[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I got a quote for a 16.2kW system with 36 panels that would run me just over 49k. Claims it would be a 92% energy offset and generate 18280kwh per year. In the past 12 months my recorded consumption is 19,850+/-.



One thing about this proposal is it's claiming Canada Greener homes grant giving a 10 year loan at 0% up to 40k...in my quote when I compare the total amount quoted and divide it by 120...the estimated payment is higher...if I add an extra $500 to it, than it's pretty much bang on. It can't be interest on the extra 9k and change.



I only plan to say in my place for another 7-8 years, and at some point I'll smarten up and stop having 5 fish tanks, 2 freezers, and extra fridge and dishwasher to get my usage down.



For those of you in Alberta who have made the switch, how much has it impacted your bills? I'm looking at my Bil from April to May for example, used 1700kwH. The total bill that month was $339.40 with 129.03 of it being the actual cost of the electricity. There's an administration charge of $8.37 that's 27 cents a day (now jacked to 32 as of July 1). Theres a distribution charge of $87.20 and a Transmission charge of $74.75 which works out to 5.1 cents and 4.4 cents per kwH respectively. Than you pay the different riders which resulted in a 40 cent credit that month, plus the local access fee of $24.29 which I think is based on number of days in the billing cycle.



So if you are selling back into the Grid, does that cancel out the Transmission and Distribution charges? In essence do you pay for your net usage on those or do you still pay based on your total use, and try to get your money back by selling your power back to the Grid at a higher price during the better production months?



Between the Riders, admin fee, and daily access fee it's safe to ballpark those fees as around $40 per month. So I'm trying to figure out how much else I'd pay per month if I did go solar. I'm skeptical having a solar system willl add much to the value of the house, and as I noted earlier, I'll be out of the place before the loan would come due. I think I'd be lucky to get the 15 grand still owing on the loan...much less than if I have the current shower fad of the day in my Master Bathroom...



I might look for a couple other quotes to see what they might be. I am in St.Albert, not Calgary. If I was planning to be here for 12 years...even at this price, then I think it would be worth my while as so long as the system didn't completely crater. Other factor is that despite the fact that this house is 7 years old and has 25 year shingles...stuff these days is such trash that I expect be year 13 I'll need a new roof because these shatty RKO shingles won't be worth shat...and I'll no claim for warranty.

That seems insanely expensive