What I Learned After 1 Year with New Solar Panels

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1:52 - kWh (not kW)

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Chapters
00:00 - Intro
01:32 - What We Installed
03:19 - The Reasoning
06:29 - House Performance & Costs
14:04 - Takeaways

[bighaasfly]

Your comment about choosing the design of your home without stairs so that you can age in place is so crucial! As a realtor, I handle many clients who find themselves in a position where they have to leave their home because life has dealt them circumstances where they cannot navigate stairways at all. It’s so sad to be backed into a corner where you have to leave the home you love. Highly recommend people to plan ahead and move because they want to rather than waiting until they have to.

Love your channel. Thanks so much!

[CaptainMarvelsSon]

I appreciate how, through all of these videos, he has pointed out that it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows and that this is his experience, not a blueprint.

[josephchona]

That's a dream system you have. Here in Zambia we've been getting 3-4hrs of utility supply due to drought drying up our hydro power supply. Solar is not an option but a necessity.

I installed a 5kw system with 8x 550w panels and 2x 5kwh batteries for just over $3, 000. It powers everything apart from the water heaters. With your solar budget I could build a whole new house off grid over here

[BrunoMoreira]

I live in Brazil and have installed 12 solar panels (each 550W) with 3 microinverters. The total cost, including installation, was approximately $3, 000 USD. It is an on-grid system that generated 41 kWh just today. That is a lot for a single day. My house is entirely electric, and I use induction oven for cooking and AC for cooling and heating. Also the water is heated by electricity.

[FeigningAloof]

The best description I have ever heard from someone who lived off grid is that you pay for your energy in advance with solar. This is due to panel lifespan and efficiency. While you see benefits up front, later it dwindles and eventually you replace the panels and spend again. I think the biggest thing people miss is the source. Everyone wants to save $10 million dollars, but in reality we are using energy from a renewable source. THAT is the important thing. Finding more ways to sustainably live renewable needs to be the focus.

[Pabz]

Holy hell! $55K for 43 400w panels??
Here in Spain we pay ~€70 for a 455w panel. Your 43 panels would have cost ~€3000 including taxes!
And LiFePO batteries are about €300 per kWh.

You entire system would have cost no more than €15, 000 fitted! (I know because we have a 6kwp and 21kwh battery system that cost €9000 3 years ago)

[trinhvietdung]

The main challenge with your case lies in the significantly high investment cost: $88, 000 for a system comprising 17 kWp PV and a 24 kWh battery ($55, 000 for PV + $33, 400 for storage).
In comparison, similar systems in Vietnam cost less than $10, 000, with a break-even period of up to five years in a conservative scenario.
For example, I personally installed a 31 kWp PV system (54 REC x 575W panels) and 50 kWh of storage for approximately $17, 000, showcasing a far more competitive cost structure.

[alberthartl]

I have been a general contractor in California for over 33 years. All new houses require solar and our electric cost is similar to yours. Your cost for panels, micro inverters and batteries is double what I pay 💰. You obviously made a significant contribution to some contractor's college fund for their children.

[stevefritz]

A factor here is the 30-year plan. The plan works when looking at 30 years. Most people don't live in a home for 30 years. Most don't live in a home for five. In my opinion, to do this on a not-forever-home isn't very feasible. Even if you were to recoup the costs of installing the infrastructure when selling the home, you've just passed it on to someone else. They aren't likely to live there for 30 years either. Good job for doing the right thing for you and for being transparent about it. I had no doubt of your outcome because you analyzed it to death before you started. What would be appreciated is the scenario that doesn't work - i.e. recovering in 10 years.

[gavinrobinson]

I am in Queensland, Australia and have just tried to do what you have done. What I found is that we are so backward that I had to show videos to the tradies on how to do things like insulation and they don't know what a Net Zero target is or proper insulation. That said got a 19Kw Solar and 10Kw battery costing just over $30k. You are correct that everyone's situation is different as during winter I was still pulling over 8Kw+ a day and in the down pour of ran 6 to 7Kw and when the sun is out 15K+.
I can't believe the cost of Solar & Batteries in America and stunned that people still pay for it.
Thank you for sharing your experience as it highlighted things for me to do in the future and for my next home (if my wife lets me :))

[williamwilson]

As a nearly 66 year old man who lives alone, my energy costs aren’t much. I can’t project out 30 years to calculate return on the expense of installing a net zero solar system.

I built a solar system to mostly act as an emergency backup but currently expanding it to take over some, if not all, my electric energy needs.

My efforts are more focused on using less energy than paying for energy I don’t really have to consume.

[peto]

For a Finnish person who also installs these systems, all prices seem super inflated!
e.g. 430W panels cost approx. €100 each, mounting rails and fasteners for 43 panels cost approx. 2000€ and a good 20kW inverter costs €4000. The installation time for a system like Matt's is approx. 50 hours.

A 20kWh battery with installation accessories costs approx. €14, 000 and its installation time is approx. 16 hours.
An all-inclusive geothermal heat pump (no separate water heater) without a heat distribution system, as a turnkey package costs approx. €25, 000.

I know that since these systems are very common and everyday here, it lowers the prices, but still the American 4x price level seems absurd.

[Off-Grid]

It's worth it. I've been off-grid for 4 years and would never go back. I installed our own 15.3kw system for $27k.

[oldred]

I appreciate that you see value in being tied to the grid, and that you're doing what you can to help keep the grid stable. This is really nice for renters or those of us who can't afford solar yet.

[swtexan]

We have a typical mid- 2000's semi custom totally electric suburban home that is roughly 4000 sq. ft.. I've added insulation in the walls and ceiling above and beyond what the builder installed, replaced all windows and doors and upgraded the water heater and HVAC. Over the year, our electric bill averages just under $200/month. It would take forever for us to recover the install/cost of adding solar to our home. Great video, as always, Matt.

[a]

Everything he bought just seems so much more than what I did: $1400 Heat pump water heater, $7k cold climate air source whole house heat pump, $20k for 14.5kw of solar, 30kw battery, hybrid inverter … all that is costs installed before incentives and rebates

[ohary]

I had 19 Q-Cell 405W panels installed in December of last year, and became active in early January. I thought I wasn't going to produce enough juice to cover my electric bill 100%, so I added 4 more Q-Cell 405w panels over my garage in April. So far I've produced a little over 7MW and projecting forward through the end of December be closer to 7.3-7.5MW, or about 1MW more than I will use. I currently have a $450 credit with National Grid (I'm in northeastern MA). I installed a 1.5 ton mini split in my kitchen which should more efficiently cool my downstairs than my previous cooling system, and also produce heat in the shoulder months, cutting into my heating bill. My system cost $28k. but I got back $10k in federal and state tax credits. It should pay for itself in 6 or so years (I currently have a $9k loan on it for the next 4 years). Then it should result in no electric bill, and my heating bill cut by about 1/4 to about $1500/yr. I say it was well worth it for me.

[CraigJTStewart]

Thanks Matt, I have been retrofitting a 25 year old home with a remodel, taking the opportunity to install as much solar (25 panels), batteries (2xPowerwall2), AirSource heat pump as possible.. In the process of remodelling I have been amazed at how insulation standards have changed over the past 25/30 years, I suspect my wife is going to very pleased with the result, and like you, I'm exporting a little more than we consume.
You have to be quite privileged at this point to do *all* of that, but actually it is all worth it.

[wheels]

Having just retired from Trane Commercial and being a service technician for 44 of those years. I've never seen a heatpump compressor that will last 30 years or even 10 year's. So you need to be pricing in a few compressor changes in your total cost to operate.
I have a 11 KWH solar system and A variable speed 96% furnace and a 18seer 2 stage Trane condensing unit. I only pay in the summer the minimum of $11.99 each month. Of course the gas goes up in December and the winter months to around $150.00 for a super insulated 6000 square foot house.
It'd be interesting to see how that comes in comparison.

[whoguy]

Been offgrid for four years. Have a 5kw pv with 40kwh battery. Works fine for the whole year because we're energy frugal.