We're going solar!
But maybe not for the usual reasons. The State of Illinois has some really nice programs in place for small scale/low income solar and quite a different power structure than I was used to in Washington. Let's not get into big political debates, but most of the Federal support for solar is going away with the start of the new year. Right now the federal support will let me have a Tesla house battery, and that battery is a big part of our decision. The battery isn't for storing up multiple days of power, it allows the appliances and other things run at night.
As I keep saying, part of our move was about being closer to our food sources. For the husband, that is mostly meat. We will be buying half cows, pigs, etc. and even though we are buying in bulk, we are also buying in quality and it is not cheap. A full freezer represents about $3-5k to me which I still consider a pretty big investment. We've already had various blips in power including 3 days without, and I wanted a back up power source and have been looking into various options, like a Generac or similar whole/partial house generator.
This solar plan will actually be my back up power to keeping the freezer on, even though it will power the full house and be my primary.
With this plan, I actually have no out of pocket expenses, nor pay later. Our house has been designed for 130% capacity, to allow us further growth should we need it, while also providing power into the grid. We are still connected to the grid and everything is automatic, surplus power feeds into the grid, and if power is needed, it comes back into the house. It is considered a small solar plant. We will still have a bill. That bill will be slightly less than before, but mostly about the same because we will still have to pay for the power we use but solar generated power is charged at regulated rates less than general source power. We will get a slight credit for the power we generate, but the solar energy provider gets a profit too because the panels are part of their "infrastructure" even though it is on my roof. But -- my freezer will stay on.
We are still in the forms/approval process. Probably install/switchover will happen in November, which really isn't the best month to test solar performance. Let's hope all goes well for us, our freezer, and the planet!!