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Old 10-22-16, 02:32 PM   #59
ctgottapee
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Join Date: May 2013
Location: Central IL
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To answer the original question of worth the cost

It's important to take into account that customer favorable Net Metering is likely to be reduced or go away. It's an attractive target for the power companies and with so few solar customers and a small industry, there isn't much financial/political power to save you/us.

If you have power and distribution Net Metering in a friendly state, your at least likely to see the distribution credits go away, and even possible full usage charge (ie you are paying the kwh distribution charge even when you are consuming from only yourself.
You are likely to see some 'solar surcharges' added as well.


The stability of natural gas prices for someone installing in an area with heavy heat usage would be another risk, although there is still some possible saving for DIYs that have a tougher time with nat gas appliances.
I personally have felt this as I transitioned to all electric, heat pumps, and a little solar, back before natural gas plummeted in price. It's tough to compete with cheap nat gas, even the nuclear industry is experiencing this pain in power generation.
There is a strong industry that will likely keep favorable nat gas prices around for some time.
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