[Ipg-smz] Off the Grid

[Dennisf63]

On 09/05/2019 02:16 PM, Logan Harbaugh wrote:
>
> Another thing that makes a big difference is the price per KW of 
> electricity. Last time I looked into it, prices varied by more than a 
> factor of 10 from cheapest to most expensive, so time to amortize a 
> solar array can vary from less than a year to more than five. Local 
> utilities can also play a role – my city’s local power utility is 
> trying to get a proposal through the city council to eliminate the 
> credit for power returned to the system as well as charging a fee for 
> connecting to the grid. This is not in the least to any customer’s 
> benefit, it’s solely to improve profits for the utility.
>
And NYSEG is in the process of trying to push through a major 
electricity rate hike so they can, of all things, expand a major gas 
line (about 2 mi. north of me) to bring more fracked gas (Which I don't 
directly utilize myself.) up from Pennsylvania to the NE to encourage 
industrial growth. That unknown, of course, further scrambles the 
amortization calculations.

But then my well insulated all-electric house, with its ground-source 
heat pump, runs utility bills only $50 to $100/month almost year-round.

BUT, solar would cover any possible NYSEG power outages.

Which are very rare. In the 50 years we've lived here I can remember 
only two or three relatively short (one day? Maybe??) outages. And solar 
in upstate NY is dicey as it is, especially in the winter, and I do have 
a wood burning stove for emergencies, which also functions as a paper 
"shredder."

But still, no NYSEG bills? Tempting.

Oh, the house is paid for, I'm debt free and have the resources to stay 
that way. I have friends who, a few years ago, put solar panels on their 
barn roof and their home equity loan will be paid off in a few more years.

SO, it probably makes no sense for me anyway, but I'll continue 
researching, making no decision before next spring.

If I live that long.

-- 
Dennis Fowler
P. O. Box 70
Otego, NY 13825
dennisf63 at wildblue.net

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