Is solar power an answer to my high electric bill?
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We have solar hot water heat, but it doesn’t work very well on days with no sunshine. For those, we use the backup hot water heating system: our fireplace. There are pipes running along the bottom and back of the fireplace to warm the water for our showers. We have been using our fireplace a lot, recently, because of the rainy and cloudy weather. We may be only 6 degrees south of the Equator, but it gets cold enough here in the mountains at a mile above sea level that sometimes a fire in the fireplace feels pretty good, especially in the cooler part of the year (July and August).
Question by AmyDiane: Is solar power an answer to my high electric bill?
I live in the state with the highest electricity cost (.24 per kWh). Last month I turned the electric hot water heater temperature down down, bought a new energy efficient clothes washer, I didn’t use my clothes dryer, I have a gas stove, I don’t have air conditioning, and I didn’t run any fans in the house. I just received my bill. It is over $ 250.00 again! Could a solar electric system really help save me money?
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10 Responses to Is solar power an answer to my high electric bill?
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the initial hit to the pocket book is still staggering but is going down. eventually it will pay for itself. tv’s computers use alot of electric if left on all the time. as well as all the lights on in the house hope this info helps you :0)
Boomer
August 14, 2013 at 5:30 pm
No. You might consider “green switches” for outlets conected to energy “leaking appliances ( tv, computer etc.). Also you might look into replacing you electric water heater with a gas or instant-hot gas water heater. There are solar water heaters but you’ll haveto do the math to see if it’s worth it.
EDIT: That earth4energy deal looks like a scam. Engeneers are already building the next generation of solar panels which will be much cheaper and more efficient but they are still some time before they come to market.
Matthew
August 14, 2013 at 6:15 pm
One of the really big things to consider is what type of tax break will you get? In most places, it takes a solar system about 8 years to pay for itself, where you live, it may be less than half of that. If you’ve got incentives, it may be paid off pretty quick.
generalw13
August 14, 2013 at 6:46 pm
Solar hot water will cut power bill by 1/4 to1/3 .yes whole electric system no bill, excess goes back into power grid.You then get paid for what goes back into grid.
BetsEuly
August 14, 2013 at 6:54 pm
The only state I know of with electric rates that high is Hawaii. I guess you could consider it a cost of living in Paradise. On the other hand any change you make has the ability to make a big change in your bill.
The low cost / no cost solutions first. Turn off the lights you are not using. Turn off the computers at night. Replace the bulbs with cfl.
The next thing on my list would be that electric water heater. Get a gas one, combination gas and solar, or hot water on demand water heater. There are energy credits available from most of the Hawaii power companies.
Solar Electric is still expensive, but for a homeowner the federal tax credit, Hawaii tax credit, and net metering bring the price way down. In addition you fell good about doing your part for the environment.
I signed up for a site survey with a company that had all the answers to my questions about cost and benefits:
http://www.hilosatellite.com/solar/
PlaneCharlie
August 14, 2013 at 7:26 pm
Lobby your politicians to support de-centralized power generation. It’s terribly wasteful to generate lot’s of power in one spot then waste so much distributing it far and wide. With distributed systems, at the point of consumption, lot’s of things can be done to minimize losses and re-use otherwise wasted heat. Look it up. There are plans to change the whole of London to this scheme and it’s already been done in a smaller UK city.
J
August 14, 2013 at 7:38 pm
Ask the power company to do an energy audit on your house. That’s an awful lot of energy (over 1 MWh / month) for someone with no air conditioning. The only other thing that I’ve seen use that much energy (other than electric heat) is a swimming pool pump. Even with an electric stove and oven, we used less than half that during the summer in California.
What state are you in? I’m visiting in Hawaii right now, and the HECO rate in Honolulu seems to be about .20/kWh after all fees are added in. If you’re in Hawaii, it’s a no-brainer to replace your hot water heater with solar. It pays back in a few years.
If your rate is really .24 / kWh, then you can benefit from photovoltaic panels, too, although it will take years to pay back.
If you’re in Alaska, disregard all that I said above.
roderick_young
August 14, 2013 at 8:08 pm
A solar power generator is literally one of the best eco-friendly sources of energy. And even though getting a decent solar power generator installed usually costs around $ 1000, you can easily build your own for less than $ 200. It seems a bit costly right now, but it pays for itself in the end and saves you HUGE amounts of cash in the long-term. Check the website in my source area for more information on creating your own solar power generator.
Bob C
August 14, 2013 at 8:57 pm
Amy, at $ 0.24 per kWh, you must be using more than a MW of power each month and that’s alot of power. I’d say you should definitely look into going solar. Because I don’t know what state you live in, I can’t say much about the kinds of rebates and incentives that you’d qualify for but if you wanted to get a look at what’s available in your area, I don’t think there’s any better website than http://www.dsireusa.org
Just click on your state and take a look at every incentive available for your state. Secondly, solar sounds like a good idea but the payback on solar will take some years – how many I can’t say without knowing what state you live in.
Check out my website: http://www.intienergy.com
If you have any questions, send me a message. Good luck.
Melrose
August 14, 2013 at 9:30 pm
Solar alone won’t do it. Try solar with a geothermal heating and cooling system. You can also get your hot water from the geothermal and there are tax credits available to offset the cost of installing it.
George
August 14, 2013 at 10:23 pm