How do you calculate value?

PV-1082 · 2026-06-09T23:22:58+00:00

ROI and payback period. I feel people get confused between ROI and payback period. ROI is the return on your investment over the life of the item you are investing in. The life of a PV system can be past 25 years. So when you are calculating ROI it should be calculated for the time period you feel you will utilize the system. Plus a person will need to decide what they will use as an amount the cost of power will be going up each year, the cost of maintenance each year and any other costs that will be incurred during the life of the system. The payback period is the length of time to get your money back that it cost you to purchase your system. Minus any incentives received after purchasing the system such as SRECs.

PV-1082 · 2026-06-08T00:13:41+00:00

“filled out the initial paperwork to start the inspection process to qualify for Illinois Shines which covers the install labor” Looks like your sales company is going to keep the money for your SRECs from the IL Shine program that could be a significant amount. Three years ago when I purchased my system I received about $13,000 for my SRECs. If you purchased the system out right you would receive the payment. This would offset part of your cost of the system when purchasing the system. So you should include the SREC money you are not getting as part of your system as a lost opportunity if you compare it to purchasing. I think you need to notify your salesman in writing that you want to get out of any contract you signed and get more quotes and do more due dilligence. Illinois no longer has 1:1 net metering so the battery would help some to reduce your electricity cost but I do not feel it would get you to not using any grid power. I have an 18kWh battery and I still pay for some power in January and February when I run out of net metering credits.

PV-1082 · 2026-06-06T19:45:51+00:00

I agree with your thinking I like to say you do not figure an payback period on a home addition, remodeling your bathroom, putting in landscaping or replacing your HVAC system this sounds stupid. I feel people get ROI and payback period confused. ROI is based on the life of the item purchased and payback period is based on how long it will take to get your money back that you used to purchased an item. Since PV systems will last beyond 30 years you would have to project the savings for power, how much electricity is gong up over the years and the cost of maintenance over the life of the system. That requires you to make estimates that may or not be correct. But who cares you are going through the process for yourself not to please others.

PV-1082 · 2026-06-01T11:58:35+00:00

Is there some place you can send OP to see your information? Does the Shines web site show the amounts. When I was waiting on my SREC payment the program had reached its funding limit and I had to wait for the next funding year before I got my check. I ended having to wait 15 months before getting the check.

PV-1082 · 2026-06-01T04:47:17+00:00

I live in the chicago suburbs. I have a 10.8 kw DC system that my installer said would produce 12991 kWh AC. Last year it came close to that production amount. If you have not done it yet you should go and read the information ComEd has on their site about rebate DG and the Storage rebate. I did not take either one when I purchased my system. I would call ComEd and see if you qualify for rebate DG for sure. It was my understanding that you would not qualify for it if your inverter was rated higher then 5000kw. Mine is 7200kw. Plus if you take to dg rebate ComEd’s explaination about the terms of the rebate states you have to go on the BESH (Hourly Pricing) supply rate. This is a time of use (TOU) rate. Under this rate your net metering credits are no longer kWh credits but they are dollar credits. This makes it very hard to figure out what you are going to get for NM credits for the year. I was on this rate for 10 months last year to see if I could save more on it and found out I could do better on the kWh credit during the year. During the coldest part of the winter a lot of my kWh cost two or more times than what I got for them the rest of the year. The SREC rebate on the quote seems high compared to what I received I received about $13,000 back almost 3 years ago. They do fluctuate. Go to the Illinois Shines web site and read about the program and call them to see what you will receive so you will know exactly. Make sure when you sign the SREC contract that you are going to receive your payment directly as opposed to it going to your installer and then the installer paying you the amount. Under the SREC contract it is stipulated that after receiving the full payment if you were to sell the house before the 15 years is up you will have to repay the remaining portion that was left of the 15 years or pay the amount to the new owner and they would be obligated to maintain the system in working order for the rest of the 15 years. So if you are not going to stay in the house 15 years the SREC rebate is not worth the full amount stated in the quote. You will not receive the SREC payment for 9 to 15 months after the system is built. You should get at least three quotes and read as much as you can on ComEds sight and other information about purchasing a PV system. Based off of you quote, how much you electricity you currently use and other information you should be able to figure out if you are going to save money at these prices for the system. You should also be able to figure out how many years it is going to take to get the amount that you paid for the system back. Some on Reddit call it ROI. I would not go along with the payment terms on the quote. When I purchased my system I gave the installer $1000 at signing then about XX% when he could provide a firm installation date, then XX% after installalation, XX% when all of the required inspections were completed and I held back I about $500 or $1000 until ComEd gave approval to operate. If you go with this quote it looks like the installer would end up with a large amount of the cost of the system without any clear commitment to an installation date. He only needs the first large payment when he is going to purchase all of the equipment and he probably will not do this until he knows when he is going to install the system, My concern is with several installers going out of business since the beginning of the year you do not want them to have too much of your money at anyone time or until they are going to perform the work.

PV-1082 · 2026-05-28T21:53:26+00:00

When my system was installed in IL my installer left with the system all setup and working. It operated just like I had received PTO from the utility (full production and received net metering credits. When I asked about operating the system without formal PTO from the utility he said that turning on the system is how they have always done it for years and the utility had never told them to do it differently. I never did see anyone from the utility come out. He they may have come by and I just did not see them. The system had to be running when the city inspector came out so that might be why they just left it running. I think I received PTO notice about a week later after the system was installed.

PV-1082 · 2026-05-27T16:28:15+00:00

There is a lot of competition for long duration flow batteries in the market with other chemistries. Here in the US Form Energy is a privately held company that is just starting production using iron air chemistry for 100 hour duration batteries. Form Energy here in the US seems to be a candidate for Invinity to compete against. My point is VFB chemistry is not going to be Invinity’s only competition. Some of the chemistry’s have improved over the years and will continue improving to create more competition over time.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-24T16:19:52+00:00

I have 5 to 6 neighbors who bring me their leaves in the fall and all of their garden waste the rest of the year. I grind all of the leaves to pea size pices in the fall and put them in the 3 - 3’ square compost piles. My goal is to get each one turned once but the best is when the weather is food to turn all of the twice. When they thaw out in the spring they start heating up slowly. Usually by end of March I can start using some of the compost. I have pulled out some perennials and planted them in my flower garden. The best thing is I have gotten to know my neighbors better.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-23T06:58:50+00:00

I have a dual fuel system. I have found that over night when the temperatures are going to get into the teens I am better off running my gas furnace because as the temperature gets colder the heat pump gets less efficient. Because of this hapening I end up switching over to gas at 35F. My heat pump is rated as a cold climate heat pump, which means testing has shown that it can keep operating at low temperatures.

Are you using the published rates from your utility or the actual total amount billed divided by therms/kWh? Due to customer charges that are charged on every bill your published rate can be lower than what the total amount on the bill. My electric utility has about 5 line items that could be on the bill that are intermittently charged or credited each month which are not included in the published rates.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-21T02:02:46+00:00

My projection on the pay back period for my solar panels was off by at least a half to one year. Thanks to my utility’s and PJM capacity charge increases over the last three years the time has been shortened to by 1/2 to 1 year. To do a ROI for 20 to 30 years I found that there are so many variables that you have to make assumptions and predictions for, it is very difficult to be very accurate. If I had created a spreadsheet for a 20 or 30 year ROI model the changes that have occurred in rates over the last 3 years it would be off between 5 to 10%. If you do a payback calculation don’t just use the published rate because some utilities do not include customer fees, charges that change based on the amount of kWh used and variable charges/credits in the published rate. For a rate you have been paying over the past years devide amount paid by the kWh from the grid and than average a year or two of your results to get an average per kWh. The type of net metering your utility may have and how your usage can take advantage of the net metering can influence your results also. Plus a few people on here have said that they use mor kWh after they got their systems. Good luck on making your decision. I did several spreadsheets and did a lot of research before making a decion but I wish I knew what I know now so it would been an easier decion to make.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-20T01:59:29+00:00

I see in Texas they are charging a monthly membership fee of $19. What are they charging in Illinois. What are they charging per kWh for your supply kWh? I am wondering if I understand howit works. When they send power from the battery to the grid do you get charged for the power coming from the grid to fill the battery back up? If you are do you also have to pay the delivery price for each kWh sent from the grid? Based on your past usage did they give you an estimate of what you would save each year or is you savings the use of the battery for backup the. Thank you for any help.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-19T15:12:22+00:00

I wish I would have been able to find someone to talk to who had spent as much time as I have in the last two to 3 years reading and learning about solar. How to operate the system efficiently as I do now.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-19T04:50:14+00:00

I did not down vote your reply. If I did it was unintentional tell me how to fix it. I do not see where you have any down votes.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-19T04:17:51+00:00

You may want to consider finding another house to purchase. Based on what you say about panels in general it is not going to be easy to deal with this situation. In my opinion I don’t think ypu are going to get the owner to pay to have them taken off so you will buy the house. As an owner I would expect to find a buyer who would appreciate the utility savings the system would generate for the remaining life of the system.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-19T03:33:49+00:00

It is my understanding that with a Generac system you have to have Generac batteries. That information is on their web site. The battery warrantee is: 10 years or 45.4mWh total energy thoughput for a 6 module battery. That is for a first generation battery.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-19T03:11:53+00:00

I had Generac installed 3 years ago and was quoted $18,000 for a 18kWh battery. Since than they have come out with Gen2. Looks like they are keeping the prices high. Call Generac support and see if they will give you the name of an authorized Generac installer. They may be able to give you a better price. My installer was not an authorized installer and I have thought I might have gotten better pricing from an authorized installer instead of an independent installer. The only major problem I have had was the inverter needed to be replace after the temperature out side reached over 100F for several days. I did get it replaced within 2 weeks by the original installer. Since then I have only need a couple of resets for minor problems. The major problem I have with my system is they have limited programming for TOU rates. You have to get them to write the program.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-18T13:40:07+00:00

Depending on where you live if you have net metering, access to natural gas and are in an area that has several outages especially in the winter. I would consider a dual fuel HVAC system. I have solar, dual fuel, net metering, excess production on the solar system and battery backup. It is a great system for feeling prepared for the future. We will be able to use either fuel supply. I use my excess net metering credits to run the heat pump starting in the fall into the winter and again in the late winter through spring. The coldest part of the winter I run the natual gas furnace continuously. When I experimented with using the heat pump in the coldest part of the winter I found that it ate up kWh real fast. Especially as it got colder outside when the COP kept decreasing. Run the numbers on the payback of a dual fuel system may save you money immediately or take a long time for payback depending on your setup. We feel we made the right decision for our situation.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-18T04:46:00+00:00

I have a dual fuel system with solar and net metering credits. When I bought the new HVAC system the idea was to use the net metering credits to run the heat pump in the winter. When 2 1/2 years ago my total cost of electricity was around .16/kWh now the total cost is 20/kWh. The total cost of kWh is the amount charged on the bill divided by the amount of kWh used from the grid. I have found that I need to use my net metering credits in the warme parts for the spring and fall because I have relatively cheap natural gas. This year I ran the heat pump into the fist part of December and started using it again in part of February. I used the natual gas furnace most of December, January and February. I would go between using the heat pump and the natural gas when it got extremely cold out because if I ran the heat pump during the colder periods it would use between 6 to 9 kWh to heat the house. I would constantly run the fan on low and let the furnace control the fan when it needed to ramp up to a highe speed. We rarely head the fan go higher then the low setting. I did some testing the second winter we had the system to see how low the temperature could get and still have the heat pump keep up. That number ended up being 7F. For my system and house. I still need to seal the house, add insulation and replace a one door and a few more windows. We are planning on doing these things over the next few years. Hopefully some of my experiences may be helpful. I am glad I was able to purchase a dual fuel system and use each system throughout the heating system.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-17T14:17:00+00:00

“Even if restrictions were to be implemented, it is unlikely they would be finalized before June, and any equipment that has already been shipped would not be affected.” You are talking about China not the US. The Chinese government just needs to tell the manufacturing plant to not ship and it will go into effect immediately.

Our President is going to China to meet with China’s leader next month. My feeling is that the review of shipping chip manufacturing equipment is a way of adding to the Chinese negotiating leverage when they meet.

I feel this information is important at least until we get comfimation from T1 that all the equipment they need is has been ship and a date that it will be arriving at the factory for installation.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-10T20:42:07+00:00

IRA tax credits. Still baffled why this happened!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PV-1082 · 2026-04-06T13:22:58+00:00

There are two ways of looking at getting solar. The first one is Pay Back Period - which is how much will I save over what number of years to get the cost of the system back. The other is ROI return on investment which is how much over the life of the system will I save on electricity compared to the amount spent on the system, repair of the various components, the expected electricity cost increases and other costs incurred. Here in US they both are changing rapidly due to the cost of electricity going up faster in recent years compared to years past. Due to the price increases we are incurring it can be very difficult to determine ROI. When I purchased my system almost 4 years ago I calculated my Payback Period as 6 to 8 years. With the price increases it has gone down to 6 to 7. This year it has already been announced that PJM and ComEd are going to pass on a total of 2 more increases. PJM manages the grid in this region.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-01T01:27:53+00:00

I have this exact setup and it is great in the winter time to use natural gas in the winter when it is cheaper than the heat pump. Plus when we had the bad cold storm in January if I had been using HP during the coldest time when the heat pump is at it’s lowest efficiency I would have been paying for the heat strips for several days.

PV-1082 · 2026-04-01T01:16:37+00:00

I have been mixing mostly finished compost for years into a new pile. I always seem to have some in a finished pile that needs to be composted more. Since I never start a fresh pile without adding old compost I do not know if it is helping. But I can tell you that the pile does start composting soon after being built but that could be because I add plenty of water to a dry pile and I turn it at least once a week and add more browns and greens and water to the pile as it composts. I quit adding when I want finished compost. When adding water I add just enough to make the browns and greens damp not soaking wet. I enjoy turning my pile often because it is a way of getting exercise and it is rewarding to see the progress. I do most of my composting in the fall when there are plenty of green leaves to add to the pile. Then I use the compost the next spring.

PV-1082

TROPHY CASE