Anyone around here installed solar panels on your home to reduce (or eliminate) your electric bill? I got sold on it this past week by a company who is going to install a system that will effectively bring my electric bill to $0 a month. Has anyone gone through this recently or put solar panels on your roof? When you space out payments for the system, but basically negates your electric bill, so in my mind it’s like going from “renting” my energy to “owning” it because as I’m paying off the solar system (and not paying an electric bill) I’m slowly owning it. I did some online research and couldn’t come up with any real issues and solar technology has come a long way and gotten much cheaper, so I felt like now was the time. Any one there done this on their home?
I have no direct experience. One question I'd have though, is the contract one such that they are eliminating your electric bill, or they are just saying with this much energy you won't need to pull from the grid anymore?
I don't have any answers but I do have some unhelpful questions. Any maintenance cost associated with them? What is their life span? If you need roof work done / need a new roof, how do you do that with the panels on?
i think one of my family members just installed one, tho i'm not sure of its pros and cons. however i do wonder, what happens if they get struck by a lightning? do they explode or do they absorb all that energy like ironman in the avengers?
Can’t help you with the details, OP, but as someone who lives in a SW Austin neighborhood with a homeowners association on steroids (I’m sure DD would agree), solar panels are one the few things you can do to your house that they can’t give you grief about. Austin passed an ordinance allowing them on homes that circumvents HOA rules. City government here has a long history of supporting solar power. That would lead me to believe that there must be something to it. As for replacing your roof and possible complications, a high quality roof replaced within the last 5 or so years, or if you’ve purchased a new home recently, should work very well, IMO. My guess is that they could be removed and reinstalled without a huge amount of trouble, when the roof needs replacing. I thought about it, but never did any real research. Our house is paid for, and not having an electric bill could be groovy. What’s it costing you, OP, if you don’t mind me asking?
It harnesses the Suns power and energy so you can make a badass axe with it. Just pick a worthy tree of a handle.
I looked into solar panels back in 2007 but it would take 10+ years back then just to break even and assuming no repairs (whatever that amounted to). I don't know what the rebates are like now or what the costs to install the panels are, so no idea what the recoup time is. I'm definitely not putting them on my current house, since I'll probably be leaving it within 5-6 years (I think).
I have a customer that pumps power back into the grid here in East Texas and gets a check bi-annually(IIRC) from somebody, either the electric company or the state.
Yeah I did a quick search on net metering and see that it's up to the energy company (I believe..quick reading) https://www.solarpowerrocks.com/texas/
FYI: The guy who is making money from them is very well off and has many solar panels throughout his property, not just his roof. I dont think the standard roof in Houston has enough surface area for enough solar panels to make money.
I recently help a friend install a 10' x 50' solar array on the ground. (50 2'x4' panels - 400sqft). I dont think he is producing the amount of energy he was hoping. If you have more money than sense, knock yourself out (ie: you're a tree hugging hipping trying to save the environment). If you're doing it for economical reasons, I would encourage you to rethink and talk to people in your area who have had them installed. Here are a few factors to consider: Location: This includes how much sun exposure you will be getting, the ideal position of your roof, the pitch, ect. Mounting solar on a house limits the most efficient way you can install them. Any type of stats and numbers will always include installing panels in the most efficient manner possible. To figure this out, you need to know the suns arc during peak season (summer) going over your house. Factor in weather. Keep in mind you are only generating power during the day, with peak power in the late morning and mid afternoon. Is this the time you generate the most power? Or is your power consumption limited to running the AC during these hours? How else are you going to capitalize on solar generation? What is your power providers policy on reselling power back to the grid? Most providers buy back any excess power you generate at wholesale rate. If you're not using 100% of your generated power, you could be selling it back for 50 cents on the dollar. Are you calculating maintenance cost? Who is going to get up there and clean your solar panels? Dirt and grime, which will absolutely build up over time, will have an impact on their efficiency. What is your warranty? Don't count on the contracting company to be around in the future. Also its highly unlikely you're going to be able to generate power during outages unless you are running them through a battery bank. IMO, we still have a good ways to go before solar panels are a solution for consumers.
So I'll try to answer as many questions I can with the info I have: Yes, electric company will buy back excess electricity. It won't be much over the course of the year as they size the system for approximately what we use based on the past years electric bills. The contract itself is just to install the solar panels, but the system they quoted me was based on my actual energy consumption so the cost per month should be close to a net zero, averaged out. My roof is actually pretty ideal for solar panels if they are installed on the back side. No trees or anything providing shade and my roof is the right pitch. All parts are warrantied for at least 10 years and most are 25 years. Maintenance is simple, just cleaning once in a while (the sales rep claimed if it rains 3 times a year then the panels are clean enough for reasonable efficiency...I don't quite believe that but have no problem hosing them off or wiping them down if necessary). The warranties are with the manufacturers but I can go through the company selling the package to me as long as they are around. I get an app included with the deal that shows me what the energy generation is so I can track if the panels are becoming less efficient or if there are issues. This will not power me during evening or storms, etc. This is simply a net change in overall power consumption type deal. Had I been willing to fork over another $5-9k I could have gotten a battery system that would then act as a generator and theoretically be totally off grid, but the salesperson didn't recommend this because he predicted battery technology/cost going down significantly over the next 3 years and didn't think it was the proper time. I'm not planning on going anywhere for at least 10 years, and probably more like 20, so I should be there to see these things pay for themselves, which was part of the decision. I think the ROI from an energy cost perspective is similar to the 10 years DoD stated earlier, but then there will also be some value added to the home for when I sell (though getting data on what that is exactly has been tough). I don't know about specific rules with HOA but my neighborhood only pays $89 a year to the HOA office. They just barely exist at this point and as such don't exactly enforce many of their rules (some of which I wish they DID enforce). The installer works with the HOA to ensure we have any proper permissions or permits. Roof work done would require they be removed. They pair up with a roofing contractor for this work if it needs to be done, who knows how to work around these things. I think it is an extra $1000 to have them removed and reinstalled if the roof works is necessary. This may be in my future in the next 10 years based on the age of my roof.
I looked into getting solar for my house a few years ago but the initial cost stopped me. How big is your house is your house and how much are the solar panels costing you?
Before he passed, my Dad had them installed on his roof down here in the RGV. It's a 2400 sq foot house and he has them installed on the rear and side of his roof. He seemed pleased with them and if I recall correctly, before the panels, he was paying $400-700 a month on electricity. I know he has two AC units on his house and he kept the house very fresh all the time. He didn't get the battery either, but down here, the weather is usually set to broil. I'll ask my sis what the energy bill looks like now and get back to you.
1985 sq ft, single story. Cost for the system (which includes a replacement of my outside electrical distribution box, which was sorely needed) is $24,400. I'll get $7320 of that back when I do my 2019 taxes.
I've never personally crunched any hard numbers, but that's the general opinion I've read. Do it if you want to be green. Don't do it for financial reasons - you are better off investing that money instead.
