I had a little happy dance today. I got my electric bill today and I had no payment. Whoohoo. Our roof panels that were put in last month are doing their job. Technically the bill was $6.49 for the connection cost, but for some reason I had a net metering credit on my bill. I could have sworn they didn't pay you for the excess electricity, but just kept the balance on your account. But maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe it was some weird credit. I did get another weird credit. I got a storm credit. What in the world is that for? I think the state penalizes the electric companies when they don't get the electricity back up fast enough. However I never had any real outage here. So I guess I'm just confused right now.
My husband wrote me a widget to put on my sidebar and one for my desktop. It lets me see how much solar is being produced during the day. It isn't completely finished but it is a nice start. I was surprised that a widget hadn't already been written for the site. It seems like a small but nice thing to hand out to customers.
Cabbages, Asian Greens, and Celery
Today it is warming up again after a day that only got into the low 40Fs. We will get into the 50Fs today and later in the week into the 60s. It might even hit 70F. And it is the middle of April. That means it is time to start hardening off my main set of seedlings. I've got them outside today to bask in the partial sun. I think on Wednesday they will go into the ground.
I also seeded some zinnia and cosmos inside. I could have done it earlier but they both grow so quickly. I'm thinking they will only grow indoors for about 2 weeks once they come up and then they will go outside. I'm shooting for May 1st as a planting date. The cosmos was from Granny. I forgot how tall she said they would get. Maybe she will leave me a comment letting me know. I think they are shorter than the average cosmos and I can plant them in front of the zinnias. But I might have to intermingle them. I've done that with tall cosmos before and it looks very pretty that way.
That is so great that you can save on your electric bill!!! Winter does not seem to want to leave northern IN. We had some teeny tiny hail today although it is not sticking! Nancy
ReplyDeleteI'm freaking in love with your blog. Just thought I'd let you know:) Thanks for inspiring me and updating with so many lovely plant pics.
ReplyDeleteI can totally understand how getting no electric bill could make you want to dance a jig.
ReplyDeleteMine is ridiculously high.
I swear I must be paying for the neighbours as well!
The seedlings definitely look like they are ready for the garden. Flowers are the one thing that I have neglected to sow, and basil, I've really got to get them going. Great solar widget, it looks like a sunny day today.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you've mentioned this in previous posting, but could I get a bit of information on your solar panel. For example: Where would I obtain one, approximate cost, installation etc.
ReplyDeleteI have a home in the caribbean, and if it's something that's easily obtainable and affordable, I'd love to know how to go about getting some panels installed.
Thanks so much in advance,
Anna.
Oh that is such a hard question. In Massachusetts it is really easy to get panels. But Massachusetts is committed to getting renewable energy up so it has a lot of programs to get it done. So companies have popped up here. I went through a program that does bulk buys and installation on a town wide basis. You won't find that where you are I'm guessing.
DeleteOur panels are Suntech panels. They are a Chinese company (that is going through bankruptcy right now due to an over saturation in the market). We use microinverters instead of the regular inverter, which are better in the long run, but cost more in the short run.
We have a 6kW DC system. It cost US$25,000 installed. It includes a monitoring system. Affordable? We had a bulk buy so it was cheaper than usual. Our state gave us a $2000 credit so we only had to pay $23K out of pocket. Our national government gives up back 30% of the cost back in a tax credit. But still it wouldn't really pay itself back for 10-15 years as we get so little sun here. But again Massachusetts has a Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program to help pay the costs. The electric companies are required to buy a certain amount of them a year and there is an auction for them. The guess (it is an auction so you never know what you will get for an SREC) is that I'll be paid back in 4-5 years. So HERE it is more than affordable. It is crazy not to do it. But elsewhere it depends upon the programs where your house is built, the cost of electricity, how much sun you get, and the payback time you are willing to take.
Thank you so very much for your response. You absolutely provided some much need answers.
DeleteThough things are very different here (Jamaica), there will be no tax credits etc. However it will be so worth it to have one installed.
For example: I used to run an a/c in a 400 sqft space, and my electric bill would be $850/mth. Just this past week, the (only) electric company has increased all bills by 10%.
With an abundance of sunlight here, I do need to take advantage of it and be energy independent of this monopoly that only succeeds in stifling businesses. So, anything out there that will allow me to be energy efficient, I need to start taking steps to get to where you're at in acquiring and having some panels installed.
(Will copy this information to my desktop.)
Thanks so much again,
Anna.
No electric payment due? Woohoo! You must be so happy that your investment is paying off! Hopefully, we will see some warmer temperatures as well. I have a lot of garden cleanup to do.
ReplyDeleteOur state has finally started a solar program. But, it's too late for us this year and we are close to needing a new roof. Hopefully we will have solar installed within the next two years
ReplyDeleteYou starts look great! I was able to plant out my broccoli today and the greens have been hardening off this week! Planting them tomorrow!
That is great that you are spinning the meter backward so early in the year. When the sun gets higher those panels should produce even more electricity.
ReplyDeleteIf the seeds stay true to what I grew last year, the cosmos should be no more than 2 feet high. Let's just hope they don't revert to some of those 10' giants that I grew a couple of years ago! I just started my cosmos seeds last week, and they are already getting leggy as I don't have room to put them under the lights. I have them in my plant window. Actually, the way they volunteer, I'm quite sure I could just go out and direct seed them any time now.
ReplyDeleteI love cosmos, I think it probably my favourite garden flower. My neighbours plant them everywhere and they look fab.
ReplyDeleteFantastic! And your state's SREC program sounds great. I wonder what kind of program (if any) is offered here.
ReplyDeleteWow! Congratulations with the success of your solar system. That is very impressive. Those seedlings are pretty impressive too. So lush and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGood for you re the electricity bill, how fab! And your seedlings look wonderful, you're inspiring me to get out the cosmos seeds I saved last year and start sowing.
ReplyDelete