Solar panels on your roof - yay or nay?

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

I had them mounted both on the new zone and the old dépendance last year and although it was quite the expense (although my father took almost all of it) and I had to bully the state agency into activating them ASAP and not put me on wait list; I can say a year later that they are repaying themselves - my bill is almost nothing (not even 100) per month while the average family spends some 200 per month and consumes much less.

[AmandaYVR]

I'm pro-solar panels, and it would be great if we powered our homes etc from natural sources like sunlight and ocean waves and not from things which are destructive to mine and pollute the earth in the process.

But there are problems with solar panels, and here's what I've learned:

They are costly to install, so it depends how long you intend to own your home, and you obviously have to factor how many years until you see that return, because most people can't afford to pay tens of thousands, for a decade, out of their own pocket, to slightly help the environment now. Most renters and buyers will see it as a positive, but most also won't pay for such things. They want they for free or at no additional cost.

You have to have the right location, orientation toward the sun, and be on the 'right' part of the globe. Some just do not get enough hours of sunlight.

In California, where I looked into it, it wasn't going to be financially feasible, given the specifics of my property and timeline. Bill Maher famously told repeated updates about the fiasco of his attempt to get solar installed on his shed, to power his house. He had a calendar progress count, humorously flipping the numbers over as a way to illustrate the unreasonable red tape and overlegislation that is California. It took well over 3 years to be approved. He eventually celebrated, did a wrap-up on the whole process. He even brought his show's film crew there, to his property, showing 8 men standing around discussing "the dilemmas."

It's great for the environment. It needs to get a lot more streamlined, the process. Even with governmental rebates and incentives, I could not personally make it work. And we had basically 12 months of constant sunlight. There's something not right about that.

But I commend you. 👏 Sounds like the fact that you actually are involved in government, helped a lot to push it through to approval.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

Here it's complicated too, and quite costly, but I have to admit I had luck and privileges too in getting it.

More than being government, I got my way because I pulled the famous "You don't know who I am" and "I'm the son of X , owner of X company" and so on.

[Levin]

My understanding, ironically, is that there are huge issues with their disposal when they come to the end of their life, too. Although it's not something I've hugely looked into.

[AmandaYVR]

Sun,
Mmmm. It's like, you have to have money and power to be able to do the right thing.

Levin,
Wow, is that right? That never even occurred to me. That's a shame.

When I researched it for my house, they told me I'd have to have the property for a good 10 years to get to a break-even. F that.

[exitseven]

It has turned into a political boondoggle. You get a tax subsidy from the government to help offset the cost of the hardware but there is still the issues of installation, effect on property values and who will provide maintenance. At the end of the day I bet most people end up regretting having it installed.

[AmandaYVR]

@exitseven Well I hope it's not a regret. What a waste.
But it's a positive on property value.
Maintenance, eh? Well that's not good. Hadn't thought of that. I suppose the company that installed them do that? (If they survive and don't go out of business.)

[sage2021]

I am against solar panels. When got a new president, one of the very first things he did was close down the Keystone pipeline and all those people lost their jobs. FIRED on the spot!
He said that those people could get jobs installing solar panels. The thing is, part of the materials used in solar panels comes from China!! So, if you want to financially support China, then go ahead and get them installed, but it you do, you'll always wonder what materials China used to put in your house. Will those materials cause cancer? Get you sick or diseased? Would you suspect it was the solar panels making you sick? Probably not. Think again!

[exitseven]

If I was going to have a new house built I would have solar panels incorporated in the design of the house and I would have the house situated on the lot so it would be at the optimal direction towards the sun. The reteofit panels you see on homes are just installed using long screws that can damage the roof and cause leaking. Also if you have a fire it makes it harder for the fire department ot vent the roof. The panels are all made in China. The installer gets the tax break and the homeowner might spent the next ten years paying it off. If anything goes wrong I doubt that the company will come back and fix the problem.

[Gummy_Cluster]

I did a paper on this in school. Capturing the sun's heat, is more efficient than converting the light into energy. They make these bladder-like things you can put on the roof or elsewhere. There's no reason to pay to have hot water in your sinks, when the sun will take care of that for free.
And my uncle has a big wood stove in his basement. Next to the stove is a big water tank. The water from that tank feeds into the normal hot water tank. So the water is already hot when it gets to the hot water tanks.

[exitseven]

@Gummy_Cluster yes, and i have a high efficiency boiler. When the thermostat reaches the desired temp, the boiler shuts down but the circulator pump will continue to run because the water in the boiler is stil hot so it transfers that heat to the rest of the house.

[Gummy_Cluster]

That's a great idea. My cousin has the cement in his garage warmed up through an underground thermal thing. I don't know what it's called, but he has underground lines weaving all around his back yard. A pump circulates the liquid through the floor in his garage. (maybe it's geo thermal?)

It raises the temperature of floors by about 20-30 degrees. It adds up.

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO😎

[AviatorTom]

Nay, we live in a heavily forested area and the trees shade the roof most of the day. Plus, the main roof slopes to the north, so it wouldn't get much sun to make solar worthwhile.

If I had a house with a roof that got a lot of sun, I'd seriously consider solar, but I'd maintain my connection to the grid... because solar doesn't always provide sufficient power... even with batteries, might-time power usage requires more than what solar can provide, especially on cloudy or winter days.

[OlderAndWiser]

If I was having a new house built, I would try for a passive solar design rather than an actve solar panel system.

[exitseven]

I had a addition built and I did this. The solar heat in the winter is so good I put a fan to blow the warm air into the rest oft the house. The problem in in the summer the room gets too hot and even with the blinds drawn I have to crank up the A/C.

[Anonymous]

Thinking about pulling the trigger on them. Had a company come out and give me an estimate. I have enough roof area optimal for solar panels to supply about 90% of my energy usage. The cost up front is significant. However, there are state and federal benefits to offset some of the cost and I can structure a loan so the payments are in line with my average monthly power bill. Rather than donating that money to the power company, I’m investing it in my own home. So it’s hard to argue against it.

[sheenagwapa]

definitely yay... isn't this good for the environment? especially if you are living in western countries. in my country philippines i think i get my electricity from hydro power source not sure. i actually don't know maybe it's a bad source too whereas in western countries their source of electricity is bad for the environment


anything good for mother nature i support! ✊

[genericname85]

since the govnerment is gonna force us to have electric vehicles, this makes a lot of sense tbh.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

Like hell I'm going to use electric vehicles though.

[genericname85]

I don't know where you live. the EU will completely stop the production of combustion engines by the year 2030. so good luck with never buying an EV

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

I know that, this is why I mostly import cars from the US.
Last Hybrid car I had - Audi Q8 - had a whole lot of issues I never had with other cars I drove. I love Audi but this one was a 80000€ worth piece of crap.

[genericname85]

don't buy german cars. i as a german can assure you that "german quality" is a thing of the past. germany is sellig chinesium these days. they have been doing that for a few decades but the world is slow in noticing these things.

if you want a proper good quality car, buy a japanese car. they're the last country that still produces "quality" stuff in general.

but yeah. either way i'm not sure how far the government is gonna go. i could imagine that the gasoline infrastructure will be removed at some point, so you'll be fucked even if you still have a combustion engine car.

[OfMiceandMen]

I have had them on for about 10 years and I notice a huge difference in my bill and they've paid for themselves long ago.

[TrueConfection]

It depends. There were a lot of scams going on here with those. I think of you own them outright, then they are worth considering.

[Daniela1982]

Are you leasing or pay for the panels up front? Who pays to replace them when they go bad? If you move in 3 years who is responsible to pay the lease (if leased) and the new owner refuses to pay for them and doesn't want the panels?

[exitseven]

Most people go for the lease arrangement that the fly by night companies are offering. They hire trained chimpanzees to do the installation and if the roof leaks afterwards it is your problem. When you put your house up for sale it is likely the prospetive buyer will not want it and you will have to pay to have it removed and pay the balance of the lease and maybe have a new roof done before the sale goes thriugh,

[Daniela1982]

@exitseven When my friend sold her house that is what happened to her. They didn't want them so she had to pay $14,000 for the balance of the lease. So the buyers got free solar and no lease payments. I told her she should have that them removed, or made them inoperable.

[Flower7]

I don’t like the appearance of them. I’m sure they help save on bills though.

[lightbulb27]

What direction are they facing and depends on where located.

The only way it paid off for us is for me to install them myself and by DIY.

[Paul09]

I wish my condo has solar panels. Maybe my future home will. But it's mostly worth it in the long run. Especially that they keep getting better and cheaper

[Anonymous]

I don't see why not if you're in an area that has a lot of sun. It should always be voluntary though.

[jamesgoldman]

Yeah if I owned a place I'd probably have solar panels

[Anonymous]

Yay. You link it to a wall battery. I sell surplus electricity back to the grid.

[DARKCLOUD1945X]

Just wait till they start taxing you on them. You know the Government they tax you if you have them and will tax you if you do not have them. Anyway you put it you loose.

[HippieVeganJewslim]

Although the production of the solar panels might be toxic to the environment, fossil fuels are even more toxic. I can repay for the damage they caused from the gelt I saved.

[Razp_Sorbet]

Would totally do it when I have a house and can afford it

[Agape93]

Yay, sadly I can't lol not enough sunlight would reach it

[Fireguy17]

I've thought about it, but I do not know how long I will be here vs the payback on them.

[Zayed_]

I already use solar panels and it’s helpful but nothing beats general electricity

[gorydetails]

How much did you pay for them? I say 'nay'.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

In total I spent some 50000€, but I shelved the cost to my family's company.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

A bit more than that, but still around that sum.

[gorydetails]

so your savings of 100 a month will take you 500 months to break even, 41 years. During that time the panels will have to be replaced at least once.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

Yes, but I'm not paying them out of my pocket.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Yay... in some areas.

[msc545]

This is definitely the way to go.

[Hispanic-Cool-Guy]

No. Makes the home look ugly.

[Jamie05rhs]

I think it's great!

[LiamJHayden]

Yes.