Can you help me understand my electric bill and possible solar needs?

You would be better talking to a dealer, you can tell them your needs and they could calculate how many panels you would need, you do know you need a battery bank, the panels charge the batteries and you draw off the batteries for your needs,and you need enough batteries to take you through the night, when they won’t be charging from the panels.

Lots of things to think about or find out before you go that route. A friend had a dealer come by and the price of the solar panels plus the battery bank would take about 30 years to recoup the money you would spend as opposed to the electric savings. Also, I have heard if you have to get a new roof anytime after solar panels are installed, they have to be reinstalled at a price.
This was from someone who looked a few years ago, so my information may be way off now.
I’d like to hear someone on Fluther that has actual experience.

@chyna is correct. I had them come out and give me an estimate for solar about 2019. Georgia has less direct sun than Florida, which was a factor in the cost.

What made my decision for me was the time to recoup costs – when would the system pay for itself? The solar vendor estimated something like 25 years, depending on energy costs and which controllers I purchased, and whether my local utility would buy excess power.

Heck, I’ll be dead in 25 years. It made no sense for me.

So many scams that I wanted to ask my science and math jellies for guidance. I have asked some solar questions before, and decided against it, but now it is years later and for a different house, so I am asking again.

A friend of mine just bought solar and I think he was ripped off, he paid so much money. There is still a tax break, and I think the solar companies jack up the price because the government gives back money, but I don’t know that for sure, I don’t know the margins selling the panels.

Facebook community where I live is warning that when roofs need to be updated sometimes the roof company cannot take it off and put it back on, you have to pay for that to be done. A couple of other people warning that homeowners insurance might not renew your policy if you add solar and/or won’t cover the system.

Maybe something on a smaller scale will breakeven faster? Just reduce the electric bill maybe 20%-30%. Not sure how realistic that is. The biggest electric items are the air conditioner and fridge I guess.

Unless you live in a tiny home with gas heating appliances, a solar installation done professionally today will not recover its upfront cost. That’s even if it was done by a reputable company (good luck finding one) and not one of these rip-off companies. Then there are ongoing maintenance costs.

It’s best to contact a reputable solar installer. They have optimization software to determine the number of panels you will need. Your latitude, climate, and roof configuration affect the calculation e.g. a large percentage of S facing roof is best. Our usage is a little more than yours. We needed 12×400W panels to zero out our annual usage from PG&E. But we didn’t include a battery so we pump the extra power into the grid during the day then pull it back out after sundown. Not optimal but majorly reduced our reliance on PG&E. Our calculated payback was 5 years.