u/ElectraBuzze

We are located in the Bay Area. Marin to be exact.

I finally lost it when my July bill was 1200 bucks from PGE. We worked with a great local contractor in Marin. Got 10ish quotes and Amy’s was the best one in terms of service, responsiveness, and crew for us.

Our solar is finally up and running.

Our bill had reached $900–$1,000+/month.
We also drive a lot: ~1,500 miles/month per car, or 36,000 miles/year total.
Previously:
• 2025.5 Volvo XC90 PHEV
• Volvo C40 EV
Now:
• Volvo C40 EV
• Rivian R2 EV
So we’ve gone from a PHEV + EV to two full EVs.

Our setup:
• 33 solar panels / ~15 kW
• ~21,200 kWh/year projected production
• 3 Powerwalls / ~40.5 kWh usable storage
• Solar portion cost ~$32,182
• Roughly $2.15–$2.20/W for the solar itself
• Total solar + battery project was ~$65,938

With 36,000 miles/year between the EVs, transportation alone could use roughly 12,000–14,000/year. Gas is freaking expensive!!

Roughly $12k–$15k/year on household transportation energy.

I’m estimating the new setup could save around $8k–$12k/year, depending on actual production, charging behavior, battery utilization and grid imports.
For anyone else with PG&E/MCE + batteries + two EVs + high mileage.

I’d be curious what your real-world savings and payback have looked like for others.

Are there upgrades like heat pumps that people would recommend in the Bay Area? They are growing in popularity where we moved from even with the much colder winters.

Note: Did not do lease to own, seemed like a suspect concept.