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The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Have you already purchased, or have you ever thought about purchasing solar for your home?
Talk about it….
46 comments
We got two price quotes and they were so far apart that we decided against it
Have thought about it but don’t know if it would be worthwhile. We are already very efficient and almost never run the AC, use LED lighting, clothes line for drying, etc. Even so, PG&E charges so danged much for distribution and we seem to be penalized for being efficient.
No, because for a small home is is not cost effective.
Our home is just 1150 SF and we’ve enjoyed stiffing PG&E every year for 4 years. Our $130 a month average bill is now about $12. The system was $18K installed (15 panels), but we got a $6K tax credit. We’ll break even in 6 to 8 years, depending on our generation and PG&E’s increasing rates – the higher they go, the more we save. The system is fully guaranteed for 25 years. It was designed to almost provide all the power we need. You don’t oversize because the power in excess of what you need only gets you the producer rate about $0.02 per kWh, but the power you use saves you the user rate of $0.13 per kWh.
Would purchase Tesla tiles (or equivalent product / competitor) If it was more affordable, zero hesitation.
Also, would purchase a home battery.
I just cant do it. I live in an old style 1943 cottage type home. It would just ruin it for me to clutter up my roof with those ugly panels. I would consider those Tesla solar panels if they were not so costly.
Simonpure – Same here! It doesn’t work for cute little cottages and are not cost effective .
Solar panel will not work on my condo.
I did not want to invest in solar energy because it just not gonna happen over night.
I don’t yet but with the prices coming down and quality going up – soon it will be almost stupid to not have solar power.
I would, but it would be a small system that I would own outright.
Beware, Most Solar systems only operate if the power is on.
Specifically, they have to turn off solar if the grid Power is offline.
Your solar array is pumping current back onto the lines and could kill a lineman that thinks the circuits dead..
you can install bypass features so solar is on, but not pumping back to grid
Solar systems work offline IF you have purchased the back up battery. Unfortunately that costs approx $10k.
With the non-stop parade of door to door solar sales people an annoying phone calls I thought about it and my answer is always the same “NO” and get off my lawn!
I bought a solar watch a couple of years ago. It’s pretty cool because I don’t have a battery to replace every couple of years and it looks like an ordinary watch. It gets power from any light source and is accurate within four seconds a month. I can even leave it in a dark drawer for a week and it will still be accurately running.
Other than that, no, I have never purchased or even thought about purchasing solar for my home. My PG&E bill is about fifty bucks a month during the summer and about ninety bucks during the winter, so it isn’t worth it for me.
Thought a long time about it & decided it was a great investment. We have enough panels to provide 100% of our needs throughout the year and I get paid twice, once at tax time and again when they do my true-up. I run the AC when it’s hot and heater when it’s cold and don’t worry about my bill. I pay for my gas which is less then 10 bucks a month, but that comes off what they owe me. I love watching my meter going away from the house on a sunny day!
Next up will be the battery backup system, I’ve been waiting on them to catch up with the technology. Don’t want to deal with a generator so I’m happy to wait. Have never regretted it.
Ditto, and bravo to you!
Yes, the solar company we chose will be installing it this Friday.
But we understand during a power outage you still need battery back up with automatic switchover.
I dont know why everyone keeps talking about solar. I heard it on the radio today too. A photovoltaic system will not work when the power goes out. They shutdown when PG&E or whoever you are getting your power from has an outage. The only way you would still have power during an outage is with a backup generator or if you have a battery storage system that is charged during normal operation of a solar system, but even then you are limited to the fuel on hand or the amount of time those batteries will last. I would think that a battery system to get a 3 bedroom home through a 5 day outage would be huge
Tesla battery system (roughly):
1 battery – $8K for 1 day (a house your size)
2 batteries – $16K for 3 days
3 batteries – $24K for 7 days.
You can do a cost check at the Tesla website. We have a Solar City system (now owned by Tesla) and that’s what we figured for home (3 bedroom, 2 bath).
Most solar doesn’t work with have your electricity on
Right now I must find roofers as I need a new roof, and I am going to be seriously considering it.
Yes ,but understand that if the power is off you won’t get power from the solar. It’s designed that way to protect linemen from powering lines they are working on.
I did when I owned a house in the Central Valley, but to live here is to rent and its not an option. Its a pity since its a great way to make a long term investment into your energy use
I plan on selling in the next year or so, otherwise, if it penciled out, I’d definitely look into it.
Yes and have checked it out with two companies. Being a OAP, it just doesn’t fit for the cost of it. Just my situation you understand. Don’t have large electric bill.
We use quite a bit of power, so we installed a system on the back side of the roof so it’s not visible from the street. We have a power purchase agreement with Tesla, so we only pay for the power the system generates, at a rate less than PG&E charges for their lowest rate. The solar keeps us from paying the upper tiers of the PG&E rates.
Yes, a simple solar system doesn’t work if the power goes out, but the batteries are too expensive, compared to the backup generator in our RV. A solar system that has a backup battery will work if PG&E power goes out.
Absolutely, 110 percent! I’m redoing my home next year, and Solar is an piece of it.
The rest of you all can argue about the “good old days of the 1800s,” and stay literally in the dark. I’ll be watching TV and turning up the music.
Solar can be a miserable burden if you decide to sell your home. Be VERY careful with the deal you sign, some of them have required transfer fees in the thousands of dollars, and if your buyer doesn’t want to assume your monthly lease payments, the buyout can be tens of thousands of dollars. If you’re thinking of selling your home at some point, DO NOT LEASE. Either buy it outright (and make sure you’ll get paid back in savings before you move) or don’t do it at all.
Yes….great points and I am glad someone else is thinking about this, too. Not many are aware of the issues they can face when it comes time to sell a house with a solar lease.
We have to redo our roof in the next few years, so that will probably be the best time to buy and install solar. I will definitely purchase the panels outright over leasing.
Last time I checked it wasn’t worth it.
no………..too many trees where i live
Looked into it and decided against it. Didn’t want to enter into a long-term lease. Could afford an outright purchase, but the payback period was long and there is a maintenance issue re keeping pine needles off the panels, etc. Maybe will reconsider next time the roof is replaced, but it’s on hold for now.
We’ve talked with multiple about it who said our bill wasn’t high enough to make it worth it.
One time, we had someone come out for an estimate anyway, and as soon as they greeted us they said sorry – we don’t install on houses with tile roofs.
We’d be interested in it, like the idea of the technology, interested in being environmentally prudent, but it seems nobody thinks we are good candidates.
I’ve seen solar panels on tile roofs, BTW.
I would love cost effective solar but for me it just isn’t worth it. I’ve also been told it cannot be installed on my type of roof. I have seen it on regular tile roofs. Actually, will the credit they applied last year, PG&E owes me. I still pay my bill of about $50 a month but that credit is still there and seldom goes down much.
Dang it Dave! the General Contractor….
If you had posted it 5 times I would have bought it!
Sounds like an option with limitations…but at least it’s an option. However, I don’t think it’s fleshed out enough for me yet.
For me I was ultimately disappointed that when the power goes out (cough) the panels up there would just not “take over” -during daytime of course – and provide a smidgeon of juice for the fridge and cell charging but nooooooooooo that’s not how it works apparently you need a special Tesla battery and then you can do that. Or a generator.
Unfortunately in the event if a PGE shutoff, your solar is useless. They built in a safety switch to disable your solar entirely. So dont count on that to save you from these outages! Not unless you purchase several Tesla batteries at $12k a pop.
I would, but it’s hard to do when you have a 600k mortgage to deal with.
Yes, if solar (and the necessary storage batteries) would allow me to not depend on PG&E for power.
No…would not recover the cost for decades, if ever. Not a fiscally responsible move in my case.
I have a pool and a hot tub, and an 1800 sf home. I went solar 7 years ago, and haven’t had a PG&E electric bill since. It paid for itself last year, so my electricity at this point is essentially $15 a month, which is what they charge for infrastructure. Why pay $300 per month in the summer for electricity?
With out government subsidies it will never be worth it. If purchased with out those it will take close to 20 years of savings on the average system to cover its cost. Then add in maintenance and cleaning of the panels along that they generate only during the day when most people are at work. The power companies get that electricity and pay you a bit for it while they make more then they sell it back at a reduced rate to you for your evening use. Some utilities ha e tried a few times to get what they have to pay you reduced and what they can charge for the sell back increased. If this happens then it a complete no.
I would have hoped that the average solar system had an “off the grid” switch that allows homeowners to disconnect from the PG&E grid and use their panels. That would have been perfect for a day such as Thursday where the PG&E power was off. People in my neighborhood with solar were all dead the water and could not use their panels to power refrigerators, freezers, etc. during the day.
Some neighbors, including ones with solar, have tankless water heaters. Those people did not have hot water on Thursday. None of us could use our central heating units. One neighbor still has their old wall heaters and those work.
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