Anyone have any experience with solar?

[BushMasterBoy]

If it really is that good, why isn't it on the roof of every Walmart?

[davsel]

I expect the subsidies to dry up as the new administration continues it's push for fossil fuels and draws down on the renewable energy nonsense.

There just is not the same amount of available energy through solar or wind per unit of measuret as there is with fossil fuels or nuclear. It's a simple matter of physics/chemestry, and no amount of "technological advance" will change that.

[T. B. Turner]

If it really is that good, why isn't it on the roof of every Walmart?

Good point, for as long as they have been around, if they were a good idea we would see many more of them.

[theGinsue]

I guess the way I'd look at it is; how much is the next ten years of electricity going to cost? Are the panels more or less than this? What is the cost of maintenance of the panels over 10 years?

If you save more money buying and maintaining the panels, buy the panels (and I'd think it would have to be a good 20% or more savings to make it worth the hassle) if not, then wait.

It is this exactly that has kept me from making the jump to putting solar on my home.

One thing to consider that hasn't yet been brought up is this: One advantage to solar is that you aren't 100% reliant on the power grid. Yes, you can expect there will be usage of power from the grid but you'll always have some amount of self-produced power even if the grid goes down. This can help heat/cool your home and keep the refrigerator/freezer running during power outages. Depending on your battery system it may provide power throughout the dark hours. It is this consideration more than any other that's had me revisiting the idea of installing solar.

[Mtneer]

The panels don't really wear out, they can last many decades with only minor degradation of output. The big expense is if/when your inverter(s) dies after about 10 years. That's one advantage of leasing since it's covered under warranty. We went with a 6.8 kW system (33 panels) installed by Namaste and leased from SunRun when the incentives were particularly good about 7 years ago. So far, it's been a good experience and we have no regrets.

Something to consider, depending on the design of your roof, is solar avalanches. After a big snow storm and the sun comes out, those slick panels will dump a huge quantity of snow. It would really suck to get hit by one of these! There's a potential for ripping gutters off too. They can mitigate this somewhat by leaving enough shingle below the panels to hold the snow. Those Tesla shingles covering a whole roof would be terrible in snow country.

[cstone]

It is this exactly that has kept me from making the jump to putting solar on my home.

One thing to consider that hasn't yet been brought up is this: One advantage to solar is that you aren't 100% reliant on the power grid. Yes, you can expect there will be usage of power from the grid but you'll always have some amount of self-produced power even if the grid goes down. This can help heat/cool your home and keep the refrigerator/freezer running during power outages. Depending on your battery system it may provide power throughout the dark hours. It is this consideration more than any other that's had me revisiting the idea of installing solar.

Agreed. For me solar is not a cost/benefit so much as possible tool of necessity. I have considered it for the house, but it is not cost effective. Since I have natural gas at the house, a multi-fuel generator combined with some solar and wind tied to a large battery bank would be useful. I just don't have the space for the batteries.

Lately I have been using a small panel (21W) from Anker to keep a couple of small handheld backup batteries topped up while on the road. These keep my phone, some small lights and Baofeng running when absolutely necessary. I like the idea of portable solar generators because one of the things I dislike most about gas generators is the noise. I think if I had an off grid house, I would invest in a solar/wind solution after insuring I had a reliable water supply and sewage system. The key to solar and wind is still the batteries. Big, expensive, and needy is how I feel about most battery systems today.

If I was getting solar to feed the utility company's grid, they would need to pay me for the power generated and a little rent for the space I am providing on the roof. I know the utilities pay less for electricity generated by coal/gas/oil. Our government mandates require the utilities to pay increased cost to use wind/solar to generate power and naturally those costs are passed along to us. No downside for the utilities and yet another way we get the government we deserve.

One day I will change power sources at home...when it makes sound financial sense and not before.

[Gman]

There just is not the same amount of available energy through solar or wind per unit of measuret as there is with fossil fuels or nuclear. It's a simple matter of physics/chemestry, and no amount of "technological advance" will change that.

And I'll throw in "consistency". The power grid is a finely tuned instrument and the variability of solar and wind isn't very useful. Until solar and wind power can be reliably and efficiently stored and precisely introduced into the grid, it will have limited viability.

[ben4372]

It is this exactly that has kept me from making the jump to putting solar on my home.

One thing to consider that hasn't yet been brought up is this: One advantage to solar is that you aren't 100% reliant on the power grid. Yes, you can expect there will be usage of power from the grid but you'll always have some amount of self-produced power even if the grid goes down. This can help heat/cool your home and keep the refrigerator/freezer running during power outages. Depending on your battery system it may provide power throughout the dark hours. It is this consideration more than any other that's had me revisiting the idea of installing solar.

I have been on multiple outages related to Xcel power going down. Lakewood, and West Denver area. People come out to the truck to see when power will be up. Middle of the day so I asked the guy why he cares, and point at his panels. He tells me its require to power down when power goes down. So the linemen don't get lit up with feed FROM house. Not sure why they cant just disconnect from the grid, I've seen this a few times. I'm not sure if all areas do the same, however I have heard it from multiple excel customers during power outages.

[20X11]

Oh, and if you haven't been discouraged yet, I read an article last week about Tesla's new Solar venture....SHINGLES that capture solar power. They will be rolling them out soon. Why buy the old tech, when they have already announced and shown their next generation devices?

[Gman]

Oh, and if you haven't been discouraged yet, I read an article last week about Tesla's new Solar venture....SHINGLES that capture solar power. They will be rolling them out soon. Why buy the old tech, when they have already announced and shown their next generation devices?

Yeah, they're uber expensive. The comparison I read about was $61K for a roof with 40% solar shingles, $17K for real slate, and $5K for asphalt. You will likely never make that cost difference back. I'll see if I can find the article.

Not the same article, but was updated on May 10th with estimates. For my home, it would cost about $72,700. I'm not sure I'd live long enough to ever make it out of the red on the extra expense.

How much will a Tesla Solar Roof cost on my home?
http://www.teslarati.com/consumer-re...lar-roof-cost/