Tesla Solar Panels Price Cut

[Kings]

problem here is sce does not allow you to participate as nem customer if your system is sized larger than your total annual kwh consumption.  even if you're sized at 100%, you're still only generating at $0.23/kWh during summer weekdays (when most people are not home) and consuming (with very little/no production) at $0.42/kWh when you're home so you end up net negative.

I think SCE might have relaxed the oversize rule a bit.  Last few installers that gave me quotes mentioned that SCE doesn't care unless you are grossly oversizing your system.

in most commercial contracts it's 15% oversize, and then anything over that you're credited at the wholesale price (typically $0.02-3/kWh).  i would guess it's similar for residential.

 

[Kings]

SCE is a company looking out for itself.  Solar electricity production is a public good that benefits the community.  SCE will do what's good for themselves before they will do whats good for the community, so I strongly disagree with SCE limiting home owners from putting 100 solar panels on their roof if they want.

It is also something that may put SCE out of business.  It would be curious to see if SCE can go from an energy provider to simply a middle man in transferring energy from one place to another.

that's more or less their current business model.  sce doesn't make any money from the power it sells to its customers.  all investor owned utilities in ca make their money through investments in infrastructure, which profit margin is regulated by the cpuc.

 

[zubs]

Here is an LA Times article talking about overproducing solar electricity:

New research published in the peer-reviewed journal Solar Energy suggests California should embrace the idea of building more solar panels than it can consistently use, rather than treating oversupply as a problem to be solved. It sounds counterintuitive, but intentionally overbuilding solar facilities ? and accepting they?ll often need to be dialed down in the absence of sufficient demand ? may be the best way to keep electricity prices low on a power grid dominated by renewable energy, the research found.

https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar-batteries-renewable-energy-california-20190605-story.html




More panel > Less panels


You're welcome.

 

[AW]

I only have a 3kwh/12 panel and it covers about 80% of electrical usage, with my grandfathered tou plan, I currently owe negative dollars, yay

Monthly $10 is still there, use ac a decent amount when it reaches 78, and one ev (75kw battery?), maybe another ev later, and see if I?m close to break even, haha

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Funny how we are talking about how many panels or if you need a battery rather than getting solar or not.

I guess solar is prime time now?

@qwerty: Time to jump on, just like the ARMs.

 

[zubs]

It looks like solar panels are getting better by 10%/year.  2 years ago the 285 watt solar panel was standard, now 330 is standard. You can even get 375 watt LG panels today.  In the next couple of years, I'm sure 400 watt panels will be the norm.

FYI: sunrun is still trying to put 285 watt panels on your rooftop in 2019!!..don't use them.

I like to think of solar as a perpetual engine.  Once installed it lays golden electrical eggs for the next 25 years.

 

[eyephone]

Thanks for the post. You mentioned you have the grandfathered tou plan. Please explain to the curious/noobs what does that mean.

I only have a 3kwh/12 panel and it covers about 80% of electrical usage, with my grandfathered tou plan, I currently owe negative dollars, yay

Monthly $10 is still there, use ac a decent amount when it reaches 78, and one ev (75kw battery?), maybe another ev later, and see if I?m close to break even, haha

 

[AW]

There are several, I apparently don?t use a lot, so I?m on plan a.  Rates are lower
https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/sce-grandfathered-rate-plans

Thanks for the post. You mentioned you have the grandfathered tou plan. Please explain to the curious/noobs what does that mean.

I only have a 3kwh/12 panel and it covers about 80% of electrical usage, with my grandfathered tou plan, I currently owe negative dollars, yay

Monthly $10 is still there, use ac a decent amount when it reaches 78, and one ev (75kw battery?), maybe another ev later, and see if I?m close to break even, haha

 

[woodburyowner]

There are several, I apparently don?t use a lot, so I?m on plan a.  Rates are lower
https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/sce-grandfathered-rate-plans

Thanks for the post. You mentioned you have the grandfathered tou plan. Please explain to the curious/noobs what does that mean.

I only have a 3kwh/12 panel and it covers about 80% of electrical usage, with my grandfathered tou plan, I currently owe negative dollars, yay

Monthly $10 is still there, use ac a decent amount when it reaches 78, and one ev (75kw battery?), maybe another ev later, and see if I?m close to break even, haha

The key takeaway is that his panels produce LESS than his actual kWh usage, but due to the grandfathered old TOU plan, he is able to produce enough credit at peak times to cover the over usage at low cost times.  Unfortunately, this type of arbitrage will be much harder to accomplish with the new/current TOU plan.  Damn you SCE...

This point is not discussed too often when sizing a system.  The goal should be a $0 dollar (or really $10) electricity bill a month.  This does not mean designing a system to produce X kwh to offset X kwh usage over a year.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

There are several, I apparently don?t use a lot, so I?m on plan a.  Rates are lower
https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/sce-grandfathered-rate-plans

Thanks for the post. You mentioned you have the grandfathered tou plan. Please explain to the curious/noobs what does that mean.

I only have a 3kwh/12 panel and it covers about 80% of electrical usage, with my grandfathered tou plan, I currently owe negative dollars, yay

Monthly $10 is still there, use ac a decent amount when it reaches 78, and one ev (75kw battery?), maybe another ev later, and see if I?m close to break even, haha

The key takeaway is that his panels produce LESS than his actual kWh usage, but due to the grandfathered old TOU plan, he is able to produce enough credit at peak times to cover the over usage at low cost times.  Unfortunately, this type of arbitrage will be much harder to accomplish with the new/current TOU plan.  Damn you SCE...

This point is not discussed too often when sizing a system.  The goal should be a $0 dollar (or really $10) electricity bill a month.  This does not mean designing a system to produce X kwh to offset X kwh usage over a year.

Sure, but isn't that hard to do because we can't know what SCE will do with pricing? They could change it again and screw up the math. The only known factors for us is usage so isn't that really the best we can design for?

 

[woodburyowner]

There are several, I apparently don?t use a lot, so I?m on plan a.  Rates are lower
https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/sce-grandfathered-rate-plans

Thanks for the post. You mentioned you have the grandfathered tou plan. Please explain to the curious/noobs what does that mean.

I only have a 3kwh/12 panel and it covers about 80% of electrical usage, with my grandfathered tou plan, I currently owe negative dollars, yay

Monthly $10 is still there, use ac a decent amount when it reaches 78, and one ev (75kw battery?), maybe another ev later, and see if I?m close to break even, haha

The key takeaway is that his panels produce LESS than his actual kWh usage, but due to the grandfathered old TOU plan, he is able to produce enough credit at peak times to cover the over usage at low cost times.  Unfortunately, this type of arbitrage will be much harder to accomplish with the new/current TOU plan.  Damn you SCE...

This point is not discussed too often when sizing a system.  The goal should be a $0 dollar (or really $10) electricity bill a month.  This does not mean designing a system to produce X kwh to offset X kwh usage over a year.

Sure, but isn't that hard to do because we can't know what SCE will do with pricing? They could change it again and screw up the math. The only known factors for us is usage so isn't that really the best we can design for?

There are a few things you can take into account when designing a system.  If you can shift a large amount usage to low peak times (ie. EV or pool pump) or if  no one is home during the day time to use AC, you can design a smaller system.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

There are several, I apparently don?t use a lot, so I?m on plan a.  Rates are lower
https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/sce-grandfathered-rate-plans

Thanks for the post. You mentioned you have the grandfathered tou plan. Please explain to the curious/noobs what does that mean.

I only have a 3kwh/12 panel and it covers about 80% of electrical usage, with my grandfathered tou plan, I currently owe negative dollars, yay

Monthly $10 is still there, use ac a decent amount when it reaches 78, and one ev (75kw battery?), maybe another ev later, and see if I?m close to break even, haha

The key takeaway is that his panels produce LESS than his actual kWh usage, but due to the grandfathered old TOU plan, he is able to produce enough credit at peak times to cover the over usage at low cost times.  Unfortunately, this type of arbitrage will be much harder to accomplish with the new/current TOU plan.  Damn you SCE...

This point is not discussed too often when sizing a system.  The goal should be a $0 dollar (or really $10) electricity bill a month.  This does not mean designing a system to produce X kwh to offset X kwh usage over a year.

You also want to figure in some future consumption depending on your family and future plans (like buying EV cars). 

 

[eyephone]

There are several, I apparently don?t use a lot, so I?m on plan a.  Rates are lower
https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/sce-grandfathered-rate-plans

Thanks for the post. You mentioned you have the grandfathered tou plan. Please explain to the curious/noobs what does that mean.

I only have a 3kwh/12 panel and it covers about 80% of electrical usage, with my grandfathered tou plan, I currently owe negative dollars, yay

Monthly $10 is still there, use ac a decent amount when it reaches 78, and one ev (75kw battery?), maybe another ev later, and see if I?m close to break even, haha

The key takeaway is that his panels produce LESS than his actual kWh usage, but due to the grandfathered old TOU plan, he is able to produce enough credit at peak times to cover the over usage at low cost times.  Unfortunately, this type of arbitrage will be much harder to accomplish with the new/current TOU plan.  Damn you SCE...

This point is not discussed too often when sizing a system.  The goal should be a $0 dollar (or really $10) electricity bill a month.  This does not mean designing a system to produce X kwh to offset X kwh usage over a year.

So the idea of getting a battery with solar is not far fetched and may make sense due to the change in TOU plan.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

There are several, I apparently don?t use a lot, so I?m on plan a.  Rates are lower
https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/sce-grandfathered-rate-plans

Thanks for the post. You mentioned you have the grandfathered tou plan. Please explain to the curious/noobs what does that mean.

I only have a 3kwh/12 panel and it covers about 80% of electrical usage, with my grandfathered tou plan, I currently owe negative dollars, yay

Monthly $10 is still there, use ac a decent amount when it reaches 78, and one ev (75kw battery?), maybe another ev later, and see if I?m close to break even, haha

The key takeaway is that his panels produce LESS than his actual kWh usage, but due to the grandfathered old TOU plan, he is able to produce enough credit at peak times to cover the over usage at low cost times.  Unfortunately, this type of arbitrage will be much harder to accomplish with the new/current TOU plan.  Damn you SCE...

This point is not discussed too often when sizing a system.  The goal should be a $0 dollar (or really $10) electricity bill a month.  This does not mean designing a system to produce X kwh to offset X kwh usage over a year.

So the idea of getting a battery with solar is not far fetched and may make sense due to the change in TOU plan.

And apparently you can only get the 30% credit for the battery when you install the system...not if you just get the battery by itself.

 

[zubs]

Your argument for a battery system is good. 
It gives you more options when dealing with SCE.

But I still favor more panels over battery.

 

[AW]

What would be neat is if we can use the car as a power wall,..
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-hacker-off-grid-solar-home-batteries/amp/

 

[qwerty]

Funny how we are talking about how many panels or if you need a battery rather than getting solar or not.

I guess solar is prime time now?

@qwerty: Time to jump on, just like the ARMs.

.

No way man. I don?t care if the system was free and reduced my electric bill to zero. I?m happy keeping SCE in business

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Funny how we are talking about how many panels or if you need a battery rather than getting solar or not.

I guess solar is prime time now?

@qwerty: Time to jump on, just like the ARMs.

.

No way man. I don?t care if the system was free and reduced my electric bill to zero. I?m happy keeping SCE in business

Resistance is futile. Even eyephone is curious.

 

[Cares]

My solar plans are done. They are pulling Irvine permits and I'm working through the HOA application process. I should be up and running in 30-45 days hopefully.

 

[usctrojancpa]

So what is the payback period for the solar panels?  If most owners seller their homes within 5-7 years, I don't see how the owner will get a full payback on their upfront investment in solar panels.