UPDATE: Last Monday I finally got the go ahead to turn the solar system from SolarCity on. So it’s been running for about a week now. So – here’s the report so far.

Every day it makes about 12.5 kilowatt hours (kwh) of energy. To give you some idea of what this is – it’s the amount of electricity it takes to run a microwave oven for 12 1/2 hours a day. Saturday it rained for part of the day and it made 5.3 kwh. According to our agreement they estimate that the system will produce 5325 kwh per year, or an average of 14.6 kwh/day. Being that this is late October it looks like things are on track so far.

I have yet to get a bill. As part of the process I signed up for automatic billing. My rate is 15 cents per KWH and that’s billed off of readings from the inverter that’s connected to the internet through a tiny device called Solar Guard which allows them to read the inverter data directly and gives me access to graphs and totals by the web or the SolarCity app on my phone. Interestingly – there are no additional taxes but if there ever is taxes I’m responsible for them and they will be included in the bill. This is California and the idea that money changes hand without the State getting a piece of it probably won’t last, but a pleasant surprise for now. According to the contract I also get a $7.50 discount for allowing them to take payment directly from my checking account directly.

In theory, if it produces 12.5 kwh per day @ 15 cents per kwh times 30 days, minus my $7.50 discount, my bill should be $48.75, plus whatever PG&E charges me, and that is a mystery yet to be revealed. Might need to wait a couple months before I can report accurately on that. The way the net metering works is that excess power I generate – running the meter backwards – becomes a credit. But – if I understand it right – it’s a monet credit. So if I’m making excess power during the expensive times of the day and using their power at night when it’s cheap, I can use more power without owing them more money. We’ll see if I have that right.

My contract with SolarCity also allows them to raise my rates up to 2.9% a year. So 20 years from now I’ll be paying (if they raise the max) 26,5 cents a kwh instead of 15 cents. But the assumption is that PG&E rates will go up much faster. At the end of 20 years I can buy the equipment at fair market value, which should be really cheap, give it back to them, which I doubt they will actually come and get it, or get a new system based on current technology and do another 20 year deal. I’m 59 year old and statistically I’m more likely to be dead by then. But that’s the deal I have with them

Also – at the end of the year there is a “true up” where if I generated excess power then PG&E will pay me 4 cents a kwh to buy my excess power. Personally I don’t care if PG&E pays me. I like the idea that I’m helping to power the world. Every kwh I make is that much power that doesn’t come from coal/natural gas/ or nuclear. Quite frankly – I think PG&E is getting screwed a little in the deal because I’m relying on their infrastructure to store power and my PG&E bill will probably not cover my share of the costs. However – my power is being generated at the time that PG&E needs it the most so that on those hot summer days I’m reducing their peak load. But for now – not my problem.

So far I haven’t had to pay a dime. There were no unrelated fees for anything during the install process, They paid for the building permits and everything. And – I got a referral who did an install and I made $250 commission and received the check Saturday. So that will go into my drugs and hookers fund. :) Or – if I refer someone once every 3 months that pays for my electricity. Anyone who gets a SolarCity system gets $250 check every time they get a friend to get a system. Kind of like Amway.

I’ll have to wait a year to tell you if I’m totally pleased but so far so good. There were a few hiccups along the way. At one point paperwork got lost and had to be resent and that probably added a few weeks to the process. I’m not a patient guy and this was like a Christmas present sitting under the tree that I couldn’t touch until all the process had completed, including inspections.  Some of the delay had to do with the City of Gilroy requiring more paperwork than necessary. The SolarCity guy, who I ran into at the planning department said Gilroy was the most difficult city in this area to deal with. San Jose being the best.

There is another issue that isn’t Solar City’s fault – my neighbor to the southwest has 3 palm trees creating a bigger shadow than I expected and that takes a hunk out of solar production 2:00 to 4:30 – the time I might be running my real air conditioner. (I also have a home made cooling system that generally runs very well eliminating the need for AC except on the very hottest of days.) This problem isn’t SolarCity’s fault – and in the summer when the Sun is higher it might go over the top of those trees. We’ll see what happens.

I’m also thinking about adding 4 panels on a separate system that I would build myself and set up in my yard, shading my garden from excess heat, and pointing them southwest so that they make power during the palm tree shadow to help fill in that gap. But that will be a separate article.

I also bought 500 shares of SolarCity stock (SCTY) and it’s been going down. So if I sold today at close I’m down $3674.27. But I’m in for the long haul and the more it goes down the more I buy. Just wish I has some extra cash around to get some more of it while it’s a deal. Maybe it will stay low for another few weeks so I can get some more.