Thinking about solar panels?

[ladrones]

I have interviewed 7 solar companies. Everyone has been your typical middle man sleeze balls. I have asked for a 20% instant discount on the build quote for me allowing them to install panels on my roof. They all look at me like I’m crazy.

[Mike D]

It’s simple math, from the kilowatt hr rate increase. Everyone is getting hit right now, my rates have jumped and in a co op.

Glad I’m not the only one that can do math. [emoji2]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[flywise]

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/07/heat-decreases-solar-panel-efficiency-experts-say-hot-solar-panels-handle/

They dont even work good when its hot

[ra61hunting]

I would look into a wind generator instead of solar. Solar panels wear out and the heavy metals make them hard to dispose of responsibly. None of this renewable crap is green or economical.

[Wampuscat]

I would look into a wind generator instead of solar. Solar panels wear out and the heavy metals make them hard to dispose of responsibly. None of this renewable crap is green or economical.

Are there any reputable wind turbine companies who'll service Brazoria County? I currently use 1800kW to 3500kW per month. I've seen wind turbines at the owners house of Joe's BBQ in Alvin. They've been there for quite a while.

I'm not against solar panels, but don't want them on my roof.

[S-3 Ranch]

I would look into a wind generator instead of solar. Solar panels wear out and the heavy metals make them hard to dispose of responsibly. None of this renewable crap is green or economical.

My sister in California has solar on the roof as mandated by PG&E
They do require replacement after a few years, basically they last about 10 years? Luckily for her PG&E owns and pays for the replacements and maintenance
I wouldn’t want solar if it needs replacement unless I was off grid

[BigL]

Are there any reputable wind turbine companies who'll service Brazoria County? I currently use 1800kW to 3500kW per month. I've seen wind turbines at the owners house of Joe's BBQ in Alvin. They've been there for quite a while.

I'm not against solar panels, but don't want them on my roof.

I agree, I don't want them on my roof. I'm buying a new house in a month.
I'm considering building a pergola to extend my patio and put a little shade on the back of the house. I would be OK with installing them on the pergola. Back of house faces west. Patio is on the SW corner.

No trees in backyard yet. I'll plant some especially on the west side of the yard. It will be years before the trees really give any shade.

My reason would be more about having some power available during the day for when the grid goes down rather than to save money. I work from home so that's why I'm focusing on during the day. I don't need battery to store power, just give me enough power to run a portable AC, a fan or two, wifi, and computers during the day. If it saves me money on electricity, that's great but not my intended purpose for it. I plan to buy a generator also but it will be a portable one that I can also carry to the lease to use for my travel trailer.

I haven't researched any of it yet but it is my initial thoughts.

[CentralTXHunter]

I agree, I don't want them on my roof. I'm buying a new house in a month.
I'm considering building a pergola to extend my patio and put a little shade on the back of the house. I would be OK with installing them on the pergola. Back of house faces west. Patio is on the SW corner.

No trees in backyard yet. I'll plant some especially on the west side of the yard. It will be years before the trees really give any shade.

My reason would be more about having some power available during the day for when the grid goes down rather than to save money. I work from home so that's why I'm focusing on during the day. I don't need battery to store power, just give me enough power to run a portable AC, a fan or two, wifi, and computers during the day. If it saves me money on electricity, that's great but not my intended purpose for it. I plan to buy a generator also but it will be a portable one that I can also carry to the lease to use for my travel trailer.

I haven't researched any of it yet but it is my initial thoughts.

Pergola install and using the panels as a roof for shade is a great plan. Your reason to have them though doesn’t work unfortunately. When you are still grid tied, if the grid goes down, you lose your solar. Grid-tied systems have a switch that will kill the solar production when it detects that grid power has failed. This is to prevent backfeeding. If you want resiliency in case of an outage, that would require either a battery backup system or your solar to be disconnected from the grid and wired to an inverter so you could plug your necessary devices in. That’s a very rare occurrence though and you’d be better off just having the genny to run.

[BigL]

Pergola install and using the panels as a roof for shade is a great plan. Your reason to have them though doesn’t work unfortunately. When you are still grid tied, if the grid goes down, you lose your solar. Grid-tied systems have a switch that will kill the solar production when it detects that grid power has failed. This is to prevent backfeeding. If you want resiliency in case of an outage, that would require either a battery backup system or your solar to be disconnected from the grid and wired to an inverter so you could plug your necessary devices in. That’s a very rare occurrence though and you’d be better off just having the genny to run.

Cool. Thanks for the info. Like I said, I haven't researched it yet but was my thought. Will definitely purchase the genny first but next year will probably be adding the pergola with panels as shade. Guess I'll have to price out a battery backup system or inverter when that time comes.

[Michael]

4 posts in and TBHers have already provided a lot of good info… IMHO if you buy your system from one of the many out of state companies going around selling folks on solar not only will you not save money but you might waste a lot of money.

The “sale” is based on a few very risky assumptions:

1) the system they sell you is meant to be paid of in 25 years and the assumption is that it will work efficiently for those 25 years. I am not sure you would get the life that they claim plus I would not be so confident on the warranty.

2) the companies size systems so that the power created during sunlight ours will equal power you consume over the year. the assumption is that your power company will continue to give you credit for the “extra” power you create. From what I understand most power companies will basically run an open tab on how much power you use and how much you put into the grid. At the end of the month if you use more than you make you will pay them. If you produce more than you use you will have a credit. If the power company ever decided they don’t want to “buy” your extra power you would be stuck with a big system that produces a lot more power than you can use. Unless you got a battery bank to store the extra power you would be wasting money. A battery bank could more than double the price of the system. Plus you pay them for power plus use of the grid they only credit you for the power you produce. What if they decided to charge you for grid use on the extra power you are creating?

3) the third assumption is that they will do a good job on the install and warranty any issues they might creat on your roof. I would not trust a newish company to stay in business and warranty roof work.

4) the fourth assumption is really more of a lie than anything else. They claim to give you a really good price on the system. It’s a lie. Even with any tax break, they are at least doubling the price of the system.

Some TBHer said it best on another solar thread: you will not be able to produce power cheaper than a power company can produce power. So, if you are only looking at solar as a way to save money I would think it over and really do a lot of research.

If you want to save on power I would shade around the house as much as possible. Any exposed foundation needs to be shaded to the afternoon sun. Windows need the sun blocking screens and so on. Oleanders are great for creating shade around homes quickly and are easy to grow.

If you do decide to go with solar l would go the route of building a porch or carport that would both shade the house and support the solar panels. This is what I am considering myself. I am looking more at just having some power available for when the grid goes down rather than to save money. I figure I might come close to breaking even if I do the majority of the work and purchase the system whole sale.

This is about as much as I can stand to type on the iPad. Feel free to ask additional questions as there are a lot of knowledge folks on tbh. Additionally, search out previous discussion on the matter.

Already a bunch of good threads on this topic. So many variables. I would spend money on making other energy efficient improvements to the home. The only way it really makes sense is if you have no other power options. Much cheaper energy out there and natural gas prices should come back down.

Are there any reputable wind turbine companies who'll service Brazoria County? I currently use 1800kW to 3500kW per month. I've seen wind turbines at the owners house of Joe's BBQ in Alvin. They've been there for quite a while.

I'm not against solar panels, but don't want them on my roof.

I've been doing some research on solar (for a couple of months now), trying to decide if it makes sense for us. I absolutely wouldn't do grid tied "solar panels." The only way I think I can make solar make sense for me is to:

1. Go Off Grid or, maybe, Hybrid - there's no benefit to a fully grid tied system other than a little bit of savings on monthly bill. The solar company and electric provider benefit more than the consumer. If the grid goes down, so does your solar (without battery backup and a transfer switch.) The utility company charges you retail rates for power, but buys excess power you produce at wholesale (or lower) rates. I want to store the excess for myself...which requires batteries (most costly part of the system.)

2. Buy Wholesale - IMO, most (if not all) the third party solar companies that are peddling "solar panels" are pretty sleazy with their tactics (and are typically significantly overpriced). Panels are a small part of a solar SYSTEM. Inverters, charge controllers and batteries are the bulk of the expense of a system, but are critical if your goal is anything other than reducing your monthly bill by a few hundred dollars. If you want security against a downed grid, you'll need a full system.

3. DIY - With a little study, I don't think it's particularly difficult to set up an off grid system. If assistance is needed, I would direct contract an electrician to hook everything up, or a laborer for panel install.

4. Take steps to improve appliance/energy efficiency - this is probably a good idea regardless of whether you're on solar or the grid. In order to take best advantage of solar (especially off grid), you need to have a good idea of your average usage, and your peak usage, for a given day and hour, and which appliances are the biggest draw during those periods. Can you adjust your consumption habits to more evenly distribute your energy demand to optimize how many panels and batteries will be needed (and the size of your inverter(s)?)

If I pull the trigger on a system, I will likely set it up "off grid", but keep the ability to transfer to the grid if I have a temporary need for more energy than the system can handle.

My biggest "hurdles" are the draw of my 5 ton AC unit (135A initial draw at startup) along with my electric water heater and 240v well pump. I'm trying to decide if it makes sense to replace those high draw items (increased cost for those items, but fewer solar components required to run everything) in favor of eliminating reliance on ERCOT.

[planomustang]

I have been following a guy on youtube, named Will Prowse. He has great videos for DIY solar systems, from simple to complete off-grid.

Here is his website: https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/

Here is his youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/WillProwse

[txbowhunter08]

I agree, I don't want them on my roof. I'm buying a new house in a month.
I'm considering building a pergola to extend my patio and put a little shade on the back of the house. I would be OK with installing them on the pergola. Back of house faces west. Patio is on the SW corner.

No trees in backyard yet. I'll plant some especially on the west side of the yard. It will be years before the trees really give any shade.

My reason would be more about having some power available during the day for when the grid goes down rather than to save money. I work from home so that's why I'm focusing on during the day. I don't need battery to store power, just give me enough power to run a portable AC, a fan or two, wifi, and computers during the day. If it saves me money on electricity, that's great but not my intended purpose for it. I plan to buy a generator also but it will be a portable one that I can also carry to the lease to use for my travel trailer.

I haven't researched any of it yet but it is my initial thoughts.

I’m in the same boat my house use to have a sunroom that was taken down and turned in to a pergola! With no shade i thought about having solar panels installed on top and a back up battery system for when the electric goes out!! It’s gone out in the bast 2 months 4 or 5 times!!

[bbbuck]

Looked into and even got a couple of quotes. By the time I would get my investment back I’d be six feet under. The only way to make it work, would be DIY installation.

[Wampuscat]

I spoke with Berger Wind Power in Norman, OK. They had a system for me, but DANG! 100 foot tall, 3-leg tower with 15kW generator that has a 30 foot blade span only runs $108,000. For that price I may have to add a couple extras... or not.

[Wampuscat]

I talked to 2 different solar companies and their financing methods are a bit hanky.

NIVO 21kW (52) 400W panel ground mounted system financed for 20 years - $72,500 at 1.5%, $62,500 at 3%, $52,500 at 6%. Different price for different interest rates. Say their office is in Katy and employ their own installers, not sub-contractors.

Native 21kW (45) 480W panel ground mounted system financed for 20 years - $55,455 at 5.5%. Their office is in Dallas area.