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Do solar energy for the environment.
Though the financial payback for solar energy is not as good as many people claim, the reason for going solar is environmental. Your first priority should be reducing consumption of energy and goods. Many people who support "carbon free" energy, only do so if it doesn't affect their life of excess consumption. Bill Gates wrote a book on fighting climate change, but lives in a 66,000 sq. ft. home, and travels by private jet. From the news: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, an outspoken proponent of climate change activism, owns a private jet which burned more than $158,000 worth of jet fuel in less than two months. Zuckerberg's jet, a Gulfstream G650, has burned at least $158,448 worth of jet fuel across 28 different trips between Aug. 20 and Oct. 15 (2022), according to data from flight tracking software ADS-B Exchange.
Greta Thunberg travels around the world telling others how to live their lives, and supports terrorists, but "The best sermons are lived, not preached". Other bits of wisdom from an old farmer (not me): https://www.newstoryfarm.com/post/2018/11/15/advice-from-an-old-farmer
Only a small percentage of urban homes are suitable for a solar power installation, but everyone can and should practice energy conservation.I am proud to be a solar energy producer, and I want to share my real results and experience with others. These are my results from my first year of solar electric production at my home. This is real data, intended to help others learn what to expect from solar power. Try finding another website with detailed information. Other websites are lacking in specific examples, just full of feel good comments and half truths.
Most of the organizations and businesses that promote solar energy are deceitful. Politicians are more honest than they are.
Non-profit solar organizations are the worst - nobody will sue them for their lies. In their view, the end justifies the means.They use Pie In The Sky calculations and benefits to show a quicker payback than possible, while ignoring all future costs of every kind. Not all of these potential costs are certain, and most would be impossible to predict:
Additional service charges with solar power- mine are $40 per year now.
Cost of a loan or lost investment income.
Cost of future removal/replacement.
System repairs or maintenance.
Tree trimming or removal.
Added insurance.
July 2025 repair - $194. The system WIFI board failed, but the system still functioned. Cost of repair was $194, which was not covered under warranty. So there's another four months before my system has paid for itself.
I want to show what you can really expect from solar energy. When someone tells you all the money you'll save with solar power, or how soon the system will pay for itself, ask if they will guaranty it. Energy conservation should be your first priority. The financial benefits, tax benefits, electrical incentives, service charges, fees, and taxes due will vary, depending on the city, county and state you live in, and the electric company you have.
Be sure to read my first page, at: https://sites.google.com/site/mtkahoney/solar-electric-installation
My information:
3.35 kwh system – Ten solar panels of 335 peak watts.
$11.6K - Cost of installation: parts, labor, permits and electrical hookup (July 2020). Excludes cost of two trees removed.
$1,160 – Per panel cost. Higher than a typical roof mount installation, probably.
$3.46 - My cost per watt, for a small, ground mounted system.
3,820 kwh – Total first year solar production.
$495 – Approximate value of electricity produced in the first year (2020-2021). Based on $0.13 per kwh.
$18 – Monthly service charges and taxes, even when surplus electricity is produced.
23 years – System payback time excluding any financial incentives. Excludes loss of investment income.
9500 kwh – Average Minnesota residential electric use, based on online statistics.
3034 kwh – Electrical power we used in one year, even with central air. 1958 built 3 bedroom rambler with two adults.
8.3 kwh per day for us, average. More in the summer and winter, less in the spring and fall.
26% - Percent of excess power produced, and sold back to the grid. Almost 800 kwh.
6,050 pounds of CO2 saved, and equivalent of 45 trees planted. – According to the solar panel company.
$107 – Total paid electric bill for the year (2020-2021), covering service charges and taxes, and after excess production credits.
Exact numbers for first year (July 2020 to June 2021): 3820 kwh produced, plus 1949 kwh bought from Xcel, minus 2735 kwh sold to Xcel, for a net of 3034 kwh used by us, and 786 kwh surplus sold to Xcel.
Calendar year
2021 results: 3922 kwh produced, 2892 kwh used by us, and 1030 kwh surplus sold to Xcel.
2022 results: 3762 kwh produced, 2825 kwh used by us, and 937 kwh surplus sold to Xcel.
2023 results: 3765 kwh produced, 2845 kwh used by us, 920 kwh surplus sold to Xcel.
2024 results: Xcel changed our meters, and I can't take readings myself anymore, so the only data will be electricity produced by our panels, based on Solar Edge's data.
3850 kwh produced, 2972 kwh used by us, 878 kwh surplus sold to Xcel.
The solar results
The ten panels produced 3820 kwh in their first year, or 382 kwh per panel. The solar installer estimated my system would produce 4215 kwh per year. If you multiply the 3820 kwh times $0.15 per kwh (typical electrical cost), the system produced $570 of electricity in a year, or about $57per panel per year (for a 335w panel).
Looking at it from another perspective, each 335 watt panel produced 1,137 sun hours of peak solar per year (382 kwh (annually)/ 335watts). This will vary each year, with the weather. The solar installer’s estimate of solar power production would equal 1268 sun hours per year. IPS Solar, a Minnesota solar installer of commercial systems, generally estimates electrical production to equal about 1200 sun hours on their south facing rooftop commercial systems, with no shading. Remember this number. Panels that are facing east or west, shaded, or at a poor angle will produce less, and have a longer payback time. If you have a higher wattage panel, this is still an important number. Some online solar system calculators want hours of sun per day. If you take the 1200 hours per year, and divide by 365 (days) per year, that gives about 3.25 hours of sun per day. From the data in the graph below, and a 3.35 kwh system, December averages less than one hour of full sun per day, and June averages nearly five hours of full sun per day.
My solar panels produced 3820 kwh for the first year, but with our son moving out, continuing efforts in energy conservation, and moderate weather, our electric consumption was 3034 kwh for the year. June 2021 was Minnesota's second hottest June on record, but with low humidity, we didn't use the air conditioning very much, but instead, used a window fan at night. We had a big surplus of energy that month.
FYI - these ten panels produce 25% more power than we use for our home. An electric car goes about three miles per kilowatt, meaning these panels would power an electric car for just 12,000 miles. Conservation is number one priority.
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Electric production on an erratic day of sunlight,and daily electrical production for May 2021. The two graphs above illustrate why you can’t rely on solar power without an electric grid connection or battery electrical storage. Our average daily use is 8.3 kwh.
Do your own estimate (assuming you have good solar exposure).
1. Electrical usage. Find out how may kilowatt hours you use in a years’ time. You can get this information from your electric company. For this example, assume 9,000 kwh per year.
2. System size needed. Divide the 9,000 kwh by 1200 sun hours per year, for a well optimized, south facing system with no shading. The result is the system size you need. In this case, you would need a 7.5 kw(peak) system.
3. Number of panels needed. Divide 7500 watts by the wattage of the solar panels to be used. Assume 350 watts (peak) per solar panel. In this case you would need 21.4 solar panels, rounding up slightly to 22 panels.
4. Cost. At $1,000 per panel, based on my experience, it would cost around $22,000, or based on a $3. per watt estimate, about $22,500. A higher efficiency panel would cost more, but you might get by with fewer panels. This could be helpful if you are space limited. If your electric consumption were reduced to 8,000 kwh per year, you would need two less panels, and save about $2,000 in up front costs.
5. Space required - Based on my results, 1 square foot of solar panel (measured on the horizontal plane, NOT the angled plane) will produce 20 watt/hours (peak). Therefore, a 7.5 kw peak) system would require 375 sq. ft of space, when measured by footprint, not the angled dimension. In other words, if your house has a 1000 sq ft foundation size, and faces north/south, you might be able to have up to a 500 sq ft system, which might be about a 10 kw(peak) system.
Site evaluation
A reputable solar installer will first do a site evaluation, where they have a way of determining what factors such as shading, roof slope and roof orientation will affect the solar output. By looking at your past electrical usage, they can determine the size system you will need. This is a rough estimate; my solar estimate was way off on my winter solar production. It would be good to do your own solar evaluation first, going out every hour during the mid-day to see what areas are in the sun, and take note or pictures of it. Spring or fall might be the best time to do your evaluation. Solar panels produce maximum electrical when the sun is perpendicular to the face of the panel. A south facing panel will produce very little electricity in the early morning or evening. Don’t expect solar installers to warn you about future tree growth reducing the output.
A great solar day's production in June (daylight savings time hours). It also shows how morning and afternoon sun produces very little energy, when a panel faces south. An east or west facing panel will produce much less electricity. Our solar panels are oriented slightly to the west.
Electric bills – taxes, service charges
January 2022 - Excel Energy in the Twin Cities (in 2022), a winter charge for 1 kilowatt hour of electricity is now about $0.12, including some additional energy charges. Note what your taxes and service charges are. My service charges and taxes are about $18 per month, even if I am producing surplus electricity. I am even charged sales tax on my service charges. Also, my service charges include an extra $3.40 each month because I have solar panels.
Go solar for the environmental benefit.
Solar Results posted on Youtube by “SuitTV”
Residential rooftop installation installed in New Jersey, in 2018. Data from his two years of solar summary posted on Youtube, in 2020. Data in parenthesis involves some assumptions or calculations by me.
$40,120 for the system, financed at 5.99% interest.
34 roof mounted solar panels.
($1,180 per solar panel).
Estimated electric production per year = 12,300 kwh.
(12,300 kwh x $0.15 (MN cost) = $1,845 of electricity per year).
($54 of electricity per solar panel).
25 year loan at 5.99%.
Monthly payment $267 to start.
30% tax credit (2018) = $12,000.
By applying his 30% tax credit to the loan, his payment is $188 per month ($2,256 per year).
There are possible future financial returns not included.
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