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Hello from little Wills Point,TX. I'm getting ready to purchase a 6KW home solar kit,but I figured I should do some research here 1st......
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Hello Blownford and welcome to Solar Panel Talk
Please fill us in as to why you have chosen the 6kw kit and if this is going to be a DIY or do you plan on using a Contractor. -
The 6kw kit is the biggest system I can afford. I plan to install it with the help of a friend that is a master electrician. I'm mainly looking to reduce my electric bill.Comment
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Ok. I would suggest you talk to both your POCO and your city inspector or AHJ to make sure you meet all requirements for a grid tie system. The last thing you want is to get up to the point of spending all that money only to have one of those groups say you can't turn on your system. The other problem is without a net metering contract or net meter your house meter may not be able to tell which way the power is going and actually charge you for the excess power you send to the grid. It can be a PIA if all the I's aren't dotted and T's crossed. Good luck and keep us informed on your system status.Comment
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He is in Willis Point TX with no mandated net metering and cheap electricity. FWIW Willis Point is just around 15-20 miles east of Dallas.
He is in an area still served by On-Core which means deregulated and has a dozen providers to choose from. A few wil offer interconnect, but most charge a high retail rate, pay wholesale for excess, and no monthly carry over of credits. Example his neighbor if using Champion pay 7-cents per Kwh for the first 2500 Kwh, then the rate goes down to 6.6-cents.
Green Mountain offers interconnect but charge 12 cents per Kwh and pays 5.5 cents for excess as monthly credit. I hope he puts pencil to paper to it before he spends any money. Afraid he might be paying as much as he does now, and no way to ever recover a dime on his system. He will just feel warm and fuzzy.Last edited by Sunking; 03-15-2017, 07:27 PM.MSEE, PEComment
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Sadly I am stuck with Trinity Valley Electric Cooperative.... I'm paying 10.5 centsComment
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They did say they would pay 6 cents for my excessComment
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Trinity Valley Electric Cooperative owns the.lines and everything in the rural areas in this part of the state....... I'm curious how that is even possible in a deregulated stateComment
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And what do they mean when they say they will buy back up to 50kw...... I'm learning all these electrical terms still.....Comment
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I shall Google all of this now......I know y'all are big on that in this forum...Comment
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The more knowledge you gain the better you will be prepared to negotiate your system. Unless you really just like to spend the money on solar you need to understand what you are doing or you will find it may take decades to recover what you spend up front. Unfortunately solar does not save people money everywhere in the US in the same time frame if at all.Comment
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It means you do not get net metering. You pay retail for what you buy, and get wholesale with a 50 Kwh cap. After 50 Kwh you are giving it away. If you live in a 2200/ft2 home in summer you can easily use 50 Kwh a day. That means when you generate an excess of 50 Kwh you get $6 for it at most. The rest you give away and the utility sells it to your neighbor for 10.5-cents
To get a payback on grid tied some conditions must be met:
1. Net Metering Mandate. That means the electric companies pays you the same price they charge you. TX has no Net Metering, you buy at retail of 10.5 cents and sell at 6 cents
2. Electric rates must be high. Not in TX you pay 10.5 cents.
3. Credits build and accumulate for a year to be used in winter months when production is low. You do not get any of that with your plan. It is capped ar 50 Kwh and no carry over. You loose everything over 50 Kwh or $6 worth off you net bill.
4. Area receives excellent Solar Insolation. That is the only condition you meet. Does not make up for the other 3.
You really need to do your home work. I am afraid you might discover if you go with solar is only going to lower your monthly bill a small percentage and payback might be long after you die if ever. So you can either find out by doing your homework, or just dish out the cash and see what happens. Solar only works if your neighbors pay for most of it and high electric rates. Not in TX.
Last edited by Sunking; 03-15-2017, 10:10 PM.MSEE, PEComment
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Simple it is a Coop built with subsidies and not a public investor owned utility. They are exempt from all PUC regulations. The owner is likely a family with controlling interest like all Coops. When the system was built feel under REA formed back in the 30's as part of the progressive movement under Roosevelt to bring electricity to farm communities. Public utilities would not build because there is no profit with such low population density. So the REA was formed and the goberment paid.
As for your area was a gold mine. A family pitched in some money to form the coop. In the early days they did not make much money. But with urban sprawl Dallas grew outwards and now the population is decent, and they make a killing. If they need money for expenditures, they do not need investors to pay bond rates. They can still get it from the government dirt cheap interest rate from what is now called REC. They are exempt from PUC regulations.
Last edited by Sunking; 03-15-2017, 10:26 PM.MSEE, PEComment
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