Solar Panels

[fchafey]

My neighbor is getting solar panels installed by a company out of Houston. Apparently the company here is pretty rigid in there practice. He wanted a couple extra panels on a different side to charge the batter back up generator. A couple things are interesting, once the panels are installed you no longer pay the eclectic company you pay the solar panel place for 20 years at a locked in rate. The amount of panels depends on your average electricity use over a year. The last thing is that the back up generator/battery storage will is to run the a/c/heat in the event of a total power outage. the panels run everything else for a defined period, which i don't know what that is. I guess if you are going to live there for 20 years, then what happens to your insurance, then consider hail....i don't know what do you all think of the Solar installation?

[kantwin]

When I was in Killeen, one of my co-workers was tinkering with some solar stuff. He started with a solar powered fan in one of his roof vents. He said that it reduced the temperature in the attic by over 40 degrees, which I can believe, and he said his electric bill dropped quite a bit.
He did a few other things with solar panels and batteries, but I'm not sure what. I don't think he ever did a whole house bit.
{off topic}I did get a fan for one of my roof vents after talking with him about his solar one, but I opted for a thermostatically controlled hard wired fan. I added a switch to the circuit so I could turn if off if I wanted to. I put a battery operated thermostat that had indoor/outdoor readings, and put the outdoor wire up in the attic. When the fan came on, you could watch the temperature in the attic drop. It was amazing how well that worked. And, there was a savings realized on the electric bill.

[fchafey]

Since you mentioned attic fan.....our A/C unit is in the attic. It is a Trane and there is a safety switch on the door that when it opens the unit shuts down. We learned this while I was deployed in 14/15. i did some research on my end and she call the AC company to come fix it. Trane had a maint recall for door warp age and it was soon fixed. We decided to put up an attic vent much like yours sans the thermometer. The wife found a great electrician in the Home Depot parking lot, i kid you not. He doesn't speak English and does great work, cash only. The unit is set at 104. I also put a tennis ball between the attic drop door and frame so when the garage door is opened cool air is vented up as well. Has helped out a ton and no more a/c issues.

We do a lot to keep our electric bill low. The air is set at 70 and unless you want your fingers broke by the wife you wont touch it. Our mid summer bill was 154.00. That is one of the reasons we are wrestling with solar panels as it might not be the answer for us.

[CenTexDave]

Doesn't speak English; cash only. LOL - stop employing illegals.
From what I've read those solar panels where you pay the solar panel company instead of your electric provider are a big $cam.

[fchafey]

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Doesn't speak English; cash only. LOL - stop employing illegals.
From what I've read those solar panels where you pay the solar panel company instead of your electric provider are a big $cam.

Funny thing is she called three electrician's, my guidance was do it. All three were too busy, sooo when she met El Sparky, not only did he do the attic fan he also did our back porch ceiling fans and lights. He then refereed her to an irrigation guy that tied our A/C drain into the French drain, thus removing the swamp outside the A/C unit. And Americans wonder why......

[Night Owl]

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.

[fchafey]

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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.

The lady that lived next to my mom in Brick, NJ. put solar panels on her house. Had them for 5 years and her husband died. She paid them off and showed me her electric bill in Jun of 16 when I was doing end of life stuff. Her bill was a 7 dollar credit. I know you get an instant tax write off, how much IDK, also NJ had some other incentives for solar stuff. I too am leery but also understand the big savings comes after they are paid off. The guy next door's will be finished today. I will watch and see. I don't think they are the way to go for me though.

[Ludwig]

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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.

[sojourner truth]

I know of at least 2 guys who have them and have disconnected them from the grid... Not sure why, but they did.

[Mestral]

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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.