Residential Utilities Installer: Fill & Download for Free

According to the US Energy Information Administration’s FAQ page here: How much electricity does an American home use? the average electricity use per month in a US household is 911kWh.Here is the relevant part:“How much electricity does an American home use?In 2014, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,932 kilowatthours (kWh), an average of 911 kWh per month.”If you divide 911kWh per month by 30 days you get 30 kWh per day.The Powerwall battery for residential use only stores 10 kWh. For $3500+installation, for storing less than half a day's power, I don't think it is worth it for the average homeowner at this time.

You’ll get some good answers, but I’d like to offer an alternative solution that you might consider. We purchased our house over 18 years ago. The gas water heater died about a year later. We spoke with our electric utility & installed one of these: Rheem Residential Electric Water Heaters (105 gallon sized unit).(Photo copyright Rheem)It cost more than the gas & tankless units, but, it has some specific advantages:105 gallons of hot water. Enough for a huge family. Smaller sizes are availableOur electric utility gave us a “rebate” that reduced the purchase cost significantlyIt gets a subsidy on the electricity used by running on an off-peak cycle: full recharge at 1:00 ~ 3:00 AM & a boost at 1:30 ~ 2:30 PM. (the cost to run it is comparable to using an 85 gal gas unit)No gas means no “electronic starter”. Those things, unlike pilot light units, cause rust by burning off protective coatings and in a basement (where humidity stalks) which then allows rust to develop when the flame is out. Enough rust & your heating unit falls apart. And, that was what took out its predecessorIt’s a monster thermos bottle & is always cool to the touchThe one & only negative is that a 30 amp electric circuit needs to be installed to run the unit.So, check with your electric utility to see if this type of unit is available. If yes, compare prices & discounts. Ours is now pushing 18 years of age & is still running strong.//DISCLAIMER: After having our unit, I’ll never willingly go back to a gas HWH.

Whether they are cost effective depends on what your electricity prices are, and how suitable your home is for solar. People routinely offset 100% of their utility bill. Or 20%. Or, whatever you choose to do depending on how many panels you install.The way to think about it is this: The energy from your solar panels is replacing energy that you would have bought from your utility. So, the economics of your situation will be very different if you live in California, where the average residential utility rate is on the order of $0.17/kWh, or if you live in North Dakota, where electricity rates are about half that, at $0.08/kWh. The solar system should cost about the same in both places, so in California, your system will pay back at least twice as fast.Here in Austin, TX, where electricity is pretty cheap, people generally see between a 5-10 year payback on their investment, after which they are getting free electricity for the expected 25 year life of the system, typically with only minor maintenance costs.