Anybody put solar panels on their house?

 

I've already done all my research into generators and know where I'll go on that path, but I'd like to do the same research on solar. Anybody have a positive/negative experience here? Any vendors/contractors/manufacturers you recommend or don't?

 

I don't want to do that leasing thing where the company owns the panels on your roof and you get a little bit of a break. I'd be buying my own stuff outright, having my own setup and either a) storing the power in batteries or b) sending it back to the grid.

 

Not too much real good info I've found online...mostly a bunch of sales crap...at least in the NJ area. Would like some real experience & specs from anybody on here willing to share.

From what I understand from an old friend in the business, there are tax incentives but the whole project is very expensive. It also takes a long time to get the cost through future savings. Or may never during the owning of the property. Most will do it on a new home build and have it worked into the cost. But like a lot of other eco ideas, getting a return takes too long imho. Correct me if I'm wrong....Sent from John's iPad 2 via Tapatalk HD

Minimum 10 year payback from what I have seen.

Realtor/builder friend said the only "true" way to make your $ back is to sell the house after installing them and use it as a selling point.

 

He researches everything like a mad man before doing it, he planned on a total off grid home and the cost to savings ratio was insane.

PM NJ609.

 

He recently did it, and if i recall correctly it costs next to nothing and his payback is a year or less. I may be way wrong though.

A girl I know works for a solar company. If you want I can give her your info, when she is back from.vacation. some people at my job had them installed, yea there expensive, but... Like a swimming pool, its an investment on home and will increase the value in the future

Now that the incentives have expired, it may take 20-30 years for payback. Technology it grossly inefficient and will be outdated long before the payoff time. The "leasing" options "pay" because they are betting in a big increase of energy costs in the future, so you "save' money because your costs stay the same during the lease while energy costs rise. If you buy your own system, they regulate how large it can be so that you are never able to generate much more than you use. The power companies do not want you to be in competition with them. That is why when you see a large office building with the panels,very often they do not fill the entire roof, because if they did, they might generate more energy for the grid than they are using.

I looked into it when the incentive were still in place and it was an 18yr payback. Obviously not worth it. There is only so much power you can get from sunlight.

...That is why when you see a large office building with the panels,very often they do not fill the entire roof, because if they did, they might generate more energy for the grid than they are using.

 

I find it very hard to believe that a "typical" office building could be a net producer of electricity from solar panels.

A few things to know about solar energy:

 

1) The panel output deterioirates over time. A 200 watt panel (rated under ideal conditions) will give progressively less output under equal conditions as time goes by.

2) You would think a sunny, summer day would be ideal for solar energy, but efficiency goes down when the panels get too hot.

3) For optimum output, the panels should be cleaned reguarly. They are not maintenance free and you can't always rely on the rain to clean them.

4) A solar installation will likely void any manufacturer's warranty your roof came with. You might be able to get one from the installer if you replace your roof at the same time as the solar installation. Only useful if they're still in business 10 years from now.

5) Some insurance companies will give you a small discount on your homeowner's policy, other will hit you with a stiff increase. Check with them first.

6) Don't cheap out on the inverter. The cheap ones will rob you of power due to lower efficiencies andf offer less in the way of diagnostics.

7) Unlikely, but if you live close to an airport (even a rinky-dink municipal one) you may need approval from the FAA if your home is in the flight path. There are issues with sun glare from the panels.

 

Nothing wrong with solar as long as you understand and accept its limitation. Without subsidies, it is unlikely that any residential system will ever reach a true payback period.

I find it very hard to believe that a "typical" office building could be a net producer of electricity from solar panels.

 

OK, you got me. But there are a few medical office building, a chuech and a storage center I pas going towork everyday that have the panels and they looke funny with irregular panel placement that just stops way short from one side and alr all aligned and even on the other end.

I had done some research into doing a solar farm a little while back, when I researched the grants and government incentives, it seemed most of the money allocated to the projects were wiped out. A bunch of people jumped on the opportunity and used up most of the incentive money. I know you can buy photo-voltaic cell sheets and make your own panels for atleast 1/5th the cost of buying finished panels but its some what time consuming depends on how big you go.

 

The best power to pay off ratio sits in wind turbines, I know you can buy a medium sized turbine that produces about 30kw of power for around 50k dollars that's roughly enough power for 8 homes. Of course you can go smaller if you just want to cover you're own home for about 10k, key is do you get enough wind in your area.

And will they let you put up turbines. Been a lot of controversy around here regarding nimby...

 

I had done some research into doing a solar farm a little while back, when I researched the grants and government incentives, it seemed most of the money allocated to the projects were wiped out. A bunch of people jumped on the opportunity and used up most of the incentive money. I know you can buy photo-voltaic cell sheets and make your own panels for atleast 1/5th the cost of buying finished panels but its some what time consuming depends on how big you go.

 

The best power to pay off ratio sits in wind turbines, I know you can buy a medium sized turbine that produces about 30kw of power for around 50k dollars that's roughly enough power for 8 homes. Of course you can go smaller if you just want to cover you're own home for about 10k, key is do you get enough wind in your area.

 

 

Sent from John's iPad 2 via Tapatalk HD

And will they let you put up turbines. Been a lot of controversy around here regarding nimby...

 

 

 

 

Sent from John's iPad 2 via Tapatalk HD

 

That my friend I can not answer, every towns different and it depends how tall it is and how close to neighbors you are and what not, the 30kw one you need some property since it sits about 80+ feet high the one thats about 4kw is 25 feet I think dont remember exactly. When I looked into all this, it was going on some mountain side property where no one cared and closest neighbor was half a mile at least.

Well I'll add my own personal research to this subject.

 

First do you want to send power back to the electric company or just use what you make ?

 

If you want to make more power then you need during the day and sell it back see what your local utility/state/local codes are for it.

 

If you choose to just get a few panels and an inverter and maybe even a few batteries then have at it. But still check what can and can not be done via local codes.

 

To set up a whole house system in one shoot with out batteries is about 15 to 30 thousand dollars.

 

I am a renter to I can't do much with solar yet. But my plan is to get about 500 to 1k watts worth of panels and use then to charge a few batteries to keep power going to the fridge and freezer.

 

And if there is extra then run a few extra things like light sand tv's.

 

If you want a few links to Do It Yourself site I can add them later.

 

Hope this helps.

If you want a few links to Do It Yourself site I can add them later.

 

I'd be interested in those links, if you have them.

Ok here are a few links.

 

http://2manytoyz.com/ He has a section on how he started doing solar and what is is doing now that he moved.

 

http://www.sunelec.com/ , http://www.windsun.com/index.htm , http://www.solarblvd.com/ These are places to order panels,inverters and other parts you may need.

 

http://www.sunwize.com/ They have a warehouse you can pick up at in Middletown Ny.

 

Last site it has a lot of stuff there but It is a good resource for long term use of them and step by step building of a system.

 

http://www.alpharubicon.com/altenergy/altenergy.htm Just search Solar on that page a bunch of articles.

Solar should be the last part of your overall energy conservation efforts. Learn to minimize your consumption, insulate like hell, get quailty windows and perhaps even geo-thermal before solar. I've done some projects in the past and they were only worthwhile with HEAVY government incentives. All the PV panels you see on the utility poles in the PSEG area are looking for a 20 simple payback. They however are not only PV panels, but also have data / meter reading capabilities built into them as well.

 

http://www.pfisterenergy.com/news/archives-solar-integrated-roofing-a-unique-energy-saving-solution-for-valley-national-bank.asp

One of the first steps to think about would be putting a coat of Super Therm on your roof. It will decrease energy costs in the summer big time. Also, it keeps the roof cooler which will increase the efficiency of solar panels on hot sunny days.

 

http://spicoatings.c...cts/supertherm/

DIY links...I bought into one of those scams of making your own panels and figured it was such and only lost a few dollars for some plans. It essentially provided all the information you can get for free off the internet. And, the biggest stroke was 'buying' in bulk broken pv panel chips and glueing them back together yourself. Of course no mention on how much you lose in effciency and the mega hours spent repairing them.

 

Wind turbines....don't believe the hype. For 90% of the US they don't work. Find a USGS or other agency map that provides the wind data for your location. You need to have a steady wind, not some fartie whimsical breeze to make them worth while. Plus the amount of legal costs to go thru zoning and what not will age you before your time. If you are in NJ...forget it.

One of the first steps to think about would be putting a coat of Super Therm on your roof. It will decrease energy costs in the summer big time. Also, it keeps the roof cooler which will increase the efficiency of solar panels on hot sunny days.

 

http://spicoatings.c...cts/supertherm/

 

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/insulating-paint-salesman-tripped-his-own-product

thanks everybody...pretty good info

I looked into solar. ROI and technology just isn't practical for a home yet IMO. Panel efficiency goes up and prices go down over time, eventually it will be worth it. I'm waiting when the PV cells will integrated into roofing shingles. The time will come.

 

If you want to save energy money, look at HVAC and home insulation/sealing upgrades. I'm doing a project now on my home, converting oil to gas, replacing antiquated HVAC equipment, new attic insulation and general home sealing... all verified by a home energy analysis exercise. I should be saving 30% of my energy costs over what I currently have. Thats some real ROI.

My MIL had them on her roof. Did it as soon as the incentives came out. Tahoe has a 5 year money back plan. She pays roughly 200 a year in electric. That is for a 4 bedr cape with AC and an unground heated pool.

 

I haven't done anything but aw has made out. She was paying almost 3k a year in electric ad it was 15k out of pocket.

For what we pay per KW in this part of the country, you'd be hard pressed to make it worth while as other have said.

For what we pay per KW in this part of the country, you'd be hard pressed to make it worth while as other have said.

 

Like Hawaii...electric is insanely expensive, but the sunshine is plentiful 12 months a year.

Like Hawaii...electric is insanely expensive, but the sunshine is plentiful 12 months a year.

 

Thats the exact reason I posted that, never really looked into it, but my Cousin works for the electric company and live on Oahu and has it on his house. I can't remember what the Kw rates out there were but I think it was close to triple my rates here. There it pays, here not so much unless you got in at the right time and were able to take advantage of all the rebates and other incentives.

Are there any porn stars named "Solar?"

 

I rest my case.

The economics hinges on the market value of NJ renewable energy credits.

These collapsed in price about 2 years ago.

The reality is when you get these panels, you're getting subsidized by the ratepayers with normal electric service.

Electric would be cheaper for everyone without all these stupid panels all over the place hanging off poles.

We should start calling them Barry boards.

(They do generate nice extra duty pay for all the cops doing the road jobs however).

Barry boards....love it! Shovel Ready baby.