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Old 12-28-2020, 11:57 AM   #1
Buck Murdock
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Default Solar power systems for the home

I'm looking for a solar power system for my house but am not sure where to begin. I'd like to add some protection from electrical outages and lower my electric bills a bit but am not sure what type of set up would be appropriate. Anyone have experience with this stuff? Any help would be appreciated.
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Old 12-28-2020, 12:22 PM   #2
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I'm looking for a solar power system for my house but am not sure where to begin. I'd like to add some protection from electrical outages and lower my electric bills a bit but am not sure what type of set up would be appropriate. Anyone have experience with this stuff? Any help would be appreciated.

If you live in Calgary, this might be a good place to start:


https://www.enmax.com/home/renewable-energy/solar
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Old 12-28-2020, 12:23 PM   #3
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Check out Skyfire Energy and Eco-Smart Energy Solutions for the Calgary area.

Note that you would need a battery system to keep power flowing during an outage, Enmax does not allow you to island and continue to produce power in an outage scenario. So that there is no risk of your home putting current into a wire being repaired.

You can also only put on an amount of panels that covers your yearly energy usage, so a company quoting you will want to have at least 12 months of power bills. I do believe things like having an EV and charging station allow more panels to be put on.

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Old 12-28-2020, 12:29 PM   #4
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Thanks Bigtime. What’s roughly the payout of installing solar if you had to guess?
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Old 12-28-2020, 12:31 PM   #5
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Bank on about 15 years to break even.

Here in Calgary you'll see the power you put back on the grid applied as a micro-generation credit on your monthly statement.

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Old 12-28-2020, 01:36 PM   #6
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Bank on about 15 years to break even.

Here in Calgary you'll see the power you put back on the grid applied as a micro-generation credit on your monthly statement.



my neighbours did solar this past summer. i asked them how long until they'd see a savings and he said about 20 years.

i don't know... to me it just doesn't seem worth it. maybe it will in the future when they are more efficient, but 20 years just to break even... and that doesn't include anything for repair/replacement of panels.
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Old 12-28-2020, 01:48 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Buck Murdock View Post
I'm looking for a solar power system for my house but am not sure where to begin. I'd like to add some protection from electrical outages and lower my electric bills a bit but am not sure what type of set up would be appropriate. Anyone have experience with this stuff? Any help would be appreciated.
Make sure you are allowed by law to have a backup battery system from your solar system. Depending on the power of your utility lobby, it may be illegal for you to have a system that stores the power it makes and the only solution is a system tied into the grid.
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Old 12-28-2020, 01:50 PM   #8
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my neighbours did solar this past summer. i asked them how long until they'd see a savings and he said about 20 years.

i don't know... to me it just doesn't seem worth it. maybe it will in the future when they are more efficient, but 20 years just to break even... and that doesn't include anything for repair/replacement of panels.
We didn't really do it to save money (initially). We did it to do a little part to save energy, kind of like me biking everywhere and us reducing to a one car household. We've only had our system since late September but you do find yourself changing certain habits. Checking the dashboard/app to see what you are producing and deciding to run the dishwasher/washing machine in the middle of the day while you are making lots of power for example.

Over a 12 month period our home averages 315kWh per month. November this year we produced 125.91kWh with the solar, of which 64.8kWh was sent to the grid and the remainder used by us.

I've been impressed with how much power we've gotten out of it over the winter, but I haven't produced a watt since the big snowfall last week. Need that snow to slide off the panels.

For us it was really another step in the upgrading of our home. Interior renovations, the solar, and next up will be windows and extra insulation if possible.

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Old 12-28-2020, 01:51 PM   #9
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i don't know... to me it just doesn't seem worth it.
It really isn't for Alberta (and Canada in general), given it's relatively cheap and reliable electricity and high latitude which means that solar produces very little during the winter when demand is highest.
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Old 12-28-2020, 01:58 PM   #10
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If you're seriously considering it, I think the federal government is going to have some interest free loans for this type of thing in the next year or two hopefully. Would make it a little more worthwhile!
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Old 12-28-2020, 02:21 PM   #11
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Make sure you are allowed by law to have a backup battery system from your solar system. Depending on the power of your utility lobby, it may be illegal for you to have a system that stores the power it makes and the only solution is a system tied into the grid.
Additionally I've heard that some people also keep a generator for certain emergency conditions. In particular this is a family living on the far west edge of Calgary.
The rate and periods of return though are quite important, as is the expected maintenance and replacement costs/timing. With solar technology and efficiency evolving so rapidly right now, a super sale priced item today may already be ridiculously obsolete by the time it's installed (because it may have been warehoused for 2+ years).

All that being said, our camping trailer has a ~5yr old solar system and we've gone camping for 10 days straight without any power shortages off the batteries.
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Old 12-28-2020, 02:23 PM   #12
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The inverter is definitely the big ticket item when it comes to cost. I was quite frankly surprised how affordable the panels were, which really minimized any concerns I had about replacement costs for them down the line.
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Old 12-28-2020, 03:27 PM   #13
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You could also consider the solar roof tiles from Tesla.
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Old 12-28-2020, 04:49 PM   #14
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When I bought my house, I was given the option of installing Solar "for free" or $5000 off my house price. (So really cost 5k).

I figured that 5k that will eventually pay for itself and having the conduit built from the roof to the basement was worth it.

After about a year, I figure my break even is just under 9-years. I got 6 solar 200w solar panels, inverter, IoT solar monitor, dual power source electrical panel, and two way power meter.

At a 20 year lifespan, I should see a net positive on the investment assuming I don't have to replace anything.i was talking to Skyfire (the installer) and they figure I can add 8 panels to my system, so eventually I'll probably add more, if the federal recovery plan includes solar I may expand next year.

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Old 12-28-2020, 05:27 PM   #15
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When I did a feasibility study for full solar install with no battery storage to fully power a house at max demand, the ROI was at 25 years. That was also assuming a modest interest rate, so if the feds are offering interest free loans that would help significantly.

This was also 8 years ago and solar has had a few small improvements.
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Old 12-29-2020, 11:18 AM   #16
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Another company to consider: https://www.virtuosoenergy.com/

I have met several of their team in an unrelated context. They're capable, engaged, and local (which may well be true of the other companies mentioned in this thread as well).
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Old 12-29-2020, 11:29 AM   #17
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The other thing to keep in mind is that even if you are able to produce enough energy to put your net use to zero kw/h- you will still have a power bill. I'm not sure if the line items other than use go down much if you end up using less; however the point stands that if your power bill is $75 per month, you won't be able to save that by going solar. Unless of course you do go fully off grid with batteries, etc.
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Old 12-29-2020, 11:34 AM   #18
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I wonder at what price point it becomes feasible for residential homes here in Calgary to go solar. I would be interested if the break even was around 5-7 years, but wouldn't that have to make the cost almost nothing?
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Old 12-29-2020, 11:36 AM   #19
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The other thing to keep in mind is that even if you are able to produce enough energy to put your net use to zero kw/h- you will still have a power bill. I'm not sure if the line items other than use go down much if you end up using less; however the point stands that if your power bill is $75 per month, you won't be able to save that by going solar. Unless of course you do go fully off grid with batteries, etc.
My variable fees seem to track power usage, and days I produce more reduce my total power consumption for that month. The fixed prices do not change.



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Old 12-29-2020, 11:41 AM   #20
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I wonder at what price point it becomes feasible for residential homes here in Calgary to go solar. I would be interested if the break even was around 5-7 years, but wouldn't that have to make the cost almost nothing?
My estimation based on power consumption with an average cost of 14c (power rate plus variable fees) plus carbon tax rebate was between 9-10 years so almost there. Once the carbon tax goes up, I think it'll become closer to that mark.

Plus better solar panels will also improve this, I have 200w panels, I'm planning on costing out higher wattage panels next year see if I can get better return on 300 or 400 watt panels.

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