Author Topic: Anyone have solar panels? (Read 3329 times)

torredcuda · « **on:** June 30, 2016 - 07:58:14 PM »

Had a sales pitch from a solar company to install panels on our roof, will cost less per month than the current electric bill and will be paid off in 12 years. Are they a good investment or not? Panels are garenteed for 25 years but my main concern is what if the roof needs new shingles 10 years from now?

Chryco Psycho · « **Reply #1 on:** June 30, 2016 - 08:02:13 PM »

Here I am sure you could get off the grid completely & I have been looking into it . Makes sense from every standpoint to me

AARuFAST · « **Reply #2 on:** June 30, 2016 - 08:31:25 PM »

Haven't talked to neighbors yet, but about a dozen have had the solar panels installed.

Most have 1 to 10 yrs on shingles.
My roof is 2yrs old. If I were younger I would consider installation.
I have natural gas stove, hot water heater, natural gas furnace.
Panels make homes look cluttered.
Some of the neighbors had to have trees removed. Removal 700 to 1 th dollars plus.

torredcuda · « **Reply #3 on:** June 30, 2016 - 08:33:09 PM »

No trees and back of house is facing south so you`d only see them from the backyard.

spamtank · « **Reply #4 on:** June 30, 2016 - 09:40:46 PM »

I heard several discussions on this on the radio and in conversation.

I worry about the long term efficiency. If they degrade over time, it will take longer to pay off. And, given the pollen season and sparse rain we've had this year, I'd bet you'd have to clean them pretty regularly to keep them operating at their specified level.

One discussion point that scares me, and I don't know if it's true is regarding the financing that companies want you to sign up for. The point that was mades was that the solar panel company essentially owns your house until the system is fully paid off. And if you have an issue with one payment left to go, too bad. Again, I don't know if there's any truth to it. But I had a sales pitch (over the phone), and there was a lot of pressure to fill some forms out and send them back to arrange for a survey. In the end, I had an uneasy feeling and never went forward with it.

I kind of feel like it's one of those technologies that you will end up wishing you had waited a few more years for further manufacturing and efficiency improvements.

There's a local guy that has a few Tesla vehicles, and his house is all solar. I think his setup is pretty elaborate, with solar electric and solar hot water.

I do like the idea of hot water. I think you would only need to preheat the water a 10 or 20 degrees to make a good dent on your hot water heating bill.

gyman98 · « **Reply #5 on:** June 30, 2016 - 10:21:53 PM »

I built a solar system to heat our pool. It heats a 10000gal outdoor pool up to 85� no problem. The pump runs on a solar panel and only circulates water when the sun is shining and the collectors are hot.

This is in Saskatchewan too so they would only work better in the south I would imagine

torredcuda · « **Reply #6 on:** July 01, 2016 - 06:10:14 AM »

Quote from: spamtank on June 30, 2016 - 09:40:46 PM

I heard several discussions on this on the radio and in conversation.

I worry about the long term efficiency. If they degrade over time, it will take longer to pay off. And, given the pollen season and sparse rain we've had this year, I'd bet you'd have to clean them pretty regularly to keep them operating at their specified level.

One discussion point that scares me, and I don't know if it's true is regarding the financing that companies want you to sign up for. The point that was mades was that the solar panel company essentially owns your house until the system is fully paid off. And if you have an issue with one payment left to go, too bad. Again, I don't know if there's any truth to it. But I had a sales pitch (over the phone), and there was a lot of pressure to fill some forms out and send them back to arrange for a survey. In the end, I had an uneasy feeling and never went forward with it.

I kind of feel like it's one of those technologies that you will end up wishing you had waited a few more years for further manufacturing and efficiency improvements.

There's a local guy that has a few Tesla vehicles, and his house is all solar. I think his setup is pretty elaborate, with solar electric and solar hot water.

I do like the idea of hot water. I think you would only need to preheat the water a 10 or 20 degrees to make a good dent on your hot water heating bill.

I am going to ask what happens if I sell my house but I will also ask about them essentially having a lien on my house.

spamtank · « **Reply #7 on:** July 01, 2016 - 06:22:36 AM »

Quote from: torredcuda on July 01, 2016 - 06:10:14 AM

I am going to ask what happens if I sell my house but I will also ask about them essentially having a lien on my house.

You're right. The sale aspect is another consideration.

Might be worth contacting a real estate agent if you have any friends in that field.

dodj · « **Reply #8 on:** July 01, 2016 - 07:08:44 AM »

I was approached for doing this as well. I was too concerned about roof maintenance to go ahead with it. The panels have to attach to something which means potential for leaks. Fixing a leak with panels covering your shingles must be a pita. And in winter you have to keep shoveling/sweeping the snow off. Not a concern for you southern people, but up here in

it is.

djw383 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 01, 2016 - 08:31:41 AM »

My brother in law put them on his house, which faces south and is in a huge field. He was told he would make money by selling back to the power company. He did not finance and he paid cash for them. His household is just he and his wife and he is a miser when it comes to using lights and heating his house. End result, he rarely covers his electric bill and even if his usage is zero he still has to pay the "static" fees to be connected to the power company. He would not do again.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

moprr · « **Reply #10 on:** July 01, 2016 - 09:42:22 AM »

I was wondering how you get rid of old or defective panels do they recycle them or do you need to pay $ to properly dispose of them?

dougs bs23 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 01, 2016 - 02:45:07 PM »

I recently was approached too. Hey perfect roof and we have free installation. Heres what I was able to discover. Free installation, the systems this company have no back up or reserve, so it rolls back into the grid. You get to use approximately 40% of whats generated, and the other 60 go's back to the grid. You pay a monthly "lease fee" for the panels, so as I see it any savings would be minimal . The thing they don't tell you is that you don't get the energy credits that your local electric company benefits from, They need these to show they have a certain percentage of "clean energy generation . The solar company keeps the credits, sells them to your local provider and doubles there profit. For me I would only do it if 1 outright owned the panels, 2 had a backup system,3 was able to reap the profit from selling the credits back to my local provider.
A lot of people have them now, and it may be good but be careful and research the company approaching you.

HP_Cuda · « **Reply #12 on:** July 01, 2016 - 03:12:16 PM »

On my last house I was pitched Solar many many times. Basically if you want around a 3kW system installed you are looking at a 15+ year payback cycle and I didn't think I was going to live there that long (guess what I didn't). Sure you can use it as a selling point but you won't get back as much as you put into it - sound familiar?

Today solar panels are at best 40% efficient and they are quite expensive. So most systems are made with many lower efficiency panels and with more components means a higher ability to fail. At some point in the near future I think it will make sense and this is why a great deal of solar outfitters are trying the leasing model to make sales.

The one thing you have to look into is that in certain areas you can be paid in credits for the amount of electricity put back into the grid. In my area, my utility would allow my bill to go to zero but they will not allow you to run your meter backwards. So anything you put back into the grid you are just giving it to them for free. Nice arrangement eh?

Hopefully battery technology will get to the point that you can safely run everything off them at night without drawing from the grid. Lipo and Lion batteries are moving in the right direction but high discharge and charge can be tricky. As you increase the "C" rating of batteries (ability to charge and discharge) the price goes up.

I would love to go completely off the grid in the near future when I buy my next house.

soundcontrol · « **Reply #13 on:** July 01, 2016 - 05:33:56 PM »

Would be cool to experiment and make some panels.

https://youtu.be/ouLa4Ftu3O8

slsc98 · « **Reply #14 on:** July 02, 2016 - 07:13:20 AM »

Quote from: torredcuda on July 01, 2016 - 06:10:14 AM

I am going to ask what happens if I sell my house but I will also ask about them essentially having a lien on my house.

Not trying to dampen enthusiasm (solar is definitely a large part of the future) but, uh yeah, questions like this I'd run past the appropriate division within my state's attorney general's office (or your jurisdiction's equivalent).

At the very least, I'd find an attorney willing, qualified and experienced in reviewing such contracts BEFORE any such agreement is even drawn up. Doing that "legwork" (yellow pages) in advance has saved me untold $tre$$.

The other partie's eyes and / or reaction say it all and tell me whether I'm entering into a true Win/Win contract or whether I've just dodged a huge bullet -- when they see damning (to me) language lines or entire sentences crossed out with spaces for them to initial acknowledgement.

Heck, one attorney even found fine print buried in one contract that legally made me PER$ONALLY RE$ON$IBLE for making payments on an installation, even if I sold the property! Most recently, it was identical language in an agreement my siblings and I were handed when trying to find assisted living for an elderly relative but, that's another thread . . .

Best o' Success (but, Caveat Emptor when anyone YOU ARE PAYING for a product requires YOU to sign a contract)!

WE KNOW the technology and concepts are sound . . . it's just SOME of the sales and marketing people on the lead edge of the wave of the future. I envy anyone able to build their own system, awesome!

Author Topic: Anyone have solar panels? (Read 3329 times)

torredcuda

Anyone have solar panels?

Chryco Psycho

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

AARuFAST

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

torredcuda

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

spamtank

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

gyman98

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

torredcuda

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

spamtank

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

dodj

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

djw383

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

moprr

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

dougs bs23

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

HP_Cuda

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

soundcontrol

Re: Anyone have solar panels?

slsc98

Re: Anyone have solar panels?