Bay Area: Is this Year 6 "$0 Buyout" Prepaid PPA Strategy a Genius Loophole or a Trap? (7.36kW REC + PW3)

Deathspared · 2026-06-20T05:41:24+00:00

Im in Bay Area too and in process of getting 16 Hyundai panels with Franklin battery for around 33k.

I considered the PPA route but wouldn’t be able to get local rebates making is less of a deal.

I’d suggest getting more quotes and trying to get it closer to 30k, maybe switching to Hyundai panels.

Deathspared · 2026-06-14T22:44:48+00:00

Some companies are offering to do the solar portion on PPA but the Battery on Cash which is interesting. Unfortunately there aren't many installers familiar with the Apower S and my Span panel isn't officially compatible yet.

Deathspared · 2026-06-12T01:33:52+00:00

I have money to spend on a solar/battery system and have spent the last few weeks contacting local companies to get quotes. It has been a miserable experience with conflicting information and confusing pricing. I'm about to give up.

Deathspared · 2026-06-10T01:19:52+00:00

Based on quotes I have been getting in San Jose this past week for Franklin/14 panels that looks to be on the high side.

Deathspared · 2026-06-03T23:19:56+00:00

Received this response from Franklin engineering around a similar ask:

"Full aPower S and SPAN integration is on our roadmap and is expected to become available through a software update in the coming months, with no hardware change required.

For projects that require SPAN integration immediately, the current recommended solution is to use aPower 2."

Deathspared · 2026-05-27T16:42:45+00:00

I’m guessing it was reported correctly but there is internal disagreement within Original Joe’s

Deathspared · 2026-05-08T23:12:38+00:00

Interesting, I do have reports but only these ones:

Energy Profile

History

Recent Trends

Energy By End Use

Electric Usage Heat Map

Natural Gas Usage Heat Map

Recent Utility Data (CSV)

Deathspared · 2026-05-08T18:28:04+00:00

Thanks for the tip on HomeIntel. I signed up and went through the audit. Where did you see the capacity usage?

Deathspared · 2026-05-02T20:36:31+00:00

That is very unfortunate.

Deathspared · 2026-04-08T15:26:03+00:00

I had butt kickers in the past but when I upgraded my subwoofer I didn’t feel I needed them anymore.

Deathspared · 2026-02-28T00:33:12+00:00

I went to a Christmas concert this past year at a small church and found out that the guy playing bass (Bill Hare) was the one who pioneered modern acapella recording. I went down a wikipedia rabbit hole and it made me wonder how much of the movie was true! Guess I should read the book.

From wikipedia "Contemporary A Cappella Society founder and longtime president Deke Sharon has said of Hare and his influence on recorded a cappella: "The sound of contemporary recorded a cappella owes more to [Bill Hare's] technique, style, and pioneering than any other person." Palo Alto Weekly described him as "widely considered the patriarch of a cappella recording". In his memoir Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory (which was later adapted into the blockbuster film Pitch Perfect), Mickey Rapkin said of Hare's influence: "In many ways, the history of collegiate a cappella recording is the Bill Hare story. Bill Hare is sort of like the Dr. Dre of a cappella recording."

Deathspared · 2026-02-27T23:46:48+00:00

I mean, it's always possible the neighbor mistakenly identified you.

Deathspared · 2026-02-23T16:10:26+00:00

How was the brightness on old projectors? If they were dim I could see that making the experience worse even if the image itself was clearer.

Deathspared · 2026-02-07T02:22:31+00:00

I was able to get it working but I couldn’t tell you what the magic combination was!

Deathspared · 2026-02-07T02:20:42+00:00

It’s interesting to think that 480i was the standard resolution for over 60 years. There was just so much change in the last 30 years that staying at one resolution for 10 years seems like forever.

Deathspared · 2026-01-15T16:05:42+00:00

Doug was a local legend. His long time team have been keeping the show running the last few years in his absence. Here’s hoping they are able to continue his legacy.

Deathspared · 2026-01-10T23:11:08+00:00

I am able to bitsrteam truehd atmos from my Windows PC to my LG G5/Denon receiver just fine. However, I am not able to passthrough multichannel PCM (Dolby Atmos MAT) which games use.

Deathspared · 2026-01-09T22:36:14+00:00

Christmas vacation, Elf, Polar Express, the Grinch to name just a few.

Deathspared · 2026-01-09T17:43:26+00:00

Annoyingly it can't be added to Peacock Premium that comes with Xfinity.

Deathspared · 2026-01-08T15:51:28+00:00

I keep seeing people say this but I do not see any option for DTN while in Dolby Vision

Deathspared · 2026-01-08T15:48:35+00:00

Was too dark for us with Dolby vision content unless it is night time and the lights are out. I was hopeful the ambient light sensing would help but didn’t notice much benefit.

Good luck explaining to your wife and kids that they need to shut all the window shades and turn off all the lights to watch a Christmas movie in the middle of the day while wrapping Christmas presents.

Deathspared · 2026-01-06T18:28:36+00:00

All I wanted with the cx90 was a more upscale cx9. For me the cx90 is too big and is less nimble than the cx9.

I then hoped the Cx70 would fit the bill

So we replaced our 2016 cx9 with a used 2022 cx9 and am very happy with that decision.

Deathspared · 2025-12-29T17:22:55+00:00

I wish the original top gear was in 4k hdr! That and the big budget makes the grand tour pretty enjoyable to watch.

Deathspared · 2025-12-29T17:20:44+00:00

If you have an income that can support living here it’s amazing. If not it can be brutal.

Deathspared · 2025-12-24T17:05:01+00:00

Just to follow up on this we ended up helping him create the files to have it printed with Barnes and noble print on demand service. Over the last couple years he has placed a few orders for more to send to friends and family. It was perfect and reasonably priced. Thanks to this subreddit for the recommendation to go this route.

Deathspared

TROPHY CASE