Home Solar

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Oct 3, 2010
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RI
Just seeing how many of you have solar power for your home? Are you happy with it, and was it worth the cost, and has it eliminated your electrical bill other than “staying connected” cost?

I have a quote for a 9.5kW system for my home, 28 panels (jinko) with a single string solar edge inverter with power optimizers on the back of each solar panel. 25 year warranty on everything. I am not leasing, the cost is about 46,000 and I will pay the same as my electric bill for 25 years @2.99%. Federal incentive is $11,750 and state is $3,220 for this, which I could just put right back on the loan. Biggest reason for going Solar now is there is going to be a 40-50% increase in electric rates this winter in my area.

Look forward to your experiences.
 
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Does the increase in cost this winter change the payback period to something less than 25 years? If you move, what is the chance that you will get your value out of the solar install?

The increase in cost is for the foreseeable future. As far as ROI, The total cost of loan is 2400$ over the years. It should be right around that time frame. I pay 163 per month for my electric bill (budget plan fixed amount, same each month). The cost of the loan is 162$ Per month. So instead of paying full electric bill you’d pay what you pay for your normal electric bill toward Solar.

As I stated between state and local incentives I’ll be getting back essentially $15K in cash, which could be put right back on the loan, drastically decreasing the time frame for payoff.

We do not plan on moving at all. Very settled here.
 
No solar. Too much shade and roof area is too small.

I have a huge low pitch roof with at least 5 hours of full sun per day. I do have quite a few trees in my yard but cut the ones down that were near the house. Back yard is mostly all shade but house is in the sun from 10-4/5. Per Sunrun (solar company) they say it will be perfect.
 
Do you have the option to sell excess power back to the company ?
May generate added income if so.
 
Do you have the option to sell excess power back to the company ?
May generate added income if so.

Yes. It goes into a “bank” for power you produce and do not use. You draw on this “bank” on cloudy days/nights etc. But they power you generate that goes back to the power company they have to buy back at 3x the rate they sell you per kWh. If you bank gets over $X (can’t recall the number) they have to cut you a check.
 
I would really like to see how you fair out after one year .
In these times a very interesting option..
.Would be nice to make a little bonus cash ! please keep us updated
 
Just seeing how many of you have solar power for your home? Are you happy with it, and was it worth the cost, and has it eliminated your electrical bill other than “staying connected” cost?

I have a quote for a 9.5kW system for my home, 28 panels (jinko) with a single string solar edge inverter with power optimizers on the back of each solar panel. 25 year warranty on everything. I am not leasing, the cost is about 46,000 and I will pay the same as my electric bill for 25 years @2.99%. Federal incentive is $11,750 and state is $3,220 for this, which I could just put right back on the loan. Biggest reason for going Solar now is there is going to be a 40-50% increase in electric rates this winter in my area.

Look forward to your experiences.

These warranties that go out 25 years are going to be useless when the companies merge, get bought out, just plain go out of business. You can tell them -to knock 10grand off to do the deal. Trust me-they got room for that.
 
These warranties that go out 25 years are going to be useless when the companies merge, get bought out, just plain go out of business. You can tell them -to knock 10grand off to do the deal. Trust me-they got room for that.

Sunrun is a national installer. whoever bought them out, if it even happens, would be assumed liable for the contract and all of warranty requirements by law.

As far as going out of business, you’d have to go direct through the manufacturer for warranty. I’m perfectly capable of changing out a solar panel or inverter.
 
At the current/old house it was something I was considering for the roof. The peak ran east/west and it's just north of a lake. Great sun ! The new place has an enormous back yard and we have no local regulations for residental solar panels.
However, the municipality to the north just outlawed solar panels. All 20 residents ...
 
What type of roof are the panels going to be installed on? It spooks me to see these things installed over a shingle roof. That roof is going to have to be replaced which means all the panels will have to come off and be reinstalled. I bet it will be not cheap.
 
What type of roof are the panels going to be installed on? It spooks me to see these things installed over a shingle roof. That roof is going to have to be replaced which means all the panels will have to come off and be reinstalled. I bet it will be not cheap.
The roof was done 3 years ago, full strip with lots of repairs. It’s comp shingle. Not too worried about it as it will prob be at least 15-20 years until it needs to be done again I used top of the line materials.

I can remove solar panels not a big deal. I think they said 80 bucks per panel to remove if need be. They also did say they will warranty the roof for 25 years if the roof issue was caused by the solar panels
 
What type of roof are the panels going to be installed on? It spooks me to see these things installed over a shingle roof. That roof is going to have to be replaced which means all the panels will have to come off and be reinstalled. I bet it will be not cheap.

Yea-the shingle roofs around here are on the cusp of needing to be replaced. There has been some pretty pricey quotes to remove and install solar. It's not that it is that hard-but there seems to be premium to do the work.
 
The math seems to work out, but pay careful attention to what you'll be paying just to be hooked to the grid. I'm with you though, electricity prices are going nowhere but up, I see this is a sound investment.

I'd love to do it one day, I have ideal conditions for rooftop solar, but are these things insured? What happens if you get an awful hail / wind storm that tears up the solar panels? I don't know enough about them, but that's what I'd fear most where I live.
 
I love my solar. Having said that, your cost seems pretty high to me. By the way, Sunrun is a great company; Costco uses them and generally gives you a nice $500 bonus card.

I decided to go solar in late 2017; the installation was March 2018. My project included a new roof; I got the 30% tax credit on the entire project.
Sunrun was very helpful; they could not touch the deal I got from Infinity Solar in Rocklin, CA. My bill tends to be $9 or $10 per month; this month I have a $27 credit.
Los Gatos has a lotta sun. I made sure I bought enough solar because I knew I would be using the AC more and I might purchase an EV. And I did not want an annual true up.
I suggest you run your offer by @OVERKILL as he is well versed in the technology.
Good luck.
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The math seems to work out, but pay careful attention to what you'll be paying just to be hooked to the grid. I'm with you though, electricity prices are going nowhere but up, I see this is a sound investment.

I'd love to do it one day, I have ideal conditions for rooftop solar, but are these things insured? What happens if you get an awful hail / wind storm that tears up the solar panels? I don't know enough about them, but that's what I'd fear most where I live.

They would be covered by homeowners insurance. You pay a small fee to stay “connected” to the grid if you have no usage bill
 
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I love my solar. Having said that, your cost seems pretty high to me. By the way, Sunrun is a great company; Costco uses them and generally gives you a nice $500 bonus card.

I decided to go solar in late 2017; the installation was March 2018. My project included a new roof; I got the 30% tax credit on the entire project.
Sunrun was very helpful; they could not touch the deal I got from Infinity Solar in Rocklin, CA. My bill tends to be $9 or $10 per month; this month I have a $27 credit.
Los Gatos has a lotta sun. I made sure I bought enough solar because I knew I would be using the AC more and I might purchase an EV. And I did not want an annual true up.
I suggest you run your offer by @OVERKILL as he is well versed in the technology.
Good luck.
View attachment 100342

Thanks for your reply. I will type more later, not enough time to type what I want to say right now!
 
I love my solar. Having said that, your cost seems pretty high to me. By the way, Sunrun is a great company; Costco uses them and generally gives you a nice $500 bonus card.

I decided to go solar in late 2017; the installation was March 2018. My project included a new roof; I got the 30% tax credit on the entire project.
Sunrun was very helpful; they could not touch the deal I got from Infinity Solar in Rocklin, CA. My bill tends to be $9 or $10 per month; this month I have a $27 credit.
Los Gatos has a lotta sun. I made sure I bought enough solar because I knew I would be using the AC more and I might purchase an EV. And I did not want an annual true up.
I suggest you run your offer by @OVERKILL as he is well versed in the technology.
Good luck.
View attachment 100342

As far as cost goes there was one other company (solar central systems) I was going to get a quote from, but the price sunrun quoted me may be the going rate around here, or Covid inflated prices. I have a co worker that had Sunrun put in an 8kW system with Tesla powerball battery (I elected to not get one) and his cost was $52K. Another co worker also had sun run put in a 7kW system with the Tesla battery and he pays 30$ less a month than they quoted me. You got a deal on yours.

Keep in mind though my system is about twice the size as the one you have.
 
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