info for newbies like me...what will a single 280 watts panel power?

[russ]

What is your electric cost per kWh?

[bsharp76]

Electric consumption depends on the home, location, type of heating, life style and many other things. 2700 is on the high - high side for most.

1 kWh (the basic unit on your bill) is probably in the 10 to 15 cent US range.

Your meter is a totalizer where it keeps adding up the kW consumed. Take a look at the meter and see if you can make sense of it - hard telling what type of meter it is. Older ones have the rotating disc and dials while newer ones are electronic and you push a button to cycle through the various readings. Usually there are tariff periods denoted T (total), T1 (time period one - here that is 11 daytime hours), T2 (time period 2 - 5 hours in the evening) and T4 (time period 3 - 8 hours at night), T4 that is not used. You have to cycle through the thing several times to understand it - there are probably a dozen different readings which you can ignore except for what I mentioned.

mines the old rotary deal. i only run a WH fridge and tv and lights occaionally n turn em off when i leave the room so its cheap.i just dont know how much to trust the estimatorsmy usage was last month 10.81 kWh / day if that helps

[russ]

Electric consumption depends on the home, location, type of heating, life style and many other things. 2700 is on the high - high side for most.

1 kWh (the basic unit on your bill) is probably in the 10 to 15 cent US range.

Your meter is a totalizer where it keeps adding up the kW consumed. Take a look at the meter and see if you can make sense of it - hard telling what type of meter it is. Older ones have the rotating disc and dials while newer ones are electronic and you push a button to cycle through the various readings. Usually there are tariff periods denoted T (total), T1 (time period one - here that is 11 daytime hours), T2 (time period 2 - 5 hours in the evening) and T4 (time period 3 - 8 hours at night), T4 that is not used. You have to cycle through the thing several times to understand it - there are probably a dozen different readings which you can ignore except for what I mentioned.

[bsharp76]

Somebody is pulling your leg. They would have to have 300 to 500 Kw turbine or larger to generate that much electricity.

A 500 Kw generator cost about $200,000 and that is just for the generator, and not the 200 foot tower and turbine blades which will cost considerable more than the generator.

In fact you can buy all the used 500 Kw generators you want today for pennies on the dollar from a wind farm that went bankrupt. Check it out

see that exactly why i ask questions cuz hear say means nothing. but according to math on a website i need 2700 watts a month to live self sufficient with a 55 dollar amonth electric bill. im just curious if u have a website that would explains the math invovled to come to this number and is it an accurate number in your eyes?

[russ]

Wind turbines are not something you set up and walk away from - they require maintenance and constant tinkering.

A wind turbine needs strong and constant flow. At rooftop level the air is turbulent and generally not useful so the towers - winds increase as the height of the tower increases.

I have seen some really big stories about the money made with wind turbines - I remember one fellow in Illinois was convinced farmers were getting rich with wind turbines but still farming the land. If you have any idea how much per acre a farmer can average over time it was obvious the people were lying about their income. I am saying to be very careful about those stories.

A good turbine is expensive - the cheap ones are only useful as boat anchors.

A good article by a guy in Canada (Rob Beckers) that sells turbines but wants people to know what they are getting in to can be found at http://www.solacity.com/SmallWindTruth.htm


Good information about wind can be found at Paul Gipe's site - he one of the top guys in the field internationally http://www.wind-works.org/

More good stuff from HomePower 2010 wind turbine buyers guide http://homepower.com/view/?file=HP137_pg44_Woofenden

Russ

[bsharp76]

May be a better option however the payback is similar.
You will need a couple of things
More money initially and a LOT more maintenance on a wind turbine.
Unless you live in the middle of a corn field with lots of open land around you maybe not.
you will also need to erect a tower that can be over 100 feet tall. The turbine needs to be above any obstructions by a good bit.
Lastly you will need enough land that if the tower falls it does not fall on your neighbors property.

ok thats shot im in a town with a neighbor 60 ft away at best.......i dont know what to do but its more principle with me that im sick of monopolies charging what they want so even if it took 30 yrs to pay off to keep my 6000 a yr out of their pockets its worth it too me. but i just need knowledgable help so im appreciative of your advice

[Sunking]

ive heard locals getting checks of 1500 every 3 months with windmills

Somebody is pulling your leg. They would have to have 300 to 500 Kw turbine or larger to generate that much electricity.

A 500 Kw generator cost about $200,000 and that is just for the generator, and not the 200 foot tower and turbine blades which will cost considerable more than the generator.

In fact you can buy all the used 500 Kw generators you want today for pennies on the dollar from a wind farm that went bankrupt. Check it out

[Naptown]

ive heard locals getting checks of 1500 every 3 months with windmills would that be a better route for me with ocean winds? im actually 5 miles inland from the bay not in ocean city

May be a better option however the payback is similar.
You will need a couple of things
More money initially and a LOT more maintenance on a wind turbine.
Unless you live in the middle of a corn field with lots of open land around you maybe not.
you will also need to erect a tower that can be over 100 feet tall. The turbine needs to be above any obstructions by a good bit.
Lastly you will need enough land that if the tower falls it does not fall on your neighbors property.

[bsharp76]

No it is not worth the expense to produce more than you use. yes Delmarva will pay you for your excess but only at their avoided cost which is less than half of what you are paying. There will be some months you over produce but that is credited toward your next bill. It is the end of the year that counts. The 25% price increase will only reduce the time till break even.

ive heard locals getting checks of 1500 every 3 months with windmills would that be a better route for me with ocean winds? im actually 5 miles inland from the bay not in ocean city

[Naptown]

No it is not worth the expense to produce more than you use. yes Delmarva will pay you for your excess but only at their avoided cost which is less than half of what you are paying. There will be some months you over produce but that is credited toward your next bill. It is the end of the year that counts. The 25% price increase will only reduce the time till break even.

[bsharp76]

Maryland is one of the better states for solar. Meaning there are a number of things that make it affordable.
First off for 3 KW you are looking in the 13-14K range. That's with panels made in north america micro inverters installed.
Now there is the 30% federal credit
Maryland has a grant worth $1000.00
And the last thing is SREC's or solar renewal energy credits.
A 3 KW system would produce about 4 a year. Current value is about $175.00
We are generally seeing break even at 4-6 years.

thanks for the info,my question is is it worth it to put more then i need trying to feed the grid or is the investment not worth the pay day? to save a minimal amount? they are jackin up our rates here 25% next yr thats why im researching it. even though i only pay 55 payin almost 70 is a big jump for same product i dont mind the intial investment its just im leary of short term vs long term is it worth it esp. with hurricane risk here we got lucky with irene this yr. but luck runs out

[bsharp76]

Brutal but honest. One of the first things newbies need to know is that residential solar and wind will do nothing to "save the planet" and if you're doing it to save money you are usually kidding yourself.

ill be respectful toward you it was brutal not sure about honest cuz i just dont know and thats what i want to learn.but im curious as far as your saving money comment ?ive heard of people over doing systems and getting checks for feeding power into the grid. my electric bill is only 55 a month i dont see how long term i cant save money seeing panels have a 25 yr warranty? id really love pro's and cons any help you can give is great

[Naptown]

ive become really interested in solar panel but its hard to find info as far as what a single panel can power but i want to start small and build up as i learn more about solar.my monthly bill is only 55 dollars so i wont need alot of watts im guessing (a calc. told me 2700 watts) but i really just wanna start with basics before i go and spend 20000 on a whole system and dont know anything about it.any help you can offer is appreciated,thanks

Maryland is one of the better states for solar. Meaning there are a number of things that make it affordable.
First off for 3 KW you are looking in the 13-14K range. That's with panels made in north america micro inverters installed.
Now there is the 30% federal credit
Maryland has a grant worth $1000.00
And the last thing is SREC's or solar renewal energy credits.
A 3 KW system would produce about 4 a year. Current value is about $175.00
We are generally seeing break even at 4-6 years.

[bsharp76]

You might try taking a math and home economics class first.

A 280 watt panel can generate about 5 to 15-cents per day electricity. Keep in mind it takes a $1000 dollars worth of equipment to make that panel work to save you that dime a day.

thanks for the sarcasm and no answer what so ever.......even if your information is accurate its a long term investment either way and i know that so i'd appreciate a little respect for askin for help first before i dove in over my head but instead i get a wiseass response when all i want is some information

[biggreen]

You might try taking a math and home economics class first.

Brutal but honest. One of the first things newbies need to know is that residential solar and wind will do nothing to "save the planet" and if you're doing it to save money you are usually kidding yourself.