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Old 01-11-18, 09:49 AM   #661
Robaroni
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That's very impressive!
We drove the last 7k miles on our new Bolt (May 2017) for free. Once you see the powerful combination of PV and EV it's hard not to think about building up to it like we did.

For those of you who think this is a great way to go I want to say you can do it incrementally. I started with the PV end but there's no reason you can't get a PHEV (plugin electric vehicle) or EV and work toward a PV system.
Even, after more than a decade, I'm looking to increase and diversify my systems.
Once you drive an electric you instantly realize how much better EVs are. There's tremendous convenience of plugging in at home and having a 'full tank' the next morning. Driving is better too, having instant torque, no warm before driving in the winter and no oil changes, spark plugs, tranny shifting, catalytic converter, etc.
Last year Americans wasted 3.9 billion gallons of gas in traffic jams. There's no waste with an EV. Think about all that pollution too.

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Old 01-11-18, 09:57 AM   #662
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I was excited to see you put 7K miles on your Bolt very cool. Even with low gas prices the gasoline savings outpace the power bill savings very quickly.
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Old 01-16-18, 05:44 AM   #663
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Way to go man. Solar is a no-brainer! If everything will go as planned, this year I will get my own system and rely less on the grid. I just have to make that initial investment.
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Old 01-17-18, 11:27 AM   #664
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We just had our yearly or every two-year snow. Solar is not doing very well today.

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Old 01-17-18, 02:17 PM   #665
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Great thread...not going to lie, didn't read it all but I will. This is exactly the size of system I think I need, but roof mounted. Of course, I just started researching and need to learn a bunch more as well.

Thanks for the effort of posting your accomplishments!!

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Old 02-14-18, 11:45 AM   #666
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Our system is paid off 4 ½ years. If you only take into account just power savings no others savings.



We made 90 MWh that is $10,175.22 (our power is about .113 cents)
This is ahead of my time estimate when I was designing the system.

Each microinenver made about $192.

It is very exciting system payoff was end October 2017.

We have many more savings. Add in natural gas savings scene we heat with mini splits.
20 K EV miles a year on our Chevy Volt Solar powered. Gasoline savings...



We could not be happier with this system. I am very glad to see others getting great results also. When I was on some other forums they told me I could not do a DIY install for system size that I installed. They were wrong and very short order I increased my system size from 9.2 KW to 12.5 KW.

This forum is so much better where we encourage other DIY projects. There are many good projects on here that have enough info to decide if you want to try it yourself.
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Old 03-10-18, 06:31 PM   #667
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My 4.4kW system January data:
2018: 393 kWh
2017: 438 kWh
2016: 343 kWh
2015: 426 kWh
2014: 384 kWh

My 4.4kW system February data:
2018: 480 kWh
2017: 475 kWh
2016: 439 kWh
2015: 440 kWh
2014: 482 kWh
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Old 03-12-18, 08:09 PM   #668
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12.5 kW array we generated 957 kWh Feb 2017
We used a lot of power this month.
Feb 2017= 1,429 kWh
Feb 2016= 1,304 kWh
Feb 2015= 1,321 kWh
Feb 2014= 1,328 kWh
We have had a lot of rain our Feb was way off this year.

Other solar producers show use your numbers.
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Old 04-02-18, 09:58 AM   #669
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12.5 kW array we generated 1,618 kWh March 2017
We used a lot of power this month.
March 2017= 1,788 kWh
March 2016= 1,777 kWh
March 2015= 1,438 kWh
March 2014= 1,660 kWh

Other solar producers show use your numbers.
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Old 04-02-18, 01:46 PM   #670
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I am looking forward to having a thread like this, before long.

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