golfcart
Well-known member
We had been considering solar for a while and a local co-op brought prices down to what I consider a reasonable payback range so we finally pulled the trigger on a grid-connected PV array for our roof. Our house has electric everything and based on last years usage and the installers estimates (confirmed by PV watts within 5%) the array should offset roughly 50% of our annual power requirements.
I am in the process of deciding between 2 net-metering billing options offered by Dominion Virginia Power. One is a flat rate 11c/kWh with a base charge of $7/month, the other is a TOU plan with time of day and seasonal changes and a base rate of $12 per month. The base rate is paid regardless of whether or not we produce more than we use that month.
We were previously on a "whole house" EV TOU plan and that came out to be basically a wash, I think we paid an average of 10.7c per kWh instead of the standard 11c/kWh. The 5c/kWh we paid to charge the leaf overnight was offset by the 16c/kWh we paid to run the AC and oven in the afternoon and evening.
I have downloaded our usage data from last year and used PV watts to estimate our annual hourly production. A simple subtraction in excel shows our estimated net use but the demand TOU rate schedule from Dominion is so convoluted with riders and demand charges that I can't predict what our exact rate will be for a given window. But given the fact that over 50% of our electricity use is the leaf and the water heater, both of which are on a timer, I think it could probably work for us.
Anyone have experience with a TOU plan in Virginia with net metering, a PV array, and an EV? Did it benefit you? Was it pretty much a wash? Did you come out ahead?
I am in the process of deciding between 2 net-metering billing options offered by Dominion Virginia Power. One is a flat rate 11c/kWh with a base charge of $7/month, the other is a TOU plan with time of day and seasonal changes and a base rate of $12 per month. The base rate is paid regardless of whether or not we produce more than we use that month.
We were previously on a "whole house" EV TOU plan and that came out to be basically a wash, I think we paid an average of 10.7c per kWh instead of the standard 11c/kWh. The 5c/kWh we paid to charge the leaf overnight was offset by the 16c/kWh we paid to run the AC and oven in the afternoon and evening.
I have downloaded our usage data from last year and used PV watts to estimate our annual hourly production. A simple subtraction in excel shows our estimated net use but the demand TOU rate schedule from Dominion is so convoluted with riders and demand charges that I can't predict what our exact rate will be for a given window. But given the fact that over 50% of our electricity use is the leaf and the water heater, both of which are on a timer, I think it could probably work for us.
Anyone have experience with a TOU plan in Virginia with net metering, a PV array, and an EV? Did it benefit you? Was it pretty much a wash? Did you come out ahead?