diy solar

diy solar

States/Cities Attempting To Limit You Self Produced Power...

Hedges said:

Income Based Electric Rate System Proposed by California Energy Companies – California Globe

californiaglobe.com californiaglobe.com

Apparently a law to do something, but not clear exactly what terms if any have been finalized.

diysolarforum.com

California wants electric rates based on income

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/california-power-companies-roll-out-fixed-rate-bill-proposal/ Cant say Im surprised. full on commies, whats next ?
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com
Click to expand...
What’s next, income based water and sewer bills. Seems crazy a public utility wants to know our income. I say no chance this passes, but in this crazy state anything seems to go.
 
Income,
so say I am a zillionaire but retired, and am technically 'low income', do I pay $20 basic delivery rate?

If I put on some rags/old beat up clothes and go buy a pizza do I get to pay 20% of the price the guy in front of me just paid for the same pizza?

If they want to do something based on income, make it a line on the tax forms.
At this pay level you can claim electrical utility deduction of XX.XX /year on your tax forms, where your income is known, clearly shown, and non of the utility co's F@#$ business.
 
Haze said:
What’s next, income based water and sewer bills.
Click to expand...
Here water and waste water rates are levied by local councils and those rates are based on the unimproved value of the land you own. So in effect they are indexed as the wealthier tend to live on more valuable land. We are not charged waste water rates as the Council does not provide that service and we have approved septic tank systems.
 
I just went and looked at mine to see if I could tell much on the old and new house.

Old house which has the simple 24 volt system non hybrid.

oldhouse.jpg

New house before sungold hybrid inverter.

newhouseaprilmay22.jpg

New house after sungold inverter with 1/2 the panels installed.

newhouseaprilmay23.jpg
 
Alabama has the wonderful deal of you pay a fee based on how many kw of solar panels you have. So they penalize you for having solar.
 
This is exactly what I didn't want...

'Liberals' don't own fossil fuel energy companies. Capitalists do.

After long fought legal battles, rural area private utilitiy providers can not force you to connect. Rural water and electric, etc.

It finally came down to anti-monopoly laws, no competition, no choice.

The city is a public utility, not private corpration/cooperative.

Amish lost the road use issue. Lights, reflectors, permits/plates to use the roadways and have to pay taxes to the center of the road on roadway facing property.

Not the same thing since they DID use the roadway, benefited from road maintiance, ditches/drainage the county built & maintained, etc.

Lights and reflectors are a public safety issue, and if you ever drove up on a black buggy with 10 people in it at night, in the fog, in the rain, you would whole heartedly agree...

It's unusual that a towner can generate 100% of needs, and we know this guy will sneak past for a while. An ananomaly that no one is looking for, meters all over town on storage spaces/garages that are not consuming.

His existing small grid tie system got him under the code inspection and permitting office notice... and since he has a meter, and is paying the $35/month connection fee, we are just wondering how long it will take before the city notices, and what they will do about it...???
 
Zapper77 said:
Camo panels...is that a thing?
Click to expand...
IT IS!
I was just looking for fun, and then bamm there they are, also in colours to kinda match to a clay tile roof, or other thin-film printed overlays to hide the panels or make them blend in a bit more with surroundings.
All the technical data indicate these are poor at best PV compared to normal pv panels.
I saw them on nuvuslight.com - camo for solar panels, but there are a surprising number of these out there!
how about a set of panels in a field of wildflowers, that are printed to appear like a field of wildflowers!
(I want some with the white and black arctic theme camo, since it is winter more than summer here lol.
 
I was wondering how our private tax/income data could be divulged to them, but then I realized everyone would default to highest rate, have to submit documentation to get the lower.

We used to have a registration fee for trailers. That was changed to 10 year registration for $20. Trucks pay registration based on planned weight of total rig.
My 1966 F600 used to cost me may $100 or so. Then I was asked to declare weight, and I selected something appropriate. Renewal bill came in around $2000. Apparently our selections were not entered, so it defaulted to 80,000# or so.

Crowz said:
Alabama has the wonderful deal of you pay a fee based on how many kw of solar panels you have. So they penalize you for having solar.
Click to expand...

Do they now? How much?
California PUC recommended that almost 18 months ago. Even Newsom (after viewing reaction?) said back to the drawing board.
Utilities' request had been $12/kW/month. This would have had us paying them net dollars for all power exported.
PUC's recommendation was $8/kW/month. Would have had us giving exported power for free.
 
Hedges said:
I was wondering how our private tax/income data could be divulged to them, but then I realized everyone would default to highest rate, have to submit documentation to get the lower.

We used to have a registration fee for trailers. That was changed to 10 year registration for $20. Trucks pay registration based on planned weight of total rig.
My 1966 F600 used to cost me may $100 or so. Then I was asked to declare weight, and I selected something appropriate. Renewal bill came in around $2000. Apparently our selections were not entered, so it defaulted to 80,000# or so.



Do they now? How much?
California PUC recommended that almost 18 months ago. Even Newsom (after viewing reaction?) said back to the drawing board.
Utilities' request had been $12/kW/month. This would have had us paying them net dollars for all power exported.
PUC's recommendation was $8/kW/month. Would have had us giving exported power for free.
Click to expand...
www.solarreviews.com

Guide to Alabama incentives & tax credits in 2024

See how much you can save on home solar panels through rebates & tax credits in Alabama. Here’s the full list of federal, state and utility incentives that apply where you live:
www.solarreviews.com www.solarreviews.com

Previously, the Capacity Reservation Charge was equal to $5.00 per kW of solar on your property. The charge for Alabama Power customers who go solar will now be equal to $5.41 per kW. This doesn’t seem like much, but when you consider the costs over the lifetime of the agreement, it’s a significant financial burden.

Let’s look at an example. The average home in Alabama consumes about 1,236 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month. In order to produce enough electricity to cover this usage, you would need to install a 9.2 kW solar array.

With a 9.2 kW rooftop solar system, you would have to pay $49.77 each month, on top of your regular electricity bill. That’s almost $600 extra a year just for switching to solar!

Over the 25-year lifetime of the solar system, you’ll have paid $15,000 in Capacity Reservation Charges. That’s enough to buy a second solar panel system!

--------

Fun fun.....
 
JeepHammer said:
Capitalists do.
Click to expand...
Crony Capitalist are whichever affiliation gets them the most money.

I believe you got to work for what you need and want But there comes a point where a monopoly is not working for good but for greed.

Nothing wrong with getting paid for a product but The POCOs have deferred maintenance and R&D in favor of profits.

Now they are using the law and Government to further those profits at citizens expense.
That has to stop.
 
I'm in CA. I started in 2021 experimenting with 12v 280ah battery for my 5th wheel. Realized that 24v would be better. Then I bought some panels and built a rack for 3 405 w panels to experiment with running the house for power outage. Would only be one leg but I could run the house no problem with normal loads.

Power company here turns off the power when the wind blows to hard. Turned us off for almost 48 hrs in March of 2021.

So then I went to 9 panels and 2 24v 280 ah batteries from cells I bought and built. I was able to charge and run everything no problem except had issues starting the dryer with a 3000w victron. This was all just a experiment to see how things would work.

In July of 2022 I put up 20 panels and have 2 6548s with 6 Jakiper rack batteries. I'm able to run my 4 ton AC all day at 70 degrees and at night at 74 degrees. I have added 10 more panels since then.

I have a $10 connection fee every month and use around $2 of electricity. I have my lathe, mill, and welders on the grid. I'm sure i could run them but didn't want the on/off hit the lathe and welder would give. Mill is on 3 phase converter.

The funny thing is that I get 2 climate credits a year and basically spend less then $50 a year on electricity. Last one was $71 and that gets me 5 months.

The only time I have used grid was New Years eve. We had a lot of rain out here and I finally hit 50 v at 8:30 pm. It switched over and at 8 am it switched back.

I have had only one issue with my setup. Because my panels are 50.1v and 6548 is 250v I had 2 shut downs. One was while I was at work and then happened next day while I was home. I have 5 in a rack and with the cold temps we were having it went over 250v mid day where the load is only about 500w after batteries are charged. So I turned off 10 panels and never had the issue again.

I do worry some day I will get caught because it was all done on the down low. CA has to many rules and there own UL listing. All is done right but wouldn't matter here.

I have 4 more SoK rack batteries to put in line and should not have any issues with running out of battery. I'm amazed how I can make enough power to put back what I use even when it is raining or full over cast. Some days I don't but haven't even come close since the one time.

So for now I'm off grid until they catch me
 
Hedges said:

Income Based Electric Rate System Proposed by California Energy Companies – California Globe

californiaglobe.com californiaglobe.com

Apparently a law to do something, but not clear exactly what terms if any have been finalized.

diysolarforum.com

California wants electric rates based on income

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/california-power-companies-roll-out-fixed-rate-bill-proposal/ Cant say Im surprised. full on commies, whats next ?
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com
Click to expand...
Income based rates is discriminatory to ... poor people. Rich people have money (and income to use the federal tax credit) to install solar leaving poor people to pay the increasing rates to offset the people leaving.
 
Nobodybusiness said:
Crony Capitalist are whichever affiliation gets them the most money.

I believe you got to work for what you need and want But there comes a point where a monopoly is not working for good but for greed.

Nothing wrong with getting paid for a product but The POCOs have deferred maintenance and R&D in favor of profits.

Now they are using the law and Government to further those profits at citizens expense.
That has to stop.
Click to expand...

Not arguing or debating any particular point...

I don't get into discussions on politics, right or left, simply because it's a huge waste of time.

99.9% of the time it's someone with an agenda and ZERO EDUCATION.

No, the opposite of communisum isn't capitalism. It's democracy.

Capitoliam is a business model, the opposite is free market, an economic system.

Right Wing, Left Wing, Same Bird bought & paid for by big business that can afford them.

Poor people, or beginners (the young) can't afford lobbyists, elected political officials.

Yes, greedy capitalists will take as much advantage of workers as possible, they will dump toxic waste for taxpayer to clean up, they could care less about the environment if there is a dollar to be made... History has proven this, so not being particularly stupid, I believe it. Past actions are a very good indicator of future actions...

I have my own opinions, perfectly capable of forming an opinion with just as much probability of being 'Right' as anyone else...
So, I don't need their opinion.

I will debate facts to improve my understanding of any given situation, but I don't need what most people are trying to sell...

I'm not much into the 'Consumer' economy, including the talking heads trying to get me to 'consume' their particular propaganda/agenda...

That's why I make durable goods, grow food, build as non-polluting and sustainable as possible...

My decendents will need clean water, clean soil for clean food, sustainable energy that's as non-polluting as possible.

I don't 'Own' the land, I'm a visitor for a few decades... And I'm not the type to leave a mess or burn everything down for the next guests.

I don't 'Own' the land, I belong to the biosphere, including the land. I try to be a good manager/steward while I'm here.

I'm not the smartest guy, but I do have that figured out...
 
Last edited:
Dyotat100 said:
I'm in CA. I started in 2021 experimenting with 12v 280ah battery for my 5th wheel. Realized that 24v would be better. Then I bought some panels and built a rack for 3 405 w panels to experiment with running the house for power outage. Would only be one leg but I could run the house no problem with normal loads.

Power company here turns off the power when the wind blows to hard. Turned us off for almost 48 hrs in March of 2021.

So then I went to 9 panels and 2 24v 280 ah batteries from cells I bought and built. I was able to charge and run everything no problem except had issues starting the dryer with a 3000w victron. This was all just a experiment to see how things would work.

In July of 2022 I put up 20 panels and have 2 6548s with 6 Jakiper rack batteries. I'm able to run my 4 ton AC all day at 70 degrees and at night at 74 degrees. I have added 10 more panels since then.

I have a $10 connection fee every month and use around $2 of electricity. I have my lathe, mill, and welders on the grid. I'm sure i could run them but didn't want the on/off hit the lathe and welder would give. Mill is on 3 phase converter.

The funny thing is that I get 2 climate credits a year and basically spend less then $50 a year on electricity. Last one was $71 and that gets me 5 months.

The only time I have used grid was New Years eve. We had a lot of rain out here and I finally hit 50 v at 8:30 pm. It switched over and at 8 am it switched back.

I have had only one issue with my setup. Because my panels are 50.1v and 6548 is 250v I had 2 shut downs. One was while I was at work and then happened next day while I was home. I have 5 in a rack and with the cold temps we were having it went over 250v mid day where the load is only about 500w after batteries are charged. So I turned off 10 panels and never had the issue again.

I do worry some day I will get caught because it was all done on the down low. CA has to many rules and there own UL listing. All is done right but wouldn't matter here.

I have 4 more SoK rack batteries to put in line and should not have any issues with running out of battery. I'm amazed how I can make enough power to put back what I use even when it is raining or full over cast. Some days I don't but haven't even come close since the one time.

So for now I'm off grid until they catch me
Click to expand...
Well that makes two of us! Edison has been sending me letters of praise for lowering my consumption and apparently I signed up for some program that rewards you for doing so with a bill credit. Between the bill credit and the climate credit, they owe me $120! I still have a few items running on utility and, like you, keep the heavy equipment like welders and the giant compressor on the utility so I don't torture the inverter. It could run it all just fine but I don't mind paying a few dollars for all that ampacity. Edison and city code enforcement have seen my installation as my neighbors have been doing electrical work(new panel and drop) but no one has said a word. Everything is installed to code and a little beyond so perhaps it raises no suspicions because of it.
 
Nobodybusiness said:
Crony Capitalist are whichever affiliation gets them the most money.

I believe you got to work for what you need and want But there comes a point where a monopoly is not working for good but for greed.

Nothing wrong with getting paid for a product but The POCOs have deferred maintenance and R&D in favor of profits.

Now they are using the law and Government to further those profits at citizens expense.
That has to stop.
Click to expand...
well balanced write up..

agreed on the crony part...
 
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