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Thread: Solar Panels

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by kantwin View Post
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    When I pulled down the steps to the attic, the temperature would fall very rapidly - I wish I would have thought of the tennis ball trick. I guess it shows that the soffit vents weren’t enough.
    When one combines soffit vents with ridge venting, the attic temp pretty much remains at ambient outside temp. That has been my experience. My home is oriented East/West and thus the prevailing winds through the ridge vent serves me very well.
    "A boy cannot become a girl and a man cannot become a woman, not even if he shuts his eyes and wishes really hard."



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  3. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Night Owl View Post
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    From everything I have read the ROI on solar panels is negative, meaning you lose money. The reason is the panel cost, maintenance and installation cost exceeds what you will save over the 20 year period. I have read that panels have a life of 15-20 years. Good luck.
    A couple of years ago I calculated the amortization of a proposed solar panel installation and found that I would most likely expire before the cost of installation had been amortized. For a young couple planning to live in the home for at least 30 years, solar may be a reasonable purchase.
    "A boy cannot become a girl and a man cannot become a woman, not even if he shuts his eyes and wishes really hard."



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  5. #13
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    I know of at least 2 guys who have them and have disconnected them from the grid... Not sure why, but they did.
    If you do not read the news you are uninformed. If you do you are misinformed. Mark Twain


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  7. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Night Owl View Post
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    From everything I have read the ROI on solar panels is negative, meaning you lose money. The reason is the panel cost, maintenance and installation cost exceeds what you will save over the 20 year period.
    I did the math 10 years ago and came to the same conclusion, but the panels and associated hardware has come down in price since then, so the ROI would be different.


    I have read that panels have a life of 15-20 years. Good luck.
    When I researched it 10 years ago, I found the same thing, and around here, hail storms would probably make it remain true, today. But in talking to people who live in less violent climates, they tell me the life expectancy of the panels has also gotten better.

    I don't know if it pays to install solar panels or not (here in Centex, probably not) but I think it is worth looking into again.
    I don't mind being called far right.
    I have been right so far.

  8. #15
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    ROI time is dependent entirely on what the electric company will pay you for excess power generation and how much excess power you generate. If you only install enough panels to power 60% of your homes' electricity usage, it will obviously take longer than if you install enough to generate 90% of your usage. Some power companies charge more for daytime power usage as well, presumably to stick it to businesses that operate during peak usage times. Most electric companies here use "net metering", meaning your bill is the usage from the grid minus the power you generate, and since solar panels obviously don't work at night, you're using 100% from the grid at night unless you're using battery storage banks, which is a whole other ball of wax and an incredibly large chunk of change added to the installation costs.

    I had investigated getting solar panels installed, but it would have taken me 17+ years to recoup the costs (in ideal weather conditions for that long), and I'm not sure I'll still be in this house for that long. Bartlett electric is pretty cheap, but that also meant they wouldn't pay me much for excess power I generated, hence the long ROI.

    http://pvwatts.nrel.gov has a nice calculator to help determine energy creation, annual savings, etc. You'll need to know how much your power company will pay for power, how many panels and watts, the angle/pitch of your roof, etc. to use it. For example, 24 270-watt panels (6.48 kilowatts) in our area would generate ~9,795 kilowatt hours a year. At the time I was looking into it, Bartlett was paying $0.026 kWh, and I would have an excess credit of $254 a YEAR. If my average bill was $150/mo , I'd save $1,800 in utility bills plus $254 every YEAR. If my system cost $20,000 to install, it would take ~10 years to recoup the costs, not counting any income tax credits or deductions. Actually, I think the system I was looking to install was closer to $26k, and that was WITHOUT battery banks.
    Last edited by skindog; November 20th, 2017 at 9:40 AM.
    Common sense is not as common as you'd think...

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  10. #16
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    That just reinforces what was said earlier. Solar is not a good investment unless you plan to live in the home in excess of about 20 years.
    "A boy cannot become a girl and a man cannot become a woman, not even if he shuts his eyes and wishes really hard."



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  12. #17
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    Even then I'm not so sure it would be that good of an investment. Your roof would need to be totally replaced before 20 years, and the extra labor to remove and reinstall these panels would definitely add another couple $$ to the
    cost.
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

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  14. #18
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    I asked why he hadn't gotten 35 year shingles put on before he decided to install the panels. He just kind of stared back at me. It's all finished now, doesn't look bad. It's not for us, LED light bulbs is a far as it goes. I have driven a couple of Tesla's and they aren't all that. I will say the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and the Honda Accord hybrid are nice.
    "The difference between golf and government is that in golf you cant improve your lie"
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  15. #19
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    Well, there are some folks who are eco conscious who do not care if an eco friendly investment saves them money or not...

    All in all, eventually everyone will have to come to some sort of epiphany where power is concerned. Fossil fuels will only last so long.

    Just the thought of that makes a car guy like me glad I will probably be long gone before that happens.
    If you do not read the news you are uninformed. If you do you are misinformed. Mark Twain


  16. #20
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    I was seriously looking at an electric car for running to and from work and all over the place, local. The Tesla's are good for 285-350 miles in a day, unless you get a Tesla 3, the others are 75k. The Nissan Leaf only good for around 100 miles, Honda isn't out yet, the BMW is muy expensive and the Chevy Volt is too plastic. The outlay vs the recoup is the issue of course.
    "The difference between golf and government is that in golf you cant improve your lie"
    John Daly

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