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Lotus, Helco does do some net metering, and SunEdison has installed some commercial accounts in Pahoa. (Not positive on this fact, but I seem to recall that Helco will only offset the electric you use, and at a reduced rate. Some Electric co will allow you to get a credit if you use less...)
We are still looking into that, there were some very attractive incentives (0% finacing, state & federal credits & such) but the house is there yet... There are some very good installers on island, so that you will get some fanastic assistance on this.
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Carey,
Is there a website for any of the credit program through the state or other agencies?
Net metering is great (green efficient) because you are giving back power to the utility so there is a contribution to the carbon stamp instead of using uneccesary power and you get credits when you need them at night and storms when you cannot draw enough power.
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Net Metering. Well, from what I heard... Helco will deduct (credit your usage) say, like in California or Arizona if you consume less KW's as your meter spins backwards they will actually cut you a check!!! But helco will not they will just give you a bill of zero dollars not bad but would be nice to make 41 cents for every KW you put back onto the grid. Anyway... There are a few big positives to net metering ...
One, no batter bank... So no need to spend big bucks on 10-15 huge lead acid batteries.
Two, No Maintenance. You'll never have to worry about making sure batteries are topped off with water or replacing them when they fail.
Three, No worries about destroying your batteries when they get past 30% level and you'll never run out of juice. If you need more helco will provide you with more.
It's a win win situation in my book tho, helco doesn't like it since they are not making any money off you and they are not getting a pay back from running poles and lines to your home or sending out that crew to repair the lines or maintain the system IE Poles, Generators, etc...etc...
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Eric, I am pretty sure that with the HELCO plan, you do not get a $0 bill, they still do bill for the utility charge (still a deal, but not all the way to zero or a credit as some states/utilities allow)
Also, some people have have meter complaints (both mainland & here)... about the metering use versus panel production not being true... so it is something you should be looking at....
And when power is out on the grid, you do not have power at your house (this is to protect your system & the grid & any utility workers that are working on the lines when the grid is down.) For some this is no problem, but if you are looking at grid tied to also tide you over during a power outage, a basic grid tied system is not the way to go. (there are ways to isolate your system, but this adds $$ and some of the costs may or may not be included in the credits...
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We are almost, (I say almost because we still have a helco connection, but we dont really use it much)off the electic grid. Its very nice. My last bill was 22 dollars. As long as you have a good system, you can live a pretty much normal life. Its especially nice when the power goes out, we don't even know it. It brings a feeling of freedom and independance as well. Kinda like being self-employed. Our system has 24 6 volt workaholic interstate batteries and 24 kyocera 130 watt pv's with two outback charge controllers and a xantrex 4024 60 hz inverter. Works great!
Daniel R Diamond
Daniel R Diamond
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wow, 24 - 130 Watt Panels. Yeah, I'd say that would be enough to be off grid... If you don't mind, what did a system like that set you back? Also, who put the system in or did you just buy your own parts and wire it up yourself? Anything you'd have done differently?
If I had a set up like that then I'd be cutting ties with helco.
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At first we purchased a system on the mainland. It had 8 panels and 16 batteries one charge controler and a 3024 less than great inverter and all the switches n'stuff. It was 10,000ish. The rest of the panels we bought used, wich saved a bunch of cash. So when we saw that we could produce so much power we got more (8) batteries and hooked the whole house up to it. Then we noticed that the inverter wasn't so great, so we upgraded to a really good one. And with a 24 volt system we needed another charge controler to handle all the juice. Finding 16 used 130's isnt a common thing. I feel like it was a great blessing. As far as instalation we did it all. We did get some adivce on how to maintain and set controls etc... from the solar man. But its been a great learning experience. Our next project is to build a tracking system to put all those panels on. You can get 25-40% more just by following the sun.
If I knew then (when I started) what I know now I would have built the battery box bigger, to be able to expand in the future. Extending the battery bank also meant buying more, very expensive cables, so I would have made the original main cables long enough to reach 24 batteries. As for the final cost im not sure because it was over the course of a year. I guess if you want solar, buy a pv system, not a new car, because they're about the same cost. If you can afford to buy a new car, you can afford solar.
We still have helco due to the large shop equipemt and large water pump. However, we have the ability to completey cut them off if and when we want.
Daniel R Diamond
Daniel R Diamond
