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    Has anyone gone solar, on your home?

    I talked to a company, yesterday evening, about solar power.

    For our barndo, using our current average electric bill, it'd take about 12 years before it'd pay itself off and we'd have totally free power ... the panels and performance are guaranteed for 25 years.

    There are no batteries. During high sun times, you sell power back to the grid, and during dark or higher consumption times, you buy power back from the grid. They look at your usage, and plan your system so you basically net 0. There is an option to add a battery bank, for power outages, but it's cheaper to just get a whole house generator. The panels can withstand golf ball sized hail, and category 4 hurricanes. Since we have a metal roof, they attach with clips that go under the edges of the sheets and there are no extra penetrations in the roof.

    I figured Tina would be the weary one, but she was ready to get them started installing it last night. It almost seems like a no-brainer if you plan on being in your home for longer than it takes to pay off the panels.

    This company also guarantees that the panels will make the power that they say they'll make for 25 years or they'll pay you twice the difference.

    The way it's set up, you can finance the panels and our payment would be slightly less than our current electric bill for about 12 years. After that, no more electric bill. They guarantee everything for 25 years. At minimum, you'd have 13 years of no electric bill. The life expectancy of the equipment is 40 to 50 years.

    Am I missing something here?

    #2
    We have a 5.1kw system on our house. It doesn’t even come close to paying the bill in the summer time. Fall and spring, we pay a few bucks a month. What size system are they trying to sell you? What size is your home?


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      #3
      I don't know that a guarantee is worth anything if the company does not exist in 10 years.
      Make sure this company has been around for a LONG time and not some new start up.
      Make sure you research them fully
      Research actual performance of solar energy
      Ask your insurance company how much more you will need to raise your coverage and how much that will cost.
      What ever you do, don't let them talk you into anything before you have done plenty of research

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        #4
        On the insurance side, not all companies will insure them.

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          #5
          Sometimes an engineer is needed to confirm the roof is capable of handling the extra load. If it isn’t then extra bracing will be needed. Sounds like you may have a newer place so roof life isn’t a big issue but that has to be calculated in too. Roofs have a life span...and the panels must be removed to replace the roof. This can be a huge extra cost if not expected.

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            #6
            My uncle converted to solar and it works as advertised.

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              #7
              Lots of threads on here already about this. So long story short. It never pays for itself. This came from a member on here that sells these systems for a living


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                #8
                Originally posted by savin yours View Post
                We have a 5.1kw system on our house. It doesn’t even come close to paying the bill in the summer time. Fall and spring, we pay a few bucks a month. What size system are they trying to sell you? What size is your home?
                Our barn is 1,600 sq ft, and he sized a 19.2kw system. It's 64 (3'x5') panels.

                Originally posted by froghunter View Post
                Sometimes an engineer is needed to confirm the roof is capable of handling the extra load. If it isn’t then extra bracing will be needed. Sounds like you may have a newer place so roof life isn’t a big issue but that has to be calculated in too. Roofs have a life span...and the panels must be removed to replace the roof. This can be a huge extra cost if not expected.
                It's a 1 year old metal roof, on a barndo, so it shouldn't need to be replaced anytime soon. I would contact the manufacturer about the extra load, but he did take pictures of the inside ... I'm assuming they look at this and address any possible concerns before the install.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by ckamp52 View Post
                  Lots of threads on here already about this. So long story short. It never pays for itself. This came from a member on here that sells these systems for a living


                  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                  x2. There was a great thread about it a while back and when the salesguys dont have it on their house...you have to see a problem.

                  A local lady was complaining on Nextdoor that her current bill for solar setup and what she pays for her electric bill is actually higher than it was previously due to our power co-op charging fees to put power back into the grid. When you want to use their lines, you also get to pay for that line maintenance. Dont forget your basic service fees for your monthly electric bill even if you are selling power back.

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                    #10
                    If everything goes just like they say and after 12 years if paid for and you no longer have a electric bill why aren’t people waiting in line for these systems?


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                      #11
                      Originally posted by flywise View Post
                      I don't know that a guarantee is worth anything if the company does not exist in 10 years.
                      This right here. The failure rates of solar companies is through the roof.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by 8mpg View Post
                        x2. There was a great thread about it a while back and when the salesguys dont have it on their house...you have to see a problem.

                        A local lady was complaining on Nextdoor that her current bill for solar setup and what she pays for her electric bill is actually higher than it was previously due to our power co-op charging fees to put power back into the grid. When you want to use their lines, you also get to pay for that line maintenance. Dont forget your basic service fees for your monthly electric bill even if you are selling power back.
                        The salesman that came to my house brought his electric bills. Last's months was -$303, which was credits still leftover from the winter when he was selling back more than he was using.

                        Originally posted by Mayhem View Post
                        If everything goes just like they say and after 12 years if paid for and you no longer have a electric bill why aren’t people waiting in line for these systems?
                        I know he's a salesman, but he said this is the easiest job he's ever had and that he really doesn't work, due to all the referrals. He just goes on 3 presentations a day, that are all people that want systems, and closes most all of them. So, it does seem this is gaining more traction that it was last year when the salesman said he didn't have a system on his own house ... which I'd never buy from anyway. During the pitch, that was the one question that was going to be my "ace in the hole". I never had to ask because he volunteered the info without me asking. As for the TBHer that sells solar but doesn't have them on his own house ... not sure I'd really trust his judgement to begin with.

                        I'm not trying to argue for or against this ... just discussing.

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                          #13
                          If your powerbill is low then the solar will not pay for its self. If you have a large power bill, then solar will pay for itself.

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                            #14
                            the buy back thing is where I would look as well I have oncor and they are crooks nothing more . I can see that company telling you no way we are not buying anything .

                            I heard about that issue from a few people local that there power company Oncor was not paying out , they did not charge but no credit at all .

                            and now the are trying to add a fee to the bill if you have solar turbine etc .. they offer rebates but only if you use " their" installers ha ha its a circle jerk from hell .

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                              #15
                              I was just talking to an electrical engineer about this yesterday. He is not aware of any solar panels that can put out 240V AC. There will still
                              be additional equipment to convert the DC output to AC and he believes that there will still be batteries.

                              That being said I have no personal experience with them so I’m not qualified to say whether his statements are true. But he is very well versed in his field so I suspect he is correct.


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