Im going solar

[rdking647]

after getting estimates from different companies,im going solar. Im going to have panels installed on my roof that will generate about 60% of my current electric usage.

Ive started a blog of my experience as i move through the process of having them installed

its here

http://goingsolaraustin.wordpress.com

[think]

1. Hope everything goes well! / nt

[Journeyman]

2. Thanks for the blog. This'll be helpful as I move through the same process. . .

[devils chaplain]

3. I love it, in theory...

But have you calculated how long it will take to pay for itself?

[TheBlackAdder]

4. Geothermal Heating & Cooling will save the most, solar is secondary...

Watch where those solar panels are sourced as there were dozens of Chinese companies who've manufactured substandard solar panels. Millions of panels were shipped to the U.S. before China cracked down on the company's--closing most of them. China was going to use the poor-grade panels still in inventory to power domestic supplies, until they fail.

If you get panels, you'd be better waiting until next year, when the price actually hits a decent profit margin. The cleaning, maintenance and repair of the panels, the switching panel, battery packs(if you have them) will be an added expense that begins to compound in costs over the years, as most panels actually have a MTBF of 20 years, meaning that half will fail before the 20-year time frame.

Those Chinese panels that are defective were coming in with a projected MTBF of 5-7 years.

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Also, keep this in mind... If you roof mount rigid panels, you will have a 25-25% reduction in your shingle life as moss, mildew and lichen will form under the panels. The mount points will introduce leakage to the roof itself. Just make sure there are no trees anywhere, as a broken branch could wipe out a panel.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

6. I used Solar City, Elon Musks CCo. They will moniter the panels and if one fails, they just come re

I had a new 30 year roof installed a week earlier. Mould, in Tucson? Nope.

[roody]

9. Oops. Reply 8 is for you.

[Ruby the Liberal]

13. What will you do if you have to sell before 20 years?

Make the buyer pay out the contract? I saw that it is VERY expensive to pay for removal after a sale. Only thing holding me back from getting an estimate from SC.

[roody]

21. A solar electric system adds to the home's value.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

22. First of all, your house is now worth more.

Would you pay more for house with no electric bills? What if you could tuck the cost into a 30 year Mtg? A few $ a month on a 30 tear Mtg. If you pick the right company, you can buy out the lease pretty cheaply but, as with every industry, not all contractors are equal. This is a new industry. There are fly by nights and industry leeaders. You need to do your homewwork. I choose Solar City because their CEO, Elon Musk is also head of Tesla motors and Space X. Pretty strong credentials in my opinion.

As to what happens in 20 years, we will probably be dead and then it becomes the kids problem. This will probably be the last home we ever own. I've spent the last year and a half remodeling itt and probably have another year and a half to go. After a lifetime in the building trades, this will be my last re-model. When it's done, I expect to speend the rest of my days playing golf and drimnking beer in the pool.

[Ruby the Liberal]

23. That is a good point

And with 220v electric cars finally getting ready to become somewhat affordable, you can add those expenses to the mix.

[roody]

8. My nine panels have worked great for 12 years.

They were made in Germany. They have generated 5 kwh today, and it isn't even 4 pm. I also enjoy the negative electric bill.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. That's just it, German made (and even BP) are top quality.

I'm talking about a spate of substandard solar panels from China, that Chinese officials have flagged as being subgrade. For China to shut down over a dozen companies and seize their supplies, shows that they must really be bad. Unfortunately, millions found their way into the U.S. before they were stopped.

I'm planning to get solar too, I've already been through the sizing and estimation phase.

I'm just waiting for the price / kw to come down even further.

[Ruby the Liberal]

14. Will the federal tax credits still be in place in 2015?

[TheBlackAdder]

19. I have no idea... Chris Christie pulled the state credits for NJ, along with Geothermal credits.

One of the first things he did was to install a new Board of Public Utilities head, who was a former Oil executive/lobbyist.

She gutted the Geothermal and Solar Credit programs to make residential customers more dependent on utilities.

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Ive seen a few folks get talked into getting these solar panel installs, showing how they will break even or make money, while they tie up thousands in funds or as a loan to do so. For solar to be cost effective for me, it needs to require low maintenance, low investment and not compromise the structure of the house.

Since electricity is the lower of costs, when compared to environmentals, the best bang is to convert to a geo system first. With 2 8' panels and a battery system, a geo system can run completely off the grid. With no exterior compressor, there is no outside noise, no components exposed to the outside, just the 50-70 year underground tubing. It provides hot water in all seasons except for winter. My yearly environmental costs to heat and cool were projected to drop from $2700 a year to $575--with the only greenhouse gasses coming from the electricity from the utility. Off the grid for that, heating and cooling of the home would produce zero greenhouse gasses. Since I have forced air, the conversion costs are around $7K, with another $2.5K for a solar/battery system for it. It would be a 3.5 year break even proposition.

[Ruby the Liberal]

20. I have a friend who went geo when they built their house a decade ago

I don't have that option. I have a zero lot line in a historic district (city property - built during the civil war) so all I can do is go up to the roof.

If I were to build today, I would do what they did and bury a geo system before the slab went down.

Good luck and please consider posting your plans once you settle on a configuration/design!

[OffWithTheirHeads]

5. Why 60%? Mine went up a week or so ago and when they light them up

they will produce 127% of what I need.

[REPUguy]

7. Congratulations

I've had mine up and running for 46 days and so far so good. It is a 13.5 kWh system with 54 panels. My first adjusted electric bill was for 11 days and it was .67 cents. My next bill will be for a full month so that will give me a better idea of how much I'm saving. So far my system has produced an average of 89.64 kWh per day. It's pretty nice to watch the arrow on the meter showing I'm feeding power to the grid for a change.

[roody]

11. Wow, you must be powering a warehouse.

I zero out with 9 panels.

[REPUguy]

17. My goal was to zero out too.

I work out of my home and my shop has a lot of lighting plus the air compressor and other power tools that use a lot of power. The A/C runs a lot too.

When I got a bill that showed that I used 2,862 kWh in one month I knew that I had to do something.

[Ruby the Liberal]

12. My electric bills spiked to $220/month for 1,500sf

Been looking into this myself. Especially with the $30k Tesla coming out in a few years.

Thanks for posting this. I have bookmarked and am looking forward to following your progress!

[sadoldgirl]

15. Wished I could do it too,

but if it comes to the choice between solar or trees, for me the trees win.

[laundry_queen]

16. Very cool

This is something I will do in the future - right now my power bill is my biggest bill despite also having gas for heating and for hot water. I have a very energy efficient home (tankless hot water, which serves as a boiler for the furnace, special fan that uses half the electricity as conventional, water saving appliances and fixtures, special insulation...and more) and electricity is the only bill I haven't really saved on. Even though we had a cold winter, my gas bill never went over what my electricity bill was. It was strange, as that had never happened before in the other places I've lived, but it was nice that gas has been so incredibly low (even with 2 teenage girls showering all.of.the.time!). And then when I run the a/c (window unit only) in the summer, the power bill goes through the roof. I'm definitely going to look into solar soon. I've bookmarked your blog...I'll check back and see how it's going

[msongs]

18. great news! did that 5 yrs ago and love it. costs were much higher then as well nt