I’ve got a quote in my drawer for a complete solar system for my operation, including battery storage and installation, about 50KW continuous. With my power rate of 0.09 cents, the payback period is right at 5 years (I.e. 20% rate of return). The system is too big for net metering. If we could do net metering (no storage), the payback period is a little over 3 years.
All those numbers are pre-China tariffs.
I really don’t care what your six lite bulb system costs...it’s irrelevant compared to industrial scale generation.
I have a 7.75 kw net metered system on my home. After the tax credit we estimated a 7 year payback. However, it turns out that they undersized my system. I needed about a 10 kw system to offset my bill so I still get power bills although they are a lot smaller then before. My payback is now more like 10-12 years.
It's pretty common for solar sales people to undersize your system to make the numbers look better so you'll buy. I used big dog solar and they were a nightmare to deal with. I'd never use them again.
I still have problems with my inverter shutting down and restarting a while later all the time. That hurts my production a lot too. On a sunny day with the inverter not shutting down I'll produce about 52kw. With it clicking on and off I produce around 30kw. Of course big dog wont do anything about it even though the inverter manufacturer says there's a problem somewhere. I regret the whole thing but I really needed the tax credit last year so I went for it. My system was $20,000 but after federal and state tax credits it was about $12,500.
Bb
