[keepsake]

I've taken my 2012 solar investment and added batteries in 2022 ish. Can now run through the night of an outage and keep the food from spoiling. No generator, just hybrid inverter.

[keepsake]

Been hearing that some h/o insurance companies are canceling coverage completely for folks with panels on house. I have metal roof and no insurance coverage on panels.

[keepsake]

After ten years I can attest to this fact: Solar panel drippings cause corrosion on otherwise perfect metal roof. I have the Galvalume sheets. Only place with rust is along the drip edge of the aluminum framed panels. If a contractor had told me back at install to paint that drip area, this could all have been avoided.

[keepsake]

Daily connect charge is for the 'grid as your battery'. You push into grid in the daytime and pull back at night. Cheap battery at about $1 a day. Real batteries can run over $10k.

[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by keepsake

After ten years I can attest to this fact: Solar panel drippings cause corrosion on otherwise perfect metal roof. I have the Galvalume sheets. Only place with rust is along the drip edge of the aluminum framed panels. If a contractor had told me back at install to paint that drip area, this could all have been avoided.

You have a classic problem of Aluminum in contact with steel, these 2 metals do not play nice together. I doubt that any amount of paint would have stopped the problem. I always try to use stainless steel hardware if it is going to be in contact with aluminum. I would suggest try calling Eastwood (yes automotive products) and see if any of their excellent rust preventative solutions will help with your situation.
Hope this helps.

[keepsake]

I did that Ospho treatment, twice, sanded and painted with that Elastomeric white paint. Two coats and seem 95% better.

[daniel200]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Attaching solar panels on a sloped asphalt roof is one of the craziest ideas I have ever heard of. If solar energy was really a good idea, the power companies would have their own solar panels and mount them on the ground.

As many of the US energy companies do. Example:

Solar Energy - Duke Energy

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Those installations are typically happening in locations where regulators are mandating a specific portion of their energy production portfolio comes from energy sources labeled as green or sustainable. Ratepayers in those locations are also typically paying a premium for their electricity.

FACT CHECK: True,

when solar first started, NYPSC mandated that Niagara Mohawk, which had the lowest cost of electric generation in the Northeast, accept power from solar generation. The cost to upgrade the mechanical systems to electronic systems to accept the irregular flow from solar, was not yet accepted into the rate base for the mandated return, and the company went bankrupt. . .

So be careful what you wish for.

Weather based electrical generation is inherently unstable as weather is inherently random and unstable. The solar based infrastructure requires electronic switching devices to manage the instability (think passing clouds) along with the steady legacy generation. Electricity can't be easily stored on very large scales. . .

The UK found out one day when the sky was overcast and the wind didn't blow at all anywhere. . they had to fire up back up coal plants at a very large incremental cost to maintain adequate power supplies to the grid. It might be sustainable, but instability might be more expensive than legacy stable, such as nuclear power.

your small implementation is not the same as at massive scale. . . scaling can be exponentially more difficult and expensive. .

former utility finance guy

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

FACT CHECK: True,

when solar first started, NYPSC mandated that Niagara Mohawk, which had the lowest cost of electric generation in the Northeast, accept power from solar generation. The cost to upgrade the mechanical systems to electronic systems to accept the irregular flow from solar, was not yet accepted into the rate base for the mandated return, and the company went bankrupt. . .

So be careful what you wish for.

Weather based electrical generation is inherently unstable as weather is inherently random and unstable. The solar based infrastructure requires electronic switching devices to manage the instability (think passing clouds) along with the steady legacy generation. Electricity can't be easily stored on very large scales. . .

The UK found out one day when the sky was overcast and the wind didn't blow at all anywhere. . they had to fire up back up coal plants at a very large incremental cost to maintain adequate power supplies to the grid. It might be sustainable, but instability might be more expensive than legacy stable, such as nuclear power.

your small implementation is not the same as at massive scale. . . scaling can be exponentially more difficult and expensive. .

former utility finance guy

Still scratching my head why we are not generating more electricity from nuclear power

[biker1]

Three unfortunate events had a profound impact on public opinion, a history of cost overruns hasn't helped, and lingering, perhaps unwarranted, concerns about nuclear waste storage has also been problematic. We are, fortunately, starting to see some progress in Georgia.

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Still scratching my head why we are not generating more electricity from nuclear power