![\"PV](\"http:\/\/www.stonemillkids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/PV-Solar-from-the-Front1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Logical Array<\/p>\n
The Bird’s Eye View<\/p>\n I just replaced the AC system of the main house (2016) with a 3.5 ton, 16 seer, 8.2 HSPF system.\u00a0 The big white area in the picture above is an in-law suite with a separate 2-ton system that is of unknown age or SEER.\u00a0 We keep the in-law suite cooled to 82F to keep the mold away and the electric bills low.<\/p>\n I have two hot water heaters, but I keep the one in the in-law off, unless we have guests.\u00a0 Since I have not been in the house for more than one year, I do not have a good idea of overall kW usage per month.\u00a0 I do have two good base months.<\/p>\n April 900kW –\u00a0without any AC running<\/p>\n July 2500 kW – Full AC running<\/p>\n My wife and I both work from home so we do not get the typical energy saving of being away during the day.\u00a0 This means to reach Net Zero, I have to work harder than most.<\/p>\n My system specifically is an 8.37kW Solar PV Solar Edge system installed in August 2016.\u00a0 I have individual power optimizers on each of my 31 panels that feed into one large inverter.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you want to see the performance of my system, Solar Edge provides a real-time website of my system<\/a>.\u00a0 I took a screenshot just after the first month’s production.\u00a0 Look at how much impact we already had on the environment after generating 12,100kWh of electricity.<\/p>\n That is like planning 1.5 trees a day simply by having the PV Solar array sit on your roof.<\/p>\n An acre of land, if you are planting Christmas trees, has about 1100 trees\/acre. This means I generate one new forest every two years.\u00a0 Over the 20yr loan, I will have generated almost 11,000 trees or 10 acres of forest.<\/p>\n Said differently, I live on almost 1\/2 an acre.\u00a0 This is like planting 550 trees on my property each year.<\/p>\n In my area, if you go over 10kW, then there is an additional cost imposed by the power company, so I plan on reducing my electric consumption until I have a maximum of 10kW consumption.<\/p>\n My power company also buys electricity at a very discount rate in comparison to what I purchase it for.\u00a0 This means it is more cost-effective for me to get close to Net Zero as possible without going over.\u00a0 Since I did not want to go over, I started with an 8.37kW system.\u00a0 This gives me room to add 5 more panels if I need them later.\u00a0 I also went with a hybrid hot water heater but left room on the roof for Solar hot water.<\/p>\n Lastly, I did not get a Solar Attic Fan.\u00a0 I am not saying I won’t eventually, but for now, the money here I felt was better spent sealing my attic vents and upgrading the R-Value by adding blow-in insulation.<\/p>\n The basic PV calculations are as follows:<\/p>\n Average Daily Electrical Usage (in kW) \/ Average Hours of Sunlight = Total kW needed<\/p>\n So, from now forward, let us assume that in Orlando there is an average of 5hrs per day of sunlight.<\/p>\n This means,<\/p>\n 10kW * 5hrs = 50kW<\/p>\n or our maximum system is 50kW\/day<\/p>\n Assuming the average billing cycle is 30 days, this means that the maximum system can support 1500kW\/month<\/p>\n (30 * 50 = 1500)<\/p>\n You could also calculate the size of the system you need using our electric bill.\u00a0 If you know your average daily kW usage, simply divide that by the hours of daily light.\u00a0 Assuming your average monthly bill over the course of a year was 1500kW, the calculation would look like this:<\/p>\n 1500kW\/month \/ 30 days in a month = 50kW\/day<\/p>\n 50kW \/ 5hrs = 10 kW system.<\/p>\n Once you know how much your system needs to produce, you can calculate the total number of panels needed to generate the desired power output.\u00a0 PV solar panels range in the amount of electricity they generate. I assume you are buying the 255W panel from your solar installer.\u00a0 You can calculate the number of panels you need as follows<\/p>\n Total W \/ W in a Panel<\/p>\n 10kW = 10,000W<\/p>\n 10,000W \/ 255W = 39.22 Panels needed.<\/p>\n Now round up to 40 panels, because you cannot have a partial panel<\/p>\n 40 Panels * 255W = 10,200 kW<\/p>\n (this is higher than the 10kW so we need to subtract one or you will end up going above the residential limit.\u00a0 So I need to subtract one.\u00a0 For your calculations, you typically\u00a0want to round up).<\/p>\n Once you have the number of panels you are going to use, multiply the number of panels by the watts each panel produces:<\/p>\n 39\u00a0Panels * 255W = 9,945W , or 9.945kW<\/p>\n 9.945kW\u00a0*\u00a05 hours = 49.725kW \/ day or \u00a01,491kW \/month<\/p>\n The government has a very cool solar calculator called PV Watts<\/a> that will take your exact location and show you the annual savings.\u00a0 It takes a lot into account including system age, the direction the system is pointing, cost of electricity, etc.\u00a0 To get started, you simply need to guess the size of the system you need.\u00a0 Using 10kW is a good place to start.\u00a0 Once you have done a sample run, you can use their hours of electricity if you want.\u00a0 For my location, it was 5.3, not 5 as calculated above.\u00a0 However, I liked the idea of using 5 hrs because there have to be some efficiency losses.<\/p>\n According to PV Watts our generic 9.945kW system\u00a0would generate 14,630 kWh\/year or 1,219kW \/month.\u00a0 If you are doing solar calculations with your solar contractor, he can adjust the numbers to match the type of panels, your location, and the compass heading of the solar panels.\u00a0 For my real system, I would need to do this twice as I have two sets of panels facing two directions; one facing southeast and the other facing southwest.<\/p>\n My electric provider is Duke Energy.\u00a0 They have a graduated price structure for purchasing electricity.\u00a0 Meaning the first 1000kW are cheaper than 1001-2000kW and 2001-3000kW are even more expensive.\u00a0 Looking at a past 1500kW bill, it cost me about $160.<\/p>\n The cost of a Solar PV system, when I priced it, ranged from $2.70\/kW to $3.30\/kW.\u00a0 There was a large range of\u00a0equipment and\u00a0services involved at each of the price points.\u00a0 Some prices included permits, others did not.\u00a0 Some included solar hot water, others did not.\u00a0 Some offered hybrid hot water as an option.\u00a0 The point being, it is really hard to choose an “average” cost.\u00a0 As such, for my calculations, I will assume that just the PV + permits will be $3.00\/kW.<\/p>\n 10kW * $3.00\/kW = $30,000 for a 10K system (again no hot water)<\/p>\n If we paid cash, $30,000\/$160 per month = 187.5 months or 15.625 years to break even.<\/p>\n Currently, there is a 30% federal tax break or ($30,000*30% = $9,000)<\/p>\n This means the current system cost is $30,000 – $9,000 = $21,000.<\/p>\n $21,000\/160 = 131.25 months or 10.9 years<\/p>\n This means 10.9 years, you have an average return on investment of about 7.75% per year (tax-free).\u00a0 If you invested that money, you would have to pay taxes on your profits.\u00a0 To make an equivalent 7.75%. you would have needed to make about 9.3% per year with your investment.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n According to USA Today<\/a>, electric rates from 1990 to 2010 increased by 17%.\u00a0 Meaning instead of paying $160\/month, in 20 years, the cost would be about $190\/month.\u00a0 By buying a Solar PV system now, we are locking in the home electric rates at today’s rate of $160\/month.\u00a0 While this math is a little more complicated, in the same 11 year period, buying solar now saves a total of $750 over the next 10 years.\u00a0 While not substantial, it moves the equivalent ROI closer to 9.5% per year.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n The math on a solar loan is a little different.\u00a0 For example, if you do not have $20-30K, the cash investment calculations from above do not apply.\u00a0 So, let us consider what happens if you put $0 down and need to take out the complete $21,000.<\/p>\n Some folks use a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to purchase their Solar PV system, others take out a personal loan.\u00a0 Keep in mind that a HELOC may have a lower interest rate and most people can deduct the interest from their taxes.<\/p>\n If you do not have enough equity in your home or do not want to do a HELOC, there are other options.\u00a0 First Green Bank (now Seacoast) is offering a 5.99% solar loan for 20 years.\u00a0 I also found that Suntrust, and other banks, could offer personal loans at preferred rates if you were a higher tier customer.\u00a0\u00a0Once you get above 6%, the scales start to tip (slightly) in favor of staying with the power company… at least if you are installing solar just to save money.\u00a0 So, for the math in my examples, I am going to assume we are using a 6% loan.<\/p>\n But for my example, let us assume that over the next 10 years, you would be paying<\/p>\n $160\/mo * 120 mo = $19,200 in electricity.<\/p>\n The monthly payment on a $21,000 loan for 10 years would be approximately $210\/month<\/p>\n The\u00a0total amount paid back over the life of the loan would be just shy of $27,977.<\/p>\n This means the 10yr loan costs you $27,977 – $19,200,\u00a0= \u00a0$8,777<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n for 20 years you would be paying:<\/p>\n $160\/mo * 240 mo = $38,400 in electricity<\/p>\n The monthly payment on a $21,000 loan for 20 years would be $136\/month<\/p>\n The total amount paid back over the life of the loan would be just shy of $36,108.<\/p>\n This means the 20yr loan costs you $36,108 – $38,400,\u00a0= \u00a0-$2292<\/p>\n That means the cost of the loan for a 20-year system IS LESS than the cost of electricity paid over the same timeframe (you save $2292 over 20 years).\u00a0 The reason for that is your original electric bill was $160\/month, and instead you paid $136\/month for 20 years.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n So what about the 10-year system?\u00a0 Well to compare apples to apples, we need to think about this.\u00a0 With the 10 year loan, we spent a total of $27,977.\u00a0 That was the cost of electricity for the first 10 years.\u00a0 For the second 10 years, there was no payment required,\u00a0 Meaning the total cost of electricity for 20 years is still $27,997.\u00a0 If we bought electricity for $160\/mo it would have cost us $38,400.<\/p>\n $27,997 – $38,400 = -$10,403<\/p>\n Meaning, over the course of 20 years, the 10-year loan saves $10,403<\/p>\n Note:\u00a0 There may be minor maintenance costs expected on both systems.\u00a0 Since they are equal across the 10 or 20-year loan, I did not include them in my calculations.<\/em><\/p>\n –<\/p>\n If my Solar PV systems saves $160\/month that is like an extra $16,000 added to the value of the home. I have heard of people getting dollar-for-dollar for their investment.\u00a0 How is that possible? well, our neighbors could be paying $250\/mo in electricity.\u00a0 The same math applies, that the $250\/mo is approx. an extra $25,000 added to the value of the home.\u00a0 The cool part is, with a 30% tax credit, the 10 kW system only cost $21,000 originally.<\/p>\n So, as long a the Solar PV system is functioning, it is easily worth somewhere between $16-25,000.\u00a0 If we assume the average value is $21,500, then you only have to save $500 in electricity and then sell your house for $21000 more than you would have without solar.\u00a0 \u00a0You would then take that $21,000 and pay off your loan.<\/p>\n Oddly, the 20yr loan saves $500 sooner.<\/p>\n Current Electric Bill – New Loan = Monthly savings<\/p>\n $160 – $137 = $23\/mo in savings<\/p>\n $500\/23 = 21.7 months, or 1yr and 10 months.<\/p>\n If you count the extra 7% in commissions taken by the real estate agent, the math comes out to 7 years 2 months.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n For the 10-year loan, you are over paying what would have been your electric bill by $8,777.\u00a0 If you add the $500 you need to save, then you need to save a total of $9,277.<\/p>\n $9,277\/$160\/mo = \u00a0 10 yrs + 57.98 months or 14 yrs 10 months.<\/p>\n If you add the 7% commissions it comes out to 15 yrs 7 months.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n I really did not expect that from the numbers, but what I feel they are saying is with a 20-year loan, you save a little, but you so constantly save that little bit over time.\u00a0 For the 10 yr loan, you do not save much in the beginning, but it really catches up with you at the end.<\/p>\n A side lesson here is that you would really want a good warranty on your solar panels if you are taking out a 10yr loan.\u00a0 Personally, I would not do a 10-year loan unless the units had at least a 15-year warranty on them.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n For the cash purchase, to get your money back you simply need to save $500 ($1,970 if you include the 7% real estate commissions).\u00a0 That means $500\/$160 = 3.125 months and $1,970\/$160 = 12.31 months.\u00a0 So, for a cash system, you can expect to break even when you sell your house within one year… even if you sell the solar system for a loss. i.e. you paid $30,000, but sold it for $21,500.\u00a0 If you think the math does not make sense, remember the federal government gave you 30% or $9000.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n I went with a 20-year loan at 6%.\u00a0 This means by taking out the loan, I am making money with money that I otherwise would have given to the electric company.\u00a0 Sure it might take a little longer to see an ROI with the loan, but my ROI would have been zero before.<\/p>\n I am early into my loan, but I plan on splitting the difference.\u00a0 Meaning, while I continue to do whole-house improvements (like insulate my attic) I will pay the minimum.\u00a0 As my overall need for home improvements decreases, I plan on moving some of those finances to aggressively pay off the loan.<\/p>\n I have a Vanguard target fund<\/a> that averages about 10%, so my ROI for solar -vs- investing in the stock market is approximately the same.\u00a0 I feel this justifies paying off the solar loan quicker.\u00a0 Keep in mind, that I used to pay for electricity and I would not generally have the $160 to invest.\u00a0 So, the only “extra” money I am putting towards solar is any amount above the original $160 electric bill.<\/p>\n Every solar company I talked with pitched a hot water heater as part of the solution.\u00a0On average, Water heaters make up about 15% of the electric bill.<\/p>\n As a baseline, I picked a generic 50-gallon hot water heater from Lowes.\u00a0 The energy star guide tells you how many kWh\/year.\u00a0 These numbers are typically small for a family, but let us assume they are accurate for now.\u00a0 For this model<\/a>, it uses 4,622kWh\/year or 388kW\/hr per month!<\/p>\n Meaning of our 1500kWh we could drop our usage down to 1122kWh\/ month by\u00a0switching\u00a0to solar hot water.<\/p>\n This means if we switch to a solar water heater we can reduce the electric demand by 1500kW leaving our total need for the PV system to 8.5kW.<\/p>\n preforming the same calculation as above<\/p>\n 8.5kW * $3.00\/kW = $25,500.\u00a0 The same energy star guide shows that the average cost of electricity usage for a typical hot water heater is $555\/year.\u00a0 If the hot water heater costs $6000 to install, the ROI is 10.8 years.\u00a0 If you are striving to be NetZero, or you need to reduce your electric bill to say under the 10kW system, then solar hot water might be the right choice.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that Solar Hot water also gets a 30% tax credit in 2016<\/p>\n The best article I found on different types of hot water heaters<\/a> was by Energy Star.\u00a0 It goes into some detail about the different types and general costs.<\/p>\n Hybrid hot water heaters are also a big consideration in places like FL where they are often located in the hot garage.\u00a0 If you switch to a hybrid hot water heater, you can save about 12% of your electric bill, or 1,200kW as they still take a little electricity to run.\u00a0 Again choosing a random hybrid hot water heater<\/a>, I found the total kWh\/year to be 1351kWh\/year (a savings of 3,271 kWh\/yr or 272kWh\/month).<\/p>\n 8.8kW * $3.00\/kW = $26,400.\u00a0 This means to be cost effective, the solar hot water has to be less than $3,600 ($30,000 for the 10kW – the cost of the 8.8kW $26,400 = $3,600).<\/p>\n Meaning, We can save more by switching our hot water heaters out and paying less than it would have cost us to power the old hot water heater with the PV solar system.\u00a0 Said differently, if it costs less than $3,600 for the hybrid hot water heater, it is cheaper to switch out the hot water heater than purchase the panels to generate enough electricity to run the old one.<\/p>\n A hybrid hot water heater gets a $300 tax credit in 2016<\/p>\n LED Lights<\/a> cost about $150 total for a home and save about\u00a0$150-$300 per year<\/p>\n Sealing air ducts saves about 14% of your heating\/cooling costs about $1000<\/p>\n Improving attic insulation from an R-15 to R-39 saves about 10% of your heating\/cooling and costs about $1000<\/p>\n Getting a smart thermostat (like a Nest) saves about 10% of your heating\/cooling and costs about $250.<\/p>\n If we replace the lightbulbs, seal air ducts, add the insulating, and buy a smart thermostat we have spent about $2400 and saved about 20% of our bill. Remember that, it is only 34% of your heating\/cooling costs, not your overall bill.<\/p>\n Remember our bill was $160 and used $1500kW.\u00a0 From my old bills, I see that a 1200kW bill costs about $118.\u00a0\u00a0Heating\/Cooling in FL makes up about 60% of the overall bill.\u00a0 60%*34%* = 20%.\u00a0 That is a savings of $32\/month.\u00a0 $2400\/32 = 75 months or a 6.25 yr ROI.<\/p>\n 1200kW \/ 30 days = 40kW\/day, on average.\u00a0 This savings is about 10kW\/day by making the other improvements, regardless if you go solar or not.<\/p>\n Note that I did not include the hot water heater yet because that is often done by the same company that installs the Solar PV system.<\/em><\/p>\n To calculate our PV savings by doing the above, we can redo the system with the energy savings accounted for.<\/p>\n 40kW\/day\u00a0\/ 5hrs of daylight = 8kW<\/p>\n 8kW * $3.00\/kW = $24,000<\/p>\n $30,000 – $24,000 = $6,000 reduction in needed PV system<\/p>\n $6,000 – $2,400 (other improvements) = $3,600 in savings over trying to do everything with just a Solar PV system.<\/p>\n The moral of this side story is that you need to think of the house as a total system.\u00a0 Unless your house is new, there is a lot you should consider, before installing a solar PV system.<\/p>\n To calculate the savings above, simply subtract the new lower kW\/day from the original, or<\/p>\n 50kW – 40kW = 10kW\/day<\/p>\n To find the equivalent system, take that 10kW in savings and add it to the 50kW we started with and do the math one more time<\/p>\n 50kW + 10kW = 60kW\/day<\/p>\n 60kW\/day \/ 5hrs of daylight = 12.0kW<\/p>\n 60kW\/day * 30 days = 1800kW\/month<\/p>\n This means your typical power usage could be around 1800kW\/month and you would still have a shot at being a Net Zero home.\u00a0 Again, this is without the hot water heater.<\/p>\n Said differently, your neighbor could be paying the energy company $250 for 1800kW\/month, while you are paying nothing.\u00a0 Why is the math a little off?\u00a0 Remember Duke has a graduated cost system so the more electricity you use, the more expensive it is.<\/p>\n I added my Solar PV system to my Home Owners Policy by simply increasing the MAX replacement cost by $30,000.\u00a0 That cost me about $100\/year.\u00a0 \u00a0In most cases, I do not think this is necessary because it is attached to my house, and thus automatically covered.\u00a0 Since the panels are on my homeowners policy, I still use the standard $1000 deductible if a tree falls on my Solar, as any other part of the house.\u00a0\u00a0 If it was a lawn system, then the “other structure” coverage would need to be added.\u00a0 I generally did not feel that I needed the extra $100\/year but my house was slightly underinsured (and I have big trees on the North side).<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n In Florida, there is currently no sales tax on renewable energy purchases.\u00a0 There is also Amendment 4<\/a> that passed in August 2016 and states the value of renewable energy does not count towards the tax appraisal.\u00a0 Meaning that even though your property value just increased, there is no additional tax burden now or in the future.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Florida Home Owners Solar Rights Act<\/strong> – Another green law that Florida has is no homeowners association can prevent you from using renewable energy.\u00a0 This includes putting solar panels on the South side of your house even if that faces your Clubhouse or the HOA’s President’s bay window.\u00a0 I even read an article where a lawyer took the HOA to court (and won) because the homeowners wanted to screen in their garage stating it was natural cooling (Not that everything you read on the internet is true, but I thought that was worth propagating).<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Florida has a number of other laws that benefit Solar and renewable energy.\u00a0 The Florida Solar Energy Industries Association has a good summary of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Solar Power Rocks<\/a> – This site has a plethora of information.\u00a0 If you are considering Solar, this site is a must-read.\u00a0 However, please keep in mind that the site is heavily sponsored by the Solar industry, so watch where you click.<\/p>\n Energy Star <\/a>– This is the government’s site to\u00a0promote smart energy usage.<\/p>\n Federal Tax Credits<\/span><\/u><\/a> – Here is Energy Star’s website for Federal Tax Credits on renewable energy.\u00a0 I know it is a subsite, but I feel it is important enough to list it separately.<\/p>\n Florida Solar Energy Center <\/a>– A really cool website that describes research for solar usage in FL.\u00a0 It also has a location for solar vendors to register and certify their systems.<\/p>\n Energy Vanguard<\/span><\/u><\/a> – This is a really good building science blog. It has a lot of great articles and while there are some opinions posted, most of them are backed by scientific research.<\/p>\n Your Power Company.\u00a0 I have Duke Energy<\/a>.\u00a0 They have a lot of good programs to incentivize us to lower energy costs.\u00a0Many power companies have similar programs, but I do not know the specifics of the others.<\/p>\n As mentioned before, I am striving to get close to NetZero.\u00a0 In general, I am doing what I can when I have to, and then choosing the best ROI options for the rest.<\/p>\n After making the solar plung, my next step in optimizing my home was to replace my old AC with a high-efficiency one.\u00a0 It was a big investment.\u00a0 I had quotes from $5-10K with varying service options and warranties.\u00a0 I ended up choosing a 16 SEER and 8.2 HPSF.<\/p>\n Here is the\u00a0math for the savings assuming I was choosing to go with a 15 SEER or a 16 SEER.<\/p>\n The average home in Florida runs the AC 2500 hours\/year.<\/p>\n The kW\/h of an AC unit depends on the tonnage and the SEER.<\/p>\n Tonnage is calculated by SQ need.\u00a0 There is a lot of complex math that goes into this, but I found a good chart<\/a> on acdirect.com<\/p>\n From my 2000 sq ft home, I need a 3.5-ton unit.<\/p>\n To calculate power usage, we need to know a few things.\u00a0 Again, a great site can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n One refrigeration ton is equal to 12000 BTUs per hour:<\/p>\n 1 RT = 12000 BTU\/hr<\/p>\n I have a 3.5-ton system so my total BTUs is<\/p>\n 3.5 * 12,000 = 42,000 BTU\/hr<\/p>\n How does that relate to cost?\u00a0 Well, SEER is a measure of how efficient your system is.\u00a0 To determine the W\/hr device the BTU by the Seer.<\/p>\n For a 15 SEER system, then I would\u00a0use 42,000 \/ 15 = \u00a02800 W\/h or 2.8kW\/hr<\/p>\n 2.8kW\/hr * 2500hr per year = 7000kW\/year<\/p>\n If I was paying for electricity @ $0.13\/kWh, I would pay<\/p>\n $0.13\/kWh * 7000kW\/year = $910\/year<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n For a 16 SEER system, then I would\u00a0use 42,000 \/ 16 =\u00a0\u00a02625W\/h or 2.625kW\/hr<\/p>\n 2.625kW\/hr * 2500hr per year = 6562.5kW\/year<\/p>\n If I was paying for electricity @ $0.13\/kWh, I would pay<\/p>\n $0.13\/kWh * 6562.5kW\/year = $853.125\/year<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n This\u00a0ROI on a 16 SEER upgrade over a 15 SEER unit is $910 – $853.125 = $56.875\/year<\/p>\n The kW\/year savings is 7000kW\/year\u00a0– 6562.5kW\/year = 437.5 or 36.5 kW\/month<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nMy PV Solar System<\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nOther Relevant Details<\/h3>\n
Solar PV Calculations<\/h2>\n
Calculating the Size of the PV Solar Array Needed for Your Home<\/h3>\n
Calculating the Size of a PV Solar system based on Your Electric Bill<\/h3>\n
Calculating the Number of Solar Panels<\/h3>\n
Calculating a PV Solar Size Using PVWatts<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nFinances of the 10kW System<\/h1>\n
What About Solar Loans?<\/h2>\n
HELOC<\/h3>\n
6% Solar Loan – The “worst case”<\/h3>\n
What about selling the house before the loan is paid off?<\/h2>\n
Total Equity – A Different View<\/h3>\n
My Solar PV System Financing<\/h3>\n
\u00a0Solar Hot Water Heaters – How They Help<\/h2>\n
Hybrid hot water heaters<\/h3>\n
Saving with Other Ideas – Don’t start with Solar – there are faster ROIs<\/h2>\n
Back to our “typical” house.<\/h3>\n
What About\u00a0Doing the improvements and\u00a0 <\/em>Keeping the 10kW PV System<\/h3>\n
Other Comments<\/h3>\n
Other Energy-Saving Websites or Resources<\/h1>\n
My Journey Towards NetZero<\/h1>\n
Heating and Cooling Savings<\/h2>\n
HVAC – Cooling Calculations<\/h3>\n
My “old” HVAC\u00a0system<\/h3>\n