Still happy paying for gas. We use so little, will be looking for a self driving ev car 10 years from now.
There are more than 50 charging stations in my city. Nissan and BMW dealers have had charging stations for ten years.
The electric company office has 8 free charging stations available, the Harley Davidson dealer has installed a charging station in the parking lot.
The infrastructure plan includes adding more charging locations, it seems that the private sector has been considered insufficient or the charging stations available are unknown to the politicians. Once there is a greater number of EV vehicles there will be more stations selling electricity.
SAV. Shared autonomous vehicle. Like rent-a-bike? In the suburbs? Ah, it will auto drive to your house. Nice,
My next car may well be electric, depending on whatâs available in the 2024/2026 time frame. A few years ago, we had someone pitch solar panels for our house. They would own them and we would pay them for the electricity at a rate substantially below the utility rate. It didnât make sense for us. We only use electricity for lights, the heat pump on the top floor, and the AC for the basement and first floor. Heat on the lower floors, water heating, and cooking is all with natural gas. We rarely us AC, and the savings was small. All that is an example of why solar electric doesnât always make sense.
EV Cars, solar, and thinking outside the box
At our condo building right now we have some EVs and talks are continuing in our HOA to install a charging station.
Oh, and this thing about individuals installing solar panelsâŠ
Our condo building and its residents are entirely electric power. We have no gas (thank goodness⊠a bunch of old folks using gas and going to bed⊠kaboom!) I canât install solar on our 7 story building, itâs not allowed, nor do I want that or need that.
I was on a waiting list with my electric utility company here on the Florida Sun Coast for the past year. I was waiting for a new solar farm (of many) to be constructed here in FL that I pay for (surcharge on my monthly bills).
Two months ago I was notified that my farm was completed and I will be certified 100% solar powered at my condo.
Now, I will be receiving my second monthly electric bill that shows my fixed (forever) surcharge and a credit (based on the actual total solar electricity production for the month from that facility).
Last month my total cost to be 100% solar⊠surcharge - minus credit = $2.19! And thatâs without me screwing around with panels, batteries, etcetera. I leave it up to the experts to build, maintain, improve the panels at our solar farm and distribute the electricity. Sweet!
An engineer from the utility, in Ft. Meyers (worldâs nicest, most knowledgeable man and he gave me his phone number because he new I was excited to ask lots of questions) said as the days become longer I can expect larger credits and he anticipates my June net cost for total solar power to be **fifty cents!**eet!
Now, hereâs where it gets good⊠he said electricity costs rise 1.7% per year, but my surcharge will never increase. Therefore, in 2 to 4 years my credits will exceed my charges for a net reduction in my electric bills! As he says, the program is a no brainer.
And if I move within the utility coverage area, I can take my history with me and if Iâm not happy I can cancel out of the program at any time (they know I wonât).
This innovative approach to residential solar caught the FL power commission off guard and it took a while for them to understand, study, and give approval to our utility. Now itâs being copied by at least one other company that I know of.
And finally, my same utility is building the worldâs largest solar storage battery in our county. They are solving the problem of âwhat happens to solar when the sun goes down?â
I love this company. Theyâre awesome. I own lots of stock in the parent company and itâs one of the best investments (proven track record) that one could ever make.
CSA
If we planned to stay in this large house for 10 more years then Iâd consider buying them. But when we retire we plan on downsizing. The problem with the panels owned by the solar company is when you sell your home. Many people around here are having problems with that.
Especially as we move toward EVs and cleaner energy, it seems almost silly to me to have individuals buying, leasing, installing ugly residential solar panels, when it can be done better, more cost effectively, and with less concern with maintenance and repairs, by a large electric utility.
I installed solar power with a click of a mouse, for $2.19 (first winter month) and nobody came out and nobody installed anything. In the near future this 100% solar power installation will begin to reduce my electric energy costs.
Feel the magic!
CSA