Home Solar

[DonTom]

doesn't it reduce peak demand by some amount?

Sure, but that is not what such a company really wants. They want to make as much money as possible and at least in Auburn, they charge more per KWH during the peak times. And if everybody is running from battery during the peak times, as my house is set to do, there goes a lot of their extra income. Many houses use less than Zero KW per day because of solar, and PG&E has recently made a change to buy back the extra power at a much lower price than they sell it back. IMO, it is a catch-22 for PG&E. They jack up the KWH rate so more people get solar and use fewer KWHs so now for PG&E to make the same money they need to increase their KWH rate and that causes even more to go to solar and powerwalls.

I've always thought utilities liked private solar,

Of course, they need to pretend that they do, but like any business, the most important thing is profit. So too many people with solar and Power Walls just means another rate increase and then even more with their own solar. It's probably already at the point in Auburn that almost every house that has enough sun has solar. And one can have a Powerwall without solar to reduce the peak charge.

-Don- Tucson, AZ

 

[Lou Schneider]

If you connect to but not draw power from a grid connection, someone has to pay the base cost for that infrastructure and to keep the utility generators spinning in reserve (they don't stop and start instantaneously) in case the sun goes behind a cloud and you suddenly want to draw power from the grid.

From the safety side, the utility wants to be sure your independent system that normally feeds power into the grid won't continue doing so during an outage. Those transformers that reduce the voltage from several thousand volts to 120 volts work just the same in the opposite direction and they need to protect their workers from power lines that may be inadvertently energized during an outage.

Our electric co-op in Pahrump has been extremely responsive to their customers needs, providing reliable power at less than half or a third of what PG&E charges across the state line. They're currently reviewing their solar policies looking to strike a balance between the various sides. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.

 

[DonTom]

in case the sun goes behind a cloud and you suddenly want to draw power from the grid.

Or just use the Powerwall until the sun comes back. Mine is set to do that automatically when there is not enough sunlight, regardless of time. But I also make sure I have enough left in the battery in case of a power outage later. When it gets low enough, it will charge back up from the grid if no light for the solar. Or else it charges back up from solar--or both, depending on my settings. The system is very configurable. The biggest problem is the guesswork involved in how long and when the next power outage will be.

I can control the entire system from here with my Tesla App.

-Don- Tucson, AZ

 

[rvlifer]

From a safety side, the utility wants to be sure your independent system that normally feeds power into the grid won't continue doing so during an outage. Those transformers that reduce the voltage from several thousand volts to 120 volts work just the same in the opposite direction and they need to protect their workers from power lines that may be inadvertently energized during an outage.

Agreed and that is the exact reason they wouldnt allow it. It just doesnt make sense that you cant install an automatic cutover switch to keep things safe.

 

[solarman]

Agreed and that is the exact reason they wouldnt allow it. It just doesnt make sense that you cant install an automatic cutover switch to keep things safe.

They do, what you need is an "anti-islanding" grid tie inverter

This device exports surplus solar power to the grid and in the event the grid fails, it isolates the grid and ceases all power export, thus making the power lines safe. they are UL and CE certified to VERY strict rules.

as for power export, some poco's will buy back power at the wholesale rate, others will issue credits to be redeemed off of your bill at the end of an agreed upon billing cycle.

all this varies state to state of course..

 

[rvlifer]

They do, what you need is an "anti-islanding" grid tie inverter

This device exports surplus solar power to the grid and in the event the grid fails, it isolates the grid and ceases all power export, thus making the power lines safe. they are UL and CE certified to VERY strict rules.

Did they have those 10 yrs ago?

 

[DonTom]

Our electric co-op in Pahrump

power at less than half or a third of what PG&E charges across the state line.

Perhaps the price is low there because Pahrump has a high poverty rate.

I got this email link just yesterday that says Pahrump is the worst place to live in all of NV.

FWIW, I like the town of Pahrump. I have been there many times. I had no idea, until yesterday, that they had a serious drug problem and a lot of poverty in Pahrump. I saw no clue of such stuff, but I was not looking for it.

Each time I stayed there in an RV it was at Wine Ridge RV Resort, a nice place, IMO.

-Don- Tucson, AZ

 

[solarman]

Did they have those 10 yrs ago?

yes, Sunpower, SolarEdge and SMA Sunny Boy to name a few..

 

[rvlifer]

yes, Sunpower, SolarEdge and SMA Sunny Boy to name a few..

thanks. I thought so. Don't know if it was the electric company trying to protect their income stream or they just weren't ready to deal with solar at that point. Probably a little of both