Anybody here do solar power ?

[Mikey]

A relative is building a house and is investigating the possibility of going solar.

The way I understand it, you buy the panels and either install them on your roof or pipe-framed bleachers (on your yard)

You then just let the sun do it's thing .

The electricity produced goes to the power company... while you are sucking electric FROM the power company.

At the end of the month your produced electric is deducted from your bill.

Been told most people produced more than used so they receive a check in the mail (for the difference) every month.

This sounds like a win win thing ...

If so, why isn't everyone doing it ?

m

[knight errant00]

I looked into it a long time ago for our house. At the time (and I admit, technology has changed) the problem was the cost, i.e., the expense of the panels vs. the payback on the electric bill. The numbers I saw then showed that, with the savings on the electric bill, it would still take 15 years for us to break even on the expense of the panels -- which had a 10-year lifespan. I haven't looked into it lately, but I'm sure those numbers have to be different now.

[Mr.Marion]

It's a pretty big thing in Phoenix because of the amount of sunny days. I remember a couple years ago there was some sort of rebate that essentially made it a subsidized purchase. Not sure if that is still going on but Knight Errant is right in that the initial cost is rather high.

[Bronxboykev]

From the little I have heard as well the start up cost is VERY expensive, in the TEN'S of Thousands, and the only way to get the tax write off as well is to pay up front for it, if you finance you are not entitled to the tax write off or at the very least a fraction of what the tax write off would be if paid for outright.

[Mego Magyar]

I recently got a couple of 100 watt panels starter setup just to have a little power backup. The 2 panels, wires, mount hardware and controller was about $370 and a couple of 35ah batteries for $120 - I've been doing Bing rewards and Swagbucks to rack up points for Amazon gift cards and didn't spend any money for anything. Hope to add a couple of more batteries and maybe another panel in the future. Still have to decide on how I'm going to set things up.

[Nostalgiabuff]

there are all kinds of companies popping up with solar panels, I would be very careful in choosing. personally, I think they are an eyesore. I whole heartedly agree with going green and renewable energy and so on, but these panels are just ugly. they also cause issues on your roof so you really need to have a brand new roof when putting them on. also, because of the cost, be very clear on how long you plan on staying the that house

[Hector]

Expensive, expensive, expensive.

I have a friend who is actually going that route...we are talking about $30K for the conversion here.

I'll stick to my electric and gas company...

[bmattioli]

I get the phone calls and mail from them frequently and see them more and more as start up companies.. My electric bill is low and my power Co. announced a price reduction in CT 1 Jul 16.. So no panels for me..

[Duncan]

Yeah, it's a cost issue. There are maps out there showing cost-effectiveness by region. I think there's one where you can type in your address and the map does some calculations...wish I could remember more about it.

I have a nice big roof facing the right direction, but I'm still not there because of cost. I really hope that we see gains in efficiency soon to make it a better investment. If I could get the price under $10K with a 7-8 year payback I'd give it serious thought. Of course, I'm also reading that power companies are feeling threatened by solar and now want to charge for grid maintenance - even when they owe the customer money on a net basis. I don't really blame them, but that chips away at the savings.

[WannabeMego]

Find Policies & Incentives Near you: http://www.dsireusa.org/

Map that shows Estimated Monthly Solar Energy: http://maps.nrel.gov/prospector

My Area in New Jersey was as low as 2.93 in November and as high as 4.55 (kWh/m2/day) in July.

[WannabeMego]

Also...this will be a good resource once it hits your area:

https://www.google.com/get/sunroof/about/

[Mikey]

Good tips guys

Never dawned on me regional prices were so vastly different.

[Nostalgiabuff]

I had a solar co. knock on my door last week telling me they are gov't subsidized and so the cost is greatly reduced...yadda yadda yadda

I told the guy, until they come up with a more aesthetically pleasing panel, such as one that looks like roof shingles or a tree, I would not use them. they are an eye sore. he said they actually have ones that look like roof shingles but they are not economically feasible at this point

[Duncan]

Also...this will be a good resource once it hits your area:

That's what I was thinking of, thanks.