[wmc1000]

We live in Indiana and for us it is simply an investment in being prepared and semi self-sufficient. Yes, power outages are relatively infrequent but could be worse.

With a large farm population near us and a personal garden we can survive a food apocalypse in the short term but in a major emergency if there was a power apocalypse only those with solar and battery storage have a backup plan in place.

We are not preppers, just retired and trying to avoid a disruption to our regular day to day lives.

[biker1]

Also, don't forget the bulbs in your lamp post if it is on a light sensor so it burns all night. A surprisingly large amount of power is consumed if they are incandescent bulbs.

Originally Posted by Choro&Swing

While solar panels may not pay off for you, one thing that WILL pay off, if you haven’t done it yet, is to replace your light bulbs with LEDs, especially if you have lights you leave on for hours per day. You can your lighting cost up to 90%. The LED might cost you a couple hundred for the entire house, but you will make that up in a year, probably. Get the color balance that is right for you. I usually get warmer lights. Get dimmer LEDs if the light is on a dimmer switch. Get three-way LEDs if your light use three-way bulbs. Get natural sunlight LEDs for your garage, as the light is more accurate. If you use those for your bathroom, though, you might feel that you have suddenly aged.

[rphil11ort]

I had them on my vacation home in NY. they were great but we bought them direct and had them installed by relatives. it was a lot less expensive. there where 2 options in NY purchase outright and lease. DO NOT LEASE

[bmarasco]

I have found that the benefits analysis from a couple of solar vendor, to be pretty accurate ... if the cost of say 30 panels, as was suggested, was $6000 - I do it in a heartbeat !! ... unfortunately it is not !!

[oneclickplus]

Originally Posted by Idaholady

Does anyone know anything about solar panels? Good idea? Bad idea? Would they blow away in a hurricane? Do they really save on electric bills?

Personal experience:
Don't waste your time or money. Payback (if any) is miserably slow. There is not enough real estate on your roof to generate the power you need. Those with a small farm that can dedicate several acres to solar panels might have better results. Also, something not well publicized by solar companies ... the panels degrade over time and the voltage output drops precipitously. In 20 years, they are trash for the landfill. If you do decide to put them on your roof, get it in writing that the solar company will remove them (and reinstall them) at no cost should you need a roof replacement down the road. That is another surprise cost to some people.

Had a neighbor who invested $23,000 in solar panels while drooling over the idea of his electric meter running backwards (per the sales guy). He generated less than $25/month of electricity. That's a negative payback. Ignoring interest, it would take 76 years to get his money back. Solar panels don't last that long. The interest on his loan cost more than he saved resulting in a net monthly loss.

I think you're better off attaching small generators to couple million gerbil and hamster cages and just let them go at it.

Solar water heaters for you pool are a different technology. Don't confuse them. Solar panels that generate electricity are what we're discussing here.

[Jimbo120]

I have solar panels and am happy with them. Don't really want to spend time arguing with those that do not but feel free to Private Message me to discuss the details.There are many pros and cons and you have to look at your situation.

[ProfessorDave]

Solar sounds great; reality has not been very good. Graveyard of companies in the business - especially for residential use. A few reasons why: a) animals (squirrels, birds, etc.) get in underneath the panels and cause issues, b) they often result in a leaky roof - and have to be totally torn off to replace the roof - very expensive, c) challenges when extreme wind. The ONLY system I'm aware of from friends that remain in the business is from GAF. The reason is that the solar panels ARE THE ROOF TOO -- so they don't experience the issues most all other systems have. Hope that helps.

[Jimbo120]

Originally Posted by oneclickplus

Personal experience:
Don't waste your time or money. Payback (if any) is miserably slow. There is not enough real estate on your roof to generate the power you need. Those with a small farm that can dedicate several acres to solar panels might have better results. Also, something not well publicized by solar companies ... the panels degrade over time and the voltage output drops precipitously. In 20 years, they are trash for the landfill. If you do decide to put them on your roof, get it in writing that the solar company will remove them (and reinstall them) at no cost should you need a roof replacement down the road. That is another surprise cost to some people.

Had a neighbor who invested $23,000 in solar panels while drooling over the idea of his electric meter running backwards (per the sales guy). He generated less than $25/month of electricity. That's a negative payback. Ignoring interest, it would take 76 years to get his money back. Solar panels don't last that long. The interest on his loan cost more than he saved resulting in a net monthly loss.

I think you're better off attaching small generators to couple million gerbil and hamster cages and just let them go at it.

Solar water heaters for you pool are a different technology. Don't confuse them. Solar panels that generate electricity are what we're discussing here.

There are too many errors in this post to ignore, everything depends on your situation.

[joseppe]

Originally Posted by Idaholady

Does anyone know anything about solar panels? Good idea? Bad idea? Would they blow away in a hurricane? Do they really save on electric bills?

We had solar on a house in California. It was 'net metering' and was on a lease/purchase plan. Cost nothing to install and we were charged based on monthly production of the panels. I believe we paid .18 per kwh and CA utilities were on a tier system with lowest of .16 per kwh quickly jumping to .25 per kwh and then .31 per kwh. We found the system did save money every month. Total monthly went from about $250 to about $220. Hardley worth it. Florida's rates are somwhere aroud .12 per kwh which makes solar of this type not worth it here.

We also had a lot of trouble when we went to sell that property because of the solar.

I would not do solar again unless it was the only option I had.

[sloanst]

From what I understand, it would take 20 to 25 years for them to pay for themselves. There is a lot of information on the web but it will take some work with a spreadsheet to make sense of it all. To start, consult you electric bill to find you max usage.

[aallbrand]

bad idea you will be dead 10 years before breaking even Don't fall for the solar scam

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by Windguy

Having worked at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for 35 years, I am very pro solar and wind. However, I have done nothing here because the laws here truly are pro fossil fuels. When I need a new roof, I may get solar roof tiles and a battery if the prices continue to drop as they have been. Just because something is not economical today doesn't mean it won't be in our lifetimes.

Think about the fact that the utility unfairly pays you wholesale prices for your excess. Well, you might think, a power plant gets wholesale. What's the difference? Well, the energy from the power plant must go through an expensive distribution system to get to your house and there are losses along the way. If you generate excess electricity, it goes to your next door neighbor and costs the utility nothing. That doesn't seem fair to me. Also, when you are generating excess energy, it's during the heat of the day (sunny!) when demand is high. The utility should pay you more to sell during peak usage than at other times.

If you have an electric car, you should charge it at night when demand is low and pay low rates. If your car holds more than you will use in a day, you could partially discharge your battery into the grid at peak times and sell it at premium prices. You could make money that way. Tesla supposedly has written the software to do it, but has not yet enabled it.

But, the fossil-fuel industry doesn't want this to happen and they exert great pressure on politicians to keep it that way.

just a quick reminder here: we need evil coal to produce electricity--it's incredible how many people DONT know that.

[fheller45]

Originally Posted by Stuart Zaikov

We had considered it but several neighbors have it and the payback is on the side of it might be longer than we have to walk this planet.

Fortunately SECO is working with Solar providers to give us solar sourced electricity, which will be a win-win for us. The more alternative sources like solar and wind are used, the cheaper it will become and the less will be
strain on the supply of fossil fuel sources.

[dawnrizo]

I believe anything that requires drilling holes on top of your roof allows for potential leaks. Best not to risk it. Electricity is not expensive in TV's.

[pcovella]

I live in TV and installed PV solar panels a little over a year ago. In the first year of operation, my 11.7KW system produced 17,673KWH of electricity. That electricity was worth 9.9cents/KWH or $1750. My system is returning an 8% IRR assuming steady utility rates, 20 year life, and no salvage value. In order to get that kind of return, two things are required: (1) the panels must face south, (2) you will have to work very hard to find an installer to do the job at a price that gives that kind of return. Specifically, you will need a price of under $2/watt installed before tax credits.