Why Utility Companies are Going to Kill Rooftop Solar in 2025

[@jackthesolarguy]

Do you guys agree with me playing devils advocate? What is another solution I missed?

[@thefpvlife7785]

You're a rational realist, not playing devils advocate.I agree with you.

[@junkerzn7312]

It should be noted that anyone (in California) who got their applications in before NEM 3 went into effect get 20 years on NEM 2 before they get moved to NEM 3. In anycase, I'm living the NEM 3 "not good but not a disaster" "dream" right now. My solar system was installed 20 years ago so my time is up... PG&E moved me to NEM 3 in December. I will say that, for sure, the utility is making out like a bandit on the power I export. But it isn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. I seem to be getting export credits of around $0.09773/kWh off-peak, $0.11 partial-peak, and $0.13 peak. I was under the impression that I would only get $0.02 or $0.03 or so but so far it seems significantly better. So I'm a bit confused... maybe I'll get a nasty surprise for January! In anycase, now that I am on NEM 3, it definitely changes my behavior when it comes to using electricity. A few things are very clear: * Avoiding importing power from the grid in the first place is worth its weight in gold. * Avoiding exporting power gets the silver (storing it instead) * And the bronze medal goes to ensuring that what power is imported when the batteries are exhausted happens off-peak. * It doesn't actually take a whole lot of battery storage and export wattage to do the above. And it doesn't take AI or much in the way of smarts to decide how to use the battery storage. If the solar generates 30kWh/day, well, I'm using 15kWh of that during the day as well, so I only need to store the excess (another 15kWh in this example), and I only need to be able to push 1-2 kW in the evening to offset most of my evening consumption through to midnight. That's actually a pretty small battery system. Much smaller than I thought I would need. -Matt

[@kevingooley6189]

We have to be real, that leads to real solutions to real problems.

[@LapinskasDarius]

we need to hear arguments of both sides to decide what is better.

[@simonpaine2347]

What you totally missed is the fact that we will always have a need for ever increasing demand for electricity. Therefore the utility company has a need to maintain existing and install new generation or to pay their suppliers to do that for them. Nuclear and coal are expensive to maintain. If there is plentiful rooftop solar available the utility company pays zip, to maintain or install that generation. All they have to do is to slowly but surely reduce their addiction and dependence on these polluting means of generation and install banks of batteries and wind power. I'm already effectively off-grid and the grid is just my emergency backup, if they screw me around too much, I'll just invest some of future electricity savings into more panels and batteries and they can come and get their meter back. Screw em.

[@TheMalbroughs]

Went with grid connected solar 4 years ago and loved it. Now, our utility wants our solar turned off. I knew this would happen. So I ordered an eg4 12000xp off grid inverter and 28kwh of battery. Going off grid now. Cheers!

[@rudolphvaleriano1578]

Off grid system so the utilities don’t bother you,,, they don’t know

[@comfortablynumb9342]

I've heard of people staying connected to the grid for the dryer or something like that just so they have a small bill and don't get in trouble for the rest of the house running on solar

[@bunsw2070]

Does your home insurer like your flammable battery?

[@quademasters249]

Turn it off or simply stop sending power back over their lines? I don't understand how they can tell you what to do in your house.

[@patrickbodine1300]

😉👍

[@richystar2001]

This was never about being green...it's about money... it always was.

[@michelangelobuonarroti916]

For most people, it is about being "green", which means to avoid taxes on their kids and grandkids to pay for flooding disasters. For some people, though, it is just about money.

[@zarroth]

@@michelangelobuonarroti916 no one goes solar for being "green". If they do, they're ignorant of how solar is built. Getting those components is far worse for the environment than firing up the unused coal plants with their smoke stacks capturing the pollutants. It gets WAY worse when considering the batteries as well. I went solar just to hedge against the rising electric costs due to EV and AI stressing the grid. Take a look at the estimates of the amount of power those will need in the next 10 years and realize no country can produce enough electricity to meet that future demand currently...and it takes decades to get enough new power plants online to do so. Utilities are going to fall far behind the demand curve so prices are going to rise significantly. It's already doubled in my area since I put my build in place. No one's income has doubled in the last 4 years, unlike the prices of various goods.

[@igoski1582]

EVERYTHING is always about the money.

[@Beck-b9g]

​@@zarrothyou should consider learning, and not being manipulated by incumbent industries/companies. Confirmation/cognitive bias is a dozy...and really holds people back.

[@lv4077]

@@richystar2001Biggest fraud in world history. Trillions of dollars will be wasted in western countries while India Russia, and the rest of the world die laughing and produce all the little toys we require to play this game.

[@brian2590]

I am one $500 panel away from on demand power year round for my off grid home. There is not even a pole up here. It's amazing how far panel technology and batteries have come. I could build my off grid home 8 more times and still not cover the cost of getting a power line up here. I am in the north east in the mountains and even with low solar days these bi-facial panels still produce. Lights, Internet, a few kitchen appliances always work on demand. I would never consider being on the grid here.

[@corradoalamanni179]

You use electricity for heating in winter or do you use something else? For cooking? Just curios to to know your need

[@danstrayer111]

where are you? Sounds like my story!

[@MyWasteOfTime]

I got batteries so that I just don't have to deal with Utility companies!

[@jackthesolarguy]

Great!

[@MrMrFlyPuppy]

Thats really good, I too have some batteries too and still I search for ways to improve the "system" cause I would need over a megawatt worth to make it through the winter without some net-metering...and I cant wait for cheap enough batteries for that!! I have learned of a new hybrid air-water heat pump SANCO2 is an example. With a header tank to store heat (they claim it qualifies as a "battery" for energy storage and tax credit of same). The theory: Heat Pump runs during hottest part of winter day and stores the heat (180 degrees) in the header tank (40-80 gallons) for use at night to heat the home/water. In its full cost form, it has a controller that manages moving the heat around. The device is a split-system with an air--> water exchange outside and coolant run indoors to the controller and it manages heating water for hot-water and storing heat in the header tank for home heating. I dont know if this product (SANCO2) will really succeed but the concept is great cause it would let us utilize the solar when we have it most efficiently for water/home heating. The SANCO2 is for heat only at this stage because it uses CO2 as refrigerant, its phase change temp is not suited as well for cooling as it is for heating as of now. Sorry for writing a book but I am a solar geek...love the discussions....

[@5400bowen]

@@MrMrFlyPuppyI hate one sentence twitter dialogue..you keep writing..you are helping, not hurting.

[@DaxxTerryGreen]

Bingo. Right on friend. And new battery technology is going to make it extremely easy for the rest of us to join you

[@lv4077]

You must have very limited usage.

[@ianwilson9716]

Here in South africa, our power company was unable to keep up with demand, resulting in rolling blackouts. This resulted in people moving to more efficient use of electricity and solar with batteries. New huge supermarkets errected solar and battry systems and implemented efficient refrigeration and lighting, going totally off grid. Power prices are now soaring, giving more justification for going off-grid

[@biohazardlnfS]

Yeah, this is what is happening in more Sunny places in the US. Whenever it gets too hot, they do rolling blackout to compensate air conditioner use. Solar was sold as a way to get out of Bills PG&E, and our Northern CA utilities company keeps raising prices every year. Yet, they claim to have no money but literally are the only one to buy gas and electricity.

[@patbournes5281]

You need a new government not an expensive power bandaid.

[@michaelsmith5463]

Electricity, Clean water, and sewer are hallmarks of effective leadership in government. If they cant do just that...they're corrupt.

[@supremepartydude]

I am a Duke Energy customer. They are MASSIVELY profitable right now with their stock value $106 per share is better than Exxon Mobil. They would NEVER allow customers to go from being assets to liabilities. How would they pay their $21 million a year president?

[@jackthesolarguy]

That's a very high salary! They were trying hard to stop 1-1 net metering in Florida until Desantis told them they couldn't...

[@thedude5040]

Thanks for announcing you do not know how money works!

[@5400bowen]

@@thedude5040thanx for showing us you need remedial arithmetic..

[@deadcell1]

Southern is thr company that supplies our home in florida and I own their stock.

[@COJAMALIK]

U pay for the equipment to harvest energy and the pay u less than 1% - 5% of what they sell to customers customers

[@RussellFineArt]

I installed my small wind turbine, 17 years ago and my solar system shortly after that. I not only received 1-1 Net-metering, I received a $6k check from my utility for installing the system. I signed up for a 20-year agreement, which expires in 3 years and will lose net-metering so I just bought a new hybrid inverter that accepts batteries, and will be installing the batteries next spring.

[@michaelsmith5463]

You are 1 of the few that got, and still have net metering. I got credited 4 cents to my bill/kw. No longer worth the upfront cost IMO.

[@DerekRhoads]

They are really their own worst enemy. Rising prices drive customers to solar and escalate the customer base leaving.

[@jackthesolarguy]

Yes, that is a great point.

[@MrMrFlyPuppy]

Yes, but customers aren't truly "leaving" the utility, the world has changed...old-times--> centralized power production and transmission...now, generate EVERYWHERE and connect everyone so we can share...solar in CA powers the East Coast for the peak hours of the evening with excess solar, vice-versa...we need to think out of the box on what Utilities 2.0 and Grid 2.0 will come to be. Utilities as they exist are dinosaurs, we need to find a new way. I hope it is before utilities do away with net-metering altogether...

[@thedude5040]

​@MrMrFlyPuppy this is factually incorrect. California is disconnected from the east coast. Electricity, under traditional infrastructure only travels 250 miles.

[@MrMrFlyPuppy]

@ yes, sorry, I know this but high voltage dc transmission is essential to actually send power that far but it’s coming … China has such a hv DC transmission from the western dessert solar farms to Shanghai and the east. Apologies , wanted to say it’s possible and help solve the time of gen vs time of use.

[@thedude5040]

@@MrMrFlyPuppy it's horribly expensive and only economical when transporting high density constant energy like from a hydroelectric dam or nuclear power. The US actually does have HVDC. Infact this is how ERCOT buys and sells electricity from rest of the US grid. The three gorges dam in China just takes the cake on HVDC. It would be the equivalent of daming up the Mississippi River in the US, which is not going to happen any time soon.

[@at3941]

Everyone needs rooftop solar. Screw the utility companies.

[@user-ky4gg5rl8k]

Who maintains it?

[@5400bowen]

Mr user anonymous troll..

[@DaveBjornRapp]

@@user-ky4gg5rl8k The homeowner maintains their own solar system. If, in your very vague question, you meant "Who maintains the grid" - well, that should be the federal and state governments. The grid is a utility shared by the entire contry.

[@5400bowen]

Minor adjustment..There are problems eith actually putting it on your roof. You need a rack adjascent to the house itself. There are problems with poor installation snd reroofing later. Insurance companies are cancelling people due to roof repair/damage problems. Otherwise, I am with you wholeheartedly.

[@user-ky4gg5rl8k]

@5400bowen valid question. There's 360 million ppl you think everyone is prepared to maintain they're own solar? Just cause you agree with an idea that you've sorted for yourself but not for everyone doesn't make me a troll. Lol.

[@Wildernut]

I’ve been totally off grid for almost 6 years. There’s no reason to be connected. I can’t be forced to get a phone line I cannot be forced to get a cable line I cannot be forced to get gas I cannot be forced to get electric from the grid. It’s not my problem if they need to support their infrastructure. ..at all.

[@5400bowen]

Same here. Nice summation..

[@FixItStupid]

I Going ALL The WAY OFF Too OWN 18kw Now The Power Co & EMC Ripp OFF & LIE

[@turbobros_online1561]

Are you really off grid if you are on the internet? Just a rhetorical question.

[@michaeljoncour4903]

@@turbobros_online1561 off grid means the electricity grid.

[@skaviouz]

@@turbobros_online1561 Lol, I was going to say the same. But having only two mandatory bills, taxes and internet seems legit.

[@basspig]

I was forced to go off grid solar a few years ago because the utility bills were Beyond affordability. I just couldn't see paying over $700 a month to have electricity. So I built an off-grid solar system with batteries solar panels and inverters. I've been off red for two and a half years now and it's been wonderful. Now I can pay that money that I used to pay the utility company toward the property taxes.

[@robertball3578]

How much did your system cost, for reference.

[@basspig]

@@robertball3578 About $25K, down to every copper wire, buss bar and bolt. That includes panels, large inverter and smaller backup inverter, and a LifePo4 battery system with 3 BMS units, charge controllers, and EG4 Chargeverters. I recently added a diesel generator to charge batteries on rainy days.

[@michaelsmith5463]

Where was your house? What were you running to hit $700/mo ?!? ...seems crazy. Did you change lights, improve insulation, change windows, fix air leaks, etc before going off-grid? Are you forced to have an electric hookup to stay legal?

[@basspig]

@@michaelsmith5463 in the northeast. My neighbors have even larger electric bills than me. I have several PCs running and one web server that runs 24/7 but the total draw is about 450W off the outlet. My neighbor's bill is over $800. Others have had as much as $1300 and they DON'T have electric heat. I heat with oil. I'm on solar now. In 2015, due to gentrification of the woods (placement of McMansions on tax foreclosed land), the power company disconnected me, saying my then 50 year old hookup was unsafe. Nothing was said about it being illegal to be not connected. Now, I'm glad I'm totally on solar. The system is massive and as long as the sun shines, I can use more electricity than I did when on-grid, so I'm heating my house with electric space heaters and saving the oil. I made all the improvements before going off grid, but the house was well insulated from the get go, as I designed it to be energy efficient. I switched to CFL lamps in 2000 and all LEDs by late 2010s. Upgraded PCs to energy efficient models that use far less power. My old Athlon overclocked PC pulled 700W from the outlet and heated the room. My new PC idles at 64W.

[@stevelestermusic]

I was an early adopter of solar power in the 90s. I have upgraded my system somewhat often on since then, but it is not putting out like it once did, but still working OK. SCE booted me off of net metering around six months ago. Since then, my bill has more than doubled, actually nearly tripled. we live in the Mojave desert, and it seems eminently sensible to harvest some of the relentless sunshine we have in our area. SCE‘s fight against rooftop solar has caused solar contractors to leave the state, and I i’ve had problems getting people to help with my system. I am very interested in batteries and also in upgrading the system. Your information is very valuable to me. Thanks.

[@brodriguez11000]

Tesla Virtual Power Plant.

[@mycabinlife1291]

Get in contact with signature solar are out of Texas that have a list of installers as well that can help you.

[@anthonyboland]

My wife and myself live in Australia and we have a solar and battery system, most of the year we use the stored energy in the battery at night and use power from the solar panels during the day and our power bills are 0 . The system also stays on if there is a blackout.

[@jackthesolarguy]

Good for you guys!

[@5400bowen]

Yup..screw the oligarchs!

[@RayJohnson1980]

@@jackthesolarguy just the way this comment is worded is this a compliment or a case of who cares because your from Australia? as in i don't care?

[@RussellBowen-o6d]

I'm in Oz too, have solar and thinking batteries now. How old are your batteries and have you done any maths on replacement cost? I guess batteries will get better and cheaper but it's the only thing I'm seriously considering 🇦🇺

[@TheMalbroughs]

We are in the process of getting ours now!

[@greglockyer4335]

Yes I have been off grid for 10 years. It has paid for itself. The savings allow me to totally renew and upgrade the hole system this year. The original system will be moved to another project to power a small holiday cabin 😊

[@Cougar65429]

I live in an older home that is grandfathered, but would cost 5 grand just to get up to current code to net meter. Couple that with the cost of equipment, that neither produces or stores power.. I decided to build an off-grid system and feed into my home through a manual transfer switch. In my case, I just put the generator socket inside. While that's a 1.2KW system, 6KW of storage for emergencies in winter, in summer it can run lighting and a water heater 85% of the time. I also have another 3KW solar, 14KW storage system still dedicated to zone functions, like kitchen appliances. This split inverter system uses multiple (usually 3) 120V inverters as needed. My options have improved in the last 3 years and it's possible to get a 240V system, and merge all my solar onto the transfer switch, but then I have proprietary batteries and difficulty using existing equipment. I could consolidate it but making that investment wouldn't change the number of appliances running from solar or the net daily production. There was a learning curve and there's downsides to my setup, however the loss of net metering won't affect me. I have excess solar only on clear days, and here in the midwest most are not perfect solar days. In winter, I burn off extra power with space heaters, in summer, I can throw a window air conditioner on there. Every KW I don't buy from the grid saves about 14 to 18 cents. I use most of what I make. Selling never made sense even at a 1 to 1 rate because of the high cost of compliance

[@conradfuller6697]

I did similar, had an electrician install a ‘generator’ input socket and a manual transfer switch. This kept my house compliant. I then built a diy solar and battery system. It has seen my electric bills drop to almost nothing.

[@peteinwisconsin2496]

>- Selling never made sense even at a 1 to 1 rate because of the high cost of compliance. -< Exactly! This is why I promote PV-->DHW and PV-->heating, both being DC-direct applications with no grid connection what so ever. My bill is reduced by 16cents (retail + taxes) with No compliance cost at all. PV-direct is a cheap and easy way to cut one's bill in half. After that, yes, batteries, inverter, etc.-- they are all good though the ROI is not as good as with PV-->DHW.

[@Cougar65429]

@ I have seen a mini-split here or there that will run directly from solar/DC, but right now, it's a little out of my depth and I'm not sure about the reliability. I have gas heat currently, but can run the blower from an inverter. The efficiency is not great at.. perhaps 80% at best. But as like to say "in winter, waste heat is still free heat if its from solar" Buying the batteries and inverters, or full power stations was still cheaper than buying a new HVAC, and space heaters and window ACs are cheap and get the job done. Seeing as I have ducting, I'd really like a heat pump, but the cost is astronomical and I'm not sure they'll do it without a large enough service line, even if I my intent was to run off grid. My entire home is 50 amp, so again, astronomical cost to redo everything for 100 amp code compliance

[@5785B]

Our home insurer warned us against getting roof solar panels. One of our neighbors has solar panels and his insurance premiums are through the roof.

[@GeoFry3]

Here in central Florida, solar has gotten to the point where there is nearly no demand during the day, even during high AC demand periods. My solar system takes care of my pool, shed, workshop, and outdoor lighting. The pool is particularly cool as it uses a 48v DC pump and has no batteries...it just runs during the sun hours.

[@jackthesolarguy]

Perfect!

[@5400bowen]

Sweet.

[@dknowles60]

lets see Your Fed gov TVA has solar contracts for 2k megawatts from Florida., on jan 17th 2024 the TVA received 60 megawatts. that is a 97% failure rate

[@mycabinlife1291]

Can you please tell me what pump that is? I would like to switch mine as well.

[@5400bowen]

@ you can't mention products in comments, it might interfere with the corporate control of consumer spending. I've tried many times. Utube...

[@kevinm234]

If you put in a stand alone solar/'battery/generator combo system like I did, you don't have a problem. I am prepared to go off line if necessary but I am set up run on solar first and automatically switch to grid to recharge my batteries if they drop to 20%. If the grid is down I can start up one of my trifuel generators, hit the interlock and run the house while charging the batteries for the day in just 2 hours- typically on natural gas. This way every watt of solar power generted come off my electriic bill.

[@basspig]

I switched from gasoline to diesel generator to charge my batteries when solar is not up to the task. The diesel generator is half the cost per kilowatt hour of our local utility company charges. So I don't touch the Grid at all because it's not economical to do so.

[@ScrapKing73]

It's not true that the goal of every residential solar installation is to get the bill down to zero. Some are happy with installations that merely reduce their bill. When I was getting quotes for solar, I was offered two quotes, one to reduce the bill and one to eliminate it. The advantage of merely reducing the bill was that the up-front cost was vastly lower.

[@kevinm234]

If you don't have a battery system (which is the most expense) then when the grid is down - so are you.

[@5400bowen]

@@kevinm234batteries are all the same. Get the cheap ones from China, they are great. And they aren't the bulk of the cost, you can buy a zillion batteries or just a few. Depends on the amount of sun you get as well.

[@brodriguez11000]

@@kevinm234 How often is that? It's not like the US is a third-world country with the power going down every day.

[@ryandgarland]

Yea, my bill was initially $50 a month. The electric company has since jacked the rates up so high, that the bill is back to $200 per month. The story is always the same the more we conserve the higher the prices go.

[@5400bowen]

@ ryangarland: shrinkflation!

[@mbak7801]

Even if you do not want to go off grid just split your installation. Sixty percent solar and battery storage. The rest grid connected. Make a huge saving but the energy supplier just has to put up with it.

[@DM-zq8qy]

See my post 15 minutes ago for support. Energy suppliers don’t foot the bill. Our neighbors must pay the subsidies to make up for us free-loaders.😢

[@benplumlee751]

I would never install on my roof too many costly complications could occur. Instead build an elevated frame that provides some shade for an outdoor lounge space.

[@Hemond1]

A ton of good info here, including topics I never heard of.

[@callmebigpapa]

Does the EG4 batteries work with VPP? This was a great nuanced video. When the Sodium Ion batteries arrive in mass it is going to rock the utilities world. They like big oil will not go quietly, expect a fight and since they use your money to fund "lobbying" that benefit them and not you the consumer it will get messy short term.

[@jamescurtin4412]

I've worked in the industry for over 3 years excellent well done video. Thank you Jack

[@jackthesolarguy]

Thanks James

[@agrax3]

I was working as a programmer developing system for cost management in state power company. And belive me, they are finantially pretty covered, even in case of tons of households with rooftop solar. power companyes are cherging everyboda a kind of share for renewables, so there is definitely nothing missing there, finantially speaking. Besides, if the power company is state owned, the government will patch up everything through taxes. Also the largest portion of expenses they had, were cars and related expenses made by emploeey, mostly for their own purposes. We need more solar. We are paying for all that infrastructure through taxes anyway, so they will be covered, no warries.

[@GerryMander-kj9sz]

In California, they're trying to vastly increase the "non-bypassable charges". We currently pay about $13/mo and one proposal would push that to about $85, or 1/3 of our typical monthly bill before we paid $29K for solar after tax credits. You'd have to be 100% off grid to avoid it so most battery customers are impacted too. Combined with Trump almost assuredly axing the 30% tax credit, this would completely eliminate financial incentive, making it MORE expensive to have solar + battery in the short run. My beef is that it's retroactive! I'm on a 7 year track to recoup our $29K and this would push it to more like 10 years! Thankfully, it's unlikely to pass in that form. More realistically, it'll be closer to $25/mo.

[@agrax3]

@@GerryMander-kj9sz Yes, they will always find a way to rip us off.

[@highrx]

I got plans to add a small solar farm on my land and a battery system to my house to power half of my house. I have 2-200 amp panels now. Pumping in the solar made juice during the daytime will cut some of my bill to my power company. My AC/heat pump (5ton) laundry, and changing the battery system during low sun light or night time will stay on the grid panel side. The panel that feeds my refrigerator/freezer/bathrooms/lights and septic system will come from the solar battery system. I will add a transfer system to the grid panel to switch that to my battery system during power outages. It probably won’t be the most efficient use of solar but since I live in 45th parallel, summer time I will make more solar power.

[@thedude5040]

In the winter my 800sqft apartment used 1200+kwhr due to -40F winds with a heat pump that had to switch to heat strips.

[@5400bowen]

Solar panel prices are plummeting right now. I just got brand new 410/575 watt bifacial Hyundai panels for $219 each!

[@desrender4893]

Here in NZ, they do not want household solar. Our unit rate is 26c, not bad, but then you have a $30 supply charge and a 15% tax, so the true rate for a low user is about 50c a unit. The only way you can escape these criminal charges is to disconnect from the system completely, but they are talking about making that illegal.

[@k.scottphillips8933]

Sounds like greed is alive and well even in the best of worlds

[@CaffeinatedSentryGnome]

in south australia its 43c or more on peak with a bit over $1 a day supply charge plus 10% tax

[@bertvandenberg1822]

We live in Whangarei and our cheapest rate is at night $0.30 per kwhr. Peak rate is $0.60 per kwhr. We also have a daily supply charge. Batteries and going off- grid are starting to look like a good alternative. Would love to figure out how to use our 40kw Nissan LEAF battery for storage and use.

[@scottcarr3264]

Is your kwh rate for a Month or a Quarter, because our Supply Charge is about 65 to 75 dollars a Quarter here. Here in Australia, we Have full "Time of day" network Costs, so for Peak periods you pay 48 cents per kwh, for Off peak you pay nearly 19 cents a kwh, and for Shoulder you pay 24.5 cents per kwh. I have solar panels and I'm being Paid 7 cents per kwh in feed in Tariff, I send back to the Grid, which in my book is Rubbish, we should be getting at least Shoulder rate for Feed in tariff, 24 to 28 cents per kwh. What they do to us here is Criminal.

[@desrender4893]

@@scottcarr3264 P/M

[@Jeffdoeswhat]

My goal is to start adding solar to my KZbin studio and then my house. Hopefully will have the studio going at some point this year.

[@VedaSay]

Stopping at 1:15 before we jump down to next topic. How much tax payers money is subsiding the grid, generation if we really talking money this..money that? Hoping people do some basic research before blabbering all this as facts.

[@theairstig9164]

In Australia it’s about $18 per lifetime MWH of the solar panels. These are called small scale RECs and they are traded on the open market so the government doesn’t pay. The polluters do. Slowly The number is going down but it helps people pay for solar

[@carrtb]

Good info! Thank you. I live in an area where On/Off-Peak or Standard Residential electric tariff options (cents per kWh) are available. If one chooses Standard, the Winter rate is in force over all days/hours the months of October through May and is less expensive than the Summer rate which is in force all days/hours June, July, August and September. If one were to jump to the On/Off-Peak tariff, its Winter rate, considered all Off-Peak, in force all days/hours October through May, is less expensive than that of the Standard but the Summer rate can get stupid expensive. Not only is its overall Summer rate more expensive, it gets hit with an adder during On-Peak periods defined as: M-F (exclude holidays) between 1PM and 7PM during the Summer months. These two tariffs however,are designed in such a way that the average customer, without changing any habits, would be spending the same amount of $ for electricity in a year’s time. The only difference is what one may pay over the Winter (less for those on On/Off-Peak tariff) and Summer (much more for those on On/Off-Peak tariff). This is one reason why the utility requires a customer to stay with whatever tariff they choose for a year, so they don’t hop from one tariff to another during periods of pricing advantage. What would be my plan? I’d take advantage of the On/Off-Peak tariff. Then I’d determine/install the ideal solar/battery mixture capability to offset my electrical consumption during the time the On-Peak period of the On/Off-Peak tariff is in force. Most renewable energy equipment controllers available now are capable of performing in this way, it’s a setting called “zero meter”, meaning one can cause the controller of the renewable supply system to output what the demand needs of the home are exactly, even to the minute, in a way to keep any energy from flowing in from the utility during the On-Peak periods. The size/design of this kind of renewable energy system would be minimal and at least capable of canceling the most expensive period electricity is produced/consumed.

[@nuevision8]

You could just go off-grid with solar, wind, battery, & hydro system and not deal with all that bullshit. No taxes either.

[@josephang9927]

If only we had reliable ways to store huge amounts of energy.

[@jackthesolarguy]

That will be the solution. Prices need to continue to come down though before it can become mainstream

[@robertball3578]

Reliable is the key word. EV's are banned from parking structures because of the fire danger of their batteries. A grid size battery facility at Moss Landing, CA has been burning for six days as of 1/20/25. A facility at Otay Mesa burned 7 months ago but it is still too risky to start clean-up.

[@kevinm234]

I just installed my battery system and a solar array in 2024. I am not trying to either work with or disconnect from the grid. I am just looking to save about 75% of my electric bill. But I am also capable of going off grid with any one of three trifuel inverter/generators to back up my solar if the grid goes down. Since turning my system on three months ago we have had three 6 to 9 hour outages and the only reason that we knew was because people checked in with us to see if we needed anything. Our reply to them was "what power outage?"

[@DeveloperChris]

Just an Aussies point of view. In Australia. the grid is not maintained by the distributors. they are state owned or private/government companies. therefore their income is not derived directly from electricity sales but rather a daily connection fee every household pays and a per KWH fee for transporting electrons to the homeowner. Therefore they are not in a position where people going solar will effect them badly. The per KWH fee deals with increases in usage and the daily fee covers equipment, metering etc.. Of course people going off grid will hurt as they still have to maintain the wires going past the property. but that is only really relevant in rural locations.

[@theairstig9164]

SP Ausnet was directly responsible for the king lake fires. Never forget

[@GerbenWulff]

I am in the Philippines, there isn't much solar here, except for people who are off grid. Those people usually have less than 1 kWp. Net metering was never a thing here, you can get credits which are less than half the price of what you pay. Then there are significant connection and metering fees if you get a double meter. I am going for a hybrid system, but without the double meter. It's just not worth it. The grid for me will just be backup. My advice would be that if you go for a battery system, to always go for a system with UPS function. The fact that the grid has been stable historically, doesn't mean that it will be in the future. With more and more renewable energy being integrated and more people turning to electric vehicles and more electric devices, things might get less stable.

[@dochi1958]

I want to winter in the P.I. with my Filipina wife of 21 yrs. (in rural Negros) and they have frequent 'brownouts' & many struggle affording electric anyway. was thinking of setting up small amount of solar panels and hopefully battery storage and just power several homes/nipas in a cluster. As I'm sure you know they don't have many appliances, etc. like in the West. Hoping to avoid entanglements with power companies & other headaches. Does this sound like a sane idea? p.s. not too worried about making money off neighbors but a small fee to re-coup some cost I'd consider.

[@GerbenWulff]

@@dochi1958 Note that the local electric company has a monopoly, so you are officially not allowed to do that. I have been thinking of sharing surplus power with my in-laws who live on the same lot, so I don't think they can stop that. My in-laws give us free running water, so I will give them the electricity for free also. I don't think your idea is crazy, but it might be hard to collect a fee for the electricity, without straining relations. You are a rich foreigner, so they may not prioritize paying for the electricity you give them.

[@paulogden7417]

@@dochi1958 I like it! It’s not always about saving money. And being neighborly is enlightened self interest .

[@nuevision8]

​@@paulogden7417don't be a scam victim. The Philippines is a nation of cheaters, liars, & grifters.

[@nuevision8]

Brownouts are a constant problem in The Philippines. They can happen regularly and vary in duration. Same with landline Internet. Very unreliable. Postal service is non-existent. Parcel service is triple the price for foreigners... Ask me how I know.

[@laurice8056]

Interesting video. A sales rep told me that his company doesn’t offer any maintenance services for their solar panels or systems after the customer has paid in full for it. Instead they only offer an upgraded replacement, leaving the customer with another bill at an inflation adjusted price. Are there any independent maintenance/ repair companies that can help customers who prefer to keep their existing solar panels and systems rather than replacing them? My parent’s home is in the Midwestern region where winters are long and sunny days are short during that season. Your channel content looks extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing. I’m a new subscriber.

[@jackthesolarguy]

It depends where you are located, but there are solar servicing companies located all around the country. Most will be in solar dense markets like California, Texas and Arizona, but you can probably find someone online

[@jaytigra2234]

It's a great deal! I pay $0.13 kWh and they pay me $0.04 kWh for my grid returned power. So, I'm planning on purchasing a Prius and use my solar panels to charge it.

[@jackthesolarguy]

Great. EV charging during the early/mid afternoon is going to be one of the best changes people can make to solve the exporting issue. Right now, many people charge their cars upon coming from home at 6/7pm which is the worst possible thing to do for the grid.

[@5400bowen]

13 cents is 1970 prices!

[@darrelldoty7757]

@@5400bowen with the prices this low in Texas it’s really hard to justify the investment in solar. Now that prices have come down you actually can but a few years ago you couldn’t at all. It was nuts what they wanted for a system.

[@5400bowen]

@@darrelldoty7757 I tried posting it here..instant removal

[@michaelbranan3670]

I really appreciate you you are the most informed and concise solar educator that I’ve come across. Thank you for your presentations.

[@jackthesolarguy]

Thanks for the nice comment

[@MrMrFlyPuppy]

If utilities add more battery, the extra solar isn't an issue as much. Soon, battery and solar combined will reach cost parity with gas power production (and solar is already well below fossil fuel based power production costs now), there will be no down side to "too much" residential solar. Residential solar is essential for future proofing the grid. Local power production and consumption RELIEVES the utility and grid, it does NOT worsen the load on it. Thanks for your reporting!

[@jackthesolarguy]

You made a great point. Everything said I second!

[@michaeljoncour4903]

utility companies using batteries is crazy, the energy should be stored as heat and use steam turbines. rock storage will last forever not 20 or 30 yrs and doesn't cost a fortune.

[@Anita95_original]

Batteries… Filthy things with a short lifetime… Everyone thinks something magical will happen and solve everything. Why not realize that the ONLY “green” energy is that you do NOT use…

[@DanThomas-n1e]

Batteries are a total politician scam. They are blowing up faster than they can build them and only run a few days then they are dead.Go ahead and approve the million dollars of taxpayer investment, not me

[@MrMrFlyPuppy]

@ nope u r wrong.

[@rodcros]

My electrician friend suggested a real problem of power from unknown sources for fire-fighter safety. Standard operating procedure at a fire is the removal of the house meter. Then they can use fire hoses. See the problem? My backup battery in the basement remains live if the meter is removed. How do we protect the fire fighters? Install a shut-off switch at the meter. I wonder if anyone knows about this risk?

[@brianporter3243]

There is a shutoff at the panel (atleast it was installed with my system). The shutoff is right next to the meter and marked in large font.

[@AtomicHermit]

Vehicles shifting to electricity will create massive additional demand best satisfied by distributed generation and storage. Environmentally distributed solar has the smallest footprint and environmental impact. If the US were not an oligarchy, and utility companies were not a way to extract the maximum amount of wealth from the peons, the combination of global heating and consumer economics would ensure that every house would have a slight superabundance of solar power capacity sufficient to energise itself and to help to sustain neighbors with systems out of service.

[@5400bowen]

Good comment, but you can set up a solar system for less than $10k and run your EV for 20-30 years on that.

[@AtomicHermit]

@@5400bowen Thanks. Not if utility companies are blocking rooftop solar. Which I think was the point of this video, It is hard to charge vehicles which are not at home during most days with your own solar without net metering or batteries. And for an example, in Iowa. A Tesla model 3 LR needs about 80kWh for a full charge, and a Cybertruck 125 kWh (the equivalent of about 9 Powerwalls!). A $10k solar system will help a little, but to charge and run the house (assumed to be 4'000 square foot structure, heated and cooled geothermally) will take perhaps 250kWh of batteries, along with perhaps 200 square meters of panels optimally coupled with a 5 to 20 kW wind turbine, which are going to cost a lot more than $10k. That doesn't mean it should not be done, the system will still pay for itself in a decade or so, and has an expected life of 25 to 35 years.

[@5400bowen]

@@AtomicHermit you missunderstood me. I advocate a separate system to charge your cars. I do off grid solar. With the prices two years ago that was enough for a car or two..depends on how much you drive. But I know solar and electronics like few you've ever talked to. There is new gear, from China, like all of it is, that will get you 5,000 watts in panels (Hyundai), a couple 3,000 watt low frequency inverters with toroidal transformers, and combiner boxes, cables, charge controllers, 20 KWH in batteries switching, fusing, all for about $10k now. Even here in Puna where it's cloudy a lot that will give you 100-200 miles a day..

[@5400bowen]

@@AtomicHermit Dang!!! 250 KWH?!?! You running a commercial saw mill? I know 4,000 sq ft is a lot. But that with your panel area quote is way beyond what most people find adequate. Without the need for electric heat you could mine bitcoin with a mainframe with all that! You know I have 2,000 watts of panels and 5 KWH of batteries, but a very small cabin. I still don't run my generator much, but I have a chest freezer, clothes washer and well pump and run 9 LED lights all night. I use a lot of power for power tools and equipment too ( not tons, but a good deal). But I agree in one sense, the more power I have, the more I use. But I also am developing 2 lots. So I do wind up running a small generator overnight sometimes when we get two solid months of rain here in Hawaii. Thanx for your perspectives, there is a lot of truth in what you say..and more power to ya!

[@5400bowen]

@@AtomicHermit P.S. yes, here in the boonies we don't have to answer to the slave masters that dictate how we run our lives. I'm all off grid, and there isn't even a line into my property for grid power. I left the beaurocratic dictatorship 14 years ago. Utilities are just another bloodsucking aspect of the oligarchy to me. Their rules are set up to control and extract resources, as you suggested. But I still won't put solar on a roof. I build freestanding racks. Easier for roof repairs etc. . I'm sure you know insurance companies are cancelling coverage for houses with solar on the roof.

[@dheckman1]

Roof top solar has devolved into a small business with a high introductory cost and a low ROI, except for the company selling the equipment. A problem not addressed by batteries is that, as in the Phoenix area, too much power is generated so that utilities have to reduce output from power plants. This results in significant efficiency loss and the price of electricity goes up for everyone because the utility still has all of the same overhead. The inevitable result is that you won't pay for the electricity when your panels are outputting, but you will pay more when the don't.

[@neilwani1178]

I added solar but didn't connect to the grid. My solar is only to power a few added minisplits on my house. And my solar system has a propane generator input in case the grid goes on. If the grid goes down, I have a inverter generator and a propane tank in my garage.

[@jackthesolarguy]

That's great... why did you choose not to connect to the grid?

[@neilwani1178]

@jackthesolarguy the permit was much easier. The ground mount system is in the very back of the house. . Plus the inverter and battery are in the house in the back. In an air conditioned area. The garage with my main panel is in front of the house. It gets really hot in the garage. The down side is I have extra energy on days when it's not too hot or cold. I told 10 solar installers I wanted a ground mount setup and I want to pay for everything including the equipment. They essentially said they didn't want to give me a quote unless I put the panels on my roof and took out a loan. I have a tile roof. I got fed up and took the permit out myself. It was a off grid permit. And it had engineering drawings with a ground mount, inverter, battery and minisplits. My sister took out a loan for $90,000 four years ago. She is paying $300 a month on the loan. And she is saving $400 a month on solar. I paid the equipment off. And I'm going to save about $250 a month and it's all paid off.

[@neilwani1178]

@jackthesolarguy Because I don't trust the people selling solar. And I did it myself. I don't trust the people financing the loans to people. Greed at its core. This was the easiest way to get a off grid system without the hassle of a grid permit. I got a off grid permit. The investors giving out the loans are not in it to help the climate. Many just get the tax breaks. Not a very good system.

[@mycabinlife1291]

​@@neilwani1178not to mention the thousands and thousands of dollars you saved by not paying a company that probably won't even be in business 5 years from now or for the financing.

[@anubianakira9442]

Excellent 👌 brief

[@honesty_-no9he]

SOLUTION: BATTERIES, BATTERIES, BATTERIES.

[@jackthesolarguy]

Yes, that will be the end-all solution to this issue. I am curious to see when utility scale battery solutions will become the new norm.

[@jimlofts5433]

@@jackthesolarguy 10 year replacement on batteries ??

[@jamesharmon3827]

NO, batteries are the entire problem.

[@nuevision8]

Batteries are not the answer. If you live in a temperate climate, and build better thermal insulation so you run less heating & less cooling, additional solar panels & a 5kw wind generator can be more than sufficient. I also run a 5kw Kaplan hydro turbine on a seasonal creek with a large diameter water wheel & a gear... Wind, solar, hydro. Keep the batteries to a minimum and run all of your electrical appliances during the daytime. Get off the grid !

[@mycabinlife1291]

​@@jimlofts5433the batteries Aren't Dead at 10 years. They still have 80% or more of there capacity they had at day one.

[@oatlegOnYt]

Here in Spain, more and more utilities has started to implement the concept of "virtual battery" or "solar moneybox" (it's basically the same). The system pays your kwh send to the grid at a price that depends on the electricity price on the instant demand (the pool system we use in Europe) with a discount (it's considered they toll for using an upgraded grid), and that money is discounted from your bill. Sometimes it's abusive as that tolls and prices are not as fair at it should, but at least the model works. The reason is that the price of solar is a lot cheaper than the price when there is no solar. At least in summer. Sometimes it create the (false) paradox that you receive more money for winter exports even if it's a lot less energy than in summer, because there is a lot of excess production in summer. Sometimes the price even reach zero. On other side, batteries are still expensive, and our grid has other storage systems like pumped hydro and most of that excess energy is stored, so zero price is rare, just a small number of days per year. Not a big deal. It's a good model where all benefit. The solar owner gain money for every energy excess he injects in the electricity network. The utility gains the toll plus the difference between the cheap price on solar generation vs low solar generation when you demand. Legacy utilities doesn't like too much, as they own part of the compete generation production (mainly cogeneration through natural gas), while new utilities likes it as they can focus on distribution and new generation, not maintain the old generation infrastructure. Still legacy utilities has a lot of power and push for the model to change slower and maintain other mechanism like "capacity reserve" (pay them for having the thermal plants even if they doesn't turned on), so prices when there is no renewable gets pretty high. We hope future batteries will get cheap enough to increase our storage capacity a lot reducing the need for thermal plants. Fortunately, thermal plants are not too expensive, It's the fuel which is expensive (at least here, in Spain).

[@prjndigo]

Too late in Florida: if you install solar on a home in Florida it must be at the control of your power company and you'll lose your insurance. You literally don't own it and cannot use it.

[@RedRuffinsore]

My local electric cooperative (in Texas) has reduced the offset from about 70% of the going rate to 10% of the going rate.

[@chuckevans2792]

Some parts of TN use smart water heaters to shift load to off-peak. A decade or 2 ago some power co's would cover 3/4 of the cost of a 120gal smart heater. I don't know of any that still do. Solar grid tie would benefit greatly. DC smart heaters would help homeowners with solar. Smart appliances like dryers could do delayed start on high demand days. Just give us a cut.

[@DJ2024-t4j]

If energy companies then offered day time CHEAP electricity that they basically get for free from solar rooftops they would find new customers in high energy industries. Run those desal plants, run aluminium smelters, run pumped hydro etc. Except they wont, and as customers continue to get big energy bills they will buy electric cars or home batteries and charge with roof top solar and the energy companies will be looking for more ways to gouge.

[@fgregerfeaxcwfeffece]

That's the plan but in the past there was no reason to do that and those old companies move embarrassingly slow. Sometimes so slow they fall over dead before they are done turning around. But there are already companies doing it. But availability currently is really limited to a few regions.

[@brandonatherton]

This happened to my family. Greatest part is the company we purchased solar through went out of business after lying to us about being grandfathered. The entire city where we live is pushing bad and extremely angry with not just the credit changes, but the introduction of variable rates depending on the time of day energy is sent or used. Went from zero electric cost to a couple hundred a month, on top of the payments for the solar system. While I get it, I think the easiest and best solution is to make energy companies stop operating for profit. Utilities should never cost the people they're servicing much more than cost.

[@davidrasmussen2975]

He is a solar Installer and they are like used car salesman. The panel costs continue to decline and those that buy now will pay more than one in future. Payback is either too long or never is returned. Interest rates for loan to buy them have extended payback to more than remaining life of your roof.

[@LetsFigureThisOut]

Not quit accurate. I have two homes with roof top solar. One in Colorado and one in Texas. In both cases I had to pay for the smart meter and the installation of the meter. Since my usage has not increased and my systems are sized based on usage there is no impact on power lines and transformers. Also in both cases, I am being paid what the power companies paying (0.03kW) so they are not paying me more than any other form of power generation. The benefit to the power company is they did not have to pay for the equipment, installation and maintenance of my power generation equipment. If enough people putting up roof top systems a power company could reduce the need for an additional power plant. This along will save the power companies millions in expenditures, interest and legal fees. What they are doing is coming up with new fees and rate structures. While this won't match the decrease in revenue (from me) it will be offset by decreases in power generation and maintenance costs. Unfortunately, in the near term, the shareholders will only notice the decrease in revenue, which, in my opinion, is why the power companies executives don't want rooftop solar as they answer to shareholders. AGAIN, just my opinion.

[@br7485]

To really feel secure in an off grid house you need N times larger nominal capacity of solar panels and wind turbines plus a large storage system. For Germany N is 5, for India 1.5. And this part is feasible. But the storage part is a blocker, because it should keep 14 days (336 hours) of energy for Germany (see Dunkelflaute) and maybe 2-3 days for India. At a current price of MegaPack at 270 USD/kWh plus installation and transportation this means 135k USD. Well we can reduce 14 days to 3.5 (33k USD) and rent a diesel generator 2-3 times a year, but that is inconvenient. The midterm solution should be in some sand or compressed air storage system costing 3-15k USD (10-20 USD/kWh) with a roundtrip efficiency of 60% (not too far from 87% of chemical batteries). But no company is able to provide such system, which seems weird.

[@5400bowen]

Those systems are being developed, along with others. Do you watch Undecided with Matt Ferrell?

[@terry_willis]

Thanks for not having music in the background for your video. You present well.

[@jackthesolarguy]

I appreciate it

[@Adrian-qc7ky]

I'm planning to build my own off grid solar & battery storage system capable of powering my house for up to 3 days straight with minimal input from the sun in winter months. I also intend on adding a diesel generator capable of running my entire house and small workshop as backup should i need it. My local electricity can kick rocks once I'm finished it.

[@bddellow]

I bought a system in Nov 2023 in North Texas. I am getting the credits so that is great and overall I am happy that I am getting what I asked for. However, after buying and using a system I would have preferred to have two Franklin Batteries instead of one. Two reasons. The battery doesn't go very late in the evening before it is used up for the night and, two if I have an outage in the middle of the summer day here it immediately shuts down because the pull of my AC out does the battery (I have found a work around remedy for this). They (Texas Solar) tell me I would need more panels to have a second battery. I'm not sure if I agree with this based on the amount I sell back during the summer. Thoughts or comments?

[@BoDiddly]

I think more people need to consider going fully off grid, like I am going to do. Our Utility power goes out quite often in severe storms and freezing storms (I live in an unincorporated portion of a central Georgia county, so the utility companies don't have the power of a city to hold them responsible for keeping the power on and stable), where it seems like any wind event above 15mph will cause the power to go out. Mostly just a second or two of flickering or brownouts, but sometimes it's minutes, hours or days. I have UPS's for my server lab, but those don't seem to last long with the flickering power, and most of them only keep servers powered for about 15 minutes, unless you buy very expensive Server UPS's. So If I bite the bullet and get a whole house Solar, Wind and Battery system, I will definitely save money in the long run, just from not having to replace my UPS's and other random devices, like TV's, Stereos, Refrigerators, etc. (which are currently not on a UPS) every year when they fail from electrical spikes and brownouts.

[@BoDiddly]

FYI, I was watching this video and a flicker happened. Just a second or two the power went out and came back on, so I had to wait for my TV (I use it as a computer monitor as well) and Internet to come back on so I could watch the rest of this video and reply.

[@Ned-r4t]

What is the costs to replace solar panels and batteries and who will pay!

[@chineseredneck1211]

You don't even need solar. With TOU pricing, you can charge at night and use the battery during the expensive daytime

[@chuckevans2792]

In CA you should get juice for next to nothing from that megascale solar plant they don't need. Charge in the daytime. OTOH they are ready for late morning EV charging if any office buildings electrify their parking garages. Until then, EV's must charge at night only, so half the range. Deal breaker for most of us.

[@wertigon]

Once we have 50 kWh batteries for less than $10k (just 2x-4x the going rate), it will be game over for utilities. At that rate, off grid with solar batteries will cost ~$25k or so and be vastly more cheap and economical than going on-grid - as the situation looks today. However, a grid connection is still useful. It'll just be a two way street now.

[@theairstig9164]

Electricity retailers do not want a two way street. They want customers pinned up like butterflies in a glass case so they can get back to raking in the sweet sweet profit. And they will pull every trick in the book including lobbying blackmailing or bribing politicians to make this happen

[@GerryMander-kj9sz]

Agree, a grid connection would still be useful. There will always be cloudy and rainy days, often several together. Solar / battery will always just be a supplement to the grid in urban areas. Anyone off grid, at some point, will either waste energy or run out of power. I like how governments are encouraging shared battery storage. Regular residents selling to the grid during peak hours, no matter HOW they charged the battery. I just wonder if homeowner insurance companies will continue largely ignoring this. Newer batteries are far less of a fire risk, but even the greater transmission volts have some risk

[@jamiescott6811]

When you factor in the increases in your property tax and homeowners insurance, you will never make up the costs of solar. Not to mention the costs of maintenance/cleaning.

[@TheSilmarillian]

Moved remote rural off grid solar and wind have never looked back and no am not connected to the grid, run a three bedroom house workshop ect . The only downside is the cost of the battery storage but those prices are now following the down curve of once expensive solar panels.

[@hvguy]

The way my energy company fixed the issue with selling power back to the customer is for every two units of power that goes out, you were allowed to have one back, so they get to sell that extra unit to their customers at a premium you don't get paid for, it's kind of scammy but, they have to make some money somewhere

[@nuevision8]

The state also gets taxes for the electric that the power company sells. Cut the cord. Net metering or credits always cheats the solar panels owner. Just say no.

[@COJAMALIK]

There can be an automatic cut of system. An automatic covering when battery is full, and stops harvested energy

[@rodneylw10]

We got solar now two years ago in FL. Our first year we sent quite a bit of power back to the company but, the trick is that it only benefits us primarily each month. If we have an abundance at the end of the year, we get a credit on our bill BUT AT WHOLESALE pricing. I just hope they DO grandfather us. Battery storage would be an alternative I guess. We already spent our savings replacing a bad piece of equipment. Our warranty covered the part but the company, Titan Solar went OFB so we were stuck paying the labor.

[@BigYouDog]

I live in the UK near London and have a 9 panel system (the number of panels allowed under the contract) that was installed in 2011. I got mine when the feed-in contract was for 25 years, with index linked payments. In high summer, it can generate about 10kw a day, that's now about 68 pence per kw, whereas the grid cost is about 30p. This works out to about £1200 per year, and offsets the winter months. Being this far north and having a lot more cloudy days, with late November 2024 being exceptionally bad, with only 2kw generated in 5 days, I consider myself fortunate for listening to my sons advice to get the install. But would I do it now? No chance, the house is average for a UK home, and the pitched roof will only accommodate 10 panels, and would need a fortune in batteries

[@donaldhoudek2889]

I purchased and installed an EG4 600XP system for last years hurricane season and it worked perfectly. Granted I have yet to order the (10) 400 (500)+ watt bifacial solar panels (next month) and I currently use the grid to charge it, which keeps my critical loads panel always powered. Should there be no grid power the 12kW generator will automatically start and charge the 12.3kW EG4 all weather battery. We lost power for 4.5 days (hurricane) and the fridge/freezer were powered the entire time along with our LED security lights/cameras. My goal is connect as much of my homes load to the EG4 and only use Duke as a backup for times when the SOLAR is not producing enough power and the battery is running low. I just want to put as much of the electrical load on the solar/battery system. I am tired of dealing with and paying Duke.

[@Green_Leaf]

Rooftop PV or “Solar” is not the underlying issue. The issue is electrical and technical in nature. Understand that a typical “grid tie “ inverter from “Rooftop Solar” must PUSH its power back onto the grid by slightly increasing frequency and or voltage. Understand that the utility is legally required to maintain frequency at 60hz and within a reasonable voltage range to its customers. Understand that the utilities generate power and have systems that regulate the voltage and frequency, however, when there become too many outside sources pushing back, “Rooftop Solar”, the ability to maintain a stable grid becomes more challenging. Some utilities have built additional generation stations, but that comes at a cost. Understand the utilities decision to stop allowing grid-tie systems is way more technical than what an average person would know. Do your own research. Paralleling AC systems is complicated…

[@edminnich4971]

very informative, thank you

[@GerryMander-kj9sz]

Minor correction. California replaced their 1-to-1 NEM 1.0 (1-to-1 KWh credits) program in 2017. NEM 2.0 (Time-of-Use credits) is what expired in April 2023, replaced with NEM 3.0 (wholesale credits). NEM 3.0 encourages battery use.

[@bobjohnson2172]

Great job !

[@robertjones7221]

I have a self installed 6kw system that is on net metering. Pay back is less than 5 years Here in Onratio 1. We used to have government owned electricity for like 0.06 cents per kWh. Now like 9 to 18 cents. Plus we still over produce and send over production to the USA at a loss. So it’s too much to begin with. 2. We are only allowed to send back to grid produced power if the current infrastructure has capacity. So they will not have to upgrade due to power supplied by wind and solar. So the utilities cannot incur cost to upgrade as the peaks of use are shaved. 3. We have to have a grid connection for insurance and mortgage reasons. So if it is there we have to connect. Plus we have to buy a new bi-directional smart meter as part of the cost. I do agree though what they sell electricity for is a total scam. If I can produce for about 60-75 cents per watt for the panels and inverter plus racking and wire disconnect etc is about 40 cents.

[@hescominsoon]

if you do not sell to the grid there's nothing they can do to stop you from offrsetting as much of your bill as you can.

[@yeeyw]

This already happened in my country. If you want rooftop solar you can’t connect it to your home electricity circuit that connected to the gird. I don’t know the detail but it’s so strict that your only option is connect to the grid or not at all

[@robertstout7756]

We have been net metering here in New Mexico for 24 years. About a decade ago our utility switched from one to one to about four to one with no grandfathered in available.

[@dmk_5736]

7:48 if you exclude auto power switch (and replace it with manual switch, which would require few seconds of downtime for safe switching) AND compare solution internally down to transistors you would discover that difference in price of internal components is less than 50$

[@DavidPaulNewtonScott]

Just get off grid like me do all your big consumption during the day like running a washing machine. Demand side management. Eventually I think the grid will just install energy storage. Personally I am building a large feolite pizza oven inside my house in Potugal and I will use it to run a heat engine for night time power.

[@jamesharmon3827]

Wtf is a HEAT ENGINE

[@kevinrtres]

We were forced to have a battery backup because of power outages - hence in summer the house is basically completely off the grid for 3 to 4 months.

[@HulaViking]

I have smart panel connected to battery. I store and use my solar. Plus I have the batteries as a power backup. This is better for me than selling power.

[@ranger178]

peak demand is usually in middle of day due to business use and air conditioning it would have to be an area with all homes and a lot of solar to have surplus in mid-day

[@josephmath1]

My personnel view is if a person is getting solar, they should also try to get wind as well, like they could get that wind generator that is installed on the arch of the roof.

[@jackthesolarguy]

That is interesting… I wonder if the wind would only be efficient in select markets however

[@merendell]

I just skipped grid tie altogether. My system is effectively offgrid with a backup battery charger comeing from the grid that only kicks on if storage drops too low. We can get some really bad solar stretches during the winter where theres cloud cover for a couple weeks strait. Use the grid like i would a backup generator for those leen times

[@CaffeinatedSentryGnome]

in south australia there is so much solar power during the day that the wholesale price goes negative. power retailers have to pay the customer for the solar power and then pay the market to take it. to cover those costs they charge you a lot to take power from the grid while paying almost nothing for the solar power. its like $0.42-$0.60/kwh to get electricity from the grid depending on the retailer and what plan you are on.

[@brodriguez11000]

Well AI data centers are supposed to require more power to the point of financing nuclear so there's demand. Then there are certain industries that require lots of electricity. e.g. aluminum manufacture, etc.

[@tomcorwine3091]

In Florida here. My local utility is no longer offering net metering.

[@jackthesolarguy]

Yes, not all FL homeowners still have 1-1 net metering. But Duke and FPL which more than half of homeowners use still offer 1-1

[@nicholasm.3919]

Idaho also voted to end 1 to 1 net metering for net billing in 2023. Shorty after we had been sold and installed our solar system with the solar company it saying anything about these changes. Any links to battery options would be great.

[@jamesstrickland517]

Solar is still a bit rare here in Wyoming and we do have net metering and it has worked well and because the winter days are short the end year payment of excess only amounts to $30-$100 for the year.

[@cmoniz905]

In NC you can only have up to 80% of your average kW use in solar panels. You can’t have battery backup and if he power goes out at night, tough. This is while staying connected to the grid. If you go completely off grid then you don’t have to worry. For us the cost want worth it, we also have a metal shingle and the solar panel company couldn’t guarantee there would be no leaks.

[@IsNoyb]

I am not changing anything for where I have solar, I am not connected to the grid. previous people were connected but I have not. the meter box is on the pole, but the power company has cut the wires at the weather head. I will not conform

[@bexaminer1]

I just watched your video. There are a couple of things I would mention to you that I've experienced here in northern CA. First, when I got my solar (and it was a fight) the utility company would only allow me to install a system that would provide no more than 75% of the amount of energy consumer in the prior year. They don't want to lose customers, as you said. The next thing is that my utility company was charging me $15 a month as some sort of fee because I was using solar energy. That was in 2015. Now that fee is $35 just because I use solar panels. I just thought I would share that information with you. Utility companies do not like solar.

[@danc2014]

As said in the video they need to support the infastucture . You want power when it cold and dark, you need power for the factories and stores street lights

[@thomasjeffersoncry]

In some place you have two tier costs of power, some place when you use less than 22kwhrs/ day you get charged a certain rate after that any additional power you more than that per day yo get charged 40% more for your kwhrs. So installing just enough solar to keep you mostly out of that additional 40% higher rate.

[@Comm0ut]

Freestanding ground-mounted solar is easier to build and doesn't make roof repairs absurdly expensive. I wouldn't install rooftop solar on my homes if it were free since it's easy to make dual use maintainable structures like large open-sided gazebos using the panels for shade. While I could get a permit I prefer total control (the reason I live in an ag-zoned area) so mine will be mounted to 40ft shipping container sitting on a used trailer (as in Class 8 trailer) which will give me mobile, easily reconfigured and maintained. I already have four High Cubes as machine shop, welding shop and vintage motorbike ride-thru garage space and want more. It will be legally just another trailer though unlike my homes containers are rated to withstand typhoons. The extra internal space will make fine storage. Last 40' HC "one-trip" grade container I bought was about seven grand delivered when prices were high, quite painless for what they do.

[@christieperry9221]

Insurance companies might be concerned about the roof additions and fire hazard regarding batteries. A seperate insurance policy might be required?

[@jackthesolarguy]

If you roll the solar into your possibly they likely increase your premium by around 15-25 dollars a month

[@drewcantu]

Thanks for the explanation.

[@houstonstarbuck]

I have two solark 15ks, 180kWh of battery and free night electric plan. 17k of panels. Provides time of use free power AND backup in an outage

[@SHSPVR]

Good point with VPP the as battery prices have come way down considerably and they got considerable smaller and more powerful solutions and with solar panel becoming more power than before too.

[@jackthesolarguy]

Yup

[@thebeautifulones5436]

I am at the end of a single phase line. My 5kW system easily pushes up the voltage in the line to the limit which makes the inverter stop generating.

[@lowlines3239]

i live in California power bill is between $1200-2000 per month used to be $300 currently switching to solar

[@motorcitywestauto4674]

If you are hiring a company to install solar, you may not save a dime. Might actually be more expensive even spread out over time. That came from someone I know in the industry who sells systems. You have to replace damaged panels, wind/rain can damage connections, and so on. He said that by the time you pay the system off, they are usually junk and need to be replaced. He told me the only way to do it and come in out ahead is to install it yourself, and just have the inspection and final connection done by a licensed electrician. I am just going to buy a system I can keep adding to. I'm in Phoenix, and I'm planning on a system that can run one of my a/c units during the day. That alone will save a lot.

[@mycabinlife1291]

Signature solar / eg4 actually sells a mini split that solar panels directly plug into. Can also be connected to your solar/ electrical system if you wish.

[@CRPerformance1]

I'm holding out for a battery system that can allow me to go off grid completely. I also have a 20 kw standby generator for winter months to supplement the solar for charging the battery.