Tesla Solar Panels Price Cut

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
Based on what I read even grandfathered may have to move to their new TOU too, but I didn't read too much into it since I wasn't an early adopter

zubs said:
The TOU (Time of use) contract is suppose to be grandfathered in.
The people who got solar before the TOU rules (early solar adopters) still have more than 15 years to reap the solar credits they signed with Edison back then. 
(They get to sell their electricity at a higher rate then us new adopters)


Also, I didn't know all Edison customers are going to TOU rates in OCT 2020...so another 15 months.
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irvinehomeowner said:
For those getting (or already have) panels, where did you put them?

A while ago, when I first looked into this, I think south facing was best. But now, I've read articles that say west is better because that's when energy is most expensive from the utility companies. I haven't looked at SCE's TOU plans for a while but I notice all of them charge the highest prices from 4pm-9pm so to me, that makes sense that you would want your panels generating power during this time.

If you have batteries, this may not matter as much, but it does seem like west facing is probably the best choice.
Click to expand...

south-facing is still superior, even with the tou changes.  solar production drops off substantially after 4 pm for 60-70% of the year, so the benefits of having a west-facing system don't quite stack up.
 
Kings said:
irvinehomeowner said:
For those getting (or already have) panels, where did you put them?

A while ago, when I first looked into this, I think south facing was best. But now, I've read articles that say west is better because that's when energy is most expensive from the utility companies. I haven't looked at SCE's TOU plans for a while but I notice all of them charge the highest prices from 4pm-9pm so to me, that makes sense that you would want your panels generating power during this time.

If you have batteries, this may not matter as much, but it does seem like west facing is probably the best choice.
Click to expand...

south-facing is still superior, even with the tou changes.  solar production drops off substantially after 4 pm for 60-70% of the year, so the benefits of having a west-facing system don't quite stack up.
Click to expand...

Bummer. I don't think I have enough roof facing south.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Kings said:
irvinehomeowner said:
For those getting (or already have) panels, where did you put them?

A while ago, when I first looked into this, I think south facing was best. But now, I've read articles that say west is better because that's when energy is most expensive from the utility companies. I haven't looked at SCE's TOU plans for a while but I notice all of them charge the highest prices from 4pm-9pm so to me, that makes sense that you would want your panels generating power during this time.

If you have batteries, this may not matter as much, but it does seem like west facing is probably the best choice.
Click to expand...

south-facing is still superior, even with the tou changes.  solar production drops off substantially after 4 pm for 60-70% of the year, so the benefits of having a west-facing system don't quite stack up.
Click to expand...

Bummer. I don't think I have enough roof facing south.
Click to expand...

it's not a huge difference, 5-10% less.  you could also put part of your system on the south-facing and part on the west-facing for less impact.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
For those getting (or already have) panels, where did you put them?
Click to expand...

I put as many as I could on the South and West facing portions and even have a few on the East. We got a real PITA roof which made it hard to place many panels neatly. In my particular case (a few years ago), I think I should have put them on the North facing portions too. We use the AC a lot and had 1 EV at the time. We've added another EV and now use even more electricity.
 
Cares said:
eyephone said:
I?m waiting for someone to suggest to put solar panels on a pergola. (Being sarcastic)
Click to expand...

You kid but they really do install those on trellis and pergolas.
Click to expand...

Yup-There are examples on YouTube. Some are DiYers that install the solar panels themselves.
 
There's only a small amount of roof on the south part and it's the front so it probably won't look good and the HOA may not approve it.
 
Just finished creating a pretty detailed spreadsheet to capture solar generation by hour and season as well as my usage by the same binned times. Married it up with SCE TOU 4-9pm, 5-8pm, and Prime plans do analysis on optimal plan for solar generation credits versus my high nighttime usage to see which plan is the best plan for me. Prime turns out to be best since I'm using anywhere from 20-50 kWh overnight to charge 2 electric cars. Generally, 4-9pm or 5-8pm would be good but for 8 months out of the year, "winter months", the cheapest time for electricity shifts to 8am-3pm and I cannot charge my cars during those hours reliably. This model is detrimental to electric car owners.

Net cost after tax credit is about $19,000. Annual solar generation is $2,700 on TOU-Prime which does not fully offset my $2,850 annual consumption. Unfortunately my roof is maxed out with 32 panels otherwise I would get more for 100% offset. Not too shabby to have a guaranteed 14% "return" annually. 7 year break even for my system.
 
Cares said:
Just finished creating a pretty detailed spreadsheet to capture solar generation by hour and season as well as my usage by the same binned times. Married it up with SCE TOU 4-9pm, 5-8pm, and Prime plans do analysis on optimal plan for solar generation credits versus my high nighttime usage to see which plan is the best plan for me. Prime turns out to be best since I'm using anywhere from 20-50 kWh overnight to charge 2 electric cars. Generally, 4-9pm or 5-8pm would be good but for 8 months out of the year, "winter months", the cheapest time for electricity shifts to 8am-3pm and I cannot charge my cars during those hours reliably. This model is detrimental to electric car owners.

Net cost after tax credit is about $19,000. Annual solar generation is $2,700 on TOU-Prime which does not fully offset my $2,850 annual consumption. Unfortunately my roof is maxed out with 32 panels otherwise I would get more for 100% offset. Not too shabby to have a guaranteed 14% "return" annually. 7 year break even for my system.
Click to expand...

will likely end up being quicker payback too due to electricity rates increasing an average of 2-3% per year
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Doing some research on the Fed credit.

I thought it goes away but after 2019, for 2020 it goes down to 26%?
Click to expand...

correct, it's a phase out.  22% in 2021 and then 0% for residential in 2022. 
 
That's right, but congress can still pass a law to extend the 30%?
It's probably not going to happen.

It didn't happen with the electric car subsidy.
 
zubs said:
That's right, but congress can still pass a law to extend the 30%?
It's probably not going to happen.

It didn't happen with the electric car subsidy.
Click to expand...

they can, but i see it as unlikely.  it was last extended back in 2015 i believe.  the market is pretty saturated now, which is why you're seeing peak tou periods shift to later in the day when solar does not generate.  ca in particular is paying neighboring states like az to take overproduced power on days when demand ends up being too low for what's being dumped onto the grid.
 
Ahh the joys of running AC and charging 2 cars and still running an energy surplus...
 

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