Then in January the solar panels went on the roof. I only needed a 5kW system and he guaranteed me that my total usage would be $0 for the year or he'd pay me the difference. Well he was pretty close. My years' use was barely what I would pay in a month.
The panels supposedly have a life expectancy of 25 years but I was told that that can be extended considerably if you periodically clean them so every year I clean them (soapy water, hose and squeegee). Whatever electricity I produce goes into my house for use first. What is excess goes into the power grid and if I produce more than I use for a month I have a credit on my bill that will be applied to next month's bill. To my understanding only if I over produce for a year will they actually send me any money but that hasn't happened yet, the most I've been at 0 has been 4 months in a row.
I have no idea what would happen if the state changes the reimbursement but I doubt it will affect me much since I don't count on the thought I will over produce all the time. I produce just below what I use for a year so I still have to pay the electric company.
I also made other changes (because I'm cheap, not because of some "belief" in global warming or saving the planet) so I added insulation to my ceiling crawl space, put in impact (hurricane) windows (high efficiency), changed out my pool pump to a multi stage pump and changed out my lighting to LEDs and I did those things before I went to the solar. I save between $3,000 and $4,000 a year depending on the cost of electricity.
I have also made a lot of changes to my 1972 house because I want to save money. I also have a drilled well and septic. I changed all my toilets and washing machine based on the amount of water going into my leach field.
I added insulation to attic, insulated hot water pipes, replaced exterior doors and caulked forever.
I even took off my exterior wall electric outlets and foamed around them. I live in NH where we are more concerned about heating than cooling.
How long will your invertor last? What will it cost to replace?