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the energy you generate is likely being used locally, it doesn't use much of the distribution system and it requires less of the higher up parts of the distribution system be used.

i'd argue that the condition of the grid is the mismanagement of the utility they gave money that they did not have to their shareholders, it was money that they needed to use to maintain the infrastructure that makes them money. i see it as no different than taking out a loan, giving it to their shareholders then expecting the customers to repay the loan. in my area they have owned the infrastructure for over 100 years. the sate it is in is their responsibility.

edit: and you complained about my comment about the ai fiction that said tempered glass could crack rather than shatter.

either your post is going to drift in all sorts of directions or it is going to rocket to page 2 and beyond to never be seen again

Both of my nieces bought houses in the last 5 years and both had solar installed. 1 in CT & 1 in MA. One house has gas heat and HW. The other house is all electric.

They both are very happy with them at least for now.

Now, @ethicalpaul to make your house really efficient you can rip out the steam and go the heat pump route.😊😊😊😊 LOL

There is quite a bit of thought that can go into optimizing solar panels when you start taking into consideration more than just pointing the panels directly at the sun but also things like clipping(when the panel can push more power than the inverter can handle), how the panels age, production on cloudy days, and so on. Kind of fun actually.

That's where you need to really engineer it out well. For example, instead of matching the solar panel wattage to the inverters capacity, oversize the panels. In my case the panels are 340 watt but the micro inverters are only 300. Yes I loose potential output during the peak. But that only lasts a few hours with stationary panels. And only during the months when the sun is highest in the sky. Having those higher output panels means I have better production numbers in overcast conditions all year but also as the panels age I still maintain the original capacity overall. They really only clip out from about 11:30am to 12:30-1pm.

Another advantage is maintaining output even while the panels are baking. I had to go all the way back to May 9th to find a time when they clipped out this year because of how hot it has been.

Yes I would consider it, but the removal of the incentive in December definitely pushed me over the line in this case.

After the incentives are gone, the price will reduce, so I still may have done it anyway since philosophically I am aligned with solar power and since electricity cost is really going up here in NJ.

I sense a little scorn in your wording regarding incentives. To that I would say there are tax incentives for farming, for fossil fuel production, having children, and innumerable other things so I don't feel guilty at all about taking some of MY tax money back. Thank you!