Solar as a hobby ROI.
- Thread starter Mattb4
- Start date
RV8R
Solar Enthusiast
Hi @Mattb4
Great Thread !!
We have a “Travel Van” that we boondocking almost 100% ,,, No Solar as we alternator charge.
We have some “no grid” land & a small cabin which is 100% Solar 12vdc & 600W array. It is setup like a 12vdc RV. We have a gasoline generator as a backup if there is no sun, but so far we are working out just fine with what we have.
Recently, I started to build a box ,,, a “Portable Solar Charger” so I do not have to use a gasoline generator to maintain or top up various equipment batteries like this 12vdc battery for the hydraulic pump on this dump trailer;
Here is the Portable Solar Charger Box I am working on;
So for me ,,, “To Solar” or “Not To Solar” really comes down as needs & what is available for grid. Cost / Benefit.
I use Solar if it benefits me. I live in British Columbia, Canada where our “grid” energy is $0.09 & $0.14 per kWh “Residentially” from BC Hydro ,,, “Hydro”
.So installing Solar on my house ( which I don’t do ), is not an economical viable investment.
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It is funny the cost though. Although I get charged about 8 cents per kWh they nick me about $24/mo just for the privilege. Strictly speaking it is cheaper for me to use more grid power above a certain amount.
CaliSunHarvester
Solar Enthusiast
I see you are not far from me.
Yes, we pay among the highest rates in the country and in return we probably have the most power outages.
Why would anyone NOT get solar .. with batteries?
I always wanted a dump trailer. My other hobby has been land work. Bit harder to get a ROI on excavating equipment if you do not contract out.
A customer of mine is a mostly retired electrician, and he keeps telling me he wants to sell his mini excavator...
I want it bad.
hwy17
Anti-Solar Enthusiast
Yeah, it's for real lol. Here's my tariff. It's muddled slightly because we also have CCA's where we get to choose between 1 other generation provider other than PG&E. My CCA knocks down the peak summer rate here by like 7 cents or something.
Ouch!
CaliSunHarvester
Solar Enthusiast
Remember that California has been leading the nation's development for decades. Higher prices will come to your state, sooner or later. "They" will find ways.
Your "hobby" installation may pay off faster then.
MisterSandals
Participation Medalist
This started as an RV boon docking power project and has grown to residential solar. Back when i started residential, the rates were pretty reasonable at $.17 to $.36. The peak was a small window back then too, not 3pm - 9pm.
Then it morphed into a grid backup but we're on a power block with 4 major hospitals (Good Sam, Stanford, El Camino and Kaiser) and about 50 clinics. We NEVER get the rolling blackouts or wind/safety shut downs most other areas get. We're the first to get fixed too.
Now with the worsening monthly bludgeoning, I'm on a mission to self consume and send squat back to the grid (for $.04/kWh).
hwy17
Anti-Solar Enthusiast
I think our mistakes are already leading others to nip the NEM cost shift problem in the bud before it gets out of control.
If you live in a shaded area here, yeah you're screwed. The blank white areas, probably gonna be ok.
MisterSandals
Participation Medalist
9 year old map, i wonder how things have changed.
hwy17
Anti-Solar Enthusiast
Very little. I think by 10 years ago the regulated markets could already see the open market was not gonna bring them any good.
RTOs and ISOs
Regional Transmission Organizations/Independent System Operators Independent System Operators (ISO) grew out of Orders Nos.
RV8R
Solar Enthusiast
Tell me about it ,,, LOL
2 more DIY projects
In case you don’t see TWO DIY Projects ,,, one of them is an airstrip & the other one I can still see evidence of the paint colours in my garage @ home
.When I really want to waste money, I don’t do it with my “Solar Hobby”
.Strictly a hobbyist here - toying with a few things. Under $100 total for make-work system that originally ran some yard lights. No expectation of ROI.
Also have a thought experiment going about powering an off-grid cabin (and I don't even own one!)
Also have a thought experiment going about powering an off-grid cabin (and I don't even own one!)
Aridom82
Learning addict
What are you going to excavate? I would tunnel to china in a month if i had one
BackyardBandit
New Member
More sources of power generation (and storage) are a benefit to society as we move to the decentralization of everything. No one will shed a tear for the power companies making less profit.
hwy17
Anti-Solar Enthusiast
Do you take it for granted that this is either inevitable or beneficial?
All of modern civilization up until now was centralization and we built the world around us by centralizing our grids into nearly pan continental connectivity. But now "oh neverminded let's try the opposite". There's another word for decentralization: balkanization.
If you try to farm an acre of wheat you will struggle to feed a family. If you farm 1000 acres of wheat, you will feed 25,000. We centralize, scale, and pool our resources for a reason. When we forget why we did that and recede into individualism the famines will be back.
My solar generation is not really in the benefit to society range. A benefit to Mattkind only.
HighDesertOffgrid
Solar Addict
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2022
- Messages
- 628
Neighbor was quoted an $80k connection fee by SCE to run 1/4 mile of line up a straight desert road. He went off-grid. I didn't bother to call. Just started slowly building my system.
More recently, a new neighbor was quoted a $5k engineering fee to get 'started. He has an existing line and transformer on his property maybe 50 feet from the building.
Where's this illusory ROI?
More recently, a new neighbor was quoted a $5k engineering fee to get 'started. He has an existing line and transformer on his property maybe 50 feet from the building.
Where's this illusory ROI?
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