Current Events > Getting solar panels on my house today!

(+) Yeah! (+)

12 years from now, all the free electricity I can stand. Exciting!

What if a fat person blocks the sun?

Checkmate Nintendo fanboys.

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Congrats that's exciting.

Have been a little hesitant to do it since it's not going to pay itself off for like 15 years -_-

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Topix was won by the second post.

Well done, Austin.


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Nice! Weve been wanting to do the same but its a lot of cash up front. How much was it for you if you dont mind me asking?

When I crunched the numbers it seemed to be a scam. And god help you if you want fo sell your home.

You take on a lot of risk to not have an electric bill.

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Yeah overall I heard it's not worth it, but I guess it may depend?

Repair/maintenance might be high and not sure the long run savings.

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I wanted to get some before the subsidies went away but I live in the Midwest, the two problems are they would only last a couple three years before getting damaged by hail and home owners insurance won't cover them for that reason.

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My electricity bill is usually under $100 except like for 2 months when I run the AC for a bit. I'll stick with electric. Fuck the SUN!

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Cleo_II posted...

Nice! Weve been wanting to do the same but its a lot of cash up front. How much was it for you if you dont mind me asking?

Yeah I know what you mean. I've investigated it very much before we went ahead and did it. So, here's the thing.
Look into Enpase solar panels and give them a call. They will hook you up with an installer.
As far as crunching the numbers, listen closely, because it may or may not be in you best interest.
If you use a lot of power or have a big home, it's probably worth it, because it uses a lot of energy. That's really the key, because if you don't actually use a lot of power, you really just don't need them, most likely. But call and check anyway, crunch your numbers, see if it's right for you.
So, for me, here's how it works. The system is $32k financed at like 2% (I think, or 5, I forget, it's low either way).
That means instead of paying my power company an huge electric bill (especially in summer), I pay the solar $137/month, and use all the power I want.
Then, if you get it this year or next, you get a HUGE tax break that's like 1/3 the price of the system. Give the Solar company the proceeds from the tax break, and it drops your costs by 1/3(the tax breaks stop after 2021).
After about 10-12 years, it pays for itself in power.
Hope that answers your question. I'm very busty today, but I'll try to elaborate more later, time permitting.

Cocytus posted...

Yeah I know what you mean. I've investigated it very much before we went ahead and did it. So, here's the thing.
Look into Enpase solar panels and give them a call. They will hook you up with an installer.
As far as crunching the numbers, listen closely, because it may or may not be in you best interest.
If you use a lot of power or have a big home, it's probably worth it, because it uses a lot of energy. That's really the key, because if you don't actually use a lot of power, you really just don't need them, most likely. But call and check anyway, crunch your numbers, see if it's right for you.
So, for me, here's how it works. The system is $32k financed at like 2% (I think, or 5, I forget, it's low either way).
That means instead of paying my power company an huge electric bill (especially in summer), I pay the solar $137/month, and use all the power I want.
Then, if you get it this year or next, you get a HUGE tax break that's like 1/3 the price of the system. Give the Solar company the proceeds from the tax break, and it drops your costs by 1/3(the tax breaks stop after 2021).
After about 10-12 years, it pays for itself in power.
Hope that answers your question. I'm very busty today, but I'll try to elaborate more later, time permitting.

Thank you! My husband has made similar calculations and I know he was talking about doing it soon for the tax breaks. Were in SoCal with the most expensive utility company in the country. With the 100+ heat waves weve been having every summer, I think its worth it. Im just not sure we will be in this house for another 10 years.

Cocytus posted...

If you use a lot of power or have a big home, it's probably worth it, because it uses a lot of energy.

Thats pretty much what I decided too.

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the power co. gonna pay you

Ive wanted to switch to solar panels myself, especially with the adds of the companies paying you to install them, dunno how thatd work

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tc got scammed

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coolpal23 posted...

Ive wanted to switch to solar panels myself, especially with the adds of the companies paying you to install them, dunno how thatd work

i had some guy come to my house to try and sell "free" panels so I looked into it. you lease the panels from the company that installs them, you pay them monthly and hope the energy you generate via solar reduces your electric bill in a way that puts you ahead. the big problem imo is that the agreements have these big indemnity clauses you're liable for if you want to remove the panels, so if you want to sell your house with the panels on them the buyer either has to agree to take over the lease or you have to foot the bill for them to be removed

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I kind of want to buy some straight up and install them on my enclosed patio. Then run all the electricity and A/C for that room separately to a couple of panels.

I wonder if they have to be connected to the grid. It sounded like they basically send all the power they generate to the power company and you get a credit for the same amount. Meaning no power storage.

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Cleo_II posted...

Thank you! My husband has made similar calculations and I know he was talking about doing it soon for the tax breaks. Were in SoCal with the most expensive utility company in the country. With the 100+ heat waves weve been having every summer, I think its worth it. Im just not sure we will be in this house for another 10 years.

Oh I would definitely recommend it in that case, especially because I think Cali gets even more tax breaks. I live in Texas so we only get the one. But yeah, if you want the best bang for your buck, I'd try to go ahead and get it this year, or no later than next.