Ok, so who has solar on their roof? Raise your hand.

[lonestarnot]

[brooklynite]

1. Thought about it; decided it wasn't cost-effective

[lonestarnot]

2. Why did you decide it wasn't cost-effective?

[pnwmom]

3. How long ago did you check into it? Friends of ours got it last year

and say it is much more cost effective these days, even in northern, cloudy climes.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

5. Someone with pockets as deep as yours should be more concerned about the carbon you will not

be putting into the atmosphere and oceans and not be concerned with the cost.

At any rate, I believe solar power systems which produce 100% of a home's energy needs outlast their pay-for date by a couple of decades.

[brooklynite]

16. But as a two-person, energy efficient household, we don't put out that much carbon to begin with.

[REP]

39. Couple of decades?? Dream on.

My electric bill runs max $125.00/mo (summer with central AC). To put photovoltaic in my house would be about $40K now. Assuming my bills are always $125.00 (they're closer to $70 nine months of the year), 20 years later I'm still $10K behind. If I put in photovoltaic, it'll be because I want to, not to save money.

[Javaman]

42. After the rebates. I'll be paying off my panels, which were installed 2 years ago...

in less than 3 years.

I haven't had to pay a cent for electricity since they were installed.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

43. Sounds like you're experience was supremely cost-effective. Now you'll have more than

a couple of decades of free electricity!

Congratulations, Javaman! And good on ya!

[snooper2]

53. you have some numbers to share along with that?

I find that hard to believe to be honest. Everything I've looked at was at least 8-10 years-

This company says 6-8

http://www.solarcity.com/residential/how-much-do-solar-panels-cost

Is your house all electric? I've got 3400 square feet, dual water heaters, dual A/C (upstairs/down) but being in Texas we have plenty of sun

[Javaman]

57. First off, I have a small home...

1310 square feet.

So my array isn't gigantic.

I have no kids. It's just my girlfriend and I.

My array is 1.2 kW.

the overall cost before the rebates were 18,000

After the federal rebate (which took care of a large chunk of it) and a Texas state rebate, my total was roughly 7500 out of pocket.

2500 of which I was able to claim on my taxes which left a remaining 5000.

We took the average monthly bill total and put that away each month.

it comes out to roughly 5 years to pay it off.

So there it is.

Prior to all of this, I did have to get an energy audit to make sure my home was suitable for solar panels. I had to get my duct work upgraded and new attack insulation.

that was 1500 bucks. But that also had a rebate and out of pocket was about 750.

on edit: since we did our own renovation on the home, we invested in a tankless water heater, new energy saving appliances and upgraded our a/c system. We keep our thermostat low in the winter and high in the summer. Because our house is so well insulated now, we don't need the ac as much in the summer or the heater in the winter.

Yes, everything is electric.

[snooper2]

59. cool, could you share what company you went with?

We plan to be in this house for the next 20 years probably so I should really look into it-

It was built in 2004 so it is already pretty energy efficient compared to the house we moved from that was built in 1976. We have over double the size of house and bill is 2/3rds what it used to be.

[Javaman]

60. I worked with Circular Energy out of San Antonio.

I work at an Arch firm and our LEED person was the one who recommended them to me. She used them as well and several other employees since.

they were fantastic to work with. They took care of all the paper work for the rebates. All we had to do was read the contract and sign the check.

Never any mystery, always available when we had questions and while we were waiting to get ours installed our panels got upgraded twice at no additional cost to us.

Since they have been installed, we have had zero problems. They do what they do. lol

[LondonReign2]

63. Javaman, I assume your panels are roof mounted?

If so, was there any impact on your home owner's insurance? With Texas wind and hail, it seems to me like there could be some added issues with roof mounted panels, or at least you insurance company could make a stink if you ever made a claim.

Been wondering about this myself, so any info you have would be much appreciated.

[Javaman]

68. No impact what so ever. In fact...

the insurance company said that it actually helps protect my roof.

So no increase on my rate.

also, the panels are tested in both high wind (how well they do when affixed to a roof) and high impact from hail.

We've had 60 plus mile an hour winds here and have had no issue.

[LondonReign2]

69. Many thanks for the information

[roody]

14. They are carbon emission-effective.

[csziggy]

4. I have a solar water heater but no photovoltaic

I looked at photovoltaic but instead of putting the money into it, I built a tighter shell which will pay off sooner than solar electric would.

The solar water heater works great, but I need to hire someone to climb up on the roof and clean off the panel.

[lonestarnot]

7. Well one the local providers of the electrical utility sends out this crap, looks like junk mail,

which during this busy season, I for some reason read, and I only have 7 days to sign a contract for installation to freeze the rate for 10 years or be placed on the "new price plan," and you know that has to be a screwing. I'm signing that fucking contract before Friday.

[csziggy]

17. That was another reason we did go for PV - the local utility would not buy the excess

So we could generate what we'd use and what we could store but not get anything off since they wouldn't let us feed excess into the grid. We would have had to build an extra room for batteries and a bunch extra wiring and systems to switch over to the batteries if the power went out. I think I figured out it would be well over $30,000 at the time. We spent a lot less than that in extra insulation, better windows, and a really tight shell on the hosue

The utility might be able to buy the excess power now - they've changed to "smart meters" and I think that was one of the reasons. I should check so if the chance comes up I'll be prepared.

If I had the chance without having to dump thousands of dollars into it all at once and could sell our excess power I'd do it in a heartbeat. Even so, if I get a windfall and can do it, I would whether or not I could sell the excess power.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

20. Solar power sytems are much cheaper these days and there's a 30% federal tax credit that you

can take advantage of until the last day of 2016. The incentive is on the cost of the system and installation.

[lonestarnot]

21. Cool. 30%.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

23. Not only that, let's say your system costs $10,000. You would get a $3000 tax credit. So, let's

then say that your annual tax obligation is $1500. You will not owe that tax for 2 years. if your tax obligation is $750/yr then you won't have to pay taxes for 4 years.

[lonestarnot]

24. Even more coolness!

[ChisolmTrailDem]

25. Yep =)

[lonestarnot]

26. Thank you.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

28. You're welcome. The more solar comes down in prices, the more likely we in Texas are to

see better net-metering arrangements with utilites and more competition with natural gas.

[Travis_0004]

52. you could also lower withholding and get the complete credit in one year.

[csziggy]

22. Yeah, I'll have to check next year. I don't have the money this year to do it

My husband is retiring at the end of December and I'm nit real sure what our budget will be like. Once we get through the first year of his retirement we'll know better what to expect.

[magical thyme]

48. thank you for that very important piece of info

Right now I'm working on tightening up the house. I have a longer range plan and was hoping to go solar before the incentives run out. However, I didn't realize the tax credits can extend over multiple years. That little detail makes it far more cost effective than I realized.

Happily, Maine is a buy-back state with very long summers, so if I'm able to move ahead with this I'll have a meter running backwards for half the year

[ChisolmTrailDem]

49. Glad to help. I love solar power and hopefully our sorry ass congress will extend the

incentive program but I'm not holding my breath with assholes taking over. If you can get in done over the next two years, you should to lock in those tax breaks.

[LeftyMom]

6. If I can threadjack slightly, can any Northern Californians who would reccomend an installer PM me?

This is getting pretty close to the top of the to do list.

[lonestarnot]

11. PDk or similar on this thread in Southern CA. Has one.

[NYC_SKP]

33. Solar City treated me very well.

On a very large system they had the best price and even threw in some extras.

They aren't the only game in town, always get at least two estimates and be sure to compare apples to apples, what the costs are and warranty for modules and inverter, of inverters if they use more modern microinverters.

Good luck!

[pkdu]

8. I do. Year and a half now, Southern California . Love 'em. Nt

[lonestarnot]

9. Are you pleased with the folks that clean it or do you do it yourself? How about the contractor?

[pkdu]

18. I hose them down myself periodically. The contractors were a bunch of well meaning Cowboys ..

..but we reached an amicable agreement in the end. They paid out Elec bills during the several months overrun on the instal. ( due to them not knowing how to work with SCalEd)

And , if the panels don't get the output they quoted they send us a makeup check. Got one this year for 125 dollars shortfall.

[roody]

10. Nine panels. Been up there 14 years.

Grid inter-tie. I also have 2 greywater systems to fruit trees. In the process of getting rainwater catchment set up.

[lonestarnot]

13. As I understand the language in this crap mail electric co sent, "Res. customers who add their own

generation after Dec 8 will be placed on the new price plan, when it becomes effective."

[OffWithTheirHeads]

12. Lit em up in October. Love it. Don't know why everyone in Arizona dosn't.

Electric bills in the summer are (were) half my house payment. No More!

[Zorro]

15. I have

Did it about 5 years ago. San Diego area. I like them.

Have cleaned them twice, but only once myself.

[lonestarnot]

19. So how clean do they have to be kept? Someone here said they just hose 'em off.

[Zorro]

27. You just want to keep them from getting too dusty

I used a hose and a long floor squeegee the first time, had them pressure washed the second time.

They're probably due for another cleaning soon.

[lonestarnot]

29. Equala'! No quiero que limpa nada mas. Damn it! The joys of home ownership ringing in my ears.

Last edited Tue Dec 2, 2014, 01:41 AM - Edit history (1)

[Historic NY]

30. Soon its been approved.

[lonestarnot]

32. Yeah!

[stevenleser]

31. Unfortunately, like most folks in NYC, I don't own the building I live in and thus cant do it.

If I did own the building, I definitely would!

[Quackers]

34. I wish. I can't afford the initial investment. nt

[Mojorabbit]

35. Would love to do it

I do have a solar freezer in my shed which is awesome.

[6000eliot]

36. We do!

[Cha]

37. We do! On Kauai.. lots of Sunshine.. DO you, lonestarnot?

[REP]

38. Yes; house has solar radiant heating (hot water is also heated by solar)

[Hekate]

40. Back when I last checked it would have cost us $20,000 for solar panels. I understand it has finally

....gone down enough to make sense for people in our income bracket. We'll be getting a new roof anyway next year, so I'll look into it again.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

44. Be sure to look into the 30% federal tax credit if you install before 01/01/17! nt

[Javaman]

41. Me. And have had them for 2 years. nt

[JaneyVee]

45. My apartment building says they're installing them in 2016.

[bighart]

46. How difficult is it to find American made solar panels

and what is the cost difference between them and imports?

[ChisolmTrailDem]

56. Imports are only slightly lower in cost per watt than American-made Solarworld panels...

http://www.solarworld-usa.com/why-choose-solarworld/solar-panels-made-in-usa

Average cost per watt for Solarworld is $1.10/watt and for comparable Chinese panels it's about 95¢ - $1/watt. This is cost for one panel. Volume discounts usually apply.

So, the question then would be: are you willing to pay an extra 10¢ or 15¢ per watt to buy American?

[bighart]

61. The question to me is what is the cost per watt

to American jobs and manufacturing long term if one is to choose the import solely based on cost.

[B Calm]

47. I have solar panels in my fishing boat

to charge my trolling motor batteries.

[n2doc]

50. Rooftop Solar Cost Competitive with the Grid in Much of the U.S.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/112778487

[MADem]

51. I live in an historical house, I can't modify it.

There's no "yard" to speak of, so that's a non-starter, too. I do have solar security lights and garden ambient lighting--they work a treat!

[RebelOne]

64. I lived in what now would be considered a historical house as a teenager.

Solar panels have been around for a long time. When I was a kid in Miami in the early 1950s, my parents, sisters and I moved into a house that had solar panels on the roof.

[MADem]

67. They weren't around when this house was built--and we're prohibited from modifying the exterior.

It took me six months to get permission to install a few Pella windows with insulated glass that were specially manufactured to replicate, line for line, the existing windows to replace a few rotting oldies that were well past their sell-by date.

The place is on the National Register--it's out of my hands. I can repoint stone, paint, plant shrubs, stuff like that... but anything else is a frigging drill that involves boards and historians and all kinds of horseshit. I don't know how one would fasten panels to a slate roof, either-- even if they ever gave permission (and I'm quite sure they wouldn't)...might be an iffy proposition.

[maced666]

54. I have!

Though not drastic...does reduce consumption by about 15%. Not much but if everyone did it...

[Ink Man]

55. I do.

I have a big swimming pool and a jacuzzi. In the summer when the solar is running at it's best I save $300 a month.

[MuseRider]

58. We are in the final days of

getting a ground array installed. Should be up and running by the end of the week.

[badtoworse]

62. I looked into it, but the contractor said I'd have to cut down some mature trees.

I love the mature trees in my neighborhood and on my property. That was a deal breaker.

[hunter]

65. Problem is that residential electricity use overall is small...

... compared to industrial, office, and retail use.

Many of my neighbors have solar, and the solar sales people call telling me how much money I could save. Then I tell them how much electricity we use, and maybe they'll say "Oh... good for you!" and that's the end of it.

It has a lot to do with the tiered electric rates here in California. Effectively, small users get first dibs on the less expensive electricity (hydro, etc...) and larger users have to pay for the more expensive gas peaking plants, and so on.

If electric automobiles and solar ever become affordable for ordinary working and traditionally middle class people this will bring about radical changes in energy use. But I don't think it's going to happen.

Until then, residential solar electric is a supplemental thing, freeing up conventional generating capacity to be sold elsewhere. It seems many of my solar neighbors have electrically heated Jacuzzis and hot tubs, which makes their solar panels a wash in the overall scheme of earth's environment. The same is true in places where air conditioning is considered to be a necessity.

I own a few solar panels, but they are portable. I have enough capacity to run our telecommunication devices and a few LED reading lights, which is very useful for power outages or camping.

[Stellar]

66. I really want it, but can't afford it right now. Rachel Maddow did a segment of her show

last night, called...

Florida casts shadow over solar energy potential

Rachel Maddow reports on how the state of Florida, despite its sunny disposition (and marketing), is cutting back solar energy incentives and goals, letting power companies off the hook over the objections of clean energy advocates.

[FLPanhandle]

70. I looked into it, but they couldn't say if they'd stay on during a Tropical Storm or Hurricane.

I didn't want the panels flying all over during the next storm.

[One_Life_To_Give]

71. Being a do-it yourselfer

Rebates/credits are tied to the "authorized" installers. Now if I could get the tax credits for what I would install myself? Even with the Pines blocking the winter sun it would be worthwhile.