Have you looked into partially converting your home to off grid solar instead? Basically you have your home running solar during the day and any excess/night time energy required you can get from the power company as usual
Comment on U.S. residential solar on the brink of collapse
WHARRGARBL@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Currently living in the sunniest city in the world, but had to pass on solar panels. Choices are to either buy outright or lease. The lease option is predatory as hell, but the cost of buying and maintaining outweighs the eventual savings because the power company monopoly keeps juking credits. American fuckery strikes again.
pdqcp@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 hours ago
invertedspear@lemmy.zip 16 hours ago
If that person lives where I do, the local power company has stupidly high rates for doing that. The only real way to save is to go completely off grid. There are two plans, one pays you almost nothing for the excess solar produced, the other charges you “high demand” rates if you exceed some arbitrary usage number at your peak even if you produced all the power yourself. It’s so freaking confusing for no reason other than to punish you for trying to offset your power bill with solar energy.
WHARRGARBL@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
I see you’re an APS hostage, too.
invertedspear@lemmy.zip 13 hours ago
SRP, but they’re pulling the same shit, protecting outdated business models.
humanspiral@lemmy.ca 6 hours ago
This generally means a small solar system. Cost per watt is higher than larger systems.
SolarMonkey@slrpnk.net 16 hours ago
You may want to look into installing used solar from solar farms. They have to periodically swap their panels and stuff, but they still work fine and have most of their efficiency/life left in them, but for a HUGE cost reduction over buying them new.