Computerizer
Well-known member
The size of my PV system will be just a little more than is needed to produce enough power for both our EVs in a year.
The way I think about it is this:
The reason I'm getting solar panels is to charge our cars.
The panels generate power, which I store in the grid, and take back out of the grid in the evening to charge my cars. It's as if I had an oil pump on my property, which I used to pump oil out of the ground, stored it in a big tank, and then poured it into my cars when I needed to refill them.
Due to net metering, this will make the cost of the electricity itself for the cars, from the utility, zero.
Due to financial incentives from the State of Washington, I will actually make $0.36/kWh until July of 2020 for every kWh that my array produces (which are used by my cars). Thus I'm getting paid $0.36/kWh to fuel my cars.
I have a loan to purchase the solar panels. Its payments will be about $186/mo. This is a "fuel" cost, since I'm using the panels to charge my cars, essentially.
On average our cars use a total of 440 kWh per month. So for now, the state will pay me $158 to fuel my cars, and I will pay my bank $186/mo to fuel my cars. The net fuel cost for my cars is thus $28/mo.
If we had ICE vehicles at 30mpg, we'd be paying about $214/mo for gas. Thus, our fuel costs are approx. 13% what they would be for ICE vehicles, until July 2020. After that point, our fuel costs are fixed for another 8 years at $186/mo, in actual dollars. After than, zero cost until the panels need replacing. The cost of fueling an ICE is likely to be much higher by 2020, and will continue to increase at least to match inflation.
Tyrel
The way I think about it is this:
The reason I'm getting solar panels is to charge our cars.
The panels generate power, which I store in the grid, and take back out of the grid in the evening to charge my cars. It's as if I had an oil pump on my property, which I used to pump oil out of the ground, stored it in a big tank, and then poured it into my cars when I needed to refill them.
Due to net metering, this will make the cost of the electricity itself for the cars, from the utility, zero.
Due to financial incentives from the State of Washington, I will actually make $0.36/kWh until July of 2020 for every kWh that my array produces (which are used by my cars). Thus I'm getting paid $0.36/kWh to fuel my cars.
I have a loan to purchase the solar panels. Its payments will be about $186/mo. This is a "fuel" cost, since I'm using the panels to charge my cars, essentially.
On average our cars use a total of 440 kWh per month. So for now, the state will pay me $158 to fuel my cars, and I will pay my bank $186/mo to fuel my cars. The net fuel cost for my cars is thus $28/mo.
If we had ICE vehicles at 30mpg, we'd be paying about $214/mo for gas. Thus, our fuel costs are approx. 13% what they would be for ICE vehicles, until July 2020. After that point, our fuel costs are fixed for another 8 years at $186/mo, in actual dollars. After than, zero cost until the panels need replacing. The cost of fueling an ICE is likely to be much higher by 2020, and will continue to increase at least to match inflation.
Tyrel