Solar panels on residential home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for any insights into installing solar panels on our house.

1) Pros/Cons
2) Does it save money & energy?
3) Is it a scam?
4) Reputable companies to investigate
5) Things to consider (resale, damage to roof, etc)

I'm just starting to think about this and know basically nothing about it. If anyone could point me to good resources on the web so that I can educate myself, that would be appreciated.

If you own them, and they get enough sunlight to make enough electricity to sell back to the grid (assuming the elec companies or transmission line company allows you to do that, as some won't or won't pay you), and you don't live in a hail prone area, then it can be worth it, but that mostly restricts them to desert areas.

Mostly they are a scam. Takes about 20 years or more just to pay them off for average user. Insurance may not cover them or raise your premiums higher than any savings you'd get from them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would feel more comfortable if roofing companies did the installation.

This is what we did. The solar company worked with the roofing company.

We needed to replace the roof anyway and did so when we installed the solar panels and were allowed to deduct the roof replacement on our taxes . It's actually reducing our bills more than promised, even in winter our electricity bills are sub $10. And we're charging an EV as well with that. I'm extremely happy with it.

You weren’t “allowed” to deduct the roof replacement. That’s fraud.

Yep, and the IRS is auditing pretty much everyone that claims this credit so you’ll get caught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Southwest -- sunshine 330 days a year.

Our power company used to write a check every year for the extra energy solar panels generated and "sold back" to the grid. But because we have so much sun, they were writing LOTS of BIG checks.

Now the balance just rolls over. I have a friend whose latest power bill had a balance of -$12,000. (Yes, negative.)

So they are not making money off it, just getting an energy "credit"?????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a 2,000 SF house in FL. Yesterday a guy came to our house and gave us a sales pitch for solar power. It took him a very long time to get to the part about how much it would cost.

The cost was $38,000 if we pay cash, or $56,000 if we finance it for 25 years. From the numbers he was throwing around, it seemed like it would cut our electric bill by about 1/3 over the course of a year.
I did the match and figured out it would take 32 years for the system to "pay for itself" if we paid cash. Seeing as how we are in our 60's, we would not live long enough for the expense to be recouped.
So we sent him on his way.

One of the solar panel companies going bankrupt right now is also getting sued for preying on elderly to trick them into signing ling term leases that extend far beyond their life expectancy, which complicates their estate settlements and takes money from tgem after they go into nursing homes soon after signing the contracts.



This article points out some of the concerns with solar contracts.

https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/solar-panel-scams-how-to-avoid-higher-energy-20211766.php

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Southwest -- sunshine 330 days a year.

Our power company used to write a check every year for the extra energy solar panels generated and "sold back" to the grid. But because we have so much sun, they were writing LOTS of BIG checks.

Now the balance just rolls over. I have a friend whose latest power bill had a balance of -$12,000. (Yes, negative.)

So they are not making money off it, just getting an energy "credit"?????

The old contracts gave you money for selling back your power.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Southwest -- sunshine 330 days a year.

Our power company used to write a check every year for the extra energy solar panels generated and "sold back" to the grid. But because we have so much sun, they were writing LOTS of BIG checks.

Now the balance just rolls over. I have a friend whose latest power bill had a balance of -$12,000. (Yes, negative.)

So they are not making money off it, just getting an energy "credit"?????

The old contracts gave you money for selling back your power.

So guessing that "new" ones don't do that anymore? So there's no incentive for people to get panels then.

[Anonymous]

I'm considering them for just an addition on the back of the house (house faces north) - that roof needs to be replaced soon and since I don't like the way solar panels look, it would be more obscured from view. one pp posted that they get less because of this - anyone have an problems doing less than possible?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Southwest -- sunshine 330 days a year.

Our power company used to write a check every year for the extra energy solar panels generated and "sold back" to the grid. But because we have so much sun, they were writing LOTS of BIG checks.

Now the balance just rolls over. I have a friend whose latest power bill had a balance of -$12,000. (Yes, negative.)

So they are not making money off it, just getting an energy "credit"?????

The old contracts gave you money for selling back your power.

So guessing that "new" ones don't do that anymore? So there's no incentive for people to get panels then.

Not "no incentive" because you get your electricity for free. But yes, the change is a problem in sunny western/southwestern states where people used to cover their whole bill plus get cash back. It's not really an issue in the DMV because it's almost unheard-of here to have so much sun that solar meets your electrical needs year-round - here, a credit on your bill can be used up in the winter so you are never in a cash-back situation anyway.

I'm in NoVA and put solar on my roof 3 years ago. I did not cover every surface because I think the panels are ugly, so my panels only meet 40% of my use. Pay-off period is 10 years. I also sell SRECs for $45 a month. Leasing panels is not allowed in Virginia (which is a good policy).

[Anonymous]

I would never buy a house with solar panels.

They are ugly and they make a small buzzing humming noise I find really irritating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never buy a house with solar panels.

They are ugly and they make a small buzzing humming noise I find really irritating.

Interesting. Hadn't thought of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never buy a house with solar panels.

They are ugly and they make a small buzzing humming noise I find really irritating.

They shouldn't make a noise. Sounds like bad wiring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking for any insights into installing solar panels on our house.

1) Pros/Cons
2) Does it save money & energy?
3) Is it a scam?
4) Reputable companies to investigate
5) Things to consider (resale, damage to roof, etc)

I'm just starting to think about this and know basically nothing about it. If anyone could point me to good resources on the web so that I can educate myself, that would be appreciated.

If you own them, and they get enough sunlight to make enough electricity to sell back to the grid (assuming the elec companies or transmission line company allows you to do that, as some won't or won't pay you), and you don't live in a hail prone area, then it can be worth it, but that mostly restricts them to desert areas.

Mostly they are a scam. Takes about 20 years or more just to pay them off for average user. Insurance may not cover them or raise your premiums higher than any savings you'd get from them.

If you live in D.C., you also get renewable energy credits for generating solar power, which sell at a very high premium because the city requires a high share of electricity in the District to be renewable, so utilities buy these credits as offsets. It about four years for us to recoup the cost of our panels, between the 30 percent federal tax credit and the SREC sales. I didn't even calculate the savings on our bill, but the payback time would have been faster if I did.

[Anonymous]

Got a new roof and then got solar panels. We make more energy than we use so net sell back to the grid (at wholesale prices). Love it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got a new roof and then got solar panels. We make more energy than we use so net sell back to the grid (at wholesale prices). Love it!

What brand of panels, how many (sq ft), and what electric company buys your generated electricity and for what rate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Southwest -- sunshine 330 days a year.

Our power company used to write a check every year for the extra energy solar panels generated and "sold back" to the grid. But because we have so much sun, they were writing LOTS of BIG checks.

Now the balance just rolls over. I have a friend whose latest power bill had a balance of -$12,000. (Yes, negative.)

So they are not making money off it, just getting an energy "credit"?????

The old contracts gave you money for selling back your power.

You don't really make much back selling your power in D.C. -- we own our panels, and it's a really small amount of money, because the utilities pay you at the wholesale rate for whatever you sell back, vs. the retail rate for what you consume. The money is in the SREC credits here, not the actual sale of electricity. Also in the fact that you don't have to buy much of it -- our electric bill was $17 last month.