Are solar panels worth the investment?

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StLPro2A

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I have a company trying to sell me on the idea of solar panels for the house. After the rebates, the monthly cost would be the same or less than my monthly electric bill and they say there is a lifetime warranty on the panels.

Does anyone have solar power or know much about it? Is it worth the investment?
You have to run your own specific number to make that decision. Local electricity cost, days of sun (Seattle probably not a high contender), electrical consumption, orientation direction of home, performance of specific panels/system, et el, et el. There are other considerations such as stability of local power source. Do you have many outages in which you are without power/lose frozen foods? Are you a prepper type interested in off-grid sustainability, etc. Depends on what Return On Investment you would be happy with. Son and D-in-law put solar on their home in DC, four doors off of Pennsylvania Ave on Capital Hill, about 5-6yrs ago. They drastically cut and/or eliminated their electrical bill. Actually, sold electricity back to the power company. However, I surmise the pay back on their actual cash out of pocket was like 30 years....not counting tax subsidies. ROI on total cash flow would have been maybe 40-50 years. You and I paid dearly to subsidize their cost in the form of thousands/tens of thousands of dollars in tax credits. I don't have the specific numbers as they are flaming Libturds (Daddy tried......Daddy tried), knowing my "Extremist" Conservative tilt, they don't want to discuss fact/truth/accounting. Never would face the facts that other tax payers paid for a significant chunk of their system. They were pleased with it from a functionality perspective. I don't know about your financial justification rules of engagement, but I wouldn't spend money that didn't pay for itself in way less than 30 years. I always required my money work harder than that.

That being said, maybe I have a touch of Libturd hypocrisy in me. I did put solar panels with Lithium batteries on my 45ft diesel pusher tag axle motor coach to be able to boondock away from power hookups, not having to run the on board generator all the time. High ROI on those beautiful vistas at breakfast and dinner, sans neighbors. Did not pursue tax subsidies for others to pay for my decisions. Very pleased with the performance. Did not do ROI calcs. Worked hard/smart/punched company numbers for 40+ years so today don't to have to punch numbers on anything I desire. Cost not an issue......money working hard now to make me smile.......doing a great job of it. :) :) :)
 
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John6185

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If a person had solar panels and there was a hail storm that necessitated a new roof, would the "skilled" roofers damage the panels or, be unable to rei stall them? They don't give a rat's patootie about your roof or the panels, they want to slap it on and get to another roof.
 

gmar

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If a person had solar panels and there was a hail storm that necessitated a new roof, would the "skilled" roofers damage the panels or, be unable to rei stall them? They don't give a rat's patootie about your roof or the panels, they want to slap it on and get to another roof.
The company who sold you the panels does the detach and reset of the panels. The company I spoke with did the first one for free but I know most insurance companies pay for it as part of the estimate.
 

Shadowrider

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Necro bump....

So my daughter sent me this proposal that she got for her new (to her) house.

7.48kW system having 22 340 watt panels. No power walls or batteries.

$32,919 total payments over 25 years
$19,221 projected electric bill savings over 20 year life of the system
$13,698 "Clean Energy Premium" (this is codespeak for how much you are paying to do your part in saving the earth)

Red Flags:

20 year system life vs 25 year financing (blatant snakeoil flag)
They claim to lower her electric bill to $25 per month average (I bet I can trade my beachfront property in AZ in on this system too)
They claim 103% energy production from solar, so I'm assuming 3% will be sold to the grid, (at wholesale, big whoopteedoo!)

FFS, even with the federal tax subsidy it won't make payback and you end up still underwater. How do the people that sell these sleep at night?
 

dennishoddy

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My Grandson works for Tesla in the Dallas area installing entire roofs of solar panels. Look similar to shingles, but generate solar power.
He said the people that are having them installed are more worried about "green" things and considering the neighborhoods they are installing them in, price isn't much of an object. Lot's of corporate installations as well so they can showcase them in some brochure.
 

mr ed

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Read the fine print! A couple I know had to sell their house (divorce) and there was little to no equity in it so they were still on the hook to pay for panels on a house they didn't own anymore.
 

ssgrock3

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I have a company trying to sell me on the idea of solar panels for the house. After the rebates, the monthly cost would be the same or less than my monthly electric bill and they say there is a lifetime warranty on the panels.

Does anyone have solar power or know much about it? Is it worth the investment?
The roi is well over 10 years. I personally so no way. If a person prefers green energy then go for it, if it is a $$$ saving method, the math doesn’t work in no form or fashion.
 

HFS

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Necro bump....

So my daughter sent me this proposal that she got for her new (to her) house.

7.48kW system having 22 340 watt panels. No power walls or batteries.

$32,919 total payments over 25 years
$19,221 projected electric bill savings over 20 year life of the system
$13,698 "Clean Energy Premium" (this is codespeak for how much you are paying to do your part in saving the earth)

Red Flags:

20 year system life vs 25 year financing (blatant snakeoil flag)
They claim to lower her electric bill to $25 per month average (I bet I can trade my beachfront property in AZ in on this system too)
They claim 103% energy production from solar, so I'm assuming 3% will be sold to the grid, (at wholesale, big whoopteedoo!)

FFS, even with the federal tax subsidy it won't make payback and you end up still underwater. How do the people that sell these sleep at night?
Somebody once said there are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics.
 

GnometownHero

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I am investing in an emergency backup solar/wind setup with charge control/capacitor/inverter box.
Enough wattage to run central air fan & thermostat after an ice storm and be able to keep freezer cold and maybe sleep with a fan in hot weather and Cpap or 02 machine at night after thunderstorm power loss etc. Add in keeping my deep cycle batteries topped off, quick jobs with a powertool, etc.
I was checking out those kinds of products on Amazon and Northern Equipment catalog. New power technology is pretty cool.
 

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