Ford Focus partners with SunPower

[jcesare]

Ford is announcing that it is teaming with an established solar provider, SunPower, to sell a solar energy system through Ford dealers in conjunction with the Focus electric sedan that goes on sale later this year.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/08/ford-focus-solar-panels-sunpower/1

 

[mwalsh]

Smart move. Somebody should have thought of it sooner. Oh, wait, we did!

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

Wow, ventures like this have the potential of bringing Solar to the masses! Economy of scale hopefully at work!!
g

 

[Devin]

Smart move. Somebody should have thought of it sooner. Oh, wait, we did!

Actually... http://gizmodo.com/331343/solar-city-teams-up-with-tesla-for-solar+powered-sports-car-driving

 

[sirfergy]

Too bad it's $10K. Makes it hard to justify when you're only spending about $20 a month to travel those 1000 miles the solar panel can provide under ideal conditions.

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

Too bad it's $10K. Makes it hard to justify when you're only spending about $20 a month to travel those 1000 miles the solar panel can provide under ideal conditions.

that depends on how you look at it. If you have already been looking for a good excuse to go solar, compared to what you have been paying per month in gas prices, the Leaf makes solar affordable.

g

 

[TomT]

Perhaps, but $10k (after rebates) for a 2.5Kw system is a bad deal pretty much anyway you look at it...

Too bad it's $10K. Makes it hard to justify when you're only spending about $20 a month to travel those 1000 miles the solar panel can provide under ideal conditions.

that depends on how you look at it. If you have already been looking for a good excuse to go solar, compared to what you have been paying per month in gas prices, the Leaf makes solar affordable.

 

[smkettner]

My AV contractor was primarily a solar installer. He left his card and asked about solar but said he was not supposed to push it too much.

 

[defiancecp]

$4w? no sale here.

 

[xtremeflyer]

The problem is you have 3 companies that want something off the top.. Ford, Best Buy and SunPower.. I would think that would make it more expensive than doing the research and buying it on your own.

 

[mwalsh]

Smart move. Somebody should have thought of it sooner. Oh, wait, we did!

Actually... http://gizmodo.com/331343/solar-city-teams-up-with-tesla-for-solar+powered-sports-car-driving

Solar City? Patooey! Smells musky.

 

[defiancecp]

Really? I thought solar city looked pretty exciting; the lease bit makes solar a lot more financially feasible for most people. It reduces the monthly savings as compared to the power company, but I think many people would happily adopt solar even with no savings at all if it weren't for the somewhat prohibitive up-front investment (I know I would).
If solar city were available in Arkansas I'd be right on them.

 

[rawhog]

.

 

[sirfergy]

Too bad it's $10K. Makes it hard to justify when you're only spending about $20 a month to travel those 1000 miles the solar panel can provide under ideal conditions.

that depends on how you look at it. If you have already been looking for a good excuse to go solar, compared to what you have been paying per month in gas prices, the Leaf makes solar affordable.

g

That's how I justify the car payment.

 

[thankyouOB]

it would be far less cost once you factor on the utility rebate, prolly closer 5-7k.

 

[davewill]

What I found interesting is that it is a 2.5kW system. If the Focus has a 6.6kW charger, how is 2.5kW enough? I know very little about these things. But, I have been thinking about a sinilar idea. Just enough pv to offset Leaf charging. What size system would I need?

The missing factor is time. The solar system is producing power for approx 8-12 hours a day (depends on location and time of year), 7 days a week. The car typically charges between 1 and 6 hours a day. Instead of kW (instantaneous power), you want to look at the kWh you are likely to produce vs. what you're using in the car. Figure production/usage over the course of a year since it varies widely depending on season. There are plenty of sites on the web that will take your location and the size of the system and produce an estimated production.

 

[JPWhite]

Too bad it's $10K. Makes it hard to justify when you're only spending about $20 a month to travel those 1000 miles the solar panel can provide under ideal conditions.

I did a quick calculation on what it would take to take my entire home solar. There are several 'solar calculators on the 'net. $50,000 is a conservative estimate. The govt credit for such an endevour? $2,000.

So instead I've an idea to build a detached garage we've wanted for a while to allow us to increase floor space in the main home by converting the space, and at the same time point the roof of the garage south and put solar on that. That way my LEAF could be powered totally free. Better use of $50,000 me thinks.

 

[GoSolar]

I did a quick calculation on what it would take to take my entire home solar. There are several 'solar calculators on the 'net. $50,000 is a conservative estimate. The govt credit for such an endevour? $2,000.

WRONG: Fed tax credit is 30% of the total installed price of a solar energy system. Many states have additional incentives ranging from sales tax exemption to production credits to system credits! In addition, why such an energy hog house? Reduce your kWh load and you reduce the size of the required system. Yy 3000 sf house (in Seattle no less) uses an annual average of about 16kWh of electricity per day (pre LEAF). To power that requires about a 4kW system in our rainy part of the world. So even if it took 2 of the Ford/Sunpower systems to get a 5kW system, we're talking $20k - 30% = $14,000. Reduced sales tax here (75% tax free), and power production credits would offset every kWh produced.

$10k for a 2.5kW system (if that's installed price) is a great price. I've had solar on my house since '85 and prices have never been lower, the quality has never been higher (panels & inverters), and the choices never so great. Solar energy systems will work for decades and powering your LEAF with solar is a great thing you can do.

However, if you're in Seattle where City Light's energy production is already about 95% from renewables, the impact of having your own PV system (if bought to reduce GH gasses) is minimal. In coal country, PLEASE do consider a PV system to offset or cover the charging of your car.

Seems like there's just as much misinformation and lack of knowledge about solar as there is about EV's. The EV community is the perfect group to combine the benefits of home power generation and clean driving. Not only can you stop the $ flowing to the middle east to power your car, you can take concrete steps towards your own energy independence from the utilities as well.

GO SOLAR!

PS: I've had solar on my home since 1985

 

[TEG]

The $2000 maximum cap was removed...

http://energytaxincentives.org/business/renewables.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The tax credits are for 30% of the cost of the system. For systems installed before January 1st, 2009, the maximum credit for individuals is $2000 for photovoltaic systems. Systems installed after December 31, 2008 are not subject to a cap.

 

[JPWhite]

The $2000 maximum cap was removed...

/quote]

Ah that's where I got that number. I'm not going crazy after all. I just read the maximum, not the disclaimer before it which means we can all get huge savings. Definitely worth a look then.