Looking to get a pv system installed, looking for suggestions

 I've been reading about pv for a while now and at my office we use pv
for our whole office. Now I'm ready, but I don't know who to call or
where to start to have someone come look at my home and start the
process.

Can anyone in the Phoenix, AZ area make any suggestions as to who to
call to get this process started and if you have dealt with them, I'd
love to hear how your situation went.

To give you some idea as to what we use per month, I've inserted the
figures from SRP(utility) and described out lifestyle a bit.

My wife, 8 month old son and my Father live in an all-electric 2900 sq
ft house in Glendale.  My father moved in with us 2 years ago and
primarily watches tv all day.  My wife works weekends only and is home
with our son all day long with another tv on and does wash throughout
the week and during the day as well.  I work at home four to five days
a week and as such have three computers on all day long.  One runs 24
hours a day, every day of the week.  I do 90% of our cooking outside
on a charcoal grill or on a propane burner. With all of us there all
day long we use our AC quite a bit throughout the year.  Our intent
with this project is to invest in it as we would anything and let the
payoff be long term reducing our electric bill along the way.

Currently I'm paying on the basic rate plan with SRP at .08/kWh
May-Oct and .06 for the first 400 kWh and .04 for the rest during
Nov-Apr.

Bill            Read                                    Total
Month/Year      Date         Total kWh      # of Days   Charges

Apr 2004      Apr 20      2,330       32      $137.73
Mar 2004      Mar 19      1,950       29      $118.37
Feb 2004      Feb 19      2,170       30      $129.57
Jan 2004      Jan 20      2,230       33      $132.63
Dec 2003      Dec 18      1,770       30      $109.16
Nov 2003      Nov 18      1,710       29      $106.09
Oct 2003      Oct 20      2,790       32      $256.83
Sep 2003      Sep 18      3,420       31      $312.93
Aug 2003      Aug 18      3,580       32      $327.18
Jul 2003      Jul 17      3,440       30      $314.71
Jun 2003      Jun 17      3,020       32      $277.30
May 2003      May 16      1,640       28      $154.38
                  Totals        30,050          368     $2,376.88

If anyone has any suggestions or comments I'd love to hear them.

-richard

 

elzool wrote:


If you're looking to save money in the long run, you're probably better
off staying on the grid, unless you do some really serious conservation
(e.g., swamp coolers, assuming you have unlimited water to throw away).

Some quick numbers:

30,000 kWh per year = apx 82 kWh, on average, per day.  Assuming
(generously) that you get an average of 8 full-sun hours per day, that
means you need a 10 kW system.

The generally accepted low end estimate for costing out systems
(assuming non-battery, grid-tie, self-install) is around $5/Watt.  So
you're talking about a $50,000 investment.

Amortizing that over the course of 20 years, you're paying $2,500 per
year to avoid a cost of $2,400 per year -- except that you're paying all
that money up front.

Bottom line is that there's a chance you *might* break even, if:

 * energy costs go up significantly (probably, a good bet)
 * you install the system yourself
 * your borrowing costs are minimal (a bad bet, given the
political/economic situation)
 * my optimistic estimate of insolation is correct

 
It seems to me that you don't need PV, what you need is conservation. Cut
your kwh by 2 first, then consider alternative sources.

For instance, if your computer is on 24/7 along with the AC in summer, then
you pay once to HEAT your house (100+ watt from the computer) and you pay
TWICE to cool it. Not very smart. At least, switch off the screen to save.

Search any litterature about energy conservation, ask advice, hire a
professional... It's the first step and it pays back really fast.
Note: conservation does not mean less comfort. It only means less stupid
waste for the same result.


BTW, one person in a 50 m² flat in a building with moderate electric heating
and heavy use of one computer, I used 3,200 kwh in 2003. 1/10th of yours!

 
heating

4 Person in a 100 m² flat in a building, but heating by gas
heavy computer use, 1807 kWh


--
Roland Mösl
http://www.pege.org  Clear targets for a confused civilization
http://web-design-suite.com  Web Design starts at the search engine

 At 0.08 kwh, your getting a good deal.
Try conservation. CFL's, latest high efficiency refridgeration, Open the windows
more often.
May I sugest Solar hot water, cheaper than PV's.

Cheers