppose that with utility companies charging fees to let you use solar, they are already starting to tax sunlight.
If you are off-gird in that you store your captured energy, then the utility company has no claws, i believe. Where they do charge, rather than tax, is to use the utility infrastructure for transmission and distribution if you are grid-tied. I am no fan of utilities but to be there is a cost to maintain everything beyond your own service main. rate can be debated all day