Weekend Special Edition: What I Learned from Going Solar

For years we've been considering going solar and having solar panels installed on our home. Finally, in January we decided to pull the trigger. Because I was pretty far behind the curve when it comes to solar energy, I had to learn a lot quickly. I thought it might be worthwhile sharing my experience, not only with solar panels, but other follow-on purchases. Beyond helping the environment, there are several ways that a homeowner can benefit from a solar electric system. The first is called "net metering". In a traditional electric supply, the electric meter on your home goes up as you use electricity from the grid. With solar, the meter runs both ways. When you use electricity from the grid such as at night or on cloudy day, the meter goes up just as before. But when you produce more solar energy than your home is able to use, the electricity is exported to the grid and the meter runs the other way. You don't pay for the electricity you produce that goes directly to your home and any electricity exported to the grid offsets electricity provided by the electric company. In March, our first full month of using solar, we came very close to breaking even, ending up having to pay about $3 for electricity. The second financial benefit comes from solar renewable energy credits (SRECs). Electric companies such as PEPCO are required to use a certain percentage of renewable energy each year. To meet that requirement, PEPCO purchases renewable energy credits. Solar energy producers, including homeowners, can sell credits reflecting their production. An SREC is created for each megawatt-hour of electricity your system produces, whether you use that energy or not. SRECs are sold on markets similar to stock exchanges, but the markets vary by state which each state having its own rules. The District of Columbia has very high prices for SRECs, maybe the highest in the nation. I was able to sell the first SREC our system produced for $430 minus a $2.50 fee for the exchange. In addition, we are eligible for a federal tax credit for 30% of the cost of the system.

There are various ways to pay for a solar electrical system. After several years of saving for this project, we had the cash available to pay outright. We expect that between the cost savings on electricity, SREC sales, and tax credits, the system will pay for itself in less than 5 years, perhaps considerably less. It is also possible to finance the cost which might work better for some folks. We worked directly with District Energy LLC on the project because they were experienced with the type of roof we have and the company has done several installations in our neighborhood. Another option in DC is the Solar Switch DC program organized with Solar United Neighbors that arranges group buys. By joining one of the periodic group buys, you can save a couple of thousand dollars or more on the cost of the system. Another option is free solar in which firms will install a system at no cost to you in exchange for taking ownership of your SRECs. You will miss out on the tax credits and SREC revenue, but you will still enjoy lower electricity costs. There are a number of other financial options. For instance, it is possible to sell all of your SRECs up front. You probably won't get the full price that you would otherwise, but you will get an immediate influx of cash. I chose to sell our SRECs myself, but you can arrange to have a broker take care of it for you in exchange for a small fee and you won't have to do anything except enjoy a periodic deposit in your bank account.

With our solar electrical system up and running, the next logical step was an electric car. Since our cars were 17 and 15 years old, it was time to think about a new car anyway. Six months ago I was very pessimistic about electric cars but the prospect of powering a car essentially for free due to our solar panels made me rethink my opinion. Probably like a lot of people, the ideal electric car I had in mind was small and cheap. Something that could be driven around town where range is not an issue. But what I found is that such things don't exist, or are at least rare. One appealing option, the electric Mini Cooper, is no longer being made and its replacement won't be imported to the US for a few years. The electric Fiat 500e was not yet available and I believe is completely pre-sold in any case. However, it seems that most electric cars are not selling all that well and, in many cases, dealers' lots are overflowing with them. This presents the opportunity for a deal. I was able to negotiate a very fair price on a BMW i4 eDrive35. The i4 is not near as cheap or small as I was hoping, but it is actually toward the smaller and cheaper end of what is available today. Also, in DC electric cars are exempt from the excise (sales) tax. So that was an extra couple of thousand dollars in savings. I was concerned about how an electric car would perform on a long trip. So as a test we took it on a two hundred some mile round trip to visit our son in college. We purposely left with the battery charged just over halfway in order to be forced to deal with charging along the way. What we found is that, for the most part, there are plenty of chargers. The problem is that lots of them are broken or have lines. We spent twice as much time waiting in line as we did the actual charging. The charging itself only took about 15 minutes.

A word about charging. In broad strokes, there are three types of chargers. The most basic is called level 1 and simply plugs into your home 120 volt outlet. This charging is very slow and would take several days to fully charge a car's battery. However, generally you should not charge the battery fully to 100%. Instead, charging to no more than 80% on a regular basis will preserve battery life. For those whose commute is just a few miles a day, keeping the car on a level 1 charger overnight might be enough. The next step up is a level 2 charger which operates at 240 volts. We recently had one of these installed in our garage. Level 2 chargers can fully charge a car overnight. Again, you normally don't want to charge fully, but level 2 chargers can get your car's battery to 80% quickly. The last type of charger uses DC instead of AC power and is referred to as a DC fast charger. Again, this is broad strokes and there is a lot of variety in DC chargers. But, generally, such chargers will charge to 80% very quickly, normally less than a half hour. From 80% to 100%, charging slows and, therefore, will take longer. I am convinced that it is currently possible to travel long distances in an electric car without adding very much time over what you would do in a gasoline-powered car. Moreover, charging will become more widely available in the near future as charging networks are built out and networks such as Tesla's and Rivian's become interoperable with other brands. Many brands are also providing some sort of free charging benefit as well. In our case, we get two years free charging on the Electrify America network. Between our charging at our solar-powered home and the EA fast chargers, we will probably spend virtually nothing to power the car for the next two years. One last note about chargers. A federal tax credit is available for 30% of the cost and installation of a home charger up to $1,000. The District of Columbia also offers a tax credit for 50% of the cost up to $1,000. So, in DC, you can potentially receive tax credits worth $2,000 when you install a home charger.

I wasn't done electrifying with the car. I also decided the time was right for an e-bike. Obviously, the cost savings argument is nonexistent in this case. Nothing is more economical than pure pedal power. But I am not opposed to having a little assistance with my pedaling. As in the case of solar panels and electric cars, I was very late to the party when it came to e-bikes. As in the other cases, I had to go through a quick learning process. To clear up one misconception I've encountered, e-bikes don't necessarily mean you will no longer get exercise from biking. In most cases, the motors only offer assistance to your pedaling. You just get more bang for your buck from the pedaling. Many bikes do offer an additional throttle that powers the bike even when you are not pedaling, but that wasn't a feature that I desired. There are as many types of e-bikes as there are normal bikes, maybe even more. While the idea of a sleek road bike such as those made by Trek or Specialized was appealing to me, their generally small batteries and high costs were discouraging. Similarly, I was not interested in a cargo bike, mountain bike, or one of those fat-tired motorcycle-looking things. My interest ran more toward a commuter or hybrid style bicycle. Obviously, other's needs and preferences will differ.

While most e-bikes are powered by motors housed in the rear wheel (or sometimes the front wheel), I was interested in mid-drive bikes which have the motor between the pedals. These bikes, while being somewhat more expensive generally, are more efficient and use the bike's gears just as you do on a normal multi-speed bike. One of the biggest decisions to make regarding e-bikes is whether to buy from a local bike store or from one of the many direct to consumer companies that sell online. Buying from a local bike store allows test riding the bike before buying it and ensures that you will have a place to service it. However, the bike will likely cost significantly more than one bought online. The direct to consumer companies offer great value, generally providing a lot of bike for the money. However, you are normally forced to buy the bike without trying it beforehand and you might have trouble finding someone to service it. You will also likely have to assemble it yourself or pay someone to do so. I found the best of both worlds by choosing a Priority Current. Priority is known for high quality bikes that are very low maintenance. I was lucky that Priority has a relationship with King Electric Bikes in DC's Foggy Bottom. As a result, I was able to test ride a bike before purchasing and can rely on King for service. However, I purchased the bike online through Costco's Next program that provided a substantial discount. I then had the bike sent directly to King for assembly. The folks at King were fantastic in every way and I can't compliment them enough. They don't have a huge inventory of bikes, but I believe that they are willing to assemble and service bikes from other direct to consumer companies beyond Priority. They also rent e-bikes if you want to try one for a few hours.