Who has solar panels installed?

[SDS]

I look into this every five years or so. Just doing my five year check in. I’m curious what people’s experiences are. Bonus points for recent installations. 

[707BillsFan]

No responses? Yes, we had solar installed about a year and a half ago. Had a local company here in our area do the install. It was a smooth, easy experience. We had our work-up done when it was just my wife and I in the house. Soon after the install, my daughter and her BF moved in...kind of skewed the stats. I still don't feel the need to add more panels (they'll finally move out in the next couple of months and we'll be back to our normal usage). We're still happy. I didn't go for the battery back up, those things are crazy expensive. We could get a generator for a fraction of the cost if needed. With our PG&E raising rates on a continual basis, I'm happy we have solar. 

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

20 hours ago, SDS said:

I look into this every five years or so. Just doing my five year check in. I’m curious what people’s experiences are. Bonus points for recent installations. 

https://frederickrealestateonline.com/are-solar-panels-worth-the-investment-in-my-maryland-home/

 

[Nextmanup]

My sister/brother in law who live in a big old Victorian house in the city of Buffalo had this done a few years ago.

 

I'm pretty sure they are happy with it.  

 

I believe the calculation that my brother in law performed said the system would pay for itself after 7 years via lower power bills. 

 

 

 

 

[Mr Info]

IPSUN Solar may be servicing your area. I attended a couple of their zooms. it does not make financial sense for us right now despite the tax credits.
 

https://www.ipsunsolar.com

[sherpa]

I have been interested in this for years as well, and check on the industries' advancements regularly.

I had a solar hot water system in my house in California, and was really happy with it. It provided all of our hot water needs.

 

Photovoltaic is another issue, but I am also interested in that, and have been actively following it for years.

The basics are that the most efficient system is an array that points true, (as opposed to magnetic) south, and plus or minus, installed at the same angle as your north latitude elevation.

The house we live in now, has this exact arrangement on the garage roof, which is plenty big enough.

Not a coincidence.

 

Our church has an adjoining property and the guy has a 24 unit 4x8 array installed.

His situation is less than perfect, but I talk to him regularly about the system's performance.

 

Bottom line, I haven't seen any evidence that it makes sense for me yet, even with the perfect situation.

I believe there are things coming in the next few years that will make more sense. 

[dorquemada]

SDS - I'm like you,  i periodically check in on this.  I live a little way west of Albany so not exactly drowning in sunlight.  Here's my hot take

 

1. The companies promising 'free' solar in exchange for a discount are pretty lame unless your power bill is so staggering that getting 20% off is going to change your life.  We have pretty high electric bills, usually around $250-$300 a month.  At 20% savings, basically i'm looking at saving $60 a month.  For that I get the bottom 10% of last year's HS graduating class clamoring around on my roof driving screws into it
    
2. If you're looking at buying the cells outright, the ROI looks different, though for us we got estimates from $22,000 to $30,000 to generate enough juice to make a meaningful contribution.  That's just the cells. You can almost double that if you want sufficient battery capacity.  Batteries have gotten cheaper but still not 'cheap'.  This is really the route i wanted to go to be able to be self sufficient during outages, and generally not draw much from the grid.  The other advantage of this approach is you can sell power to the grid when you're producing.  It's still gonna be a real long ROI, 10-20 years, assuming you don't have to replace the batteries, which you will

One of my neighbors put in a closed loop geotherm system, and outright bought some solar cells & battery that produce enough juice to keep the pumps running.  He gets his heating, cooling, and hot water for 'free'

 

 

[sherpa]

1 hour ago, dorquemada said:

One of my neighbors put in a closed loop geotherm system, and outright bought some solar cells & battery that produce enough juice to keep the pumps running.  He gets his heating, cooling, and hot water for 'free'.

 

 

 

The last house we built had a closed loop geothermal system.

I had it installed and liked it a lot.

 

In constructing this current house, I looked at doing the same.

The cost was excessive, and not competitive. 

Far more expensive than what I built years ago.

 

He isn't getting his "heating, cooling and hot water for free."

 

Such a claim is similar to buying a bunch of food, putting it in a freezer, and when using it, claiming you are getting it for free.

Edited February 25, 2021 by sherpa

[ExiledInIllinois]

My father... 40 years ago.  😆 Really.  My brother was selling them and like good parents, they "bought in." 🤣... 

 

5 bucks more if you wanna ask how good they really worked in 1984. They are still on the house and it turns a fan/blower.  😆

Edited February 25, 2021 by ExiledInIllinois

[dorquemada]

40 minutes ago, sherpa said:

 

He isn't getting his "heating, cooling and hot water for free."

 

You're the expert, apparently, but that is what he tells people

[sherpa]

57 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

You're the expert, apparently, but that is what he tells people

 

I'm not an expert.

I've just priced the systems out, and continue to do so.

 

The problem with geothermal is not in the system. It's in the expense of creating the heat sink.

If you tell some backhoe operator to dig a four foot trench 100' long and do it four times, you will get a price.

Septic systems are not that much different.

If you tell him you are doing it for a geothermal system, the price will change.

 

The other issue with geothermal is consistent with a lot of contractor issues.

If one person digs the field, and another provides the plumbing and hvac system, if there is a problem, they are always going to blame the other contractor.

As a home owner/builder, that is not an easy thing to fight.

 

I am not an expert on any but a few things, but I am always looking and learning, and I've done this before.

The geothermal I installed on a 3500 square foot house worked great.

De-superheater for hot water and very price competitive. Way better in summer than my neighbors.

 

Pricing it out for this one didn't work.

 

 

[Just Jack]

On 2/25/2021 at 1:59 PM, dorquemada said:

You can almost double that if you want sufficient battery capacity.  Batteries have gotten cheaper but still not 'cheap'.  This is really the route i wanted to go to be able to be self sufficient during outages, and generally not draw much from the grid.  The other advantage of this approach is you can sell power to the grid when you're producing.  It's still gonna be a real long ROI, 10-20 years, assuming you don't have to replace the batteries, which you will

 

My parents got a windmill probably over 10 years ago.  They were asked if they wanted a battery backup, and they declined, because like you said, it would have doubled the cost. As it is though, any excess power is sent to the power grid.  Their meter will run backwards when this happens. 

 

On 2/25/2021 at 3:20 PM, ExiledInIllinois said:

My father... 40 years ago.  😆 Really.  My brother was selling them and like good parents, they "bought in." 🤣... 

 

5 bucks more if you wanna ask how good they really worked in 1984. They are still on the house and it turns a fan/blower.  😆

 

My high school had solar panels on the roof back in the late 70's, early 80's, to heat water for the school indoor pool.  I believe they  ended up getting rid of them sometime in the 90's since they weren't really working anymore.