I screwed up badly with my understanding of NET GRID here in Massachusetts.

[foggysail]

Yeah, I searched and searched and thought I was ''SOLAR SMART!'' No, no indeed!

I originally contracted for 25 Canadian 400W panels with Enphase IQ8+ inverters with a maximum continuous output of 190W. Spent close to $15K for tree removal and was getting more anxious by the day. Heck, even printed out the annual expected solar hours per day. The more I thought about this the greedier I got thinking of all the $----$ I could get from my electric company for Net Grid. So just before my installation started I upped my panel count from 25 to 28 and later felt I should have gone with 30+ panels. And by no means did I want power clipping so out with the IQ8+'s and in with the Iq8A's. My system has balls......but!

These spring/summer months were good to me! Heck, my system was activated on 20 October 22 and as I type it has produced 8100KWHs and there are 3 1/2 months of future production before I rack up my first full year. I now enjoy a net grid benefit from Eversource Electric Company of $1,160.89 of NET GRID DOLLARS!!! My installed system cost $34,500 big ones so with this net grid bucks plus the Fed 30% tax benefit along with Massachusetts' $1000 tax credit AND NET GRID, I figured my system would pay for itself in just over 6 years. OH, Massachusetts also offers a Smart Program (peanuts) of $0.25/produced KWH minus whatever the local electric company charges per KWH. Eversouce was about 25-26 cents/KWH most of the spring so go figure.

Getting back to Net Grid!!!! Yes indeed, all unused produced KWH's can be sold back to the electric companies-----------yeah, the electric companies convert those unused hours to bucks CREDIT, not BUCKS into my pocket!!! Someone once called me a smartass. GEES, he was so right

Foggy

[J.P.M.]

Yeah, I searched and searched and thought I was ''SOLAR SMART!'' No, no indeed!

I originally contracted for 25 Canadian 400W panels with Enphase IQ8+ inverters with a maximum continuous output of 190W. Spent close to $15K for tree removal and was getting more anxious by the day. Heck, even printed out the annual expected solar hours per day. The more I thought about this the greedier I got thinking of all the $----$ I could get from my electric company for Net Grid. So just before my installation started I upped my panel count from 25 to 28 and later felt I should have gone with 30+ panels. And by no means did I want power clipping so out with the IQ8+'s and in with the Iq8A's. My system has balls......but!

These spring/summer months were good to me! Heck, my system was activated on 20 October 22 and as I type it has produced 8100KWHs and there are 3 1/2 months of future production before I rack up my first full year. I now enjoy a net grid benefit from Eversource Electric Company of $1,160.89 of NET GRID DOLLARS!!! My installed system cost $34,500 big ones so with this net grid bucks plus the Fed 30% tax benefit along with Massachusetts' $1000 tax credit AND NET GRID, I figured my system would pay for itself in just over 6 years. OH, Massachusetts also offers a Smart Program (peanuts) of $0.25/produced KWH minus whatever the local electric company charges per KWH. Eversouce was about 25-26 cents/KWH most of the spring so go figure.

Getting back to Net Grid!!!! Yes indeed, all unused produced KWH's can be sold back to the electric companies-----------yeah, the electric companies convert those unused hours to bucks CREDIT, not BUCKS into my pocket!!! Someone once called me a smartass. GEES, he was so right

Foggy

An example for any people still considering residential PV to read over.
You gotta' read the fine print and all the references for any NEM agreement - at least twice - and always be thinking cynically about how you can get screwed. In situations such as you describe, it helps to think like your opponent - in this case, the POCO - and remember there ain't no free lunch.

Thank you for your candor.

[Mike 134]

Foggysail don't be so hard on yourself..........that $1000+ credit what happens to it at the end of a12 month cycle? Here in Illinois mine goes POOF! Doesn't MA also buy your RECs or did the installer take those and use it towards your purchase price?

[foggysail]

Foggysail don't be so hard on yourself..........that $1000+ credit what happens to it at the end of a12 month cycle? Here in Illinois mine goes POOF! Doesn't MA also buy your RECs or did the installer take those and use it towards your purchase price?

My net grid production began in March with the last couple of months producing the most as one would expect. My guess is that my total production will approach 11,000KWH (DC rated for 11.2KW) total for the year which will be about 3,000 greater KWH than I will consume. I might credit a percentage of that overproduction to a family member and save them a few bucks. Others might benefit from my experience, don't install more than you expect to use. GOOD OLD MASSACHUSETTS!!!! Homeowners are allowed to GIVE away their Net Grid production $$$................ONCE AND ONLY ONCE! The state will allow the producer to share what they produce but only one outright gift. And the State limits where one can gift or share. The transfer must be within the same zone as determined by the utility. All the Net Grid restrictions cause one to believe it was the utilities that wrote those laws under the guise of ''trying to help homeowners! Don't bend up too quickly, you might break their stick!

I just do not understand why solar leasing companies around here try to stick a solar panel into every available space onto people's homes. Back to REC's! No REC's here in Massachusetts. The State came up with a program (Smart Program) to protect (yeah---some bull $h!t) homeowners from the varying REC prices. So they introduced Smart which pays for that produced using a separate meter for production for 10 years. The GOTCHA is they have a limit of $0.25/KWH minus that which the local utility is charging for the KWH's they sell to homeowners. This last spring Eversource was charging almost $0.25/KWH PLUS ANOTHER $0.15-0.18 OR SO FOR DISTRIBUTION.

[foggysail]

An example for any people still considering residential PV to read over.
You gotta' read the fine print and all the references for any NEM agreement - at least twice - and always be thinking cynically about how you can get screwed. In situations such as you describe, it helps to think like your opponent - in this case, the POCO - and remember there ain't no free lunch.

Thank you for your candor.

Yes, I AGREE with all the above except my STONG belief giving KWHs back to a POCO is a free lunch for THEM under current Massachusetts laws.

[J.P.M.]

Yes, I AGREE with all the above except my STONG belief giving KWHs back to a POCO is a free lunch for THEM under current Massachusetts laws.

It would seem so, but since POCOs aren't generally known to be the biggest fans of residential PV, perhaps another reason might be to discourage potential users from oversizing a system - with (near) future (over)sizing for such things as an EV excepted.

[scrambler]

Time to buy electric cars, switch to all electric appliances and run extension cords to your neighbors

[SunEagle]

Time to buy electric cars, switch to all electric appliances and run extension cords to your neighbors

Or just use less electricity and stop worrying about how much a POCO makes on what you send them.

[scrambler]

Or just use less electricity and stop worrying about how much a POCO makes on what you send them.

That too.

Basically just be happy someone is benefiting from your investment in transforming sun energy into electricity

[foggysail]

Time to buy electric cars, switch to all electric appliances and run extension cords to your neighbors

That is never in this lifetime going to happen but to each his own. My payback is still going to happen even without Netgrid, it will just take longer. Netgrid was NOT an incentive to install solar, just an incentive to add more panels and better inverters.

IMHO what is seriously being overlooked is some ahole with a 22 caliber or larger rifle taking pot shots at sub-station high voltage transformers. Just penetrating the metal enclosure without damaging the internal wiring will still cause failure when the internal oil leaks out. Something like this can create a huge grid failure. This has already happened recently with minor disruption but with the right substation it can be a disaster. Substation security needs greater importance