Solar shingles already exist, but they are not cost effective or efficient. They're just an expensive proof of concept. It would be great if we all could have solar roofing that feeds directly into a storage unit that feeds our home and reduces our draw from the electrical grid...but that's still nothing more than a fantasy at this point.
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Anyone Have Solar Panels On Your House?
- Thread starter Huntn
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I… never mind, no good can come from my comment.
I haven’t read the entire thread, but anyway… 😂
Firstly, it would be great to come out ahead financially by installing solar panels. I’m going to break even on the cost of my panels after 7-8 years of ownership, so I’m not concerned about this at all.
However, purely in response to the original post, you really need to think about it in terms of what motivates people into considering solar, because for me, even if I never broke even on the purchase, I’m willing to pay a bit more to reduce my environmental impact.
I already do this for many other decisions that I make, as long as it doesn’t feel like “green-washing” BS that is purely meant to make you feel like you’re doing something, but you’re not doing anything (e.g. EVs for the most part, products pushed as environmental because they’re made from recycled plastic bottles, etc). 🤷🏻♂️
Firstly, it would be great to come out ahead financially by installing solar panels. I’m going to break even on the cost of my panels after 7-8 years of ownership, so I’m not concerned about this at all.
However, purely in response to the original post, you really need to think about it in terms of what motivates people into considering solar, because for me, even if I never broke even on the purchase, I’m willing to pay a bit more to reduce my environmental impact.
I already do this for many other decisions that I make, as long as it doesn’t feel like “green-washing” BS that is purely meant to make you feel like you’re doing something, but you’re not doing anything (e.g. EVs for the most part, products pushed as environmental because they’re made from recycled plastic bottles, etc). 🤷🏻♂️
Rebates on the solar panels have dropped considerably
To make it worth while you need a battery system which in some cities is not permitted
Lastly remember that if you have to fix your roof after the solar panels are installed it becomes very costly as the solar company has to remove and then reinstall the panels after the roof work
Only a good idea if your electric bill is extremely high and you have a new roof
Additional home insurance is needed once panels are installed
To make it worth while you need a battery system which in some cities is not permitted
Lastly remember that if you have to fix your roof after the solar panels are installed it becomes very costly as the solar company has to remove and then reinstall the panels after the roof work
Only a good idea if your electric bill is extremely high and you have a new roof
Additional home insurance is needed once panels are installed
If you are in California,,, might want to look at the new law that was just signed and goes into effect in April of 2024
California’s residential solar rules overhauled after highly charged debate
So here in the UK we pay a lot more for electricity. Bills have typically doubled in the last 12 months so we have been looking into it.
My Dad purchased solar panels outright about 8 years ago. Back then the incentive scheme was very good. He sells his excess power back to the grid at a higher price than he buys his electricity from them when he isn’t producing power.
Unfortunately now you get paid about a tenth per unit that you sell back to them. So unless you use a lot of power in the day you have to buy a battery as well.
I do work from home some days and have an EV but usage is still higher in the evening. I rarely charge the EV at home as I’m able to charge for free at the office.
So the panels plus the battery cost are prohibitive. As much as I’d like to do it from an environmental viewpoint I think it just doesn’t work for us at the moment. That’s not even factoring in the roof on our place is 60 years old so is likely to need replacing at some point.
Oh and it’s not as sunny in the UK most of the year!
My Dad purchased solar panels outright about 8 years ago. Back then the incentive scheme was very good. He sells his excess power back to the grid at a higher price than he buys his electricity from them when he isn’t producing power.
Unfortunately now you get paid about a tenth per unit that you sell back to them. So unless you use a lot of power in the day you have to buy a battery as well.
I do work from home some days and have an EV but usage is still higher in the evening. I rarely charge the EV at home as I’m able to charge for free at the office.
So the panels plus the battery cost are prohibitive. As much as I’d like to do it from an environmental viewpoint I think it just doesn’t work for us at the moment. That’s not even factoring in the roof on our place is 60 years old so is likely to need replacing at some point.
Oh and it’s not as sunny in the UK most of the year!
We have them on our roof in a small array to heat our pool. We didn't put them in, previous owner had them installed. They do a good job, Lord knows we get enough sun here.
A reality of the situation is that there are no easy solutions. Renewable energy comes with a substantial initial capital cost and is not a 1:1 replacement for fossil fuels (nothing ever will be). But on the other hand we have been ignoring the 'costs' of fossil fuels all along.
We have solar panels on our house. Since we put them in, they've produced 45.5 MWh of electricity -- about 12 MWh per year or 1 MWh per month, which is more than the average US home uses. It's cut our summer electricity bills by well over half even when the AC is on full tilt, and our winter electricity bills by 2/3. And since I drive an EV which gets charged at home, I spend essentially nothing on fuel annually.
The break-even point is 15 yrs (which includes the tax rebates we received when they were installed), of which we're over 3.5 years in to, so less than 12 years to go. And since it's unlikely that we'll move in the next 12 yrs, we're satisfied with the tradeoff. And even if we do, the price of the panels would be rolled into the price of the home. They've so far been completely maintenance free, so there has been no additional costs thus far.
Almost half of the homes in our neighborhood also have solar panels, so since they're mostly larger homes, it significantly reduces the footprint of the neighborhood.
The break-even point is 15 yrs (which includes the tax rebates we received when they were installed), of which we're over 3.5 years in to, so less than 12 years to go. And since it's unlikely that we'll move in the next 12 yrs, we're satisfied with the tradeoff. And even if we do, the price of the panels would be rolled into the price of the home. They've so far been completely maintenance free, so there has been no additional costs thus far.
Almost half of the homes in our neighborhood also have solar panels, so since they're mostly larger homes, it significantly reduces the footprint of the neighborhood.
12 years for a pay off is more than I’d want though. As much as I’d love them, I couldn’t afford that. Not until we finish the mortgage anyway.
But that will vary by country I’m sure. Not much sun here in the UK a lot of the time.
you can install batteries with panels, but you have to plan at the time of installation of Solar system.
The last time I talked to 2 solar panel install companies, not a peep was said about credits or rebates. 🤔 I found there to be too many open questions in my thinking. If you plan on staying in a house, it should pay off. If you maybe are moving within 5 years, I could easily see it not paying off, because it’s like having a pool, which may have cost you $35k, a seller may pay $10k more for the pool, but you can’t simply tack $35k onto your sale price and expect the buyer to pay it.
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Once again, I’m considering solar panels. Does anyone here have panels, but regrets it? Are you still receiving bills from your local electrical provider? If financing, how long is your loan for, does your loan match your old electrical bills or are you saving money while financing ? Thanks! 🙂
Of note I recently had a Generac standby generator installed though Lowe’s. That was $14k.
Of note I recently had a Generac standby generator installed though Lowe’s. That was $14k.
The house where I rent a room has solar panels, as do most of the houses in the area. I doubt that anyone has the battery units to store power, though.
The local power company is supposed to credit you for the power your panels produce but they credit very little and charge quite a bit. That's not to say that the panels are useless. It's just that PG&E is corrupt, having started wildfires they've passed the cost of their restitution on to the customers.
Once a year, they have a catch up bill which catches the owners by surprise. However, they're still happy to have bought the panels.
The local power company is supposed to credit you for the power your panels produce but they credit very little and charge quite a bit. That's not to say that the panels are useless. It's just that PG&E is corrupt, having started wildfires they've passed the cost of their restitution on to the customers.
Once a year, they have a catch up bill which catches the owners by surprise. However, they're still happy to have bought the panels.
I've read cases, and my sister inlaw has panels, but she (Austin, Texas) was still getting bills from the power company. I need to ask her if that is still happening. When SPs were being pushed the idea was this power would not only be free (besides the cost to install), but you'd be putting power back into the grid and being payed for it. I don't know if that is a reality or not, for most or some customers.
Power companies are power hungry here in California. The state's Public Utilities Commission is run by friends of the power companies.
I'm sure there are states where it's possible to have a nearly zero power bill. Having batteries is your best way to save because premium pricing happens when people return home in the evening. If you don't rely on the power company, you could save a lot. Battery storage is expensive, though.
I put in solar panels a little over two years ago. Paid about 24k cash and got about a 7k tax credit. I got in under the old net energy metering (NEM) 2.0 rules in California where Southern California Edison pays me the retail rate for excess power I feed back to them. The net of that is for two years I have paid zero for electricity. Each year I have ended up with about a $170 credit on my annual true-up electric bill. So no regrets here.
As @bousozoku mentioned, the California Public Utilities Commission changed up the whole solar structure with the power companies in April 2023 by created NEM 3.0, which only reimburses at the wholesale rate. So any extra power you generate back to the power company is credited at around seven cents a kwh rather than the old NEM 2.0 retail rate of 30-40 cents. So unless you pay big bucks for batteries to store your excess power, it is pretty hard to justify solar in California any longer. My system is grandfathered in at the old NEM 2.0 rates for 20 years, so I'm good, but NEM 3.0 really wrecked solar here for most people.
I think the key for you will be what the reimbursement structure is where you live.
Reddit has a pretty active r/solar section that was really helpful when I was researching.
So based on the two years so far when do you expect to break even?
I'm predicting break even at about six years. SCE rates keep going up, so it may even be sooner than that.
Just as an example the peak rates for a summer weekday between 4-9 PM was 52 cents kwh in 2022 and it is now 61 cents. 17% bump in two years. It is just nuts.
One thing I do know, at least I think I know, that batteries are a must, it’s the only way to keep your solar panels working when the grid goes down, when you really need/want them to work.The batteries are charged by the panels, provide power when the solar panels are not, provide a reserve of power, and provide the current that allows the panels to function.