Some of you might be interested in the performance of the solar panels in order to determine if they are worth the investment.
October 5th, 2016 my solar panels went live. I live in south eastern Massachusetts and have a 9.2 Kilo Watt system set up on my roof top. The roof is orientated in the east-west direction which is really sub optimal for this time of year. As of December 3rd, I am nearly generating all of my power from the panels; which isn't too bad since we approaching the solstice and the sun is mostly in the southern sky.
When I installed the panels in early October I was generating about 10 Kilowatts of energy surplus. My analysis indicates that after spring + summer I will bank enough power to get me through next winter without paying bill. for now, I expect to have a small bill since I am running a delicate of about 5 to 10 Kilo Watts per day during the short winter days.
I spent about 38K on the solar panels. Some prep-work was required to install the system: new roof, upgrade electric service and tree removal. The install cost plus the prep work are tax deductible (30% tax credit, see IRS form 5695 for the details). I spent total of 50K. I expect to get back roughly 15K in taxes, so the total cost is 35K. I spend 3K per year in electric energy costs, so my pay back period is roughly 10 years. Here is my reasoning. To pay a 3K bill, I have to earn 4.2K because taxes are extracted before costs.
Plus Massachusetts has an SREC program, I will be earning an estimated 1.2K per year for the surplus energy I produce. If I factor this in, I will get a payback in about 7 years.
Overall I estimate the value of the solar panels to be around 90K over a period of 25 years. --I don't plan on moving. I just paid off my house! This strategy is all part of my retirement strategy.
I have a web site that shows the power production in real time on a day by day basis and I am also plotting the power that I consume; I set up an Infrared pulse counter on the power meter that the power company installed. If you check my signature, you should find a URL is you are interested in the details. I am super proud of the system that I put in place to monitor the solar production and consumption. I can see on the graph when we turn on the electric cloths dryer!
I am curious about the other states; how they handle SRECs if they have a program. --I am looking at Maine. They don't have a carve out yet to provide an SREC payout. If they did I would think about buying land and investing in panels in that state.
