solar panels on roof

[jerseygirl008]

Wondering if there's a program in TV's counties for installing solar panels. Friends in NJ are doing it. You pay up front (about 25K) till the panels are paid off. All the while, you pay no electric bill. You eventually wind up owning your own utility for your house (electric). Anybody in TV doing this?? Curious Jersey Girl wants to know.

[samhass]

With all the glorious sun we get, I am surprised that Florida doesn't do much more with solar.
I guess the initial cost is prohibitive, but you would think major tax credits would be made available to the populace for approved solar installations. I would love to go all solar but hate to buy into a technology that still appears to be in it's infancy in terms of efficiency. Sometimes you really do wonder if our govt indeed puts the interests of Big Oil
ahead of the security of this country. We have the brain power in this country to figure out a better way. I wish we never had to import another drop of foreign oil. I hate financing the people that would love to see us all perish.

[samhass]

It might be interesting to form a focus group to investigate what is available in the solar market and do a group purchase if a viable product is found.

[jerseygirl008]

I agree Sam. A focus group on this topic would be the way to go. As I see it, solar panels on your roof is a great way to harness energy. A friend of mine (in NJ) is doing it and once her panels are paid off, she's actually going to be "banking" electricity, making money. If you use less elec. in your house, your meter goes in reverse and the electric company will send you money. Well, it's more detailed than that but the way I understand it, you can't lose. If 50% of household's harnessed their own power, what a difference that would make. Going green seems to be the answer, IMHO. I think we all just need to do whatever part we can do, whether it be hybrid cars, electric cars, solar power, GOLF CARTS, etc. and eventually, it will make a difference. And lets all vote in some politicians who will really look at green solutions, not just give us lip service about it. My 2 cents. I'm waiting to hear from a few of the male posters here to see what their opinion is on solar panels. Is it something we can do in TV b/c I'm really interested.

[jerseygirl008]

whoops, didn't mean anything by "male posters",Sam. Bring it on ladies, let's hear what you think about this topic. Thanks for being first, Sam. LOL

[billethkid]

Based on my experience with the solar panels I have for our swimming pool, I would say most homes do not have sufficient surface area facing in the optimum direction (usuall West and some South). We have a large roof area and I had them max what they could put up. With it we have no problem keeping the pool at 93 during the months April through late November (probably could go higher but have no need to try). During the so called winter months Jan-Feb-Mar-Apr the best we get is high 80 degrees. Some installations do better some not as well...all a function of how many panels are optimized toward the sun.
The above is a long way from water tank temps, but is better than nothing. One could certainly consider solar with a gas assist (just like I have the pool set up).
I also suspect as technology improves the opportunities will also.
So I think what most would be up against is just simply having enough roof surface to accommodate the number of panels required to meet the objective.

BTK

[njgranny]

We tried to do it in NJ, but they said to get the maximum usage, we'd have to cut down all of our trees. We really didn't want to do that. I was thankful, though, that the salesman was totally honest about it.

[samhass]

Based on my experience with the solar panels I have for our swimming pool, I would say most homes do not have sufficient surface area facing in the optimum direction (usuall
Billie,
How long do you think it will take for the solar panels to pay for themselves? Heating my pool runs about $400 per winter month with just gas. I want to look into the solar panels and do have a decent amount of roof area.







West and some South). We have a large roof area and I had them max what they could put up. With it we have no problem keeping the pool at 93 during the months April through late November (probably could go higher but have no need to try). During the so called winter months Jan-Feb-Mar-Apr the best we get is high 80 degrees. Some installations do better some not as well...all a function of how many panels are optimized toward the sun.
The above is a long way from water tank temps, but is better than nothing. One could certainly consider solar with a gas assist (just like I have the pool set up).
I also suspect as technology improves the opportunities will also.
So I think what most would be up against is just simply having enough roof surface to accommodate the number of panels required to meet the objective.

BTK

[gonzy]

At the current cost of solar panels($3-$5) per watt assuming an average daily usage of 20000 watts(20kwh) I would think the minimum amount of panel required would be 2000 watts at a cost of $7000 plus all the control equipment req'd you are probably talking an initial investment of at least $10,000. Assuming a savings of $50 per month that requires a 200 month (17 yr) time frame to break even and thats generous because I doubt the solar panels would put out 2000 watts over a 10 hour day for 17 years. If solar panels get to the $1 per watt price range that would make the whole program a lot more sensible. A much more sensible economical approach at the moment would be to use solar hot water panels or batch heaters for hot water. They are relatively inexpensive and require very little in the way of control equipment.

[njgranny]

We have a heat-on-demand water heater (not solar). It does a wonderful job, and we don't have that big tank of water heating all the time.

My husband has always been so conscious of saving energy that he used to tease that our kids were blue in the winter from lack of heat.

[Frangyomory]

Many of the homes with swimming pools have solar panels and they seem to be happy with it.

[zcaveman]

Many of the homes with swimming pools have solar panels and they seem to be happy with it.


Neighbor put in a pool but could not put up solar panels as he did not have enough flat space on the required (sunny?) side.

And I suspect that the energy generated is enough for a pool but not a house as that is what this post is about.

[jerseygirl008]

Yes, you do need the appropriate amt. of roof surface area, facing in the right direction, with no trees in the way. Some great info here, thanks for everybody's input. I'd like to stay on top of this b/c if it ever does get to be affordable and I can do it, I'd like to go solar. Heat as you go hot water heater, what is the brand? Hear commercials for a company, ?? Ranai?? Sounds like "lanai". Is that what you have? Years ago we had a hot water heater that worked like that, it was gas driven, I remember the pilot would go out all the time, and it was very expensive to purchase. Sure they are much more efficient now.

[ouma1938]

We also have a Ranai hot water heater and just love it. I believe it was around $2,000 but our gas bill for heating water has really gone down. And we have endless hot water whenever we need it. When we sell the house and move to TV we will get another one.

[Villages Kahuna]

I've had tankless water heaters in two houses up north for several years. They are terrific. Never a threat of running out of hot water and about a 30% reduction in the gas bill. I'll have one installed here in TV as well. I just need to research the best local brand and who installs and services them. Actually, installation is a breeze. You can buy the units online from very reliable sources and evan an inexperienced plumber can install one in less than an hour. Getting a brand that someone local services is a bigger question. Tankless heaters are amazingly reliable. But still, anything can have a problem, so someone needs to have the parts and know how to fix it. I'm sure I'll have no trouble finding the brand and installer/servicer once I begin looking seriously.

The solar heater for the pool is also near "as good as it gets". My pool has been at 90˚ or above all winter long. I use the solar cover when not using it. My gas bill was reduced by about 2/3 as the result of using the rooftop solar heating panels. I'd recommend them to everyone.

[jerseygirl008]

VillageKahuna: Would you please post when you do find a local company/plumber and any info on a tankless hot water heater. I would love to add that to my TV file. Very interested in this type of hot water heater. Thanks.

[handieman]

Lets do some math ( I hated math in school but love it now)
One Tankless water heater=#1500.00-$2000.00 installed
Florida water being naturally warm my heating of hot water costs maybe $25.00 per month=$300.00 per year
Heating with tankless at a savings of 30%= $200.00 year
Savings with tankless =$100.00 per year
Lifespan of a tankless= 10 years
In 20 years I have spent 4000.00 in tankless water heaters to save $100.00 per year X 20 years =$2000.00 savings in the 20 year period
After 20 years I'm at a loss of $2000.00 and most likely dead, so I'll tell the kids to ditch the tankless and use rooftop solar (God don't charge for sun ;D)
Handie :joke:

[jerseygirl008]

That't funny Handie. I personally love it when other people do the math. I still want to know when solar panels on roofs (not just for heating pools) are available in TV. Thanks.

[handieman]

That's funny Handie. I personally love it when other people do the math. I still want to know when solar panels on roofs (not just for heating pools) are available in TV. Thanks.

In all seriousness, I do think that water heated by roof mounted,solar collectors, are very worth while if you have a pool. Again, I say that during the summer months in FL it's common to take a shower with the faucet set way over to cold, thus no heating required. The bottom line of my thinking is use a conventional gas hot water heater and forget the extra expense in this climate.
Yes tankless has some virtue in northern climates where the incoming cold water is near 45 degrees and the energy required to take it up to shower temp is greater.
Handie :joke:

[Sidney Lanier]

Being very energy focused, we installed a solar hot water system to supply (summertime) and help supply (wintertime) our domestic hot water on our upstate New York home around 1985, literally a week before the president eliminated the solar credits that made it affordable (possibly because, as mentioned by an earlier poster, in the interests of Big Oil rather than energy conservation/'independency'). We were surprised at the time that more people didn't take advantage of the credits prior to their elimination.

That system has required little maintenance over the years, and we are certain that it has paid for itself time and again, as it is costly to heat water from the 45� or so that it comes up out of the well using oil or electricity. (We also installed a boiler that allowed us to heat the house with multiple fuels, particularly good old American coal!) I can only assume that current solar technology is much more advanced than it was two decades ago, and it would certainly seem like a viable thing in an area like ours in central Florida.