Senior Member
Joined: 11/12/2020
Location: CanadaPosts: 138
| Posted: 02:52pm 19 May 2024 |
You’re probably wondering, can DIY solar payback be that bad? Well let’s look at a local headline.
“The Ford government has spent more taxpayer money subsidizing hydro bills than it has spent on long-term care. In the four budgets since 2019, a cumulative total of $23.6 billion has been devoted to electricity cost relief programs, $2 billion more than budgeted for long-term care in the same time period.” as reported by CBC.
Here is what the pricing has been for the last few years. Keep in mind that $1.12AUD =$1CAD=$.73USD and that on top of the per KW charge, there is a connection charge of ~$40/ month that goes up marginally as you use more KW.
So when electricity is heavily subsidized, it’s hard to get a system to pay for itself.
Regardless, I am now classifying this project as a hobby, so am moving ahead with an upgrade.
So the plan now, is to upgrade the battery, inverter and panels. Hydro also has a special rate which I presume is tailored for EV owners, with the ultra low off peak rate of $.028/KWH on weekday evenings. To offset this, the peak rate is higher with this plan. I think I will switch to this plan, once I have everything up and running and use night Hydro to recharge my batteries when I don’t get enough solar. This way, theoretically there may be a break even point at some point in the future.
Current system (~3yrs running): 5kw battery, 800w 8010 based inverter running some fridges and freezers. No BMS, no MPPT, no worries!
Cost payback would have been better if I had more solar. These 300w rated panels were free though.
