"Chris Lewis" wrote in message
...
According to Bob F :

"Chris Lewis" wrote in message
...
According to Bob F :

Some friends of mine claim they basically pay nothing for
their electricity. This is in NW Washington State. I believe
they said they paid about $16,000 for their system. They
are careful about their usage it seemed.

More than careful methinks. Going off-grid with solar electric
means that they have to be _extremely_ miserly with electric
power. Things like 12V lighting systems, propane powered fridges,
etc.

You can't go off grid if you're into standard consumer appliances.

They are not off-grid. They do have two meters, and net billing.

My question would then be, if they're actually living in this
place full time, do they get a _real_ reduction in monthly electrical
bills once you factor in maintenance? Completely ignoring amortization
of the PV cells, the amount of power you can feed back from even
a large investment in PV is quite small.

They told me that over the course of a year, their production about
equals their usage, so they pay nothing for the electricity. I'm sure
there is a base charge, but didn't ask about that.

Bob