So he was here almost an hour. I brought up all the good points you guys have made here. You could tell it's something he encounters all the time. Especially as most people don't naturally think "sunshine" when Wisconsin is brought up.
So, pertaining costs, it's really the new 30% in tax breaks and rebates that makes it even worth considering. Madison, and to a greater extent Dane County, is a super-lefty progressive city/county. They also provide up to an additional 10% property tax break by using approved vendors and contractors. It's minimally 5%, but 10% if using the vetted form of suppliers.
I already pay a premium as my utility offers a 100% "green/clean" option, they call it GPT. It allows customers to allow for a percentage of their power to come from only wind and/or solar farms they own here and in Iowa.
You can have it be 10% of your power.. or all the way up to 100% of your power. <--- LINK
So, I've already been paying a premium to be at 100% GPT. And as mentioned here, there's considerable upfront costs... probably $12-15k.. conservatively. I do have the benefit of having south-facing roof area. And I have the benefit and land available for an enclosed structure to store a battery bank. Battery storage is optional, but makes the most sense for us.
This whole process started as a result of an energy/efficiency audit I had done. The audit itself is covered by following some or all of the recommendations from it. I've already had foam insulation pumped into the walls and bought heavily insulated vinyl siding that will be put on soon.
They gave me a free Google Nest smart t-stat and overtime it learns the most efficient way to run your hvac. It even learns peak power times/rates and changes when and how much to use based on the higher rate times.
The panels themselves are also "smart" nowadays. For instance, they too also learn the best way of when and how much to use them. And it also knows the best times to sell my surplus energy back to the grid based on the utility's rates. So I'd only store up my power during low peak times/rates, and only sell it back during the high peak times/rates... and it can sometimes be up to 10x what you paid for it!
I still haven't made a final decision. And there's other pros/cons to consider. But I did want to get as much info first before making such a big investment. I won't need to finance it, which definitely helps... they certainly make a pretty penny on the finance plans I read over in the paperwork.
A rough conservative estimate puts me at around 6-7 yrs before I'd be out of the red. To be clear, that's 100% off the grid.. my only relationship with my utility at that point would be THEM paying for MY power. Which has to feel amazing I would think!
He gave me a customer list of people in the Madison area that agreed to talk about their panels, good or bad. So I'm gonna do a little more research and email a few people from the list. I told him I'd let him know by the end of the week. I'd say at this point, I'm around 80% "in". I'd really like to see someone's actual utility bill with similar sqft to my place. I'm all about the proof at the end of the day... especially if it's 80 proof or better!
This project for me has actually nothing to do with trying to be "green". It's all about a different green
. Only new tech and big government intervention will solve our warming climate crisis.
If it weren't for the incentives, I wouldn't bother. Plus, I just like the idea of self-sufficiency.. if it's a positive thing for the environment too, great. But it's not part of my equation going in.
I am grateful for the replies here guys. It gave me some skepticism I was sorely lacking initially. I will say this, check if your state or local gov have any incentives program you can stack on the fed benefit. When you start looking at 35-40% worth of incentives, it's something you'll want to take a good long look at. I'm glad I did.
I will keep this thread updated as I go, should I make the leap. I'll detail every penny spent and any headaches and/or hassles I encounter. If anyone has any questions during the process, don't be shy, I'll answer anything I can. I'll end this now for you brave souls that have made it this far!
Regarding the actual fed program, here's a good article from Forbes that sums it up well:
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