Re: So in conclusion
"my power needs will still cost less than a third of that which I'd have to pay PG&E"
You also need to factor in the inevitable rate increases. Once a solar system is up and running, the money has been spent and can't go up. I spent yesterday in the garage working on another passive solar heating panel for the house. Using a combination of new and salvaged materials each panel costs me about $100 plus my time. My goal is to not only not need to pay for any heating in the winter, but to keep the house at a much more balmy temperature. Solar PV is in the plans, but even lower hanging fruit for me right now is insulation, new windows and weather sealing to get heating and cooling bills down to nothing. I will have the evaporative cooler running from solar this summer during the day as the first phase on solar PV. If I have the time and budget, I'll have a chest freezer in the garage running on solar 24/7 with some battery backup and a fallback to the mains just in case. Living in a desert city might actually make it easier to go off-grid than in a more temperate climate zone. Just being able to use the swamp cooler saves shed loads of money over even a heat pump. I also get many days of bright sun to harvest.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
