Time of Use Bill Credits with SCE

[Stomp]

Thought I'd post and close out my TOU experience for the year - and a small clarification for any potential SCE TOU customers.

I ended the year with a credit of about $190. Going into the winter I had a credit of approx. $450 and whittled away at that during the lower generating winter months. All in all I'm very happy having paid about $12.00 for my electricity for the year (monthly taxes of about $1.00), down from monthly bills that ranged from $250.00 - $350.00 on average.

My only disappointment was that I thought I'd get some benefit, even negligible, for the credit I had generated. However, since I was still a net "user" of electricity (my off peak usage outweighed my on-peak generation) I get exactly $0.00. This wasn't clear to me before, so now I know to kick up the AC a bit more this summer. I have no desire to leave any economic benefit on the table for our friends at SCE.

[russ]

Thanks for updating us on your system & experiences!

RUss

[kingocat]

Thought I'd post and close out my TOU experience for the year - and a small clarification for any potential SCE TOU customers.

I ended the year with a credit of about $190. Going into the winter I had a credit of approx. $450 and whittled away at that during the lower generating winter months. All in all I'm very happy having paid about $12.00 for my electricity for the year (monthly taxes of about $1.00), down from monthly bills that ranged from $250.00 - $350.00 on average.

My only disappointment was that I thought I'd get some benefit, even negligible, for the credit I had generated. However, since I was still a net "user" of electricity (my off peak usage outweighed my on-peak generation) I get exactly $0.00. This wasn't clear to me before, so now I know to kick up the AC a bit more this summer. I have no desire to leave any economic benefit on the table for our friends at SCE.

Hey Stomp, How much did it cost you to install the solar panel? Which company did you chose? Are you getting a couple hundred dollar credit every month from the electric company?


Thanks

[russ]

Hey Stomp, How much did it cost you to install the solar panel? Which company did you chose? Are you getting a couple hundred dollar credit every month from the electric company?


Thanks

190$ for the year - this is not a get rich quick scheme

[kingocat]

190$ for the year - this is not a get rich quick scheme

I wonder how much he paid for his system. Do you have a solar panel system?

I'm thinking about leasing one from solarcity. Any advice?

Thanks

New here.

[russ]

Where are you located? Makes a big difference.

[kingocat]

Where are you located? Makes a big difference.

HI,

I"m in Orange county, CA. by disneyland/knotts berry farm.

[russ]

HI,

I"m in Orange county, CA. by disneyland/knotts berry farm.

Monthly average kWh consumption?

[Ian S]

190$ for the year - this is not a get rich quick scheme

He didn't even get that did he? As I understood his post, he lost that:

My only disappointment was that I thought I'd get some benefit, even negligible, for the credit I had generated. However, since I was still a net "user" of electricity (my off peak usage outweighed my on-peak generation) I get exactly $0.00.

Here in AZ, they keep track of actual kWh credited and pay us at year's end at a low $0.06/kWh rate. Better than nothing and discourages responses like that of the poster who plans to waste more electricity in the summer so no one winds up winning.

[Ian S]

I wonder how much he paid for his system. Do you have a solar panel system?

I'm thinking about leasing one from solarcity. Any advice?

Even though you live in California where rates have tended to increase over the years, avoid a lease where they build in an annual escalator. Also, make sure you really save a significant amount of money (lease payment + new electric bill) vs old electric bill. By significant, I'd say somewhere around $100/mo or more. Otherwise, when you go to sell your home you may have a lot of handwaving to do to convince your buyer to take over the payments. In any event, keep lots of detailed records of the savings so you can prove to a buyer what a great deal it is.

Get a copy of the lease before you sign and go over it in detail so you know exactly what you're getting into. It is a 20 year commitment after all and adds to the complexity of selling your home. You might also look at other companies' leases too - I got one here in Arizona with Sunpower although it's prepaid.

There's been plenty of discussion of leasing pros and cons in this forum so search the archives.

[kingocat]

Monthly average kWh consumption?

We use about 800 -1000 KWH per month.


thanks

[kingocat]

Even though you live in California where rates have tended to increase over the years, avoid a lease where they build in an annual escalator. Also, make sure you really save a significant amount of money (lease payment + new electric bill) vs old electric bill. By significant, I'd say somewhere around $100/mo or more. Otherwise, when you go to sell your home you may have a lot of handwaving to do to convince your buyer to take over the payments. In any event, keep lots of detailed records of the savings so you can prove to a buyer what a great deal it is.

Get a copy of the lease before you sign and go over it in detail so you know exactly what you're getting into. It is a 20 year commitment after all and adds to the complexity of selling your home. You might also look at other companies' leases too - I got one here in Arizona with Sunpower although it's prepaid.

There's been plenty of discussion of leasing pros and cons in this forum so search the archives.

Ian,

I was told by Solarcity that everything would be free in exchange for them to use my roof to generate electricity so they can sell it to the electric company. There would be a 20 year lease and I would pay about $10-20 bucks for the term of the lease. I don't have the contracts but I'm in the process of having a solar consultant come by to look at my home.

[Stomp]

Ian,

I was told by Solarcity that everything would be free in exchange for them to use my roof to generate electricity so they can sell it to the electric company. There would be a 20 year lease and I would pay about $10-20 bucks for the term of the lease. I don't have the contracts but I'm in the process of having a solar consultant come by to look at my home.

Hi Kingocat,

Here is the original thread I started when I was considering solar - gives some background.

http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?3195-Looking-for-help-deciding-on-system-amp-panels

I ultimately went with a Sunpower system sold by Revco Solar in Laguna Hills (the first bid I reference above). The system cost about $28k +/- after tax credits and SCE rebates. We paid for it vs. leasing since we consider this a long-term home and I didn't want to deal with leasing (and any issues that *might* arise from that). Furthermore, I looked at it as a long-term bond that pays approx. $2,500 - $3,000/year (roughly my annual electric bill before solar because we always ended up in tier 5), with an escalating return as rates increase.

TOU has ended up making a difference for us, because the credits on straight net metering are minimal given the low wholesale rates SCE pays out.

Honestly I can't speak too intelligently on lease vs. buy because I went in focused on buying. Good luck and feel free to ping me with any questions.

[SoCalsolar]

SC 10-$20 a month hold on to your wallet

Keep us up to date on your search. I'm curious to know how much "10-$20 a month" costs these days.

[russ]

Keep us up to date on your search. I'm curious to know how much "10-$20 a month" costs these days.

Well stated - sounds like there is a snake oil salesman out there.