I have received a fair amount of brow-beatings about driving a Prius. Usually a conversation begins with the question, "Why did you buy a Prius?". Ironically, I am often caught off-guard with that silly question. Does anyone really not know? It is the most efficient car on the road. It is highly reliable and very low maintenance. It is comfortable and suitable for me. The noisy gasoline engine shuts off when it's stopped at lights and stop signs. If acceleration is slow, the gasoline engine doesn't start until the vehicle reaches 40 mph. But more importantly, it is an investment that helps me allocate more money towards my home, stocks, and fatherly obligations. It is the incandescent light bulb migration to LED at a larger scale.
In my opinion, the Prius outlined the path to the electric cars accelerated sale and decline of oil-burners. The adoption of a hybrid system in a car was a soft approach in acclimating people to using, regenerating, and storing electricity. The security of making it a long distance and using gas was not stripped from the car in full. It opened my eyes to the realization that electricity is by far the best form of energy we have today. It is very versatile in application. It can used to propel a vehicle, heat water and air, cook, generate light, power our devices, and be stored for future use! Aside from cooking, all things we seek in a car!
An investment in a vehicle that utilizes electricity to reduce the use of gasoline is now outdated. I believe Electric Vehicles will soon outnumber the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Vehicles. My gut tells me this will happen at a very fast pace. Batteries became extremely cheap and store greater amounts of power. The Cars are becoming more affordable with government incentives and reduced cost from competition between manufacturers. Nearly all major Auto Manufactures have an Electric vehicle being made or planned in the near future.
Renewable Energy System (Solar Panels) and an Electric Car
The most important ingredient to this migration is the adoption of renewable energy generation. In my opinion, this is the best investment to make today. There is no stock, mutual fund, or saving account that would have greater yields. Furthermore, there is no other conservation effort that will save more money, in the longterm. I purchased a 3 Kilowatt Solar System, Micro-Inverters, and mounting hardware for $3,200.00. I still need to purchase a few other components to complete the system. I estimate it will cost a little over $4,000.00 and will do the majority of the installation myself.
Solar System Hurdles in NJ
In NJ, we cannot install a system that makes more energy than what is used. Understandable, we don't need everyone generating power and selling it (Economic Moat at risk)! But for my plans it caused a hurdle. The system plans must take into consideration prior usage. To my best understanding, I must outline how much power the system will create and how much I used the prior year. The problem is I still buy gasoline for my vehicle and that is of the most importance to me.
I will be installing my system in two phases. Here is a brief outline of my plan. I will install an outdoor sub-panel that will host two 20 amp 240v breakers. The first 20 amp breaker will be the connection the system currently in my possession, I know this will be approved based on past energy consumption. I will be able to add another 1KW of Solar Modules to that first 20 Amp breaker, in the future. Then I will purchase the Electric Car. I am leaning towards the Nissan Leaf, because of the smaller battery. The current system should support all my power needs for the car!
The second Breaker will be a future project to generate enough power for my homes energy needs. I plan on adding some, "Hybrid," features to the home. For example, small electric baseboard heaters and possibly an electric Hot Water Heater to offset the use of Natural Gas in the home.
After reading the Electrical Code in my state, I believe the two 40 Amp breakers should only support 32 amps of power (De-rated to 80%) for safety. It is understood that the power generation will vary. At times the Solar Modules will generate more that the indicated on their Face Plate. Likewise, there will be moments when they generate less. With the current Module and Inverter choice I made, each panel will generate a medium rate of one amp. Therefore, I can potentially install 32 Modules, in the future.
I purchased roof flashing that is approved by the manufacturer of my roofing material. Therefore, the installation will not disrupt the warranty on my roof. I will be using IronRidge Module Rails in combination with the QuickMount PV Base Mount. IronRidge offers a design tool that provides Engineered Plans (Stamped) for submission to the Building Authority.
I am waiting a couple things. First is having some other parts in my possession. I need the wiring and hardware. Second, submitting my plans requires me to make measurements on my roof. I know from a neighbors installation how to lay them out, but I want to measure my specific roof to ensure accuracy. Unfortunately, the Manufacturer of my shingles states that walking on the shingles in temperatures below 40 degrees can damage the shingles and cause leaks thereby voiding the warranty. So I'm waiting for few days of solid warmer weather. In the mean time I will secure more of the materials I anticipate needing.
I am excited to get started on this solar project. I don't believe there is any better investment one could make. I urge people not to lease their system, if they can afford the panels. The systems are really simple, more simple than most realize. More importantly, they are not very expensive. The Solar Rebate, both State and Federal are not paid or available until the system is in operation! So keep that in mind. I believe you do not receive the rebates until filling a tax return too.
