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WF owner 
Orange Level
Joined: 12 May 2013
Location: Bombay NY
Points: 4388
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 Posted: 22 Jun 2021 at 6:59am |
 john(MI) wrote:
I priced them out to get solar. The guarantee on the panels is longer than that, although I don't remember, seems it was 15 or 30 years. If we are selling electricity back to the company all summer, then we are just getting back what we sold them during the gray days. With the setup they offered it would pay for itself in 15 years, and that was the same from three different companies. Although I decided against it, It was very informative. If I would have been 30 years younger I would have gone for it.
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I, too, looked into solar a couple years ago. My age was the deciding factor for me, too. Being in the mid 60's, I probably won't live long enough to see any savings.
The guy I talked to was very good. Even though he was selling solar, the first thing he stressed was the way I could save the most money was with energy conservation (replacing lights with LED's, replacing old appliances with newer, more efficient models, changing from AC units to heat pumps, etc.). He told me that after getting as energy efficient as we could reasonably live with, a solar system should be built to meet, or slightly exceed our needs. He stressed that selling electricity back to the supplier was not feasible on a small system.
He, also, told me that solar technology is constantly evolving and getting more efficient. At that time, he said some of the solar technology, that was only a few years old, was now obsolete.
At that time, there were many "green energy" incentives available (tax breaks, rebates and some monetary grants).
It I was younger, I almost certainly would have been interested.
Edited by WF owner - 22 Jun 2021 at 7:01am
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JC-WI
Orange Level Access
Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: wisconsin
Points: 33637
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Posted: 22 Jun 2021 at 8:24am |
Fellow up here put up a system that was 1/3 larger than his highest usage of the year with the thought of selling back energy to the power company. In the winter he use to plow a trail out to the panels and kept the snow off of them, but now he doesn't bother doing that anymore. Asked him about his system and he said he would have been farther ahead to had left his money in the stock markets and just paid the electric bill, the return was not there.
Another family set up solar panels and did most of the work himself, setting posts and building the structures for the panels and factored in for solid mount as opposed to unites that tracked the sun and added that factor in by adding more panels. In the summer he has no electric bill from the power company but gets a few dollars back... winter time he pays the power company. He is now in the 5th year and I haven't asked him how the solar panels efficiency is working out.
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He who says there is no evil has already deceived himself
The truth is the truth, sugar coated or not. Trawler II says, "Remember that."
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tadams(OH)
Orange Level Access
Joined: 17 Sep 2009
Location: Jeromesville, O
Points: 9638
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Posted: 22 Jun 2021 at 2:27pm |
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The coop electric company we have will only pay what they pay for electric not what we pay them for electric so you wouldn't get a lots of money and if you put in the 2 banks of 10 batteries that only last 10 years you would go in the hole every ten years big time
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DMiller
Orange Level Access
Joined: 14 Sep 2009
Location: Hermann, Mo
Points: 29484
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Posted: 22 Jun 2021 at 5:21pm |
That is the standard Tadams, you only receive what the supplier pays Wholesale Pricing for otherwise while YOU pay Retail. That was determined when the Solar EXCESS MUST be bought back by the supplier of grid service.
BIL has a Camp at his little farm, has a Bus cabin with a Solar Battery Charger for running a few LED lights and a radio. Has LP Mantle type wall lamps, a NO electric, heat derived energy distribution fan for the Wood Heat Stove, has a Portable AC Unit sits in a doorway runs off a portable generator when weather is hot as nothing else able to power it.
Edited by DMiller - 22 Jun 2021 at 5:21pm
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Myrastomean
Bronze Level
Joined: 23 Mar 2023
Location: London
Points: 2
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Posted: 19 Sep 2023 at 6:49am |
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Just wanna add that it's not necessarily a matter of being "duped." Reputable solar companies usually conduct a thorough roof inspection before installing any panels. They should inform homeowners if their roofs are close to needing a replacement.
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DMiller
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Joined: 14 Sep 2009
Location: Hermann, Mo
Points: 29484
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Posted: 19 Sep 2023 at 7:23am |
Here if have yard area is more reliable for Cleaning and inspections to Ground Platform install. HOWEVER, the majority of Solar Installers still INSIST they must install Rooftop. Not a value here.
Can supplement a home's kwh usage during a day, can even add a battery system to store for dark hours, but all is at a cost. Average homeowner here cannot recover initial cost to install for nearly twenty years, service life of cells is twenty ESTIMATED, many fail at between five to fifteen where newer replacements will NOT mount to existing structure and will not connect with other older cells very adaptively. Dimensions change, connector positions/types change, output voltages change, designed obsolescence.
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Dusty MI
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Joined: 13 Sep 2009
Location: Charlotte, Mi
Points: 5053
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Posted: 20 Sep 2023 at 8:09am |
How about the amount of Available Sunshine?
Michigan ranks 47th of the 48 Continual USA States. Why not put the Solar Panels where there is a lot of sunshine on little used land, and put the power on the Power Grid?
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917 H, '48 G, '65 D-10 series III "Allis Express"
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DMiller
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Joined: 14 Sep 2009
Location: Hermann, Mo
Points: 29484
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Posted: 20 Sep 2023 at 9:39am |
They did that very option Dusty, killed all manner of Birds due to reflected Solar HEAT, killed ever more reptiles on the ground with Stored Heat they could not escape. Cannot remember if CA, NM or AZ had suits filed as to Wildlife Endangerment and systems closed down/removed.
The other issue beyond wildlife is Line Losses for transmitted power over distances. High Voltage Generated electricity is beaten up on distances greater than a few hundred miles, line loses add up where at close to a thousand becomes relatively unstable for transformance to a working voltage, that at any from 33kv to 365kv. Have been DC transmission lines that performed reasonably well but to combat Line Loss were at UGLY High Voltage, 500kv.
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tadams(OH)
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Joined: 17 Sep 2009
Location: Jeromesville, O
Points: 9638
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Posted: 20 Sep 2023 at 2:55pm |
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Solar panels are like wind turbins when it gets too hot they shut down that's why they do better in northern states
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Ray54
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Location: Paso Robles, Ca
Points: 4344
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Posted: 21 Sep 2023 at 1:47pm |
My only solar experience is a remote well pump. Lifts water 200 to 300 feet above the well head to the top of the hill into a tank. Other than feeling the temperature of the brass check valve at the well head no way to be sure of if it is pumping at any given time. I turn the switch and then step over and feel the well head pipe, and feel the temp change to make sure it is pumping. As the tank is bottom fill, or wait for it to over flow.
As far as I can tell it has never shuts off on the well on over 100 degree days we have. Some time I wonder if it is pumping more on hot days. Since it fills the tank and power is not costing like hooked it the grid it runs over it runs the tank over most time I fill it.
So in my limited experience I would beg to differ about panels stopping on hot days.
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