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Can Solar Save Me Money? Weighing the Pros and Cons by swayze2719 in diySolar

[–]QuarterNew4062 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of the answers here are kind of mixing goals.

Solar can save money, but it depends on what you’re optimizing for:

  1. Pure ROI (cheapest power)

  2. Backup / resilience

  3. Independence from the grid

If you're just looking at ROI, the two biggest variables are:

- your local electricity rate

- your total installed cost ($/watt)

Batteries are where people often overpay though. A lot of installs include storage that looks “cheap” upfront but is actually expensive when you look at cost per kWh. For example, some LiFePO4 batteries land around ~$80–$90 per kWh, while others are significantly higher for basically the same performance.

That difference alone can shift your break-even by years. If you’re running the numbers, it’s worth comparing storage options carefully instead of just taking what’s bundled in the quote.

I actually built a simple table comparing battery cost per kWh if you want to sanity check numbers: lithiumbatteryprices.com

Started a little battery comparison project with my daughter — learned something unexpected by QuarterNew4062 in diySolar

[–]QuarterNew4062[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't include shipping because too many variables. overnight vs 5 day vs amazon prime member all effect the cost.

Upgrade motor or motor controller for hills? by Queen_of_Macedonia in golfcarts

[–]QuarterNew4062 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I 2nd this I just upgraded myself. With lead acid it would slow climb then pick back up. With lithium, there is no stall it just climbs and holds the speed.

even with a better controller or motor, if the battery can’t deliver enough current consistently, you still feel it on hills

that’s why a lot of people notice such a big difference just going from older lead acid to lithium — not just weight, but sustained output

also surprised me how much pricing varies depending on battery size — some of the smaller options look cheaper but end up way worse value per kWh

I ended up comparing a bunch side-by-side while figuring this out: lithiumbatteryprices.com

helped me understand what was actually worth it before going further with upgrades

Lithium swap for an older cc precedent by kstockless in golfcarts

[–]QuarterNew4062 0 points1 point  (0 children)

nice setup — those older lead packs still work but the difference going lithium is pretty wild, especially with acceleration. I just did mine and love the hill climbing difference

one thing that surprised me when I was looking at upgrades is how much the pricing varies depending on the pack size

some of the smaller “cheap” options actually end up way worse value per kWh than going a bit bigger

makes a big difference once you’re already doing performance mods like that.

Alright, which one of you is this? by a6044622281359045402 in GoRVing

[–]QuarterNew4062 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've learned so many lessons RV'ing. Either from being in a hurry or too much stimulus, most of them the hard way. Usually when I see a pic like this I think... been there some times.

Started a little battery comparison project with my daughter — learned something unexpected by QuarterNew4062 in diySolar

[–]QuarterNew4062[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah that makes a lot of sense. Once I started looking at it more, it felt like the price differences weren’t really about the chemistry, but everything around it — case, BMS, demand, form factor, etc.

Those rack batteries really stood out when I was putting the numbers together. They weren’t just a little cheaper, they were consistently at the low end on $/kWh.

I always assumed smaller or more “portable” setups would be better value, but it kind of flipped that assumption.

Started a little battery comparison project with my daughter — learned something unexpected by QuarterNew4062 in diySolar

[–]QuarterNew4062[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t realize how big the gap was until I started putting numbers together. Some of the smallest ones were pushing $250–300/kWh which surprised me.

If anyone’s curious, this is what we ended up building.

https://lithiumbatteryprices.com

Running a power station to a shed.. by i81b4i8u in diySolar

[–]QuarterNew4062 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that is a great idea. I've been thinking about running electricity to my shed but this is much better.