Anybody looked into installing solar panels on their home?

[NewJeffCT]

I was interested and took a quick look, but saw prices that were around $35,000 to $40,000!!!

I was hoping for something that would cut power consumption on our home by maybe 40-50%... more if possible, but living in CT might not make it that practical to go 100% solar.

But, spending $40K seems way too expensive to me to justify the savings - we spend maybe a little over $100/month on electricity now through our state utility. so, a 50% savings would be repaid in 66+ years and a 100% savings would still be 33 years to repay. Granted, electrical costs will be going up, but even if you halve the time, it's still a long ways to go to repay the investment.

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Make your own!

Don't know if you have to get a permit to add them to your home, but there are a lot of sites out there that tell how to make and install them yourself ;)

(Used Google keywords: "how to" make solar panels

http://www.thesolarplan.com/articles/your-own-solar-panel-collector.html

http://www.rain.org/~philfear/how2solar.html


http://www.insideyourrv.com/make%20solar%20panels.shtml

[YDogg]

2. Link ...

http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/connecticut/

[NewJeffCT]

3. Thanks - good info

Didn't realize the amount of rebates available... unfortunately, my wife just left a company that made solar panels (among a ton of other things) - so, we could have even gotten an employee discount.

[YankeyMCC]

4. See if you can find a company in your area that will install their own panels

like this one: http://renu.citizenre.com/

Basically you are renting the panels but you pay by selling back the excess energy you generate.

Also, I suggest posting your question in the Environment & Energy Forum lots of people with more experience and expertise than me in there. You might also want to investigate other options like wind.

also, check to see if your state offers assistance for installation.

[NewJeffCT]

5. we're on a bit of a hill

so, we can get pretty windy here... however, our backyard is pretty small and there is not much room for much of anything.

[YankeyMCC]

6. There's been a lot of recent developments

for small scale wind for residential uses you might be surprised at the effectiveness of some of these for your situations. I don't have links handy, sorry. Again I'll bet you can get a quick informative response in E&E.

Your biggest hurdle with wind is most likely going to be zoning.

[NewJeffCT]

7. and I live in a red town in a blue area

so, I'm not sure how wind power would go over here.

[NewJeffCT]

8. late afternoon kick

for more info

[NewJeffCT]

9. Monday morning kick

for more info

[One_Life_To_Give]

10. What is your electric usage

First thing is to check what your actual electric useage is. Should be listed on your bill probably with a listing of what you used in each month over the last year.

For rough numbers you can estimate a 1000Watt PV array will give 4KW-HR per day or 120KW-HR per month. Actual will vary on how well you can align the panels to the sun, weather etc.

Do you want this system to just reduce your usage from the grid/reduce your bill? Or do you want this to also serve as a backup power system? It's cheaper/simpler to just tie into the grid, but you won't be able to draw power when the grid is down. That would require installation of batteries and automatic transfer switch. Batteries should be sized to support your actual/intended load over whatever duration you want backup for. During the summer 1 day might be good but in the winter you may want more. And the panels may last 20 years but the batteries will need to be replaced more often.

Big power solar systems can get very expensive. In general it is cheaper to try and minimize how much power you use and go with a smaller solar PV system. Panels themselves are running around $5/watt right now.

[NewJeffCT]

11. Probably just looking to reduce usage

We haven't lost power enough over the years to justify a system that serves as a complete back-up.

[Zorro]

12. We installed solar panels a few months back

We're in California, have a good southern exposure, and was able to get the $2.50/watt California rebate to help knock the price down.

Base price was ~$30K for ~3KW system, but the rebate knocked the out of pocket expenses down to ~$22K. There's also a federal tax credit of $2K (that may go up to $4K if current legislation passes) that will help on taxes next year.

It's still an expensive proposition whichever way you cut it, and it's probably never "cost effective" if one considers investing the $22K and getting a 5% return. But it's the green thing to do and we enjoy watching the meter spin backwards. We're generating more than we consume, so we also like knowing we won't be impacted by rising electricity costs.

[Orsino]

13. Looking into it.

It makes a lot of sense here in Georgia. We're thinking of a 3kW PV system.

[Courtesy Flush]

14. I keep seeing news stories saying the prices will decline

But to be honest, I've been seeing these stories for years. Don't know when the price will really drop. When doing the math, it just never seems to pay for itself.

My other concern: Hurricanes! I live on the Gulf Coast. My house survives hurricanes pretty well, but mounting panels to the roof seems like asking for trouble when the winds get around 150 mph.

I have a standing seam roof, and I believe there are now solar panels that use adhesive to stick them to the metal panels. That would be good protection against storms. Don't know how many years the adhesive lasts, though.

[MANative]

15. There was an article on this in our local CT paper today...

http://www.newstimes.com/ci_9527293

Apparently, the costs can be cut in half with both Fed and CT State rebates/assistance. Article says the systems generally pay for themselves in about 8-10 years, and start returning money to you thereafter. So, if you're not planning to stay in a house long-term, it's probably not the best choice. We're looking into pellet stoves for the winter - with heating oil at $4.59/gal, we're looking at about $5000 for heating next winter. Our electric rates aren't as bad as some others in CT, but our bills have easily doubled since we bought this house 6 years ago.

[NewJeffCT]

16. thanks

good article.

[MANative]

17. You're welcome!

:hi:

[NewJeffCT]

18. My wife will have a heart attack

once she sees the start-up costs/initial investment.

[MANative]

20. I don't doubt it. One of my former neighbors (previous town)

went the solar route about 4 years ago, and IIFC he spent about $38K in initial costs. Financed it with a home equity loan. My guess is that electric rates will be going up again - frequently - so that may mean a quicker turn-around on pay-back. I think I heard that CL&P was looking for another 18% this spring. Can't imagine that will not be the norm going forward.

[flvegan]

19. It's something I will be doing in the next few years.

Cost being the issue right now. I have perfect East/West roof placing and very good open sun all day. I plan (for now, at least) to be here for a while. Plus, I figure the investment will not only pay for itself in time, but will also help the value of my property in the future. If I had the $25k in extra capital to throw at it right now, I'd be scheduling estimates.

[Ramsey]

21. I did

I couldn't get enough power out of solar panels to replace my electricity requirements. I don't think the technology for home use is quite there yet. I did put solar panels to heat my pool and they take up one whole section of roof!

[hobbit709]

22. When I win the lottery maybe.

Right now anything over $100 is out of my reach.