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jd3marco t1_jbjfx52 wrote

Reply to comment by Early-Consequence-61 in How’s solar power doing in NJ? by Early-Consequence-61

January was our first full month with solar. Our system produces 7kwh max (I’m told, but I see a max of 3.5kwh in winter.). It generated 200kwh, which a more than half of what we use, typically. It saved us about $60. It was over 300kwh in February, saving us about $90. I still owed $15 to pseg for electric.

Our panel position is only ok, not optimal. I’m sure others are doing a bit better. My rough estimate for break-even on owning solar is about $60 per month for the life of the system (25years). Even February broke even, so I am hopeful. We’ll see what summer brings…

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infamousdx t1_jbks9l4 wrote

Did the solar company do a break even analysis on the cost of your system?

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jd3marco t1_jbl2ssd wrote

Yes, but i was concerned that they present a rosier picture. I have it…somewhere. I did crude estimates and didn’t really factor in credits earned in my state. I took the cost after fed tax credit and divided by the life of the panels. I estimated my electric at about $100 per month (we have gas too). I assumed that the net metering would average out so that I basically don’t pay for electric. I have to see what summer is like.

The break even, by my estimate is about 11.5yrs. Then, there is 13 years of additional savings, plus whatever the trec credit things are. Minus whatever it costs to move these panels in 15yrs when I need a new roof. I assume energy prices will continue to rise, but I won’t be affected as much. A good deal, I would say, even if I have fuzzy math.

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infamousdx t1_jbljulo wrote

11 years sounds about right if your original electric bill was only $100 per month. Curious as to why you went for solar with such a small bill?

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jd3marco t1_jbloz8k wrote

It’s not the size of the bill… I guess we are efficient. It was just two of us. I will keep the house cooler now that we have solar. We still don’t like to keep the house cold. 76 maybe in summer.

We have a kid now and expect the bill to be higher. I also plan to charge an electric vehicle. Doing what I can since my daughter’s generation is inheriting a pretty fucked up planet.

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rossmosh85 t1_jbn18nu wrote

Your math doesn't add up from my experience. I know electricity prices are regional, but as far as I know when you add supply and delivery, most of NJ is $.18/kWh. So 200kWh would be a savings of $36 not $60.

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jd3marco t1_jbn9143 wrote

It’s rounded a bit…rough as I said. $58.52 saving in January. I also rounded down my production from 209. We used 49kwh this month. and were charged 7.17 for delivery and 6.60 for supply. It’s about $0.28 combined.

Are we getting screwed more than most of NJ? They sent a letter in January that they were decreasing the price, but i haven’t compared.

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