Electricity total was $91.47 with the charge for the electricity at $40.83. The rest was delivery, riders and taxes.

Natural gas would have been $144.62 with the charge of the gas at $69.96. The rest was delivery, riders and taxes. I am on budget so I pay $83.00 every month except August when the balance it out.

 

Utilities, Taxes, and Insurance will eventually be what forces us to downsize. ( UTIs are painful right?)
The cost of operation and ownership are pretty brutal, gag-worthy even.

 

My combined utilities run $3,500 year. No complaints. In the winter we keep the heat at 73° with a constant fan 24/7. Very comfortable. We don't worry about the electric bill. I never bother reading the break down but our elec. was $84 plus $95 other = $187 for month (which ran Xmas lights the entire month inside and out). Gas was $120 plus $78 other for a total of $198. So it was a pricy month due to gas usage, up 28% over last year's and $100 over our equal monthly pay plan but it will work out. I've track every month since 2009.

 

My monthly costs are reasonable, three of us in the home. My wife goes crazy on Christmas lights but most months electrical cost it is good. My electrical bill went up about $50 a month due to my plug in hybrid daily driver being plugged in , but I saved about $150 a month in gasoline costs as I can go to work and home in perfect conditions on a single charge. Our natural gas costs are about 75 a month for 12 months equal billing. Our newer home is cheaper to heat than our previous home based on design and size differences. We also moved out of a region with higher property taxes to lower cost region, so that helps. All new energy efficient appliances. I charge my hybrid during evening and weekend hours.

 

My prior post got the wheels in the ol' noggin cranking.
I'm starting to think this spring's big project will be a big-a$$ solar array on the roof.
Maybe 20KwH for starters.
And no, I do not think I will be doing the DIY install. One has to remember I've been banished from the roof.
I will be heavily involved in the design and specification of the system.

 

I wish I had done one at my home, but just never got one done. I was dealing with a company a few years back at my other home and I was close to signing a deal. But there was an odd issue at the time where they could not guarantee that you would be connected to the grid (to sell electricity costs back to the grid at a high rate) . It was lucrative to sell electricity to the grid, if you were just using the electricity to power your home the payback was really long. Since they could not promise a connection at any specific date we did not proceed with the deal.

 

Based on current calculations, I don't expect to ever sell back to the grid.
Except for intraday, sell during the day, use it that night.
I'm considering batteries.

 

Some thoughts on solar panels. Jerry, I am sure you’ll do your research when it comes to solar panels. As you know, it’s a big up front investment but tax incentive certainly help. You need a location that is not shady and faces south. You need a roof that is fairly new; you don’t want to have to install new roofing a few years after installing the panels. Making your home efficient and comfortable should be the first priority, then panels. I have no idea how cloudy days impact panels but I know in Michigan really sunny days are pretty rare. When a friend moved to TN he was awestruck how much sun they get.

 

^ I see a lot of roof mounted solar panels with snow on them in past weeks, maybe an installation on the ground is better so you can clean them off easily. They do require regular cleaning even in hot weather conditions.

 

Joey, I bet in Canada you can wicked good deals on panels right now.
When the US said no Chinese panels it created a worldwide glut driving the cost down. ( for the rest of the world)


Dave,
see Jerry does solar (maybe?) thread https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-vi...maybe-1221070/