Wanted to ask advice from folks here and also @Vines (could not figure out how to PM from here).
Am looking into getting a solar system upgrade possibly with a battery and so wanted to ask for your thoughts and advice.
When we bought our house in San Jose CA, 8 years ago, it already had a 2.8kWh system on it. We assumed the lease from Sunrun and negotiated 22c/kWh with no escalation in price. The house presently has an old 1960's 125A panel on it. And it is totally full with breakers. There is a 60A subpanel supplying our kitchen that was installed in 2015. Also totally full, but potentially can install some slimline breakers to free up a few slots.
Today, we have a Tesla model 3, the house had a pool already, air conditioning, two fridges, etc., and we found our usage at 1300 kWh per month on average last year with COVID and charging the car at home etc vs for free at the office. Adding a 2-ton mini split next week to our big living room/kitchen to fix some HVAC issues. That's another 20A/240V potentially.
Electricity bills right now are about $250/month right now that we pay to PG&E in addition to about $60/month for the existing 2.8kWh solar to Sunrun.
So was considering adding an additional solar/battery system to hopefully save some cost and have a general upgrade to the electrical.
Sunrun is advising me to install a 13000 kWh per year system with a 10kW LG battery backup. Price is $204/month that escalates 2.9%/year.
Do you think this makes sense? Or should I look at Tesla instead? Tesla won't touch the existing system unless I own it. To do that, I'd have to buyout my Sunrun existing 2.8 kWh system and spend $3000 more than what I owe over the remaining 10 years on the PPA. And then $32000 for the Tesla 12.24 kWh with 2 Powerwalls. And also am concerned if the main panel needs to be upgraded from 125A which is a massive cost due to our underground service from the 1960's that would require a new 3" conduit etc. Sunrun says they will cover up to $4000 of this cost if a panel upgrade is needed. Not sure about Tesla.
Thoughts?
Am looking into getting a solar system upgrade possibly with a battery and so wanted to ask for your thoughts and advice.
When we bought our house in San Jose CA, 8 years ago, it already had a 2.8kWh system on it. We assumed the lease from Sunrun and negotiated 22c/kWh with no escalation in price. The house presently has an old 1960's 125A panel on it. And it is totally full with breakers. There is a 60A subpanel supplying our kitchen that was installed in 2015. Also totally full, but potentially can install some slimline breakers to free up a few slots.
Today, we have a Tesla model 3, the house had a pool already, air conditioning, two fridges, etc., and we found our usage at 1300 kWh per month on average last year with COVID and charging the car at home etc vs for free at the office. Adding a 2-ton mini split next week to our big living room/kitchen to fix some HVAC issues. That's another 20A/240V potentially.
Electricity bills right now are about $250/month right now that we pay to PG&E in addition to about $60/month for the existing 2.8kWh solar to Sunrun.
So was considering adding an additional solar/battery system to hopefully save some cost and have a general upgrade to the electrical.
Sunrun is advising me to install a 13000 kWh per year system with a 10kW LG battery backup. Price is $204/month that escalates 2.9%/year.
Do you think this makes sense? Or should I look at Tesla instead? Tesla won't touch the existing system unless I own it. To do that, I'd have to buyout my Sunrun existing 2.8 kWh system and spend $3000 more than what I owe over the remaining 10 years on the PPA. And then $32000 for the Tesla 12.24 kWh with 2 Powerwalls. And also am concerned if the main panel needs to be upgraded from 125A which is a massive cost due to our underground service from the 1960's that would require a new 3" conduit etc. Sunrun says they will cover up to $4000 of this cost if a panel upgrade is needed. Not sure about Tesla.
Thoughts?