Home solar panels

[My94GT]

so I’ve had a coworker tell me about their Tesla panel system they have on their hone and how well it has been working.

I also have another coworker who has some from a different brand and likes them as well. I’m looking to see if anyone has some and can comment on how they like them and do they feel it was worth the sizable up front cost?

From what I’ve gathered it would take between 20-30k to acomodate my house hold and between the tax credit and usage benefits if it actually works well would be a 5-6year time table for ROI to turely start coming in.

So is it worth it? Why, or why not?

 

[IronSnake]

The ultimate issue with panels is they are progressively getting better.

By the time your ROI comes in to play, the panels will be severely outdated and possibly incompatible with any future iterations of solar product.

 

[Mpoitrast87]

My parents have them on their home. They love them. In the summer months they don't ever have an electric bill. They actually get money back every month from the power company.

 

[L8APEX]

Here the electric company just charges you more per Kilowatt hour if you have solar...

 

[08mojo]

so I’ve had a coworker tell me about their Tesla panel system they have on their hone and how well it has been working.

I also have another coworker who has some from a different brand and likes them as well. I’m looking to see if anyone has some and can comment on how they like them and do they feel it was worth the sizable up front cost?

From what I’ve gathered it would take between 20-30k to acomodate my house hold and between the tax credit and usage benefits if it actually works well would be a 5-6year time table for ROI to turely start coming in.

So is it worth it? Why, or why not?

@RDJ Has solar installed on his home and is a pretty good resource.

Just know the 30% Federal Tax Credit (ITC) is going away at the end of this year. It does ramp down, but for residential 2019 is currently the last year to receive the full 30% (Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) | SEIA). Be sure to fully understand how your local utility will charge you once you go solar. Some utilities are way better than others. If your ROI is truly 5-6 years, that's pretty good.

 

[RDJ]

The ultimate issue with panels is they are progressively getting better.

By the time your ROI comes in to play, the panels will be severely outdated and possibly incompatible with any future iterations of solar product.

this is possible but not likely. I put my system in in 2012. late last year one of my inverters when bad. had it replaced with a newer model under warranty and it was plug and play. If I need new panels now they would also be plug and play. biggest thing is it is getting better and cheaper but backwards compatibility does not seem to be an issue.

Here the electric company just charges you more per Kilowatt hour if you have solar...

this is just nuts but not too surprising since solar customers use the grid, put stuff back on the grid without paying the infrastructure costs for the benefits they receive. Other companies are starting to charge a 5 dollar a month connection fee. I would be ok with a small fee.

 

[sleek98]

I have solar setup on my house.

Look to see what the net metering agreement is from your provider. That will make or break your ROI. I spent 35k on the 11.92kw system. Got 10,500 back from feds, 6,000 back from the power company so I am out of pocket 18,500. It will save me 3-3.5k a year. So around 5-6 years for me.

Also look at the rate schedule. For us the rate schedule did not change, some power companies put you on a time of use where the peak times you get charged a shit ton for that peak demand.

 

[08mojo]

The ultimate issue with panels is they are progressively getting better.

By the time your ROI comes in to play, the panels will be severely outdated and possibly incompatible with any future iterations of solar product.

This is not how it works at all. Panels just supply DC power--that's it. Sun hits the the panel, electricity comes out. There's no magical handoff between the inverter and the panels.

We are currently replacing the inverters on a solar installation from 2008....same panels, new inverters. The technology of panels has not really changed. The new panels on the market today are ~300W, panels 10 years ago were ~200W. So what changed, how are they 300W now vs 200W 10 years ago: the physical size of the panels increased.

 

[RDJ]

I put in solar in 2012 I got into it at the perfect time since rebates were at a peak. The electric provider was rebating 2.00 per watt and the installer was rebating .50 per watt. initially they wanted to put in a system that would take care of about 70% of my bill. but that left almost half the rebate money on the table. I found out that to double the size of my system would cost me 3k out of pocket so I had them do a redesign. my 10kw system cost 37K. I got 25k back in rebates and another 4k or so in fed tax rebate, which put my cost about 8900 dollars (numbers are rough since I don't have my data sheet in front of me). I had been working overseas for almost 10 years so I had the cash to pay my part. my ROI was estimated to be about 5 years I think I got it in just over 4. again that is an estimate. a personal example:

in Aug 2011 with the GF and one dog living in the house (I was in Iraq) my bill was 340.00 keeping the house at 74 during the day and 68 at night.

I started researching solar as a result of going to a home and garden show in Austin while I was home in 2012. We turned the system on in July of 2012

Aug of 2012 it was me, the GF and one dog and the electric was 240. She was keeping the house about 70 degrees during the day and 65 at night. also by then we were keeping the back door open so the dog could use the doggie door in the storm door to come and go as she pleased.

I went back overseas in Jan of 2013 and early that year Texas changed things and we could pick our electric company. I changed to one that had a much better buy back and my electric bill for Aug of 2013 was 50 bucks. as a result of all this I now live in a refrigerator LOL. by and large our electric bill has not been over 50 bucks since.

for us, with rebates and all it made more sense to do it than not and I don't regret a single thing we have done.

My recommendations for anyone considering doing panels today:

1. research research research and when you think you are ready to make a decision research some more.

2. Be very wary of leases. A lease ALWAYS favors the leasing company and you need to be very very careful. My personal advice. don't lease.

3. if you are going to get solar take a long hard look at your roof if your roof is going to need to be replaced in less than 5 years, do the roof at the same time you put in solar. you will spend 8-9k to have panels removed and replaced when you replace your roof. I didn't do this, and my roof needed to be replaced in 2016 and it cost 8k to have 40 panels taken up, replaced, and the system checked again. I bought a roof with a lifetime transferrable warranty so I wouldn't have to do it again (GAF top of the line)

4. make sure you really understand the impact on your family finances. Some people jump in and then find out they have traded one bill for a newer higher bill that they really can't or barely afford.

5. if your ROI is not less than 5-6 years it is probably not worth doing. (this is MY opinion based on research I have done)

6. if you live in Kommiefornia and are staying in the tier one or two don't bother with solar, most people in kommiefornia get enough solar to gt them out of the higher tiers and down to tier one or two and call it a day. it's a matter of economics.

7. get multiple estimates and IMHO stay away from Tesla. they are solar city and solar city has a horrible rep in the business.

8. I would highly recommend as part of your research you sign up on solarpaneltalk.com there are some very knowledgeable folks there and you will learn a ton.

 

[My94GT]

I put in solar in 2012 I got into it at the perfect time since rebates were at a peak. The electric provider was rebating 2.00 per watt and the installer was rebating .50 per watt. initially they wanted to put in a system that would take care of about 70% of my bill. but that left almost half the rebate money on the table. I found out that to double the size of my system would cost me 3k out of pocket so I had them do a redesign. my 10kw system cost 37K. I got 25k back in rebates and another 4k or so in fed tax rebate, which put my cost about 8900 dollars (numbers are rough since I don't have my data sheet in front of me). I had been working overseas for almost 10 years so I had the cash to pay my part. my ROI was estimated to be about 5 years I think I got it in just over 4. again that is an estimate. a personal example:

in Aug 2011 with the GF and one dog living in the house (I was in Iraq) my bill was 340.00 keeping the house at 74 during the day and 68 at night.

I started researching solar as a result of going to a home and garden show in Austin while I was home in 2012. We turned the system on in July of 2012

Aug of 2012 it was me, the GF and one dog and the electric was 240. She was keeping the house about 70 degrees during the day and 65 at night. also by then we were keeping the back door open so the dog could use the doggie door in the storm door to come and go as she pleased.

I went back overseas in Jan of 2013 and early that year Texas changed things and we could pick our electric company. I changed to one that had a much better buy back and my electric bill for Aug of 2013 was 50 bucks. as a result of all this I now live in a refrigerator LOL. by and large our electric bill has not been over 50 bucks since.

for us, with rebates and all it made more sense to do it than not and I don't regret a single thing we have done.

My recommendations for anyone considering doing panels today:

1. research research research and when you think you are ready to make a decision research some more.

2. Be very wary of leases. A lease ALWAYS favors the leasing company and you need to be very very careful. My personal advice. don't lease.

3. if you are going to get solar take a long hard look at your roof if your roof is going to need to be replaced in less than 5 years, do the roof at the same time you put in solar. you will spend 8-9k to have panels removed and replaced when you replace your roof. I didn't do this, and my roof needed to be replaced in 2016 and it cost 8k to have 40 panels taken up, replaced, and the system checked again. I bought a roof with a lifetime transferrable warranty so I wouldn't have to do it again (GAF top of the line)

4. make sure you really understand the impact on your family finances. Some people jump in and then find out they have traded one bill for a newer higher bill that they really can't or barely afford.

5. if your ROI is not less than 5-6 years it is probably not worth doing. (this is MY opinion based on research I have done)

6. if you live in Kommiefornia and are staying in the tier one or two don't bother with solar, most people in kommiefornia get enough solar to gt them out of the higher tiers and down to tier one or two and call it a day. it's a matter of economics.

7. get multiple estimates and IMHO stay away from Tesla. they are solar city and solar city has a horrible rep in the business.

8. I would highly recommend as part of your research you sign up on solarpaneltalk.com there are some very knowledgeable folks there and you will learn a ton.

Great info! I’ll look into this more and join that forum. I’m still looking into it now, but our house was just built last year and we’ll be in it at least 8-10 years so it makes sense to me.

Also I have the cash to front for it so I won’t miss it and long term it’ll be worth it. I’ll have to look into the buy back rate and see if there are any sort of penalties or added fees for going solar but I’ve yet to hear about that.

I will only buy outright no leasing as like you said that’s of little favor to me.

 

[lilcoop03]

3. if you are going to get solar take a long hard look at your roof if your roof is going to need to be replaced in less than 5 years, do the roof at the same time you put in solar. you will spend 8-9k to have panels removed and replaced when you replace your roof. I didn't do this, and my roof needed to be replaced in 2016 and it cost 8k to have 40 panels taken up, replaced, and the system checked again. I bought a roof with a lifetime transferrable warranty so I wouldn't have to do it again (GAF top of the line)

I was wondering about this. I knew it would be high when you replaced a roof but wow... If I go solar, I have the land in the backyard to build a grid on the ground and keep them off of my roof.

 

[08mojo]

I was wondering about this. I knew it would be high when you replaced a roof but wow... If I go solar, I have the land in the backyard to build a grid on the ground and keep them off of my roof.

After being in the solar business for 10 years: if ground mount is an option, I would go that route without a second thought.

 

[My94GT]

After being in the solar business for 10 years: if ground mount is an option, I would go that route without a second thought.

Why would you choose this over roof mounting?

Me for example, my roof is less then a year old and I don’t plan to be here any longer then 10 years. The roof also has 100% exposure to sun during the day and no risk of damage from trees or anything other then hail or very high winds.

Lawn placement would take valuable space away from my back yard, risk damage from tree branches, potential damage from my dogs or animals like deer, and not look as ascetically pleasing.

 

[08mojo]

Why would you choose this over roof mounting?

Me for example, my roof is less then a year old and I don’t plan to be here any longer then 10 years. The roof also has 100% exposure to sun during the day and no risk of damage from trees or anything other then hail or very high winds.

Lawn placement would take valuable space away from my back yard, risk damage from tree branches, potential damage from my dogs or animals like deer, and not look as ascetically pleasing.

Ground space, especially for residential installs, is really hard to come by--so it's typically not an option (and you listed a lot of good reasons to keep it on the roof). But, if the ground space is a viable option it has some advantages:

• higher output since you can put the panels at the exact azimuth and tilt to capture the most energy from the sun
• ease of maintenance
  • it's always easier to access something on the ground vs a roof
  • if you live in an area with snow, you can brush the panels off easily
  • if you live in an area with lots of trees/debris you can easily clean the panels
  • if a panel were to be damaged, it's easier to replace
• no longer have to worry about solar being in the way of roof repair and maintenance
  • don't have to worry about building structural restrictions (not really an issue for most residential systems, but it is a huge hurdle in the commercial world where I work)

 

[lilcoop03]

My back yard is terraced up and the property butts up to a church graveyard. I could put a grid back there (up there) and youd never see it bc nobody really goes that far back on my property. I have a few trees and a Muscadine vine back there but its only useful to me for a place for bonfires anyway.. It would get sun exposure everyday from probably 9am to sundown

 

[PhoenixM3]

I’m bumping this thread now because I’m contemplating a ground installation. I still need to do mor research, but am looking at a 10kw system with a thought of batteries in the future. With batteries, I can disconnect from the grid, without them I’d still lose power during a grid failure. Hopefully, there is a way to design and future proof this.

 

[RDJ]

I’m bumping this thread now because I’m contemplating a ground installation. I still need to do mor research, but am looking at a 10kw system with a thought of batteries in the future. With batteries, I can disconnect from the grid, without them I’d still lose power during a grid failure. Hopefully, there is a way to design and future proof this.

batteries are still a losing proposition. you will spend more money replacing your batteries every 5 years or so than you will save in electric bills. Depending on where you live it may be illegal to disconnect from the grid as well so check into county/city codes carefully.

Personally I would not put a ground install in. takes too much space for too little return IMHO

 

[sleek98]

Had my system on for a month now. Net I have used 130 kWh, just walked out to check the meter. The first week was almost all rain/snow so very little production. We usually have been using 1,400-1,700 kWh depending on how much I am in the garage. So it’s doing it’s job. Another week and we will be back to net zero useage.

 

[PhoenixM3]

batteries are still a losing proposition. you will spend more money replacing your batteries every 5 years or so than you will save in electric bills. Depending on where you live it may be illegal to disconnect from the grid as well so check into county/city codes carefully.

Personally I would not put a ground install in. takes too much space for too little return IMHO

Land I have, but was hoping someone had experience with a battery system. I will look into the codes, though...

 

[PhoenixM3]

Had my system on for a month now. Net I have used 130 kWh, just walked out to check the meter. The first week was almost all rain/snow so very little production. We usually have been using 1,400-1,700 kWh depending on how much I am in the garage. So it’s doing it’s job. Another week and we will be back to net zero useage.

How big is your system?