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Yesterday I received a letter from Helco saying I could switch my solar net metering to a feed in tariff. The idea with the FIT is that Helco will pay you for what you produce.
With net metering if you produce more than you use at the end of the year you loose and Helco keeps any surplus.
Sounds like FIT is better, right? But...it costs at least $200 to set up the account and then it costs $25 per month for a "meter reading fee." Maybe if you have a very big system this will be a better deal, not not for the typical rooftop system.
My rough calculation says that at .30 KW you would need to produce over 80 KWH per month just to get your $25 back.
Jerry
Art and Orchids B&B
http://www.artandorchids.com
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It may not be worth it to you (or me either), but now Helco gets to say they are offering FIT.
Puna: Our roosters crow first
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FIT seems like a bad idea for residential producers who use net metering. With net metering, aren't you getting the full retail rate for the electricity that you put back into the grid?
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My understanding of net metering is that, yes, you are credited at retail for the electricity you produce. However,if you generate more than you use, the excess is not paid for. There are also fees associated with administration of the net metering system. Primary advantage of the system is that you do not require batteries to run your power after dark. (edited for typos)
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We have net metering.
Credit is given for what we produce each month.
If we produce more than we use, the extra is credited to us and the credit can be carried over for up to 12 months.
If we produce less than we produce, then we use some HELCO electricity and pay the difference and/or our built-up credit is reduced.
There is about $19/month fee whether we have use any HELCO electricity or not.
Some months we pay (~$20-$40) depending on the amount of sunshine and use (having visitors means using more).
Some months we only pay the $19 fee ('minimum payment').
Over all we produce 75% or more of our electricity year-round.
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May I ask what sort of total efficiencies are you getting out of your installed solar PV systems? I am trying to figure out what size of solar PV system I would need to install. Most online calculators seem to ask for the "derate" factor.
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Yes, you could ask. But you would get a more coherent answer from the people we bought it from -- ProVision.
At the time (2005), we went through the exercise of finding a supplier who could match our needs to capacity. The $$ is what I was focussed on, more than engineering specs.
Technology is changing rapidly so that 2011/12 models will do a lot better.
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James -- Thanks.
I am planning to go with ProVision as well. Did you use the Sunpower panels?
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At the moment, Costco has some really good prices on some large panels. They run out of them pretty quick, but they had some there two days ago.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
