Climate change is real and human activities are causing climate to change in ways that threaten humankind and other life on Earth.
I hope you agree with this statement. If you disagree, do yourself a favor — stop reading, do not post a comment. Instead go smash your TV, and then sign up for an online course in climate science (or something equally educational and productive).
The realites of climate change are the jumping-off point for justifying installing solar on our home. My partner and I have long supported decarbonization measures we can adopt — measures that don’t create too much personal hardship in our daily lives. This last point is intended to acknowledge a durable problem that people tasked with implementing climate policies face — the average citizen isn’t going to decarbonize if there is a cost they can’t justify bearing.
For years the barrier for us to install rooftop solar was the cost. We simply didn’t have the $30,000-$50,000 to invest. Then a number of things happened. First my 17-year-old internal combustion car blew a head gasket — a $5k repair on that vehicle — about the same time that unleaded regular gasoline topped $6 a gallon here in Northern California. Then my partner realized a moderate windfall in her business and we decided that it was time to replace her 12-year-old high-mileage hybrid commuter (pumping out about 5 tons of CO2 per year) with something more efficient. Unfortunately for us this was about the same time that new and used car inventories were bottoming out across the country.
New Car — an EV
We had many discussions about whether to replace her car with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or all-electric vehicle (EV). I researched and ran some numbers — to me the EV made the most sense. My partner had range anxiety, and so wanted another hybrid. I made a good case for a PHEV, but at the time the models we were interested in (Kia Niro, Hyundai Ioniq) were in short supply and located at dealerships up to 2hr drive from us.
More discussion was creating more stress. One fine day she decided we should go to the Chevy dealership 5 minutes away and at least test drive a used Volt hybrid. TBH the Volt was just OK. Then she surprised me by asking to test a new Bolt EV. She was smitten after driving it just a few blocks — the acceleration and handling surprised her, and the car just seemed to fit her. A couple hours later we were driving home a 2020 model that had just come off a 3-year lease.
We had an available 240V/20A plug in the garage so I bought a Splitvolt Level 2 charger cable, and we were literally off and running. A full charge in the Bolt was good for 220-230 miles. My partner’s commute is 94.5 miles round trip. Her range anxiety disappeared and she started to feel genuine joy every time she passed a gas station.
I set the Bolt to start charging every night at 9pm, when our energy plan with PG&E switched to off-peak pricing (average of about $0.31 per kWh). With the car set to 12A charging — the fastest charge rate for the 2020 model Bolt — it took about four hours to reach full. I programmed the Bolt to “hilltop mode” which limits a full charge to about 88% of battery capacity (to prolong battery life). This is good for a range of about 180-200 miles.
I started collecting data and running calculations. Nine months into ownership I’ve found that the Bolt requires up to 31 kWh per commute in winter and as little as 22 kWh in summer. My partner had been getting 42-44 mpg commuting in her hybrid. The cost of electricity to commute in the Bolt is less than 2/3rds the cost of gasoline to commute in the hybrid. I also calculate that the amount of electricity the Bolt uses in a year is equivalent to one ton of CO2 put out by a natural gas power plant. An 80% reduction in the carbon footprint of the commute is consistent with our environmental values.
Decision to Go Solar — EV + Deadlines = Action
Despite the commute in the EV costing a third less than our old hybrid in budget dollars, our electricity use increased by 50%. This was when we started to talk seriously about installing rooftop solar panels.
At the time PG&E was paying customers with solar for any excess power returned to the grid at retail pricing — a scheme referred to as Net Energy Metering version two (NEM2.0). However, late in 2022 the California Public Utilities Commission voted to allow the state’s grid operators to reimburse customers at wholesale pricing — about $0.03-$0.07 per kWh — under a new protocol (NEM3.0) that’s intended to shift the incentive to installing solar panels plus battery storage rather than solar panels alone. NEM3.0 was scheduled to go into effect for new systems approved for installation after April 14, 2023.
I ran numbers and concluded that under NEM2.0 rooftop solar would repay its cost in just over five years. Under NEM3.0 the cost of solar plus battery could take nearly nine years to recoup. I decided to delay adding battery storage to the system until the price of batteries comes down or the state incentive increases, or both. Note that the Inflation Reduction Act proposed by the Biden administration and passed by Congress in 2022 increased the federal tax incentive for solar from 22% in 2023 (and 10% in 2024) to 30% through 2033 — so I’m reasonably certain that the federal tax credit will still be in effect when we eventually install storage.
To sum up, our justification for installing rooftop solar on our home boiled down to five points:
Long commute pumping out nearly 5 tons of CO2 a year from the internal combustion engine (ICE) in our hybrid is inconsistent with our environmental values.
Replaced hybrid with Bolt EV (commute equivalent to 1 ton CO2 per year from natural gas-fired power plants).
Our home electricity use increased 50% from charging EV for commute.
California net metering reimbursement rate dropped 10x in April 2023.
Federal tax incentive increased to 30% of installation cost through 2033.
We had a desire and a need. We had the money and a sense of urgency to install solar before NEM3.0 went into effect. In Part Two of “Our Experience With Residential Solar” I’ll describe the process we went through to become a power generator on the grid, as well as the mistakes I learned from along the way.
I wonder; if your utility pays 10% of the retail price for wholesale electrical power, that's a 90% mark-up. Really? Why didn't California voters stage a revolt over that policy change?
If you live anywhere near another household, how about going ahead with that storage and setting up a micro-grid with some neighbors? Set the price somewhere between wholesale and retail, negotiated amongst yourselves.
I'm circling back around...I see I commented previously. I'm wondering if a second part is still forthcoming? I'm asking the solar question now, after Portland Gas and Electric (the "other" PGE) received permission for an 18% rate hike. Also, my aging air conditioner gave up the ghost in August and I installed a new HVAC system with an electric heat pump. My winter electric bill has blossomed into something larger than the mortgage on my first home.
What I am learning is that the solar installation world is a shark-tank. Everywhere I look, there are these "middle men" who advertise as installers, but they are really lead generators. I presume that when they have found a "favorable prospect", they sell that information to an installer. After a considerable amount of time, I am just now cracking the code on local businesses that actually perform the work. None of them seem to be particularly visible, so I wonder if they even perform the designing and bidding on local projects, or do they simply rely on these lead generators for their pipeline of installations?