From: peterwieck33@gmail.com   
      
   Latest proposal we had from a 'legitimate' solar installer (September) would   
   cost us $32,000 up front, $22,400 after subsidies, and have an 11year, 4 month   
   payback. Not my numbers. The installer offered, what he described as 'very   
   generous' financing at    
   3.2%. That comes it at $218.37 per month for ten years, or a total of   
   $26,204.40.  Extending the payback to just over 13 years. Again, not my   
   numbers, but those provided by the installer. This for a 10KW roof-mounted   
   installation. Not including any    
   related roof repairs. Yes, we have enough roof facing south to accommodate   
   this level of installation.    
      
   At this moment, we have a locked in contract with a renewable provider for our   
   electric power at $0.0630 KWH for the next three years, with four (4)   
   three-year options at a capped rise of 8% every three years. Our present   
   monthly electric bill (annual    
   average/12) is $140/month. Let's use the rate after the third option $152.28.    
   We will pay our local utility to transport the power in any case one way or   
   the other, but somewhat less for the power we consume on-site - which will not   
   be transported. So,    
   let's look at a blended rate of $0.10/KWH, vs. the $0.14 we are paying now for   
   both generation and transport. And let's use 20% of our present consumption.   
   So, we will still be paying the power company $37/month for small use, and   
   connection fees. So,    
   our average savings will be, in reality, very roughly $120/month. Factor   
   inflation, make that $200/month.   
      
   $26,204.40/200 = 131 months, several days. So, a better number is about an 11   
   year payback. Better than 'promised' by a few months. What we have not   
   calculated:   
      
   a) Any roof repairs - minimal in our case as the roof is only three years old   
   with a 30-year NDL warranty.   
   b) Increase in our homeowner's insurance - per our agent (Farmers), that would   
   come to about $400/year.    
   c) Maintenance & repair (M&R) - life of a single grid-tie inverter is about 10   
   years, and the cost would be about $3,500 installed. Micro-Inverters (panel   
   mounted) have about a 6-year life and require removal of the panel to repair.   
   Not cheap. Does not    
   include snow and leaf removal. Solar panels are series-mounted cells, so if   
   one cell goes 'dark' the entire string goes dark.    
   d) Eventual removal, disposal, and roof repair at end-of-life.    
      
   Or, I can have power delivered from the Rocky Ridge wind farm in central PA at   
   a reasonable cost. And have someone else worry about it.    
      
   And, take that same $218.37 and put it into an annuity at 4.2% - what they are   
   paying these days - and have $37,208 in the bank after that same 11 years.    
      
   We are pretty efficient for a 4,200 s.f. three-story center-hall colonial   
   built in 1890. We use splits (SEER 25) for heating and cooling, central  heat   
   is a 97% efficient boiler, and there are thermostatic valves on the radiators.   
   So, we can keep the    
   house at a reasonable 58 - 60F in the winter, and eight rooms have splits in   
   them which we may set at any temperature we like.    
      
   And, at no time did we steal from other taxpayers.    
      
   Peter Wieck   
   Melrose Park, PA   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)